Guitarzan wrote:
Switch seems all nice, but it won't do DRM protected files. This is, of course, understandable. But my gripe is: I paid for that music, so I should be able to convert it from wma to mp3.
Nice try folks at Switch. It looks like this won't do for me. 
Sorry.
Guitarzan
Dear Gui-tarzan:
You have a gross misconception; permit me to quickly straighten [warning: SI!] it out for you. The inability of Switch to convert a DRM-protected file from wma to mp3 is unfortunately not a matter of programming the software. Since Switch won't (cannot) do this job for you, let me tell you what _will_ do it. You will undoubtedly not like what I am going to tell you, since it involves self-discipline and/or determination and/or deprivation :-( And here you thought that you would rather Switch than Fight, didn't you? Wrong again.....
Where did you ever get the idea that _format-converter_ software such as Switch is supposed to be able to defeat DRM "copy-protection" methods used by certain companies? While you "paid for that music," what you need is software that will defeat DRM, not software for converting from one format to another. It is the one who is producing the music (aided and abetted by companies such as Microsoft) that is determined to prevent you from doing what you should be allowed to do, which is unrelated (in principle) to the particular audio file format in which the music is delivered to you. So put the blame where it belongs--on the music producer and not the one who is trying to give you the flexibility to work with your music in the most convenient format.
In other words, Switch can only convert from wma to mp3 a music file which does _not_ contain a mechanism (DRM) that prohibits such a conversion.
The obvious solution for your problem is simple. It is called "buyer's choice." Do not buy music from any company which will not let you play the music which you bought on a player that the _seller_ does not want you to play it on (as opposed to the US copyright law, which permits you to do this, which is consistent with the principle of "fair use" of copyrighed material). If enough people were to boycott music from such a source, these objectionable practices would rapidly disappear from the face of this planet. Copy-protection eventually disappeared from the computer software market, as users eventually became educated and demanded (by zipping up their pocketbooks) that this objectionable practice be abandoned--which it finally was, after a consumer-developer struggle that lasted many long years.
Today's crop of computer music copy-protectors, who are still not yet dry behind the ears, will have to learn the same lesson all over again. It is up to those with sufficient determination to first learn their history lesson and then teach these children what they need to learn. Hopefully this can be done without waiting the many, many years that it took to exterminate computer software copy-protection. But as long as the sheep will blindly follow, the shepherds will gladly sheer them :-)
Musikone
(telling it like it is)