TUAW notes that DRM-Free iTunes music still contain your username embedded in their tags.
This "Purchased By" tag can be seen in the Get Info window in iTunes.
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Account Name Embedded in DRM-Free iTunes
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TUAW notes that DRM-Free iTunes music still contain your username embedded in their tags.
This "Purchased By" tag can be seen in the Get Info window in iTunes.
Well, there's that. Also, frankly, I like the idea that just because it's DRM free doesn't mean you should necessarially be doing anything illegal. But then again, I have no doubt that someone will make an app that strips all of this information completely and automatically within the next few weeks.
I have no problem with it. The whole point of DRM-free music was not to illegally share it with others, but to rather be able to use it for yourself as you see fit (personal use).
Not a big deal to me. Even though Apple now gives me the freedom to do whatever I want with (some of) my music, it doesn't mean that I will. I appreciate the DRM-free music.
Well think about it this way...
You lose your iPod. Some random dude finds it and puts it on his computer. If he knows how to work with the hidden files on your iPod, he instantly has access to all your iTunes songs which contain your full name and email address.
All from a dinky iPod...
You lose your iPod. Some random dude finds it and puts it on his computer. If he knows how to work with the hidden files on your iPod, he instantly has access to all your iTunes songs which contain your full name and email address.
All from a dinky iPod...
Even if there's a signature, if you broke the signature, what would that prevent you from doing? You should still be able to play the file, as its not encrypted. I don't think any audio players check signatures in meta data to make sure they're correct in order to play it, unless they are trying to comply with a DRM scheme, which is not applicable to the iTunes Plus songs...
It wouldn't be to prevent you (or anyone else) from playing it, but if a certain song showed up on the torrent sites, it could be tracked as to where it originated in the first place.
...but not if you broke the signature and removed the tag, right? I thought that's what his point was?
This is the best anti-piracy idea out there, all software/data should be like this, granted itll be hacked, but I think personal accountability is a good step.
I guess ill have to get rid of my ipod and alpine-ipod connector and start burning mp4 cds now.
I guess ill have to get rid of my ipod and alpine-ipod connector and start burning mp4 cds now.
This data is editable / removable in a hex editor. Removing it does not affect the ability to play the song, even when imported back into iTunes.
Do we know if they are also using some sort of digital watermark? They could make the easy tag for iTunes and the finder to provide the who bought it info, but they could also add a digital watermark to the file that would make it possible for apple to figure out who bought the original file.
Does AAC allow for any VBR? If so, by slightly increasing the VBR rate in some pattern they could possibly use that to provide some ownership information. It would not be impossible for apple to does this with their downloader service in real time when you make the purchase. They were already putting on custom DRM over the whole file before weren't they?
Anyway, I am satisfied with this form of DRM-Free music. I have 182 songs and 5 music videos I can upgrade and will. I am very excited that all of the Gorillaz, Sia, the last two Erasure albums, The Chemical Brothers, Simply Red, and The Bird and the Bee are all available for upgrade. Woot!
If you buy the same song with two accounts, edit that field to be the same, then compare the files, are they the same? I'm guessing they're not. The file signature should be distributed through the data.This data is editable / removable in a hex editor. Removing it does not affect the ability to play the song, even when imported back into iTunes.
I can't really see any reason to worry about this, although it does mean that anyone who would like to broadcast the file to a large number of people (torrent, filesharing service, etc) will probably want to go to the trouble of scrubbing it first.
Seems like a sensible policy to me.
Seems like a sensible policy to me.
This is hardly surprising; they HAVE to include...
...some sort of digital ID tag if for no other reason than knowing whether you've already purchased the song or not!
That's the only way that features like "complete my album", "may we also suggest..." and so on can work (not to mention the "upgrade my library" option for the old/new versions).
...some sort of digital ID tag if for no other reason than knowing whether you've already purchased the song or not!
That's the only way that features like "complete my album", "may we also suggest..." and so on can work (not to mention the "upgrade my library" option for the old/new versions).
Features like Complete My Album work entirely on the server: They keep a log of what you've downloaded and don't peek at your local library every time.