Welcom To Canada iTunes - You're Late.

Looks like Apple finally woke up and smelled the coffee - iTunes Canada now has TV shows in the video section. Unfortunately, they are $1.99 each and wrapped in DRM so thick you could choke on it. Not only that, the selection is a meager offering of the best CBC and CTV have to offer. Somehow, I don't feel like paying two bucks each for episodes of Corner Gas and the Rick Mercer Report. On the upside, they do have classic NHL games available for the same 2 bucks. That aspect of it does intrigue me, but a selection of shows you could probably get with a good set of bunny ears on your TV doesn't. We'll have to wait and see if anything else (like full movies) makes it's way onto the iTunes store. Again, it's a little too late this time for Apple. Microsoft is beating them to the punch with downloads to the TV via the Xbox 360, and Tivo is available in Canada as well. Not to mention the fact that Microsoft actually went and did something right by offering a free software upgrade for the Xbox that allows DivX/Xvid and the like. That's a pretty big deal. That's the first I've ever seen a corporate entity get with the program and provide a means for people to do what they want with their hardware. I wonder if the Apple TV will follow suit, but I doubt it. Still, kudos to MS for seeing what a boost that could be to sell the Xbox as a media centre that can stream content from a computer and include the much used DivX/Xvid codecs. About time...