CIO Enterprise Newsletter
 
NEWSLETTERS
 

CIO.com updates, insights and advice on technology, management and your career.

 CIO BlackBerry News and Tips
 CIO Research and Analysis
 CIO Microsoft
 CIO Insider
 
 
 
LEADERSHIP
 
CIO Executive Programs
The Leader in Face-to-Face Education for Senior Executives

Offering regional and national programs, CIO (and CSO) events bring together some of the most respected names and thought leaders in information technology and security. Presented by CIOs and other senior level executives, these invitation-only programs offer timely topics and strong networking. Learn More »

 
CIO Executive Council
A Peer-Advisory Service and Professional Association for CIOs

Public Council Teleconference: Application Rationalization — Hidden Costs and Smart Decisions

November 17 at 11:00 am US/Eastern (GMT-5)

Join Honorio Padrón, of The Hackett Group, who will share the drivers for companies to tackle application rationalization and the results of research that define the hidden cost of complexity. Additionally, we will discuss key decision milestones—to start or not, holding the course steady and fulfilling expectations.

Virtual Desktop Cost-Benefit Analysis — Michael Jacobs, Catlin Group

The analysis contained in this presentation measures the cost of everything from the machines and licenses to the infrastructure for virtual vs. traditional desktop environments.

Honor your best senior team members - Apply for the CIO Ones to Watch Award

Get well-earned public recognition for your top up-and-coming team members, your IT organization and your enterprise. Award winners will be announced, publicized and feted in May 2010, great timing to help attract new IT recruits to your company.

More / Register »

Learn more about the CIO Executive Council »



 
 
RESOURCE CENTER
 
 
 
 

EFF Berates Apple Over Open-Source ITunes Project

Apple's attempt to quash an effort to help the latest iPods and iPhones work with non-Apple software such as the Linux operating system is out of line, the Electronic Frontier Foundation said Tuesday.

 

November 25, 2008 — IDG News Service —

Apple's attempt to quash an effort to help the latest iPods and iPhones work with non-Apple software such as the Linux operating system is out of line, the Electronic Frontier Foundation said Tuesday.

Earlier this month, a lawyer from Apple's legal counsel, O'Melveny & Myers, managed to get an open-source project called the iPodhash pulled from Bluwiki, a free Web site used to create Wiki pages, saying the project is illegal under the terms of the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

"It has come to our attention that a website you operate, www.bluwiki.com, is disseminating information designed to circumvent Apple's FairPlay digital rights management system," wrote O'Melveny & Myers representative Ian Ramage in an e-mail that was later posted to Bluwiki. "FairPlay is considered anti-circumvention technology under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The DMCA explicitly prohibits the dissemination of information that can be used to circumvent such technology."

Bluwiki's founder, Sam Odio, complied with the takedown request, but in an interview Tuesday he said that iPodhash's developer is not trying to get around Apple's copy protection. "He's not developing software to unencrypt the songs," he said. "What he's actually doing is unencrypting the database."

Here's how the EFF explained the matter in a posting to its blog Tuesday by senior staff attorney Fred von Lohmann:

In September 2007, Apple introduced new software into iTunes and the iPod that runs a cryptographic operation on iTunes data, creating a special number called a checksum hash. The number is used to ensure that the iPod is talking to Apple's iTunes software, rather than other programs such as Winamp or Songbird.

The Apple checksum was quickly reverse-engineered, allowing those other music-playing applications to be used with Apple's devices. Recently, however, Apple shipped new versions of the iPhone and iPod touch that use a new crypto technique that has not been cracked. That's what the engineers were discussing on Bluwiki, von Lohmann said.

"Although it doesn't appear that the authors had yet figured out the new iTunesDB hashing mechanism, Apple's lawyers nevertheless sent a nastygram to the wiki administrator," he wrote.

Neither Apple nor O'Melveny & Myers responded to requests for comment for this story.

In an Interview, von Lohmann said Apple was using the DMCA to stifle free speech. "Apple is essentially saying here that people can't even talk about the mechanisms that Apple uses to lock in its music to the iTunes software," he said.

The checksum mechanism does not protect copyright on iTunes music; it's just supposed to confirm that the iPhone is communicating with iTunes, he added. "Nobody has ever suggested a purpose of this other than forcing iPod owners to use Apple's software," he said. "It's an anticompetitive tie-in device."

 
 
Loading...
 
WHITE PAPERS

Service Level Reporting and Communication

Service level reporting is the most visible output and often the most time-consuming activity in SLM.
 

Informatica Platform and Integration Competency Centers

Forrester used its total economic impact methodology to interview seven companies that have standardized their data integration practices.
 

Cutting the Cost of Enterprise Databases

This IDC white paper discusses the growing complexity of datacenter management, which is causing escalating costs.
 

The CIO Calls the Shots

Learn how a selective sourcing model can deliver services in a flexible, efficient manner.
 

Infrastructures for Innovation

Read this exclusive research report from Qwest Communications and CIO on advanced communications infrastructures and their role in your organization's success.
 

An Alternative Database Approach

Learn how a column-oriented DBMS works, why it has superior performance, reduced data access latency and a reduced storage footprint.
 

WEBCASTS

IT Consolidation Made Easy

The Primary IT Initiative for Reducing Costs
 

Taking a Seat at the Executive Table: The Reality of Virtualization

This year, for the first time, the number of virtual machines is on track to exceed the number of physical machines...
 

Who Are the Data Center Leaders?

Today's data center is still very much a heterogeneous environment. Gabriel Consulting recently surveyed over 250 d...
 

SharePoint - Unchecked growth of content is unsustainable - now what?

Recent research has confirmed that it has become critical for IT leaders to reclaim authority over the SharePoint c...
 

Unleashing the Power of Customer Data

To hear how companies use feedback from their clients to develop business strategy, watch our video.
 

Does Your Network Let Customers Drive Your Business?

It's no secret that customers exert greater influence over business decisions than at any time in history. But for ...
 

Resource Alerts

Get instant email notifications by topic when white papers, webcasts, and case studies are added to our library.

 
FEATURED SPONSORS
 
 
 
SPONSORED LINKS
 

Webcast: Unleashing the Power of Customer Data

Disciplined Autonomy: Resolving the Tension Between Flexibility and Control

Enterprise Capture: Your Onramp to Business Process Automation

Cloud Computing--What is its Potential Value for Your Company?

Seven Design Requirements for Web 2.0 Threat Protection

How Consumerization of IT Will Make Your Business More Productive

How does a software company save big with Green IT?

Translate business strategy into IT strategy and obtain maximum benefits.

eBook: How Can You Make Your People Productive Anywhere?

Mind the Talent Gap: Global Survey on IT and HR trends and challenges

"Enterprise-Proven" is the Prerequisite for Enterprise SaaS Portal Solutions

Join us at the US-Brazil IT-BPO Summit, on November 10th in New York.

Unified Communications: Thoughts, Strategies and Predictions. Join the discussion

Read the RSA report: Security for Business Innovation

Webcast: Looking to the Cloud for Email and Collaboration Services

64-page prescriptive guide to security, compliance, and IT operations.

Keep your IT expertise up to date. Join the Intel Premier IT Professionals.

A new fleet of PCs with a total ROI in 10 months. Find your ROI.

eZine: A Roadmap to Reducing IT Complexity

Reduce risk, gain agility. See how Progress can help your business.

Virtualization Technology as a Business Solution

eZine: A Roadmap to Reducing IT Complexity

World-class trading technology solutions from NYSE Technologies.

If You're Paying for Telecom, You're Paying Too Much. Contact Asentinel Today.

Trade-In your old printer and save up to $1,000 plus free recycling!

Learn How Web Site Performance Impacts Shopper Behavior

Build a Foundation for Unified Communications

Removing the Barriers to IT Governance: How On-Demand Software Changes the Game

Should Your Email Live In The Cloud? A Comparative Cost Analysis

Learn about the growing threat of insider data theft.

Adobe® LiveCycle® solutions for business process automation

10 Ways Excel Drives More Value from Your SAP Investment

The Key to Proving and Improving the Value of IT to the Company

Unleash the Power of Java with Oracle JRockit Real Time

Taking the Service Desk to the Next Level

See how AT&T can help protect your network.

Top Five CIO Challenges

Streamline IT Costs. Boost Performance with WAN Optimization.

Want to know how you can maximize employee productivity?

Build your 1st app FREE with Force.com

TDWI checklist helps define data readiness for analytics. Download report.

Increase UPS efficiency without sacrificing protection.

A Clear View Toward Virtualization

Virtualization Technology as a Business Solution

The rules of infrastructure management just changed.

A Clear View Toward Virtualization

Interactive Q&A helps you discover key ways to maximize IT assets.

Ready to virtualize tier one applications? Check your virtualization maturity.

Think you can't afford a Cisco Switch? Cisco Catalyst Switches are now more affordable.

Five minute business analytics assessment. Immediate results.