“PyMusique is back in effect. That is, at least until the engineers over at Apple figure out another way to block the software,” Peter Rojas reports for Engadget. “Apple broke PyMusique over the weekend, [but] DVD Jon, one of PyMusique’s creators, wasn’t about to let that stand, and so today hit back with an update for PyMusique that works around the block on non-iTunes 4.7 connections to the iTunes Music Store.”
Full article with more details at Engadget here.
MacDailyNews Take: ‘Round and ’round she goes, where she’ll stop, nobody knows! According to the programmers, the updated version of PyMusique will only be available for Linux and, unlike the previous versions, there will not be a Windows version.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
The day the PyMusique died; Apple kills DVD Jon’s iTunes Music Store hack – March 21, 2005
‘PyMusique’ lets users buy songs without DRM from Apple’s iTunes Music Store– March 18, 2005
Some people just don’t know when to quit…first post.
Every good company needs to be challenged… we all no what happens when computer software is just accepted… and there is a lot from windows i don’t like.
awesome. just hire this kid.
Note: Apple won’t lose a cent over this, but the labels will demand stronger restrictions.
was that the point of the hack? No.. the point was to…be able to do more with the music you purchased..
but.. of course..Apple wil have to put more restrictions in there, until these geeks go away.
Bottoms Up.. the geeks are getting a taste of irony.
PS. Uh.. some people are saying apple should port iTunes to linux.. nah.. not gonna happen.. Apple is not going to legitimize Linux like that..
The point of the hack?
… why climb the mountain?
I think you’ll find the answer….
It’s interesting that WIndoze has not been hacked in this way – could it be that it being such a small target that it isn’t worth going after by DVD Jon?
Magic Word -> europe – pretty obvious MDN….
The silly thing is, you can do this anyway without PyMusique. Just buy all of your music through iTunes, which has a superior interface, and download one of many utilities that removes the AAC protection from the files. You lose zero quality, and get exactly thre same result.
I agree with Carl. Apple should put this guy to work form them, instead of against them.
Something tells me Jon is no 1-trick pony. He probably had the “resurrected” solution in the pipeline knowing full well Apple’s move.
This is one interesting chess game…
If Apple was smart they’d go work with him, or put DRM server side and end this stupid game.
The point was to access iTMS from more platforms than just OS X and Winblows. Good call Carl. Hire this guy to write iTunes for Linux.
Apple has built OS X on a bunch of open source apps and technologies and “DVD Jon” is a LINUX-only guy. He knows what he is doing. He has a strong background in DRM technology and probably has a pretty good background in BSD UNIX.
The people on the project claim that they were not trying to “hack” iTunes and FairPlay- just gain LINUX access to iTMS and iPod support. I have said before that Apple should release LINUX client software for Quicktime and iTunes- this is something that was going to happen sooner or later.
Mr. Jobs- stop trying to act like Ballmer and Gates and get your guys working on LINUX Quicktime and iTunes software. I do not advocate their methods, but their motives I understand.
Apple’s lawyers are undoubtly trying to figuring out who and when to sue over this. Perhaps the news outlets for reporting this story and informing the public?
Magic Word – Students – as in “We’ll go after ’em too.”
“they were not trying to “hack” iTunes and FairPlay- just gain LINUX access to iTMS and iPod support…”
That’s BS and you know it. “DVD Jon” got his name because he’s always attempting to skirt DRM on something. If all they wanted to do was access iTMS from Linux then they would have just done that and not built a feature in that removes the DRM. What pisses me off is that this will hurt law abiding people who realize that Apple’s very liberal DRM is not a problem, like most of us here, in two ways. First, the record companies are going to get pissed eventually and this type of defiance could cause them to make the DRM even more restrictive, or just pull the plug on the whole thing. Second, this idiot is forcing Apple to spend precious resources on blocking each of his latest tricks, which makes products more expensive and pulls talented people and money away from making the products better. I’d like to meet “DVD Jon” so I could bloody his nose.
I see legal action from Apple coming soon to a Theatre near Jon.
Also another block posted by Apple by the end of the week.
The simple solution for all of this is:
Apple should create a version of iTunes for Linux!
I think that’s what he’s trying to convey.
If you go to his blog and read about it, DVD Jon only wanted to make iTunes work on Linux. After he was done. it could easily be ported to other platforms (even mobile phones). The “hack” allowed him to “Purchase” his music on his machine and only after he was in there poking around, did he realize that it was so easy to by-pass the DRM. Apple doesn’t/didn’t encode any of the songs with their DRM until it goes through iTunes.
Anyways, even with the hack, you still have to “Buy” the music.
I’m not advocating what he did, but it seems like Apple could have taken a few steps to do things on the server end instead of the client (iTunes) end.
Apple should create a version of iTunes for Linux!
—
why.. they have Ltunes, the ultimate in crappy low-budget iTunes ripoffs..
seriously.. you expect Apple, in an OS fight, to legitimize Linux with the introduction of iTunes of Linux?
What is this, Trick or Treat? Please.. can we have iTunes, or we’ll hack your servers?
Pricks.
lenzcap.. reward this behaviour?.. great idea
Amen Mike, people don’t seem to realize this is a business.
“All DVD Jon ever wanted was to…blah blah blah”
You have got to be kidding right? This is the real world and not preschool where you have to bring enough for the entire class.
Apple is trying to expand its OSX user base. I know iTunes does wonders for selling iPods, but in the end this is a zero sum game and Apple wants all of these people to become OSX users (which in turn brings more software firms and developers to the mac, which is certainly good for us). How does porting this to Linux, an admittedly small and already platform (OS) aware bunch of people fit into Apple’s long-term strategy? Unlike Microsoft users, Linux user are already well well-aware of the advantages/disadvantages of the various platforms, namely OSX relative to XP, and have subsequently made their choice, i.e. Linux. It seems to me that now the unfortunately oft-revered DVD Jon is trying to have his cake and eat it too. You cannot make your choice and then bitch about the available software. Apple is neither obligated nor benefits from a Linux version of iTunes. Quit the childish hyperbole (e.g. “Mr. Jobs- stop trying to act like Ballmer and Gates”) and be glad that statements such as this aren’t even close to being reality.
Whilst I understand his actions may be frustrating, and even annoying to commerical comapnies, you have to admitt this DVD Jon is pretty damned talented with programming.
Of course he uses it to play a game with corporations, but in the end he is also improving the software targeted, as corporations targeted, have to fix their weaknesses.
Lets face it, the STORY here is not teh work around DRM, as someone mentioned this has been done by others. The STORY here is that this guy is once agin involved.
Good luck to the company that can convince this guy to work FOR them. But I doubt that is what he’ll ever do. He is just to good at exposing their weaknesses.
Survival of the fittest. Laws of nature that apply to many areas. DVD Jon is akin to an infection (viral OR bacterial). If you’re immune, you don’t even feel it. If you’re fit & healthy you hardly feel it, and recover quickly (for eg Apple in this case – and in this case DVD Jon, like an infections has a MUTATED form to test you again). If you are weak and unhealthy you get VERY sick, and just may just die.
I’d NEVER use his software, but I admire his skill, and I understand why he does what he does – give him a target, he will try and beat it – just make sure you better his efforts, he’ll come back at you, and teh cycle of “life” continues and all in the world is good.
It isn’t EVIL/GOOD or RIGHT/WRONG (just like the flu isn’t evil or good, or a lion that eats a weak gazelle is evil or right) – it is just the way it is.
This is ridiculous. All that DVD Jon will end up doing is frustrating the record companies.
They will think that music downloads will never work as a business model, because no matter how many restrictions you put into your system they’ll be a spotty geek somewhere that’ll get around it.
They’ll then pull their support ending all legitimate downloads of music and we’re back where we started with overpriced CD’s and everybody downloading illegally.
The iTMS is the best chance that we’ve got in terms of being ‘fair’ to the customer, artiste and distributor. You can argue that one of these three ought to get more money, rights etc, but the iTMS is the best solution in the business. DVD Jon should be ashamed of himself for jeopardising this.
Apple – employ this guy, and give him a fat paycheck to shut him up, or get someone to take him out, and I don’t mean to the movies.
Keep Apple chasing their tails! Funny … the kid from Norway kicking Apple around like a hapless, clueless whimp.
Love it. Hope to see others do it, and hope to see these sites constantly on to them about secrets.
Fed up with Jobs and his brown nosing crowd. Next …. exploits will breech the Mac walls!
Take it up the sphincter!
This guy needs to go to jail OR Steve Jobs needs to offer him a job at Apple!
Porting Itunes to Linux would make linux a viable OS alternative to OS X and therefore Apple colud lose market share.
IT AINT GONNA HAPPEN GUYS!
Not on Steve Jobs life is Apple ever gonna port itunes to linux – and DVD Jon knows this too!.