http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/ Engadget Comments for iTunes Plus DRM-free, not free of annoying glitches http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
1. My husband buys a DRM-free song with his info embedded in the song.
2. He shares it with me, as we are on the same family, but we don't use the same computers/iTunes/iPods or have the same iTunes accounts.

If RIAA asks for info about which song is registered with which user and who actually uses that song with his iTunes, can I be sued? You see, my surname is not the same as my husband's (so it's not obvious that we are married) and our marriage papers were done in France, not USA (although we LIVE in USA).

So, while I do believe that eventually such a lawsuit would be dropped if it were to exist, what guarantees do I get that RIAA's lawyers won't make the mistake more than once after analyzing data that Apple gave them?? I mean, it's very ambiguous what can happen if you share a song with a non-authorized iTunes installation, no?]]>May 31st 2007 7:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
If the song exists concurrently in two or more places at once with the same tagged data, you are infringing. The exceptions to this are those that are granted by Apple's terms of usuage (such as placing copies on 1 iPod, etc.)]]>May 31st 2007 7:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/May 31st 2007 10:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/May 31st 2007 7:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
It doesn't look like Apple is tracking what music you have on your machine -- my guess is that it's only embedding account info per song to track illegal activity on p2p networks. So it's highly doubtful that Apple even knows what you and your husband are doing in your household with your music, let alone compiling that information in preparation for some RIAA subpoena. I wouldn't worry about it.

We've put in a call to Apple to confirm, and we'll be following up shortly. Thanks for reading!]]>May 31st 2007 8:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
Gonna try better, Apple.]]>May 31st 2007 7:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
Tagging your info onto songs is NOT spyware. Spyware is any application that violates your privacy by TRANSMITTING your info BACK TO A COMPANY without your knowledge. Nothing is being transmitted, unless YOU share the songs. Since they are DRM free, the info won't even be checked unless the song is found on file-sharing networks, or other grey-area distribution channels. This info isn't even resident in memory, like some other spyware applications, so it won't hog resources, or nag you with pop-ups.

Think things through a bit mmkay?]]>May 31st 2007 9:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/May 31st 2007 7:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/May 31st 2007 7:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
I'm probably going to get ranked low for this...]]>May 31st 2007 7:52PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
Obviously.]]>May 31st 2007 7:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
No, this is not true. I had a real question, I even called Apple to clear it up. I don't like this tagging because it does not give me any indication that users of the same family can use a song. It can still end up in a messing up.

Whoever replied like you do, you are either an Apple fanatic, or you don't have a family.

In fact, in my case, the DRM version is better, because it can be locked to work for up to 5 ITunes installations. The DRM-free version doesn't, and so as a user in a FAMILY, it is even more restrictive than the DRM version!

I think that Apple should REALLY clear this thing up.]]>May 31st 2007 8:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/

I see. Then, clearly, this is not the product we should be using. We will continuing buying CDs and ripping them for both our iPods, as this is something that's allowed under the fair use law.

HOWEVER, I did call Apple earlier today, and he told me that members of the same family should be able to use the same song. So, I still think that the whole thing is ambiguous.]]>May 31st 2007 7:57PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
Second, what world do you think we live in that the RIAA would sue you for listening to a song owned by your husband? How would they even know in the first place? The only way they find out now is because stupid people upload their songs freely (without making their identity anonymous) and the RIAA just downloads from them.

Third, Apple is not a company that will share your data with anyone without a court order. So even if the RIAA asked, I HIGHLY doubt Apple would just ablige.]]>May 31st 2007 8:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/Jun 1st 2007 11:16AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/Jun 1st 2007 8:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/May 31st 2007 8:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/

Let me ask a question. When you sell your soul to the devil, who pays the closing costs? You or the buyer?]]>May 31st 2007 9:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
Now, even a beginner VB coder could write a small application to remove this information, so I wondered why put it there?

My next experiment was to download a DRMed track and run the same test. Sure enough, the information was in plaintext. However, this time when I modified my name, by changing a single letter, iTunes said I needed to authorize my computer to play the song. I did, but still didn’t work. Once I changed my name back, the song played fine.

I’m no expert, but my opinion is that people generally don’t like reinventing the wheel, especially software engineers (they have entire classes on software reuse). Therefore, they had a file delivery system in place, so why change it. That system embedded information for authorization reasons, which served a purpose on DRMed songs. In the rush to get the non-DRMed songs out, hundreds of thousands of songs that needed to be re-encoded and tested in two months, Apple probably never even considered the consequences of leaving the user data embedded. Or they did, figured it is useless for non-DRMed songs and considered it a non-issue.

Of course, who’s to say this isn’t just a diversion from the fact that the same information isn’t encrypted somewhere else in the file. In my opinion, if you don’t plan to pirate, you should be ok, and even if you do, I don’t think Apple has any legal recourse based of easily modifiable plaintext.
]]>May 31st 2007 8:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/May 31st 2007 8:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
That's the part that you don't get. Apple does not guarantee that iTunes itself won't become spyware and "tag" people with the same file on multiple machines, EVEN if they are from the same family or even the same user on multiple computers! In the DRM songs, this is an easy obstacle to overcome because the second/third iTunes machine must be authorized, but in the DRM-free version this does not happen and so Apple has no way of knowing that a song is installed within the same household or not. THAT's the problem, not that we have any real problem with some info being embedded in the song. I wouldn't care less if my whole bio was in there.]]>May 31st 2007 8:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
maybe i should switch back to dial up. steve's bring retro isp's back.]]>May 31st 2007 9:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
That's totally, completely, ludicrously wrong. Your right to speak should be revoked.

If the computers are communal property, it's perfectly okay for the music to end up on any of them. The license says a file can be on up to five computers. Provided they don't exceed those limits, there's no problem whatsoever.]]>May 31st 2007 8:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
DRM restrcitions:

(iii) You shall be authorized to use the Products on five Apple-authorized devices at any time.

(iv) You shall be able to store Products from up to five different Accounts on certain devices, such as an iPod, at a time.

(v) You shall be authorised to burn an audio playlist up to seven times.

As applied to iTunes plus:

(xii) iTunes Plus Products do not contain security technology that limits your usage of such Products, and Usage Rules (iii) – (vi) do not apply to iTunes Plus Products. You may copy, store and burn iTunes Plus Products as reasonably necessary for personal, noncommercial use.

]]>May 31st 2007 8:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/us/service.html

"(xii) iTunes Plus Products do not contain security technology that limits your usage of such Products, and Usage Rules (iii) – (vi) do not apply to iTunes Plus Products. You may copy, store and burn iTunes Plus Products as reasonably necessary for personal, noncommercial use."

So you're not even limited to five devices--you can have it on every electronic device you own.]]>May 31st 2007 8:52PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/May 31st 2007 8:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
"15. You also agree that you will not use these products for the development, design, manufacture, or production of missiles, or nuclear, chemical or biological weapons."]]>May 31st 2007 9:07PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/Jun 1st 2007 8:57AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/May 31st 2007 9:13PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/May 31st 2007 9:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
Also, since selecting Tom Petty Greatest Hits ($7.99) to my Shopping Cart this morning, I haven't been able to access my shopping cart to actually purchase the item.

So, for me, the latest update has one positive and one negative effect.]]>May 31st 2007 9:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
If you ask me, Apple needs to make an iPod that doesn't get scratched to hell right out of the box, a better interface, and stop with all the DRM bullshit. Damn, I just buy the CD's, but if I decide "Hey, I think I like this exclusive, I'll buy it." I don't want people telling me "Don't use it in too many places!" or "Sorry, this file can't be opened because it is tied to another music player!"]]>May 31st 2007 9:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/May 31st 2007 9:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/--

Kudos, and ELQ, I'm not a lawyer, and I JUST TOLD YOU, if you're worried about your name getting 'out'... don't use filesharing networks. Get it?

As for the rest of your complaint, it was too convoluted to even address.]]>May 31st 2007 10:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
I DO NOT USE file sharing. We have 400 CDs in our home. Yes, WE ARE RICH ENOUGH to buy our media. You are very disrespectful, and remember, assumption is the mother of all f*ckups. So, when you talk to me, don't think you are talking to your likes of your own family. You didn't even understand what my concern is, but you took the easy way out by making this disrespectful comment.]]>May 31st 2007 10:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/May 31st 2007 9:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
Defending and Prosecuting are two seperate things. The Prosecution (in this case, lawyers representing the RIAA) brings charges against a person (the defendant), the defendant then hires an attorney who defends them in court.

Nelay stated he defends filesharing lawsuits, making me think that he would be one of your good guys.
]]>May 31st 2007 10:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/May 31st 2007 10:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/Jun 1st 2007 10:40AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
Apple says you can use the non-DRM files for personal, noncommercial use... why don't YOU try and determine what that means, rather than coming here and bitching about it, and talking about how rich you are... and while you're at it... shove a head of lettuce up your ass... maybe it will make you a better person.]]>May 31st 2007 10:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
This one's for you, ELQ...]]>May 31st 2007 11:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
FYI - You probably shouldn't talk about how "rich" you are, that isn't a good way to gain favor with people especially when you are trying to get an question answered.]]>May 31st 2007 11:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
> See, it's this kind of stuff that makes me not want to buy any of their products. They give you a choice,
> but they don't *really* give you a choice. "Take your pick. DRM or Non-DRM. Go ahead, pick!"

There, fixed it for ya!

All your info on it doesn't mean jack unless you intend to steal music ("Don't steal music") or let others steal music from you ("Don't steal music".)

If you don't trust your friends not to peer-to-peer music you shared with them to expose them to, well...

1. Strip the info out first.
2. Burn an Audio CD.
3. Find new friends.

Otherwise, keep beating that dead horse - 'If only Apple would blah, blah, blah I'd pay for music....' (yeah, right - you know you never will you hypocrites.)]]>May 31st 2007 11:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
I say share away and don't worry about it. Life's too short to worry about sharing songs illegally with loved ones. Have Fun! =0}]]>Jun 1st 2007 12:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/Jun 1st 2007 2:30AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
As for the watermarking, who cares? It isn't spyware, it is embedded lines of text. The music you buy is high quality and not DRM crippled. You can remove the watermark with a text editor, or you can change the format of the music to an MP3 or something and loos the watermark that way. Or, just leave it. What is the big deal?]]>Jun 1st 2007 3:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
As someone already mentioned here, it's absolutely trivial to write a script that'll remove any identifying information from your entire iTunes library. I give it a week before it's on del.icio.us/popular, slashdot, et al. Calm down, kids.]]>Jun 1st 2007 4:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/
Therefore, I doubt that this is a decent way of tracking infringements. In the end they can only sue the owner of the IP who was sharing it. My personal, completely non-educated guess. And if you ask yourself why am I writing this; I want to agree, don't share illegaly and you should be fine!

PS: One just has to love you Americans for things like this ;) "15. You also agree that you will not use these products for the development, design, manufacture, or production of missiles, or nuclear, chemical or biological weapons."]]>Jun 4th 2007 6:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/Jun 1st 2007 6:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/31/itunes-plus-drm-free-not-free-of-annoying-glitches/Jun 1st 2007 6:29AM