Slashdot Mirror
New Tool Cracks Apple's FairPlay DRM
goombah99 writes "PlayFair is an integrated utility that removes the DRM from AAC music files protected by Apple's FairPlay encryption. Information is limited, but the source code is on SourceForge.net and it appears to actually remove the encryption itself and not simply hijack the QuickTime audio stream as earlier methods did. The cracking operation can only be done on songs the user has already has valid licenses for and requires either an iPod or a windows computer for key recovery. If you choose to redistribute these songs you will be violating the contract you bought them under: better hope they aren't watermarked or you might end up paying for releasing one in the wild. To me the authors are vandals not revolutionaries, and may have ensured WMA becomes the standard."
but it's not as if WMA can't also be cracked.
ALL technological barriers can be subverted. It just takes the proper motivation, be it economic, political or otherwise.
I'll stick with purchasing tracks on iTMS. I love my iPod, iTunes and the quality and economical service Apple provides.
There exists no way of exchanging information without making judgments. --Bene Gesserit Axiom
So I suppose that you think that just because you purchased a copy of a book you're entiteld to do whatever you want with the contents? Up to and including violating copyright laws?
Right.
If you can't see the value in jet powered ants you should turn in your nerd card. - Dunbal (464142)
Sigh... Once again...
Please, work for 10 years, and put a 400k investment into your house. It's your life's dream, and you own it. That is 40k per year. You have now built the "perfect" house. You love it. It's your dream house. You've spent blood, sweat and tears on it.
I come along, build the exact same house as yours, only it's free. I've copied your design. Are you angry yet?
I like big butts and I cannot lie.
> To me the authors are vandals not revolutionaries, and may have ensured WMA becomes the standard.
Good job, genius; you've now proved to the entire Slashdot readership that you're a moron. Might want to limit the editorialization in future submissions.
If the Apple AAC DRM being cracked pushes people towards WMV, then that's fine. I give it six months to a year from the time when someone with sales figures worth mentioning (i.e. demand for product) actually starts using WMV with DRM until it's cracked. There's simply more impetus to crack iTunes's DRM right now because nobody gives a rat's ass about the guys selling WMV.
As for the implications of the story itself, frankly, this is *more* likely to make me shop at the iTunes store. I can't play DRMed files (in ANY format) on my hard-drive-based car MP3 player and I'm not going to spend money for a downloadable file that I have to burn to CD and re-rip just to use. I rarely want just singles anyway, so at that point, what's the goddamn point buying a downloadable version? Give me something I can strip the restrictions off of and slap onto the hard drive under my seat, and we might talk. If six, seven, maybe more years of MP3 haven't killed the music industry, this sure as hell isn't going to.
I guess I'm preaching to the choir here, so I'll address this to the record companies: the real answer is for you to see the writing on the wall and do something INNOVATIVE for a change to keep yourselves operating. You can keep whining to your paid-for politicians and getting more restrictive laws passed, but the consumer backlash will kill your business long before the laws could turn the tide.
The file-sharing genie is out of the bottle and no amount of legal measures will ever get it back in. Embrace it by using it as a marketing tool like you do radio, music videos, etc. or you're basically going to whine yourselves into irrelevance.
</soapbox>