Hmmm...hadn't thought of that. In any event, it's still a LOT better than the DRM version (which also included this same info, btw).
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Account Name Embedded in DRM-Free iTunes
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Hmmm...hadn't thought of that. In any event, it's still a LOT better than the DRM version (which also included this same info, btw).
Is there anyone who has the ability to download the free song of the week (by The Kooks) in iTunes Plus format, remove their name and email address from the file with a hex editor, and then post an MD5 checksum of the resulting file? I can do the same; this would allow us to compare checksums to determine if there is some type of digital signature in the iTunes Plus files.
YES!, wow, I keep getting a network error, so I assumed it was on my end. But purchasing a regular track downloads fine, same with podcasts, but the new stuff is barely working.
I keep refreshing and every 10th or so time one of them will actually download. I had 30 songs to update, the last 5 just refuse to work right now....
-Roy
ok, well I feel silly, but how do I go about upgrading my existing purchases? I don't see any field to do so..... grrrrr, I know it must be glaringly obvious, but I just don't see where to go.
The least of your worries, if you have you contacts and calender synced to you iPod, which is far more information and involves far less knowhow and intent.
~Tyler
If you click the iTunes Plus link on the iTunes store homepage, it will take you to the iTunes plus page. On the top of that page, there should be a box that says you have music to upgrade.
I can't upgrade my copy of Clint Eastwood by the Gorillaz. This is annoying me, and I'm pretty sure that whole album is availuable in iTunes plus. I just want to download that one song to test it out and see if it's really worth the extra money. I could care less about DRM (if I'm desperate, I have my own ways around it), I just care about sound quality.
I found that the upgrade button on the iTunes Plus page vanished on me, too. At first it was there, but after an unsuccessful attempt to ugrade, it disappeared.
I found it again only when, while still on the Plus page, I looked up music through 'Genre' pulldown menu. For whatever reason, within some genres (New Age and Rock, for example) the upgrade button (or an Update My Library notice) appeared. When looking at other genres, it did not.
I found it again only when, while still on the Plus page, I looked up music through 'Genre' pulldown menu. For whatever reason, within some genres (New Age and Rock, for example) the upgrade button (or an Update My Library notice) appeared. When looking at other genres, it did not.
I suspect we will have the answer in a few minutes or hours. All you have to do is buy the song twice using two different accounts and then compare the files bit by bit. Apple even provides the tools do to the bit by bit compare in Mac OSX. (od and diff).
I speculated about this a month and a half ago. For whatever reason, I was accused of being a pirate. Here's that thread ... THREAD
Anyways, I wanted to respond to the comment about losing an iPod full of your personal information embedded into the files. If you lost your iPod full of regular iTS DRM'd tracks, it would still have the same information on it. It may be a little more difficult to extract the info, but depending on who stole/found your iPod ...
Personally, I have no problem with the tagging of the DRM-free files. I hope that it leads towards DRM-free movies and TV shows that can be played using any type of player, or re-encoded to a more compatible format.
ft
Anyways, I wanted to respond to the comment about losing an iPod full of your personal information embedded into the files. If you lost your iPod full of regular iTS DRM'd tracks, it would still have the same information on it. It may be a little more difficult to extract the info, but depending on who stole/found your iPod ...
Personally, I have no problem with the tagging of the DRM-free files. I hope that it leads towards DRM-free movies and TV shows that can be played using any type of player, or re-encoded to a more compatible format.
ft
Ive found rencoding the file gets rid of the personal info. I know reencoding an allready compressed file is not the greatest thing, But at 256Kb/s, Apples 1000 song in your pocket for the ipod nano, quickly turns to 500. Rencoding a song with the master at that bit rate, will result in very minimal loss (if even perceivable), unlike the 128AAC to CD and back to MP3.
That's true. Your motives in bringing it up were instantly questioned, even though it was a perfectly good discussion topic.
iTunes DRM-free music is tagged, but apparently not watermarked, the difference being that watermarks are intended to be indelible. Yes, I know it's not 100% foolproof in practice.
We have DRM-free music because the record labels are now (a) making more money online and (b) less fearful of pirating. They might also be (c) expecting this to help sell even more online and (d) feeling pressured by customer demands and declines in retail store sales.
The movie studios haven't reached that point yet, but perhaps with watermarks instead of tags, they'd be willing to give us a similar deal - the freedom to buy movies (for personal use) without the technical restrictions.
Now let's extrapolate that model and apply it to Mac OS X. When Apple releases future cat-named operating systemss (Tigger, Garfield, Nermal, Sylvester, Felix, and of course Scratchy), perhaps rather than buying cardboard boxes with stamped-out DVDs we'll each get individually watermarked copies of the OS, and have the bandwidth to download them. And perhaps, like music, Mac OS X will be sold to and licensed to the person, not measured by the number of devices on which it is used.
In case you didn't know: The normal 128kbit DRM'ed songs also contain that very same information. That's how it has always been. So why are you surprised that when they upped the bitrate and removed DRM, they would remove that information as well? I mean, it's not related to either of those two things in any way.
I don't necessarily think anyone is "surprised", I think they thought that information played some role in the DRM and so seeing that info even with the DRM removed might have been somewhat unexpected.
I think it's perfectly reasonable to have it there. Seems to be a nice compromise between accountability and DRM to me.
More questions about the tracking of tagged music:
- Can somebody forge somebody else's tags?
- If my name and email address change, and I update my iTunes account information, do I care that the tags on future purchases won't match the tags on previous purchases?
- Somebody steals my purchased tagged-but-DRM-free music and tries to distribute it. What is my liability?
- If I know somebody stole it, should there be a way for me to report it, equivalent to reporting a stolen credit card, so I'm off the hook (unless it happens suspiciously often)?
- Now that my purchased music is not locked to my computer, can I transfer all rights to my iTunes Store account and my entire Library (not keeping a copy) to another family member? Can I sell the whole thing to a stranger?
- Do I ask too many questions?
I mean, I don't care - I'm not going to be filesharing any of this stuff anyway, but it is interesting that tag can't be cleared because of a "sharing violation" - re-encoding will of course solve the problem, if it even is a problem. For me, my Apple Username is in the info - but not my e-mail or any of my other information...if someone has my username but not my password, what do I care.
Still, gotta love that you can't remove the tag contents.
Still, gotta love that you can't remove the tag contents.
These two points are the things that are most relevant. Can someone amend a watermarked file to someone else's e-mail address and then torrent it to get them in trouble?
The BBC has picked up this story and I'm sure other news sites will be following suit using it as a way to slam Apple Like the people posted before, this was there in the DRM versions, why should it be a big deal in the non-DRM versions. The only people its likely to effect are the people file-sharing and Im sure they'll just strip the info out anyway.
Like the people posted before, this was there in the DRM versions, why should it be a big deal in the non-DRM versions. The only people its likely to effect are the people file-sharing and Im sure they'll just strip the info out anyway.
I clicked on the image on the main post and then clicked "Cancel" about 5 times before I remembered it was an image and not a real OS X window...
I clicked on the image on the main post and then clicked "Cancel" about 5 times before I remembered it was an image and not a real OS X window...
LOL. I could have easily done the same since I actually bought that Gorillaz song a while back.
I think that the tags are no big deal to those who don't plan to distribute songs and for those who do they will get around it. Until this revision I have had to do the same - not to distribute music but to allow it to be played via a Squeezebox hooked up to my stereo. The DRM versions would not go over the network; so I had to burn to CD and re-rip as Apple Lossless (with some loss of quality) - now I won't have to do that to listen to the music I buy!
Here's hoping there is an agreement made to allow people to rip DVDs into their iTunes (?iMedia) in the same way. Though there are ways to do this (Handbrake, MacTheRipper) going through all those motions with each DVD would be time-prohibitive. Does anyone out there know if DVDs have individual serial numbers? Or are they 'pressed' from an identical master and all the same? If they have serial numbers then an internet-linked system could allow each DVD to be ripped only, say, twice with additional rips invalidating previous ones, if this makes any sense.
-Bob
1. There are no watermarks in any iTunes files. There are rumors of watermarks based on baseless speculation, that is all.
2. Your name and account information is in iTunes files bought from iTMS. They are clearly and openly visible.
3. Anyone who can do a bit of programming can download software for editing tags in Quicktime format files (that includes iTunes files) and modify that software to allow changing the name and account information. Without any programming, you can download software that will let you remove the information.
4. Should you be accused of having distributed files based on nothing else than that information, just post here with the name of the judge and a few of the lawyers involved in the case, and I am sure someone will send you a CD full with a few files that "prove" that the judge and these lawyers have committed the same crime.
I couldn't agree more. What IS the big deal? Why would someone, after shelling out their hard-earned readies want to then give songs away anyway? I've never understood that. My music is my music, and if someone else wants it, they can do the same graft as me and buy it like I did!