Adam Krebs
09-16-2007, 06:36 AM
For once, Apple seems to be taking a page out of Microsoft's book by breaking iPod compatibility (http://www.zune-online.com/news/zune/new-ipods-compatible-only-with-itunes.html) with 3rd-party applications. Most iPod owners I know hate the iTunes software, and regularly use other programs to avoid dealing with the sluggish and buggy iTunes. This brings up an eerie similarity to Microsoft's decision to use a new, proprietary sync standard for Zune in place of their old, proprietary standard for PlaysForSure devices.
Re-enabling 3rd-party iPod sync isn't as simple (http://ipodminusitunes.blogspot.com/2007/09/apple-cuts-us-off.html) as tweaking a few lines of code in the affected applications. It seems Apple has locked the iPod's iTunesDB file (what stores the song lists and settings of the iPod) with a SHA1 hash signature (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SHA1) (the same type used to secure the Zune's firmware). <!-- true? -->
Even the New York Times, in a strikingly pro-Apple piece (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/16/technology/16digi.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin), brought up the hypocrisy of Steve Jobs' January Macworld announcement decrying the Zune a failure after gaining only 2% of the digital audio player market—a mere two months after its release. "Start your photocopiers (http://www.flickr.com/photos/emeidi/43356340/)", indeed.
Re-enabling 3rd-party iPod sync isn't as simple (http://ipodminusitunes.blogspot.com/2007/09/apple-cuts-us-off.html) as tweaking a few lines of code in the affected applications. It seems Apple has locked the iPod's iTunesDB file (what stores the song lists and settings of the iPod) with a SHA1 hash signature (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SHA1) (the same type used to secure the Zune's firmware). <!-- true? -->
Even the New York Times, in a strikingly pro-Apple piece (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/16/technology/16digi.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin), brought up the hypocrisy of Steve Jobs' January Macworld announcement decrying the Zune a failure after gaining only 2% of the digital audio player market—a mere two months after its release. "Start your photocopiers (http://www.flickr.com/photos/emeidi/43356340/)", indeed.