macnn/ipodnn
02/25/2008, 11:05am, EST
Monday, February 25th
Apple serves Cease & Desist to Hymn Project
The creators of the Hymn Project have once again been forced to shut down, a site moderator has announced. Apple has served the current website with a cease-and-desist order, insisting that all downloads of the associated software be removed. The moderators are further blocking anyone from linking the software on the site, or even pointing people to functionally similar applications.
The Hymn software is meant to strip Apple's copy protection from music bought at the iTunes Store, without any loss in audio quality. Although the FairPlay technology is nominally meant to block music piracy, Hymn's founders note that it also prevents owners from listening to tracks under operating systems such as Linux, or loading them onto non-Apple media players. Similarly, FairPlay limits users to five computers, and makes it difficult to create backups without burning CDs. The coders of Hymn thus defend it as enabling fair use.
Filed under: iPod, iPhone, Apple
Other story tags: iTunes, music, DRM
, 
, 8
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
Top
subscribe to comments
for this article
We need better fair use laws that trump the DMCA.
I buy DRM free music from the ITMS all the time.
The most recent album i purchased was the Boogie Down Productions Deluxe album.
And this is blatantly inaccurate. If the computer is NOT authorized, it won't play the purchased music. It's not merely a transition to another computer; it's a requirement that the other Mac is authorized. Check your iTunes library and examine your account to determine if your computer is authorized. And, as stated, that's limited. If you want to go through the trouble, then use WireTap and you'll create your DRM-free song.
If you want to fight DRM music, quit agreeing to the terms and buying the music. If you agree to the terms, buy the music and then break the term, that's a breech in contract.
You as a consumer do not have the right to breech the contract, regardless of how unfair you think it is. The fact is, you purchased the music with that agreement. If you don't agree with the agreement, your only choice is to not purchase the music or purchase it somewhere else with fewer restrictions.
Do you really want our Government to be in the habit of taking away your rights and responsibilities?