Originally Posted by jammers:
“Why would you want that? WMA is a Microsoft owned format that they refuse t licence to Apple for example. If they had their way everything would be WMA and would only run on something running Windows.
iTunes on the other hand uses ACC MP4s, an industry open source standard.”
That's not at all true.
Microsoft will licence WMA to anybody that wants it, in fact iTunes for Windows is able to convert from WMA (unprotected) to any format that iTunes supports.
Microsoft has also released Windows Media Player for Mac which can play unprotected WMAs with no problems.
Ironically, the decoder chip in early iPod models (not sure if they still have the ability) was able to play WMA files but it was disabled by Apple.
AAC is a more "open" format, however Apple will not licence its FairPlay technology (to anybody) which effectively means you must use files purchased from the iTunes Store (excluding iTunes Plus) with iTunes, iPod, Apple TV and compatible mobile phones.