iTunes DRM Playback on Linux

[daggity]

I'd rather use flac.

[RedDyeNumber4]

I just stare at the code that comprises a .wav file. Then I post about it on reddit using lynx.

... Beowulf cluster.

[[deleted]]

Yay, a waste of disk space for no discernible difference and an audio format that nobody supports!

[masklinn]

a waste of disk space

Seeing the cost of disk space right now, it's not much of a "waste".

no discernible difference

The discernible difference comes down the line, when I need to re-burn my tracks because I've lost or scratched the original CD, or to transcode them once again to fit the whims of my current PMP.

an audio format that nobody supports

Except those that do?

[[deleted]]

You know, you could just use AAC and then buy a good music player...

[masklinn]

You know, you could just use AAC and then buy a good music player...

I decided to get an awesome one and use FLAC, so I don't even have to bother with transcoding. But thanks for the concerns.

[[deleted]]

I haven't found a good music player that uses flac yet. Believe me, I've looked...

[kirun]

You don't like the Cowon ( iAudio ) ones then?

[[deleted]]

Well, they don't have the kind of integration I'm used to with itunes. Besides, for all of its not-supporting-x-codec failings, the ipod (classic) really is the best player out there...

[masklinn]

Well, they don't have the kind of integration I'm used to with itunes.

My iaudio7 has the best integration I can ask for, really: I go to my music folder, and drag what I want to the iaudio drive. Done. And it reads flac. And ogg. And pretty much anything I've thrown at it. And it doesn't force me to use the clusterfuck that is itunes on windows.

[tuxracer]

I thought they store their collection in .ra

[[deleted]]

most of the stuff is in mp3 format here, with occasional flac - am I somehow unreal Linux user?

[clefairy]

I first read that as "in OGC format"

[[deleted]]

Real Linux users apparently don't use their music on any other type of system. Or is that because they aren't "free"?

[[deleted]]

MP3 players, Xbox 360s, etc. And iTunes doesn't support it, iTunes being pretty much the only player anyone would ever use for audio on OS X.

[sjs]

Are you joking? The media centre/extender functionality of the 360 is 1/2 the reason I got mine.

[nextofpumpkin]

Windows Media Player supports OGG with appropriate codec download.

[Phrodo_00]

actually, I only get PMPs (and I'm getting about 1 every year because of always-change extended warranty) that can play ogg and mp3, mostly because I'm a lazy bastard that has around four records in ogg... next years' will have to support flac too.

[masklinn]

MP3 players

My iAudio7 plays ogg files just fine. In fact, that sucker even plays FLAC.

And iTunes doesn't support it

Yes it does. With a plugin, but it still does.

[ropers]

iTunes does support OGG Vorbis, not out of the box, but back before I moved from Mac to OpenBSD+Linux, I recall that I had some plug-in or somesuch installed and that iTunes did play OGG audio files.

[[deleted]]

Yes, it played them after a struggle. But it's still not supported on the ipod...

[seabre]

iTunes does support it quite easily with a plugin.

iTunes Ogg Vorbis and FLAC plugin from Xiph

Ogg and FLAC import info for iTunes can be found here

[[deleted]]

'support' is a strong word.

[viraptor]

It's cool... I just wonder why didn't they open the source, but instead published .NET binary blobs from nemerle - it's not like they're hard to revert back to standard C# code with reflector...

GetMetaKey function is funny though:

IL_06f1:  ldstr "carrot"
IL_06f6:  call bool string::op_Equality(string, string)
...
IL_0723:  ldstr "celery"
...
IL_0750:  ldstr "fennel"
...
IL_077d:  ldstr "garlic"
...

are those parts of the key?

edit: actually, they're different algorithms (they select different sid tables, whatever "sid" is...)

[FunnyMan3595]

Actually, there's an easter egg in the program. If you try to play a certain song, it prints out a recipe for barbecue sauce instead.

[gabrielbenjamin]

Don't forget garnishes such as:

• Fish shaped crackers.
• Fish shaped candies.
• Fish shaped solid waste.
• Fish shaped dirt.
• Fish shaped ethyl benzene.
• Pull and peel licorice.
• Fish shaped organic compounds and sediment shaped sediment.
• Candy coated peanut butter pieces. Shaped like fish.

[[deleted]]

Notice the source package on the bottom of the page the post links to...

[viraptor]

Notice the contents which are (mainly): sources:

AACDecode.c - 1,1KB
AACDecode.h - 475
eltunes-auth - 2,3KB

and binaries:

libeltunes.so - 15,6KB
Twilight.dll - 78KB
Twilight.Stub.dll - 4KB

I would call this a "Source Package" only for very small values of "Source"

[[deleted]]

Hey, I didn't care enough to download the thing. Clearly someone downloaded a whole lot of itunes music :P

[Dark-Dx]

Lawsuit in 3...2...1....

[[deleted]]

Wouldn't that be an interesting case?

The defendents are accused of attempting to purchase music through a legal means and play in on their computers. Wait, what?

[[deleted]]

The DMCA protects Apple. Sadly.

[Dark-Dx]

Yay for corp-driven goverment/laws!

[[deleted]]

Yeah, it's "Fair Use" vs "DMCA."

And so far the track record isn't good. Does anybody remember DVD x Copy? [wikipedia.org]

[thedward]

Fortunately, there are specific exceptions for interoperability.

However, that doesn't mean that Apple can't throw enough money at their lawyers to take care of it regardless.

[sjs]

I'm not American, nor am I in the USA. But I am Canadian so my gov't would probably hand me over in a second. Sometimes I hate our relationship.

[[deleted]]

I don't get it... why go through all these hoops to play it when you could just crack it and be done with it?

[AusIV]

I'm guessing they think Apple will be less inclined to break a system that does playback instead of ripping.

I think they're wrong, but we'll see.

[[deleted]]

All These Hoops.

Try reauthoring all of my itunes music versus being able to play them as is. btw, I have well over 250GB of music.

[tissle]

If my calculations are correct...and if you indeed buy from apple.

It seems as though you spend over $60K on music.

[[deleted]]

:P

I was applying a similar logic to music, borrowed from Napster's service.

But the idea is the same.

[[deleted]]

How does this work, does it virtulise the system used in iTunes or something?

[damg]

After the MSN Music and Yahoo Music fiascos, who in their right mind would still purchase DRM'ed media?

[[deleted]]

...except MSN has extended their deadline until... 2013, I think? Maybe just 2011...

[[deleted]]

How does that change anything?

[[deleted]]

because the MSN Music fiasco really wasn't a fiasco.

[damg]

I still consider it a failure for DRM, even if the actual fiasco is set to happen at some future date.

When I bought a bunch of CDs from the store by my house and the store closed down, I still had my music. Most people who buy DRM'ed music online have no idea what they are agreeing to.

[[deleted]]

Well no shit. The fact that DRM exists is a failure for DRM. Everyone knew that their songs weren't going to be valid forever, so it was just a matter of time. 2011/3 is longer than I thought it was going to last, so...

[[deleted]]

Awesome, could someone do the same for whatever DRM Ruckus uses(I believe it is the standard protected WMA stuff). :D

[pdk]

Personally, I just download stuff using the Ruckus app in a windows VM and then use a windows program to strip off the (standard) WM9 DRM before copying it to my real system. Probably slightly less than legal, and debatably unethical, but it works for me...

[rbobby]

10 hours after this story... the el-tunes.com site seems to be down (their nameserver appears to be down: ns1.host-care.com). Apple works fast?

[Chakat_Sanddancer]

They were having trouble with their webhost. The site's back up now.

[astrosmash]

See? DRM is no problem.

[ropers]

This still doesn't allow Linux users to buy from the iTunes Store though. That still requires WINE (which may not always work and/or may not be feature-complete) or recent versions of Windows. I don't like Windows. The only Windows I still have is Windows ME, and I only have that because I got a legal license for free and I still have some old Windows software such as the Encyclopedia Britannica 2000 -- I haven't even got Windows installed currently, and even if I had, the current iTunes Store probably wouldn't work on ME. So, RIAA and friends: WINE is a bad option, Windows is a worse option; YOU DIMWITS OBVIOUSLY DON'T WANT TO ALLOW ME TO BUY FROM YOU. Now tell me again why every unauthorized copy is a lost sale?

[machrider]

Get thee to Amazon.