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Someone from Australia gave me a $20 iTunes gift card.
Nice gesture. (It was my birthday yesterday; loyal readers, please send gifts to the usual address.)
I scratched the card, then fired up iTunes to type in its code.
I was met by this screen (click to enlarge):
My usual critique of online restrictions is that content makers, or distributors, are trying to protect a nice little regional monopoly rather than copyright.
But this just makes no sense.
Why can't the $20 be put onto my iTunes NZ account - which, after all, only has access to music and movies that content makers have deemed to make available for New Zealanders? (I also have an iTunes US account, but that's another story.)
I was about to pixelate the code on the screenshot above.
But then I thought, why bother? At least someone in Australia can pick it up and use it.
The small print on the back of the card does have a warning that you have to be in Australia to redeem the gift card, if anyone reads that before buying.
I usually find Apple makes a pretty good fist of online content with iTunes, and I know the company would go further if various movie and TV studios took a more progressive approach to regional distribution.
But this is a poor show.
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Busted! Auckland man uses wrong iTunes card
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