DvdJon
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DoubleTwist partnering with T-Mobile for Android music management
As the late, great Rodney Dangerfield would attest, DoubleTwist has been jonesing for some respect for quite some time. For those unaware, said software essentially acts as an iTunes for everything else, giving users of all those non-Apple devices a somewhat familiar interface and portal to sync media, playlists, etc (video demonstration is after the break). Up until now, Android users have been forced to figure out content management on their own, and while geeks have obviously had no issue, those expecting iTunes to take the wheel have found themselves in an uncomfortable position. Reportedly, T-Mobile USA has decided to partner with the company and pre-load the software onto a number of new Android devices -- not just the Fender myTouch 3G. The only real pitfall here is that Amazon's MP3 Store integration is missing, but we should learn more as T-Mob goes official with the details later today. Is this the big break DoubleTwist has been waiting for? Time shall tell.
DoubleTwist now powered by Amazon MP3 store
Here's the choice promised by DVD Jon last week: Amazon MP3. Doubletwist is now powered by Amazon's 5 million strong music store in support of its vision to connect consumers with all their media across any device. The interface is bare-bones simple to navigate (no apps, TV shows, or Movies to clutter the experience) as you preview and purchase music with your Amazon credentials -- tracks are downloaded into your doubleTwist library where they can be synced with BlackBerry or Android handsets, the Palm Pre, PSP or hundreds of other devices. Amazon access is only available to US users from the Mac-only software at the moment. A PC version is "coming soon" along with more country support. See it in action after the break.
DoubleTwist nets $5 million in funding, debuts Windows version
Don't let anyone tell you otherwise -- money's out there if your idea is good enough. Hot on the heels of Fusion-io's grabbing of Series B funding comes this: news that doubleTwist has just acquired a solid $5 million to push forward on its all encompassing media venture. If you'll recall, the project is being headed up by the notorious DVD Jon and DRM expert Monique Farantzos. In essence, the idea is to create a multi-platform media browser that can take media from just about anywhere and place it just about anywhere else, all without forcing you to figure out messy calculations like encoding and native resolutions. In related news, doubleTwist now shows screenshots and a video (after the break) of a Windows version, which is available today for download.Read - DoubleTwist websiteRead - Funding
DVD Jon's DoubleTwist device-management software enters public beta
It's been nearly a year since DVD Jon made some noise about doubleTwist by promising to "liberate" iTunes purchases from their DRM, and while that's no longer particularly relevant in light of Apple's decision to go DRM-free, we're actually really digging this newly refocused public beta of the doubleTwist app, which promises to seamlessly manage all your devices from a single interface. Think of it as iTunes meets Windows 7 Device Stage with a dash of social network integration and you'll get it: you just tell DT where you want your media to go -- your phone, Facebook, your PSP -- and it'll handle all the encoding, conversion, and uploading steps for you. Sadly, the iPod, iPhone, Zune and Windows Mobile aren't supported yet, but the rest of the device list is pretty decent: it includes the BlackBerry Pearl, Storm, and Curve, the G1, Sony Ericsson Cybershot and Walkman phones, the Kindle, Nokia N and E-series phones, and most digital cameras and flash-based camcorders. Of course, iTunes video is still wrapped in DRM, so we'll see if DVD Jon has any tricks left up his sleeve to make it play nice with non-Apple devices, but for a first shot out of the gate it looks like extremely promising -- too bad it's Mac-only for now.[Via Daring Fireball]Read - doubleTwist websiteRead - Supported device list
DVD Jon breaks free of iTunes DRM
Today's Times Online reports that DVD Jon has introduced new software that allows you to break iTunes DRM and play back your iTunes purchases on any device. Apparently this new anti-DRM software works with an unsual analog-hole. It replays songs in fast-forward and copies the audio track. The Times articles says that this tool can convert about two hundred tracks per hour. More info is at the DoubleTwist site. At the moment the software is Windows only, but an OS X version is promised soon. Cool and possibly illegal stuff.
DVD Jon finally launches doubleTwist with limited iTunes DRM-removal
Open today for public beta after long last, DVD Jon's first, um, "legit" software business venture: doubleTwist Desktop, a Windows-based app intended to help seamlessly organize, transcode, and sync your various media types to devices like the PSP, Kindle, and Symbian S60 and UIQ phones, as well as share online through Facebook. (Apparently a Mac version is due in Q2.) Nary a mention of DRM stripping or the like (just a couple references to "liberating" your iTunes media -- convert it to MP3, stripping the FairPlay DRM), just a whole lot of talk about making your media easy to move between devices and share with friends.
DVD Jon whips up a way to activate iPhone without AT&T
The headline kind of says it all: a little hex editing of iTunes, a little hostfile hacking, a little program called Phone Activation Server v1.0, and you're on your way to an AT&T service free iPhone, friend. That's right, Jon, knock that toxic AT&T-tied iPod-coffee out of Steve's hand. Ok, so apparently the phone still doesn't work (we wonder if there isn't some kind of mechanism that binds the iPhone to select AT&T SIMs), so it's not like it's an unlocked device, but at least you can now use it as "the best iPod [Apple's] ever made." We've yet to confirm the method though -- anyone want to give it a shot? Let us know in comments. [Thanks, Justin and Gordon]
DVD Jon responds to Steve's DRM letter
DVD Jon, the man supposedly behind DeCSS and advocate for circumventing DRM, has responded to Steve Jobs' open letter on DRM in three posts on his blog. In his replies, Johansen notes that some customers are more locked into the iPod based on whether they've purchased their media on CD or through the iTunes store, and Apple could (at least in theory) swiftly remove FairPlay from any track from which a content owner declines DRM. The posts are succinct, but well worth reading in their entirety at Johansen's site.
DVD Jon's DoubleTwist to provide FairPlay for devices, too
Earlier this month we brought you the news that DVD Jon was skipping across the pond to California to begin a startup called DoubleTwist Ventures. Well, bucking the trend of feting the 5th anniversary of the iPod, Fortune magazine took the opportunity to interview DVD Jon about how he hopes to stick it to Cupertino. DoubleTwist's business model is to license not just that one, but two pieces of Johansen-authored software that will break Apple's DRM by letting other companies "sell copy-protected songs that play on the iPod, and another that would let other devices play iTunes songs." Clever -- open up FairPlay in both directions. Johansen believes that it's his responsibility to fix Apple's restrictive format, and even has a quote from Steve Jobs in 2002 -- "If you legally acquire music, you need to have the right to manage it on all other devices that you own." -- tacked on a wall in his office as a reminder. While DoubleTwist's business model may suffer legal troubles as a result, Fortune notes that no FairPlay-related suits have ever been filed by Apple against Johansen or anyone else: "That could be because the company is afraid that losing a case would set a precedent that would encourage imitations of the iPod. Or it could be that Apple doesn't want to give anyone the publicity." Either way, the article points out that DRM remains the set of thorns on Apple's rosy iPod.[Photo: Fortune]
DVD Jon's is back to once again make FairPlay fair
As much as we'd like to hang on to the importance of PlaysForSure -- and its rather timely compromise -- at the end of the day, it's only about 10% of the digital music market. The other 90% goes to Apple's FairPlay DRM scheme, which is probably why over the years it's been such a massive target for such projects as Hymn, JHymn, PlayFair, PyMusique, myTunes and myFairTunes6, and the original FairPlay circumvention tool developed by DVD Jon et. al., QTFairUse, as well as FairKeys (which spawned the similar but not Jon-developed QTFairUse -- we missing any?). Now that Apple's latest iteration of iTunes is fairly wide open, however, DVD Jon is back in the game -- but this time he's looking at FairPlay for more commercial means. Like Navio and Real before it, Jon's new business, DoubleTwist Ventures, based in San Francisco, intends not to sell users means by which they can unlock their digital music library; instead, they intend to sell partners the ability to DRM their media with FairPlay, cutting Apple out of the media vending food chain. Not a new concept at all, but when Real tried it, Apple were quick to put the kibosh on their efforts, and the impending possibility of a lawsuit was enough to eventually get them to stop fighting the man. As far as we know, Navio has neither been taken to court, nor actually licensed its artificial FairPlay technology to any partners. But for someone as high profile as Jon Johansen to move to the Bay and start up a business that undermines Apple's digital media sales business right in their own back yard, well, let's just say we're hoping DoubleTwist set aside some cash for possible legal expenses.
FairPlay for sale, and not by Apple
You may know Jon Lech Johansen as 'DVD Jon,' a name he acquired after he wrote DeCSS, which unscrambles the content on DVDs to make copying possible. He isn't a fan of DRM, as you can imagine, and has set his sights on Apple in the past. He has reverse engineered a previous version ofFairPlay, Apple's propriety DRM that comes along (for free!) on any item purchased from the iTunes Store. The iPod is the only device that is officially capable of playing FairPlay DRM'ed files, and the iTunes Store is the only store that sells FairPlay tracks and movies.That is, until now. It seems that Jon wants to license his version of FairPlay to any company that might want to have their content play securely on an iPod. Now, he doesn't seem to think that this is illegal since he hasn't reverse engineered FairPlay. Instead, he created something new that acts just like it. I wonder what Apple legal will think of that.
