> Or do you honestly expect that your iTunes "purchases" will still be viewable in 5 years
Well, mine from 5 years ago still are viewable.
However, I cannot play my old Bruce Springsteen albums (records) because I don't have a record player anymore.
I also can't play my cassette tape of 38 special because I don't have a cassette player anymore.
I also can't play any CDs (unless I'm in my car), because I don't have a CD player at home.
And finally, I can't play DVDs anymore because I don't have a DVD player anymore.
Technology marches on. I've bought and rebought multiple media versions of the same thing due to changes in technology: cassettes, records, CDs; Betamax, VHS, DVD's.
Your argument is tired and irrelevant because technology will obsolete it one way or another.
And if you really do like watching crappy old VHS on your new 75" 4K tv, then god bless you, because that would make my eyes bleed. (Seriously, if you do, then none of my comment should apply to you, because you are keeping the flame of old tech alive, and my props to you.)
Side note about technology - I have old 3.5" hard drives that just aren't worth keeping around too, and are too hard to securely erase, so I destroy them physically. (I just tried to securely erase an old 50GB external spinning disk two weeks ago and it was painful. I decided a ball peen hammer was a better approach.)
I can't play any CDs because I don't have a CD player at home, however, at some point many, many years ago I ripped all the CDs I had to FLAC and so I'll have access to my music collection as long as I live, no matter how technology (or the wishes of record companies) changes, and even after my death my kids should be able to freely access my collection if they would want to, just as I have listened to vinyl records that my grandparents had.
That is what a purchase means, it's supposed to be permanent, not subject to anyone's decisions on whether that music should remain available or whether it's worth to re-issue it in a new format. I would not be able to re-buy some of that music even if I wanted to (weird local bands that are not available anywhere now), but there's no reason why I should have to - digital data does not degrade, so a single copy should be sufficient forever.
Well, mine from 5 years ago still are viewable.
However, I cannot play my old Bruce Springsteen albums (records) because I don't have a record player anymore.
I also can't play my cassette tape of 38 special because I don't have a cassette player anymore.
I also can't play any CDs (unless I'm in my car), because I don't have a CD player at home.
And finally, I can't play DVDs anymore because I don't have a DVD player anymore.
Technology marches on. I've bought and rebought multiple media versions of the same thing due to changes in technology: cassettes, records, CDs; Betamax, VHS, DVD's.
Your argument is tired and irrelevant because technology will obsolete it one way or another.
And if you really do like watching crappy old VHS on your new 75" 4K tv, then god bless you, because that would make my eyes bleed. (Seriously, if you do, then none of my comment should apply to you, because you are keeping the flame of old tech alive, and my props to you.)
Side note about technology - I have old 3.5" hard drives that just aren't worth keeping around too, and are too hard to securely erase, so I destroy them physically. (I just tried to securely erase an old 50GB external spinning disk two weeks ago and it was painful. I decided a ball peen hammer was a better approach.)