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Have accusations of Apple using Steganography in iTunes+ affected your buying habits?

  • Yes- Negatively (less willing to buy an iTunes Plus song)

    Votes: 42 10.4%
  • Yes- Positively (more willing to buy an iTunes Plus song)

    Votes: 33 8.2%
  • No

    Votes: 262 64.9%
  • Too early to tell

    Votes: 67 16.6%

  • Total voters
    404
  • Poll closed .
Apple should say something about this, at least in fine print.

People will still buy songs from the iTunes store, regardless.

Why?

1. Convenience
2. Cost
3. Speed

I used to say that I would never ever buy DRMed songs from iTunes. Then a new album came out and I really didn't want to go to the local record shop and WHAM, iTunes store had me. It did bother me that I was locked into iTunes/iPod, but it's the best music player software/hardware combo out there, hands down. Not like I want to use anything else. . .

Anyway, from the very beginning, Apple has included DRM to appease record labels. Do you think they'd put it in there themselves? Nope. They wouldn't because they know that people would still buy songs from them to support artists. Problem is, a lot of music is locked up in record label contracts.

Point being, don't attack Apple for trying to deliver digital music. They are doing what they can to provide DRM-free tracks. Attack the record labels and call your congress critters and ask them to change copyright laws.

So true.
The only thing I would reiterate is that I think Apple should put in some fine print about this.
Then we can all make a fair and informed choice.
It is after all simply about honesty which ever side of the fence you are on.
 
For all the paranoid people.

For all the paranoid people worried about this information being put into the song files. Your posting here is a lot more dangerous because it will only draw attention to yourselves. THIS is how you get targeted. The only way to stop worrying is to disappear. If nobody knows about you then they won't know to come after your data.

So ... never use credit cards, never use the internet. Never go anywhere without using a disguise and ALWAYS wear gloves so you don't leave finger prints. Need any more help?
 
I think this is getting blown a little out of proportion.

If only people would get this upset when the government continually lies to them. Aparently that is okay.

I third that emotion. Someone already seconded it ;)
The world certainly would be a much better place if we directed our outrage to more important issues.
Like someone said recently, we live in a world where American Idol is more important than Americans Dying.
And I guess I am as guilty as anyone for this misplaced anger :(
 
I can't believe people are complaining about something like this. WHY DO YOU CARE???? if they are putting this info in there? The only reason you --should-- care is if you are going to be sharing music that you legally should not be sharing. Other than that there is no reason to care. And NO, Apple has no reason to tell you.

I mean DUH, Apple --has-- to have some way of tracking if people are sharing music they aren't supposed to be sharing.

This whole thing is as lame as a teenager complaining that mom didn't tell them they have to pull down their underwear before using the toilet. Yes, it IS that stupid.

Theoreticaly if everyone would follow the law there wouldn't be a problem
and you were right. ... But what do you do if someone steals your music
and shares it on the net? Think again.
 
Proof?

Sorry if I have missed something but has anyone accutally proved that Apple (or anyone for that matter) is using the steganography information that is in the songs? Has it been used for anythnig or is it just there?
 
so what is the difference between this and a serial number on you computer hardware, which I don't think is advertised that the computer has it. I really don't care that it is in there, as it won't affect any legal use of the music.
 
For all the paranoid people worried about this information being put into the song files. Your posting here is a lot more dangerous because it will only draw attention to yourselves. THIS is how you get targeted. The only way to stop worrying is to disappear. If nobody knows about you then they won't know to come after your data.

So ... never use credit cards, never use the internet. Never go anywhere without using a disguise and ALWAYS wear gloves so you don't leave finger prints. Need any more help?

I think you are mixing sth up here. Today we are technologicaly at a stage
where seach engines, data miners and phishing software is only working
because it knows exactly at which position in a file or data stream certain
types of information can be found (email, credidcard etc). But software that
(smartly) detects your typing on mr and interprets your words to decide
to put you on file or not is clearly a product of sf paranoia. Why? Simply
because a.i. isnt developed far enough today to create such smart self
deciding and evaluating software that produces more hits than failures
on typed or spoken words. Just as an example, have you ever seen a
translation software that got the grammar right? No! Simply because
the software can't figure out what you mean.
 
I agree with this, I have no problem with them doing that because I'm not handing out my music files anyway, but if it's true they should just be straight about it and disclose it.

For me, I just didn't like the hassle of DRM because of the need to authorize/deauthorize devices, restrictions on the number of devices, and on burning playlists. Relating to this, it'd be nice if they allowed you to redownload tracks in case you lose them (at least once). I know I know, back up, but bad things happen to good people.

I bet you had a problem when Sony was tracking their music. Now, I know people objected to the method as well but a fair amount were angry Sony was tracking them in the first place.. interesting.. personally, i am not surprised music companies are doing things to prevent file sharing.. afterall, it is still illegal to download music without compensating the artist and the music companies.. however.. a lot of people were angry when sony was tracking their habits (although the majority of the anger was the method sony used)
 
Further Investigation

After I got home this evening (back to my mac :) ), I went ahead and repeated the steps in the linked article to see if I could confirm the claims made regarding fingerprinting/steganography.

My steps:
  1. Downloaded from two different accounts the iTunes Plus version of Jeremy Camp's "Take My Life". They shall be called versions A and B
  2. Downloaded AtomicParsley
  3. Version A's AtomicParsley '-T' output:
    Code:
    Atom ftyp @ 0 of size: 32, ends @ 32
    Atom moov @ 32 of size: 118952, ends @ 118984
         Atom mvhd @ 40 of size: 108, ends @ 148
         Atom trak @ 148 of size: 77549, ends @ 77697
             Atom tkhd @ 156 of size: 92, ends @ 248
             Atom edts @ 248 of size: 36, ends @ 284
                 Atom elst @ 256 of size: 28, ends @ 284
             Atom mdia @ 284 of size: 77413, ends @ 77697
                 Atom mdhd @ 292 of size: 32, ends @ 324
                 Atom hdlr @ 324 of size: 58, ends @ 382
                 Atom minf @ 382 of size: 77315, ends @ 77697
                     Atom smhd @ 390 of size: 16, ends @ 406
                     Atom dinf @ 406 of size: 36, ends @ 442
                         Atom dref @ 414 of size: 28, ends @ 442
                     Atom stbl @ 442 of size: 77255, ends @ 77697
                         Atom stsd @ 450 of size: 32871, ends @ 33321
                             Atom mp4a @ 466 of size: 32855, ends @ 33321
                                 Atom esds @ 502 of size: 51, ends @ 553
                                 Atom pinf @ 553 of size: 32768, ends @ 33321                        ~
                         Atom stts @ 33321 of size: 24, ends @ 33345
                         Atom stsc @ 33345 of size: 9028, ends @ 42373
                         Atom stsz @ 42373 of size: 32304, ends @ 74677
                         Atom stco @ 74677 of size: 3020, ends @ 77697
         Atom udta @ 77697 of size: 41287, ends @ 118984
             Atom meta @ 77705 of size: 41279, ends @ 118984
                 Atom hdlr @ 77717 of size: 34, ends @ 77751
                 Atom free @ 77751 of size: 2048, ends @ 79799
                 Atom ilst @ 79799 of size: 39185, ends @ 118984
                     Atom ©nam @ 79807 of size: 36, ends @ 79843
                         Atom data @ 79815 of size: 28, ends @ 79843
                     Atom ©ART @ 79843 of size: 35, ends @ 79878
                         Atom data @ 79851 of size: 27, ends @ 79878
                     Atom aART @ 79878 of size: 35, ends @ 79913
                         Atom data @ 79886 of size: 27, ends @ 79913
                     Atom ©alb @ 79913 of size: 28, ends @ 79941
                         Atom data @ 79921 of size: 20, ends @ 79941
                     Atom ©gen @ 79941 of size: 42, ends @ 79983
                         Atom data @ 79949 of size: 34, ends @ 79983
                     Atom trkn @ 79983 of size: 32, ends @ 80015
                         Atom data @ 79991 of size: 24, ends @ 80015
                     Atom disk @ 80015 of size: 30, ends @ 80045
                         Atom data @ 80023 of size: 22, ends @ 80045
                     Atom ©day @ 80045 of size: 44, ends @ 80089
                         Atom data @ 80053 of size: 36, ends @ 80089
                     Atom pgap @ 80089 of size: 25, ends @ 80114
                         Atom data @ 80097 of size: 17, ends @ 80114
                     Atom apID @ 80114 of size: 45, ends @ 80159
                         Atom data @ 80122 of size: 37, ends @ 80159
                     Atom cprt @ 80159 of size: 37, ends @ 80196
                         Atom data @ 80167 of size: 29, ends @ 80196
                     Atom cnID @ 80196 of size: 28, ends @ 80224
                         Atom data @ 80204 of size: 20, ends @ 80224
                     Atom rtng @ 80224 of size: 25, ends @ 80249
                         Atom data @ 80232 of size: 17, ends @ 80249
                     Atom atID @ 80249 of size: 28, ends @ 80277
                         Atom data @ 80257 of size: 20, ends @ 80277
                     Atom plID @ 80277 of size: 32, ends @ 80309
                         Atom data @ 80285 of size: 24, ends @ 80309
                     Atom geID @ 80309 of size: 28, ends @ 80337
                         Atom data @ 80317 of size: 20, ends @ 80337
                     Atom sfID @ 80337 of size: 28, ends @ 80365
                         Atom data @ 80345 of size: 20, ends @ 80365
                     Atom akID @ 80365 of size: 25, ends @ 80390
                         Atom data @ 80373 of size: 17, ends @ 80390
                     Atom stik @ 80390 of size: 25, ends @ 80415
                         Atom data @ 80398 of size: 17, ends @ 80415
                     Atom purd @ 80415 of size: 43, ends @ 80458
                         Atom data @ 80423 of size: 35, ends @ 80458
                     Atom covr @ 80458 of size: 38526, ends @ 118984
                         Atom data @ 80466 of size: 38518, ends @ 118984
    Atom free @ 118984 of size: 896, ends @ 119880
    Atom mdat @ 119880 of size: 5893854, ends @ 6013734
    Atom free @ 6013734 of size: 21, ends @ 6013755
    
     ~ denotes an unknown atom
    ------------------------------------------------------
    Total size: 6013755 bytes; 72 atoms total. AtomicParsley version: 0.9.0 (utf8)
    Media data: 5893854 bytes; 119901 bytes all other atoms (1.994% atom overhead).
    Total free atom space: 2965 bytes; 0.049% waste. Padding available: 2944 bytes.
    ------------------------------------------------------
  4. Version B's AtomicParsley '-T' output:
    Code:
    Atom ftyp @ 0 of size: 32, ends @ 32
    Atom moov @ 32 of size: 212768, ends @ 212800
         Atom mvhd @ 40 of size: 108, ends @ 148
         Atom trak @ 148 of size: 77549, ends @ 77697
             Atom tkhd @ 156 of size: 92, ends @ 248
             Atom edts @ 248 of size: 36, ends @ 284
                 Atom elst @ 256 of size: 28, ends @ 284
             Atom mdia @ 284 of size: 77413, ends @ 77697
                 Atom mdhd @ 292 of size: 32, ends @ 324
                 Atom hdlr @ 324 of size: 58, ends @ 382
                 Atom minf @ 382 of size: 77315, ends @ 77697
                     Atom smhd @ 390 of size: 16, ends @ 406
                     Atom dinf @ 406 of size: 36, ends @ 442
                         Atom dref @ 414 of size: 28, ends @ 442
                     Atom stbl @ 442 of size: 77255, ends @ 77697
                         Atom stsd @ 450 of size: 32871, ends @ 33321
                             Atom mp4a @ 466 of size: 32855, ends @ 33321
                                 Atom esds @ 502 of size: 51, ends @ 553
                                 Atom pinf @ 553 of size: 32768, ends @ 33321                        ~
                         Atom stts @ 33321 of size: 24, ends @ 33345
                         Atom stsc @ 33345 of size: 9028, ends @ 42373
                         Atom stsz @ 42373 of size: 32304, ends @ 74677
                         Atom stco @ 74677 of size: 3020, ends @ 77697
         Atom udta @ 77697 of size: 135103, ends @ 212800
             Atom meta @ 77705 of size: 135095, ends @ 212800
                 Atom hdlr @ 77717 of size: 34, ends @ 77751
                 Atom ilst @ 77751 of size: 133001, ends @ 210752
                     Atom ©nam @ 77759 of size: 36, ends @ 77795
                         Atom data @ 77767 of size: 28, ends @ 77795
                     Atom ©ART @ 77795 of size: 35, ends @ 77830
                         Atom data @ 77803 of size: 27, ends @ 77830
                     Atom aART @ 77830 of size: 35, ends @ 77865
                         Atom data @ 77838 of size: 27, ends @ 77865
                     Atom ©alb @ 77865 of size: 28, ends @ 77893
                         Atom data @ 77873 of size: 20, ends @ 77893
                     Atom trkn @ 77893 of size: 32, ends @ 77925
                         Atom data @ 77901 of size: 24, ends @ 77925
                     Atom disk @ 77925 of size: 30, ends @ 77955
                         Atom data @ 77933 of size: 22, ends @ 77955
                     Atom ©day @ 77955 of size: 44, ends @ 77999
                         Atom data @ 77963 of size: 36, ends @ 77999
                     Atom pgap @ 77999 of size: 25, ends @ 78024
                         Atom data @ 78007 of size: 17, ends @ 78024
                     Atom apID @ 78024 of size: 41, ends @ 78065
                         Atom data @ 78032 of size: 33, ends @ 78065
                     Atom cprt @ 78065 of size: 37, ends @ 78102
                         Atom data @ 78073 of size: 29, ends @ 78102
                     Atom cnID @ 78102 of size: 28, ends @ 78130
                         Atom data @ 78110 of size: 20, ends @ 78130
                     Atom rtng @ 78130 of size: 25, ends @ 78155
                         Atom data @ 78138 of size: 17, ends @ 78155
                     Atom atID @ 78155 of size: 28, ends @ 78183
                         Atom data @ 78163 of size: 20, ends @ 78183
                     Atom plID @ 78183 of size: 32, ends @ 78215
                         Atom data @ 78191 of size: 24, ends @ 78215
                     Atom geID @ 78215 of size: 28, ends @ 78243
                         Atom data @ 78223 of size: 20, ends @ 78243
                     Atom sfID @ 78243 of size: 28, ends @ 78271
                         Atom data @ 78251 of size: 20, ends @ 78271
                     Atom akID @ 78271 of size: 25, ends @ 78296
                         Atom data @ 78279 of size: 17, ends @ 78296
                     Atom stik @ 78296 of size: 25, ends @ 78321
                         Atom data @ 78304 of size: 17, ends @ 78321
                     Atom purd @ 78321 of size: 43, ends @ 78364
                         Atom data @ 78329 of size: 35, ends @ 78364
                     Atom ©gen @ 78364 of size: 37, ends @ 78401
                         Atom data @ 78372 of size: 29, ends @ 78401
                     Atom covr @ 78401 of size: 132351, ends @ 210752
                         Atom data @ 78409 of size: 93825, ends @ 172234
                         Atom data @ 172234 of size: 38518, ends @ 210752
                 Atom free @ 210752 of size: 2048, ends @ 212800
    Atom free @ 212800 of size: 896, ends @ 213696
    Atom mdat @ 213696 of size: 5893854, ends @ 6107550
    Atom free @ 6107550 of size: 21, ends @ 6107571
    
     ~ denotes an unknown atom
    ------------------------------------------------------
    Total size: 6107571 bytes; 73 atoms total. AtomicParsley version: 0.9.0 (utf8)
    Media data: 5893854 bytes; 213717 bytes all other atoms (3.499% atom overhead).
    Total free atom space: 2965 bytes; 0.049% waste. Padding available: 2944 bytes.
    ------------------------------------------------------
  5. NOTE: both media data sizes are identical. Meta data sizes are different.
  6. Ran '--metaEnema' command with AtomicParsley on both files
  7. Version A's Results:
    Code:
    Atom ftyp @ 0 of size: 32, ends @ 32
    Atom moov @ 32 of size: 77719, ends @ 77751
         Atom mvhd @ 40 of size: 108, ends @ 148
         Atom trak @ 148 of size: 77549, ends @ 77697
             Atom tkhd @ 156 of size: 92, ends @ 248
             Atom edts @ 248 of size: 36, ends @ 284
                 Atom elst @ 256 of size: 28, ends @ 284
             Atom mdia @ 284 of size: 77413, ends @ 77697
                 Atom mdhd @ 292 of size: 32, ends @ 324
                 Atom hdlr @ 324 of size: 58, ends @ 382
                 Atom minf @ 382 of size: 77315, ends @ 77697
                     Atom smhd @ 390 of size: 16, ends @ 406
                     Atom dinf @ 406 of size: 36, ends @ 442
                         Atom dref @ 414 of size: 28, ends @ 442
                     Atom stbl @ 442 of size: 77255, ends @ 77697
                         Atom stsd @ 450 of size: 32871, ends @ 33321
                             Atom mp4a @ 466 of size: 32855, ends @ 33321
                                 Atom esds @ 502 of size: 51, ends @ 553
                                 Atom pinf @ 553 of size: 32768, ends @ 33321                        ~
                         Atom stts @ 33321 of size: 24, ends @ 33345
                         Atom stsc @ 33345 of size: 9028, ends @ 42373
                         Atom stsz @ 42373 of size: 32304, ends @ 74677
                         Atom stco @ 74677 of size: 3020, ends @ 77697
         Atom udta @ 77697 of size: 54, ends @ 77751
             Atom meta @ 77705 of size: 46, ends @ 77751
                 Atom hdlr @ 77717 of size: 34, ends @ 77751
    Atom free @ 77751 of size: 2048, ends @ 79799
    Atom mdat @ 79799 of size: 5893854, ends @ 5973653
    Atom free @ 5973653 of size: 21, ends @ 5973674
    
     ~ denotes an unknown atom
    ------------------------------------------------------
    Total size: 5973674 bytes; 28 atoms total. AtomicParsley version: 0.9.0 (utf8)
    Media data: 5893854 bytes; 79820 bytes all other atoms (1.336% atom overhead).
    Total free atom space: 2069 bytes; 0.035% waste. Padding available: 2048 bytes.
    ------------------------------------------------------
  8. Version B's Results:
    Code:
    Atom ftyp @ 0 of size: 32, ends @ 32
    Atom moov @ 32 of size: 77719, ends @ 77751
         Atom mvhd @ 40 of size: 108, ends @ 148
         Atom trak @ 148 of size: 77549, ends @ 77697
             Atom tkhd @ 156 of size: 92, ends @ 248
             Atom edts @ 248 of size: 36, ends @ 284
                 Atom elst @ 256 of size: 28, ends @ 284
             Atom mdia @ 284 of size: 77413, ends @ 77697
                 Atom mdhd @ 292 of size: 32, ends @ 324
                 Atom hdlr @ 324 of size: 58, ends @ 382
                 Atom minf @ 382 of size: 77315, ends @ 77697
                     Atom smhd @ 390 of size: 16, ends @ 406
                     Atom dinf @ 406 of size: 36, ends @ 442
                         Atom dref @ 414 of size: 28, ends @ 442
                     Atom stbl @ 442 of size: 77255, ends @ 77697
                         Atom stsd @ 450 of size: 32871, ends @ 33321
                             Atom mp4a @ 466 of size: 32855, ends @ 33321
                                 Atom esds @ 502 of size: 51, ends @ 553
                                 Atom pinf @ 553 of size: 32768, ends @ 33321                        ~
                         Atom stts @ 33321 of size: 24, ends @ 33345
                         Atom stsc @ 33345 of size: 9028, ends @ 42373
                         Atom stsz @ 42373 of size: 32304, ends @ 74677
                         Atom stco @ 74677 of size: 3020, ends @ 77697
         Atom udta @ 77697 of size: 54, ends @ 77751
             Atom meta @ 77705 of size: 46, ends @ 77751
                 Atom hdlr @ 77717 of size: 34, ends @ 77751
    Atom free @ 77751 of size: 2048, ends @ 79799
    Atom mdat @ 79799 of size: 5893854, ends @ 5973653
    Atom free @ 5973653 of size: 21, ends @ 5973674
    
     ~ denotes an unknown atom
    ------------------------------------------------------
    Total size: 5973674 bytes; 28 atoms total. AtomicParsley version: 0.9.0 (utf8)
    Media data: 5893854 bytes; 79820 bytes all other atoms (1.336% atom overhead).
    Total free atom space: 2069 bytes; 0.035% waste. Padding available: 2048 bytes.
    ------------------------------------------------------
  9. NOTE: 28 Atoms remain (including media)

AtomicParsley obviously does not remove all meta data. Therefore, its a leap to say that the information remaining is steganography rather than lingering, honest metadata.
 
Yeah, until it gets abused and trivialized...
'until'?:(

anyhoos back on topic.
So it seems that Apple are indeed including specific data relevant to the purchaser in each track. The pros and cons can, in my view, be left to another thread. If Apple arent careful this could turn into a PR nightmare, when all they had to do was be 'honest' in regards to the fact that they are now labelling media that you've purchased with personal information WITHOUT your knowledge/permission.

or have I misunderstood Longofests post? mmmm seems I have...well edging my bets my opinion still stands. My opinion. Totally DRM'ed.
 
So... if I bequeath all my iTunes plus songs to my son and then die (yeah, it will happen eventually), does he have to worry about getting arrested for possessing music with MY fingerprints all over it?

Seriously, there's no reason why music downloads can't outlive the original purchaser, so long as they're not *copied*. Right?
I asked basically the same thing yesterday (here) and I don't think any of us know.

As far as I can tell, Apple hasn't made clear under what circumstances you can transfer rights to an iTunes Account and the music purchased from it.
 
A couple of points everyone seems to be overlooking:

1. DRM-free music should mean it is actually DRM-free. This means I can play it on whatever device I want, with no repercussion from Apple, the RIAA, etc. Within this fair use, I would fully expect that I can take a USB thumbdrive to a friend's house and play back the files on their computer, not unlike taking my CD, cassette, or LP over to a friend's house and play it. If, through the use of fingerprinting techniques, Apple starts tracking your (legitimate) usage of your files on your friend's computer and using it in a witch hunt for filesharers, I can see this becoming a point of contention really quickly.

2. All of the arguments that claim it shouldn't matter whether Apple is tagging/tracking how & where you play your files, as long as they don't actually use the information, are totally missing the point. The same flawed reasoning would mean it should be ok to set up cameras in a washroom or changeroom, as long as you don't look at the recordings. Let's see how far that argument gets you in court. The bottom line is that tagging the files with your personal information is an invasion of privacy, unless you specifically consent to it. If Apple hasn't laid this out clearly as a term of use in iTunes Plus, it is definitely something they can be taken to court over.
 
Haven't read thread -- probably redundant -- but...

If you're not giving away your music, you have nothing to worry about.

Now -- I, from time to time, might burn out a CD to hand to close buddy. That, in my opinion is different than having my entire library available to anyone using Limewire or ShareBear.

I'm sure there are those that would definitely be opposed to even a casual CD given out. That's their opinion and their conscience. I'm ok with it.

----

I wanted to test the waters today and bought Paul McC/Wings "Back to the Egg" and love it! Music's great and it sounds great! I will be a PLUS buyer from now on... a little longer download but totally worth it.

Dad will enjoy his copy.
 
I asked basically the same thing yesterday (here) and I don't think any of us know.

As far as I can tell, Apple hasn't made clear under what circumstances you can transfer rights to an iTunes Account and the music purchased from it.

exactly. what about about marriage? how/can you merge two accounts? something i wondered about.

A couple of points everyone seems to be overlooking:

1. DRM-free music should mean it is actually DRM-free. This means I can play it on whatever device I want, with no repercussion from Apple, the RIAA, etc. Within this fair use, I would fully expect that I can take a USB thumbdrive to a friend's house and play back the files on their computer, not unlike taking my CD, cassette, or LP over to a friend's house and play it. If, through the use of fingerprinting techniques, Apple starts tracking your (legitimate) usage of your files on your friend's computer and using it in a witch hunt for filesharers, I can see this becoming a point of contention really quickly.

only will be an issue if iTunes phone's home, which i doubt very much it does, and no one has mentioned such yet.
2. All of the arguments that claim it shouldn't matter whether Apple is tagging/tracking how & where you play your files, as long as they don't actually use the information, are totally missing the point. The same flawed reasoning would mean it should be ok to set up cameras in a washroom or changeroom, as long as you don't look at the recordings. Let's see how far that argument gets you in court. The bottom line is that tagging the files with your personal information is an invasion of privacy, unless you specifically consent to it. If Apple hasn't laid this out clearly as a term of use in iTunes Plus, it is definitely something they can be taken to court over.

yes it should be included in the Terms of Use, but i still don't see a huge problem with it.
 
Haven't read thread -- probably redundant -- but...

If you're not giving away your music, you have nothing to worry about.
To see a difference of opinion, you don't need to read the whole thread, just the post above yours.

Even though I observe the licenses for my music, I'd still like to know, technically, how the system works.
 
An easy way to see if Apple is using Steganography would be to convert the audio files to WAV and then compare the WAV files byte by byte. Steganography is were they modify the actually audio track and that would survive transcoding to other formats. Seriously I doubt they would do that as it would be computationally expensive and every download would have to be custom computed.
 
wouldn't the best solution to figuring out if it had it or not, is compare a non purchased song with the exact song purchased, both with meta data stripped and such?
 
774 bytes isnt even enough to mutter a single word, let alone advertise something to you.

fun fact: overdubbing does not change the duration of the audio.
 
AtomicParsley obviously does not remove all meta data. Therefore, its a leap to say that the information remaining is steganography rather than lingering, honest metadata.
longofest, given that you now have the files and the offsets for each of the atoms, can you check if

  1. the mdat atom is the same
  2. which atom the diffs (if any) are in

wouldn't the best solution to figuring out if it had it or not, is compare a non purchased song with the exact song purchased, both with meta data stripped and such?

No. The problem is that two files from distinct source material and with different encoders will generally not agree. My rip of a song will not necessarily be bit for bit the same as yours or anyone else's due to read errors on the CD, differences in the way code works on a given CPU/FPU, etc... even if we use the same CD. EAC tries to improve this situation with AccurateRIP, but it's not foolproof and only works for uncompressed audio.

B
 
774 bytes isnt even enough to mutter a single word, let alone advertise something to you. .

Hu?

A single text character = 1 byte
A typical text word = 10 bytes
774 bytes = 77 typical text words

Thats more than enough to put a lot of information in a file.

http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid5_gci944596,00.html

Edit to add this whole post including everything but this line is 353 bytes according to BBEdit. Thats including quoting you too.

Edit 2: here is what 774 bytes of data looks like:

Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte
Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte
Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte
Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte
Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte
Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte
Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte
Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte
Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte
Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte
Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte
Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte
Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte
Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte Byte
Byte
 
After I got home this evening (back to my mac :) ), I went ahead and repeated the steps in the linked article to see if I could confirm the claims made regarding fingerprinting/steganography.

Comparing the posted differences and your listing, the first three differences are in a "mvhd", "tkhd" and "mdhd" atoms, that is in a MovieHeader, TrackHeader and MediaHeader atom. Each of those starts with an atom header, followed by a creation date, followed by a modification date. Each time, the differences are in the modification date, and the difference seems to be about 46000 seconds or thirteen hours. If you look at the times when Mrs. Sadun downloaded the files, you will see there is exactly 13 hours between the two files.

So what happened: When you download a file, your username is filled in. That means the file is modified, which means iTMS changes the modification date. Exactly as it should, because that is what a modification date is there for: To record date of modification. :)
 
Haven't read thread -- probably redundant -- but...

If you're not giving away your music, you have nothing to worry about.

Isn't it funny how ppl dont seem to understand what the problem is? Its not
what you do with the files, its what others do with your files.
 
I just don't get all this DRM BS and other copy protection (And in this case all your account info encrypted in the music) when they have unprotected CD's at your local music store...

In 2007 is someone really that much more likely to share music they got from iTunes vs buying a CD?

This is ridiculous and this is why I will never buy a single song from iTunes...
All of my purchases are in the from of actual physical CD's...

I agree except some of the music I want, mostly of the electronic genre, isn't available in my music store supermall and I don't feel like ordering and waiting for the CD to show up. So I buy from iTunes and then burn to CD and reimport as mp3. OMG! I just got rid of the DRM!

iTunes video which I can't burn and then re-encode is why I don't purchase videos (or movies) from the store.

Enjoy missing out on the internet music revolution then.

And I'm betting he didn't since the internet music revolution was Napster.
 
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