I just got a Dual-2.0 GHz G5 at work last week to replace the 1.8 single G5 that I had. I thought I would be clever and just swap hard drives in the two units so I wouldn’t have to set up the computer again. So, I swapped them in under 10 minutes (the case design in the G5, by the way, is absolutely gorgeous — required no tools to move the drive… none).

So, I reboot and feeling all clever fire up iTunes. Eventually the playlist hits a song from the iTunes Music Store. I’m prompted to authorize the computer. I put in my information and then get an error informing me that I’ve authorized too many computers from this account. Which is odd, because I’ve only authorized my iMac, PowerBook, and my desktop at work… my OLD desktop at work. Apparently, the iTMS authorization is tied to the hardware. What sucks even more is that you can’t de-authorize your computer from any other computer. Which is stupid.

To resolve this, I sent a support note to Apple. They fixed it, but yelled at me in their email back:

Dear Sujal,

Thank you for contacting iTunes Music Store Customer Service.

We have manually deauthorized your registered systems from the Music Store. You can
now reauthorize the computers that you intend to use. To protect our customers’
privacy this is not a service that is generally performed. However, given the nature
of your situation we have made an exception. If you’re selling a computer or plan to
no longer use it, make sure you’ve deauthorized it before you no longer have access
to it.

Well, gee thanks Apple for deciding to let me access the music I paid for… Grrrr….. The fact that this isn’t generally performed ought to be a problem. It should be manageable by the end user from their account page.