also known as DVD Jon, has cracked Apple s Fairplay Digital Rights Management system, the code that prevents iTunes downloads from being played on anything other than an iPod. He now says he is licensing the code to companies that want their music and videos to play on Apple devices, by-passing the Apple iTunes around the fortunes of Apple, enabling it to almost completely dominate the global players. The spin-off has been a significant jump in sales of Apple computers, which had, until the lsquo;halo effect of the iPod, commanded only a niche segment of the PC market.
company reported it had shipped 1,610,000 Macintosh computers and 8,729,000 iPods during the quarter, a 30 per cent growth in Macs and 35 per cent growth when he cracked the DVD encryption code, allowing DVDs to be copied and played iTunes-iPod ecosystem that excludes everyone else from the market, he His company, DoubleTwist, has already signed a deal supplying the Apple DRM code to an unnamed client. He seems operating well within the law, as technically, his programs are adding copy Mark Webster, editor of New Zealand Macguide magazine says Apple s DRM should not be seen as a consumer rights intrusion. Apple s Digital Rights Management isn t just about stopping people playing songs bought over the iTunes Music Store on different devices.
DRM protects the rights of Apple to sell and market those songs, and the artists own rights to their material by limiting how many copies can be made. In a nutshell, DRM means I can t buy a song for US$1.49 then pass copies on to 100,000 people.
As an ex-musician, I can t help thinking that s fair.
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