It has taken a computer and operating system manufacturer to kick the music industry into the Internet age.

Apple Computer's new online music store uses innovative technology to distribute music over the Internet, allowing consumers to download the songs of their choice and build their own CDs.

Apple's real breakthrough is in convincing the music industry that they should relax their grip on copyright to mirror consumer practices.

But before you get excited I should explain that the iTunes Music Store (www.applemusic.com) currently is only available for US residents using Apple's Macintosh computers.

The iTunes Music Store features about 200,000 songs from major music companies including BMG, EMI, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal, and Warner. Customers can purchase and download the music they want for $1 per song or for about $10 an album. With the purchase of a song consumers also gain the right to burn songs onto an unlimited number of CDs for personal use, to listen to songs on an unlimited number of Apple's iPod players and to play songs on up to three Macintosh computers.

While I haven't had the chance to test the system, other reviewers have written raves about the service. Consumers seem to have given Apple their vote of approval.

The company reports that they downloaded about one million songs during iTunes first week in operation. Apple claims the sales made it the largest music company on the Internet.

About half of the songs were purchased as albums, "dispelling concerns that selling music on a per-track basis will destroy album sales", Apple said in a mild reprimand of the music industry.

It has been the music industry's inability to adapt to the Internet that led consumers to break the law by using such file sharing services as Napster and Kazaa, where songs can be downloaded for free.

The illegal downloads meant that artists were not getting the royalties they deserved. But the fact that the services existed should have told the music companies that many of their customers felt ripped off by their practices.

In turn the music companies' restrictions on online commercial services helped push consumers toward Napster and Kazaa.

The new iTunes service means that we as consumers are not automatically treated as criminals waiting to steal tunes. iTunes allows consumers to designate computers owned by friends and relatives as part of the group of three computers on which the downloaded songs can be played.

The system allows you to e-mail the songs you buy to the other two designated computers. Those using the other two computers will be able to play them, burn them, and copy them to Apple's iPod players.

Or they could burn up to ten copies of an album or of a mixed play list and pass them out to friends.

The songs can also be downloaded to an unlimited number of iPods (Imagine, parents may soon have to deal with iPod "rave parties" during which your child's friends drop by to download songs).

The iTunes store also represents a daring move by the computer and operating system manufacturer into a new market. Apple is betting the iTune store in turn push the sales of the company's iPod player.

Let's hope Apple expands the service soon to include non-US residents and those of us who do not own iPods or Macintosh computers.

By the way there's lots of free and legal music available on the Internet if you care to look. For example you can download Lenny Kravitz's song "We Want Peace", which was recorded with Iraqi music star Kadim Al Sahir.

The track can be downloaded at www.rockthevote.org.

If you are fans of Bob Dylan and the Band you can download whole songs from among the many samples at the official Band site at http://theband.hiof.no.

Download the full version of "Like A Rolling Stone", recorded live in 1966 and featuring the famous "Judas!" incident. Or go to the official Bob Dylan site (www.bobdylan.com) to get versions of his songs.

For punk fans try the BellRays site http://www.thebellrays.com, where you can download three songs including the wonderful "They Glued Your Head on Upsidedown".

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Tech Tattle deals with issues in technology. Contact Ahmed ElAmin at editoroffshoreon.com.