James Delahunty
23 Mar 2005 1:50
I am sure most of you have heard by now about a program called PyMusique that allowed users to purchase music from the iTunes music store from any platform (iTunes itself currently supports only Mac and Windows platforms) and without the dreaded DRM (Digital Rights Management) protection. It is important to point out that the program only allows you to purchase songs without DRM; it does not allow you to steal any songs from the iTunes store. However Apple was quick to plug the hole and boast about their victory to the media.
However, Apple weren't as quick as one man. Jon Lech Johansen (or DVD Jon as he is known ever since he got involved with developing DeCSS which made ripping your DVDs possible) now claims he has re-opened the iTunes loophole and now with an updated version of PyMusique users can once again download using other platforms (any computer that runs Python and a few libraries, including the Gtk and crypto modules) and avoid the DRM protection.
The ability to download DRM-free music legally is every fair use activist’s aim. The Recording Industry and some of the big boys in the digital download market including Apple claim that DRM protection is essential to protect the music from mass-piracy. However, this protection leaves users feeling too limited with their music. Apple has also been accused of using iTunes and its DRM protection to force users to buy iPods if they want their music on a portable audio player.
Source:
The Register