A recent article from Wired confirms that the iPod will not be going the way of the Microsoft Windows Media Audio (WMA) format. An earlier Page 2 rumor detailed a report by a questionable source that HP is working with Apple to bring the WMA format to the iPod. Showing this to be false, HP's digital entertainment product marketing manager, Muffi Ghadiali, told Wired that they will not be supporting the WMA format for now:
"We picked the service that was the most popular (Apple's iTunes Music Store)," said Ghadiali. "We could have chosen another format, but that would have created more confusion for our customers."
This confirms the earlier report we received, from a rather relabile source, that there are currently no plans to bring WMA support to the iPod.
In a related note, a recent statement from Microsoft, regarding the Apple/HP iPod partnership, indicates a difference in opinion between HP and Microsoft as to just what constitutes customer confusion.