[Update 14-Apr-05: <a href="iMovie HD 5.0.2 makes this post moot, as it adds the DRM restriction noted below to iMovie HD.]
Via BoingBoing, I see that someone at MacFixIt is bitching that Apple’s iTunes DRM (digital rights management) is, well, ruining his life. Or something.
“When you purchase a song from the iTunes Music Store and you use that song to create a slideshow in iPhoto or use it as an audio track in a movie you create in iMovie, you would expect that your movies & slideshows would work when you email them to other people.
“But no! Not only does Apple NOT let your recipients view your iMovie movies or your iPhoto slideshows, but the worst part about it is that YOU DO NOT receive a warning when creating these slideshows or movies in iPhoto or iMovie.
“Imagine burning your slideshow or movie onto a CD and distributing them to a bunch of people, only to be embarrassed later that none of your recipients can actually view the movie.”
Users receive the message “This computer is not authorized to play the file nameofmovie.mov.”
Naturally, there are no specifics as to how he created the movie, but it sounds as if he’s copied his entire iMovie project file to his friend’s computer. However, I just created a short movie in iMovie HD, added a song that I recently purchased from the iTunes Music Store (which has the FairPlay DRM embedded within it), exported it as a QuickTime movie, and sent it to a friend via iChat. He had no problem viewing the movie.
The poster above isn’t completely off track. When testing iDVD, I created a project archive so that I could burn the project on another Mac (specifically, a Mac mini). During encoding, I got a message saying that the Mac mini wasn’t authorized to play a DRM song in my project and wouldn’t allow me to continue… but then it asked me to authorize the computer and all was well.
The moral of this story? If something doesn’t work for you, don’t automatically assume it’s a nefarious DRM-fueled plot by Apple to restrict your rights.
Jeff Carlson | Never Enough Coffee Creations 
You didn’t try creating a slideshow in iPhoto — that’s the main problem area where this does not work, and of course it is related to DRM. The point of creating slideshows in iPhoto is to distribute them to people, but you can’t because they won’t be able to play the iPhoto slideshows on their computers.
You’re right, I didn’t test iPhoto (which did in fact not allow me to play the QuickTime movie I exported on a non-authorized Mac). So we both made the same mistake: He thought what applies in iPhoto also applies to iMovie, and I thought that what applies in iMovie also applies to iPhoto. In fact, I’m sure Apple will probably incorporate the same restriction in iMovie in the future somehow, because the recording companies have them over a barrel.
Well last week’s iMovie HD 5.0.2 update included this as one of the new issues addressed:
“Playing iPhoto slideshows that include protected content”
Not sure what that means though. Did they fix the playback of “protected content” or did they break it? And how does one use iMovie HD exactly to play an iPhoto slideshow, anyway?
On the one hand I understand the copyright issues at play and see how these apps could easily provide a loophole for bad intentions. On the other hand I am peeved I can’t (easily, without DRM circumvention) use my purchased songs as a soundtrack for simple slideshows to enjoy within my family. After all, doesn’t this measure seem heavyhanded? Lots of iLife newbies will discover iPhoto slideshows, and be excited to try it out. Then they need the perfect song, so they head to the iTunes Music Store to buy it. And everything looks great on their machine. So they email it to a friend. And it doesn’t work.
Fine, DRM is here to stay. But why keep us in the dark and make it complicated? The most egregious sin, I think, is that the iApps don’t simply WARN the user that he is heading into a problem. Consider a dialog that says, “Hey, this music file is protected, and the end result will be unplayable on unlicensed machines. Are you sure you want to continue?” That would go a long way. In the absence of that, why even present licensed music as CHOICES in the iMovie and iPhoto?