iPod Shuffle 3G. Source: bfishadow on Flickr. License: CC-BY 2.0

Boing Boing’s article on the supposed DRM in Apple’s new iPod Shuffle has been updated, reporting that Apple has stated that the chip does not use encryption or authentication, and is thus not subject to the DMCA’s prohibitions on circumvention.

Update 2: Just spoke with Apple. There is no encryption or authentication on the chip, so clones could conceivably be made, just not with “Made for iPod” official certification. And now we know!

While the move to remove controls from the unit itself still makes the new Shuffle incompatible with just about every set of headphones and anything with a TRS audio cable, at least we can expect a workaround in due time, since third parties do not have to go through Apple first unless they want to bear the “Made for iPod” mark. Hopefully an adapter will be made by someone that contains the controls and allows the customer to use his or her existing headphones or audio cables.

• Boing Boing Gadgets
• Slashdot

iPhone ebook - Credit: tsmall on Flickr (CC BY-SA)

MONEC Holding Ltd, a Swiss firm, filed a lawsuit against Apple for promoting the iPhone as a touchscreen ebook reader.

A Switzerland-based communication firm on Monday filed a lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the corporation is committing patent infringement, unfair trade practices, monopolization and tortious interference by promoting the iPhone as a touchscreen book reader.

In its 7-page complaint [pdf], Monec Holding Ltd, a business that develops and markets data transmission tools for mobile electronics, cites a patent it filed seven years ago titled “Electronic device, preferably an electronic book.” The patent describes a lightweight electronic device with a touchscreen LCD display for reading e-books. The firm claims Apple is violating the patent by distributing reader applications through the App Store — thereby endorsing the iPhone as an eBook reader.

How dare people be able to read things on the iPhone!  There should only be shapes and colors!

• Wired
• Apple Insider

"Money Clip Shuffle" by re-ality on Flickr (CC-BY)

Apple’s third iteration of the iPod Shuffle contains a nasty surprise for consumers — headphones with DRM:

[...]the new shuffle doesn’t fully work with any headphones except Apple’s. Because of what Apple has done here—something sneaky and arguably terrible for consumers, especially if it continues with other iPod and iPhone products in 2009—if you plug your old third-party headphones of any sort into the new shuffle, you’ll find that you can’t do anything with the device other than have it continuously play music, without volume controls or interruption, unless of course of you turn it off. Surprise: the only third-party headphones that will work are ones that haven’t even entered manufacturing yet, because they’ll need to contain yet another new Apple authentication chip, which will add to their price.

The EFF remarked on how little this had been covered by other reviewers:

One final thought: why have so many of the reviews of iPods failed to notice the proliferation of these Apple “authentication chips”? If it were Microsoft demanding that computer peripherals all include Microsoft “authentication chips” in order to work with Windows (or Toyota or Ford doing the same for replacement parts), I’d think reviewers would be screaming about it.

Yes, and rightfully so. Granted, Apple’s pulled shenanigans like this before, but having one pair of headphones just for your iPod Shuffle and one pair for everything else is ridiculous. Maybe people are becoming accustomed to being treated like crap by Apple. That’s a dangerous thought in and of itself.

• iLounge review pointing out the DRM (first paragraph after the second picture)
• EFF Commentary on the DRM

Microsoft presentation to investors. Source: Microsoft

OSNews reports that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gave a presentation in which he suggested that either he or the company considers GNU+Linux to be a bigger threat than Mac OS X.

[Microsoft] sees piracy as its biggest competitor. “Number two market share goes to Windows pirated, or unlicensed,” Balmer [sic] said, “That’s a competitor that’s tough to beat, they’ve got a good price and a heck of a product, but we’re working on it.” This isn’t exactly new information, but it’s interesting to see it spelled out so clearly.

Much more interesting is Microsoft’s idea of Linux and Apple, According to Microsoft, Linux is a bigger threat to the company than Apple, placing Linux above Apple in the marketshare figure pie chart thing. “Linux, you could see on the slide, and Apple has certainly increased its share somewhat,” Ballmer said.

I have long said that, Apple’s marketing aside, Apple no longer competes with Microsoft in Microsoft’s core markets, at least not in such a way as to endanger Microsoft. Microsoft Office is (sadly) a very popular package on the Mac, even more than Apple’s iWork. And the Intel switch means that a number of Mac users are buying copies of Windows, either for dual-booting or for virtualization. Free software has far more potential to eat into Microsoft’s market share, especially in the long run.

• OSNews
• Digg

Protest - Credit: bcatch on Flickr (CC BY-SA)

iTunes has dropped DRM, and is allowing artists/labels to customize pricing.

The deal means that iTunes immediately has 8 million DRM-free songs available and will have a total of 10 million by April, as contracts with indie bands and labels are renewed.

“It’s definitely a step in the right direction,” said Jason Barry, a Los Angeles resident attending the conference. “DRM is the reason piracy is very popular, because people want to own the music they buy.”

Like the DRM-free music already in the iTunes Plus store from EMI and other labels, the digital catalogs of Sony Music, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group (indie labels to follow in April) will be encoded at a higher level than their DRMed counterparts: 256 Kbps. Those who purchased DRM-ed songs from iTunes will be able to upgrade them to the DRM-free, better-sounding versions for 30 cents a song.

For real this time.  Now we have to get them using OGG and FLAC.  Once again, sorry for all the lateness.  After-holiday slump.

• Wired

iTunes error. Source: http://arstechnica.com/

Ars Technica reports that Apple’s new line of MacBooks contains a new Mini DisplayPort. This port also contains a DRM scheme that breaks compatibility with unapproved display devices when select videos from the iTunes Store are played.

When my friend John, a high school teacher, attempted to play Hellboy 2 on his classroom’s projector with a new aluminum MacBook over lunch, he was denied by the error you see above. John’s using a Mini DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter, plugged into a Sanyo projector that is part of his room’s Promethean system. Strangely, only some iTunes Store movies appear to be HDCP-aware, as other purchased media like Stargate: Continuum and Heroes season 2 play through the projector just fine. Attempts to play Hellboy 2 or other HDCPed films through the projector via QuickTime also get denied. Other movies that don’t work include newer films like Iron Man, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and Love Guru, but older films like Shawshank Redemption are restricted as well.

This was first reported on November 18th.  I apologize for this post being so late.

• Ars Technica
• Electronic Frontier Foundation

Mac Keyboard - Credit: declanjewell on Flickr (CC BY)

Psystar’s anti-trust case against Apple has been dismissed.  They may come back with a better argument.

Psystar’s counterclaims against Apple have been dismissed, which does not in the least surprise me. I told you they were off the wall, in my view. The judge agreed. He curls his lip to add that he found Psystar’s cases “unenlightening”. That’s legalese for “are you kidding??” Here’s the order [PDF], so you can read all about it.

The judge did give them 20 days to try again to get it right, following the map he lays out for them to make improvements:

For all the above-stated reasons, Apple’s motion to dismiss Psystar’s counterclaims is GRANTED. Psystar may move for leave to amend within twenty calendar days of the date of the entry of this order. Any such motion should be accompanied by a proposed pleading and the motion should explain why the foregoing problems are overcome by the proposed pleading. Plaintiff must plead its best case. Failing such a motion, all inadequately pled claims will be dismissed without further leave to amend.

It would be kind of interesting to see how Apple takes the competition if Psystar were allowed to compete.  I wonder if they would lower their prices or be too afraid it would “dilute” their brand.

• Groklaw
• Ars Technica

After Apple sued Pystar for their mac clones, Psystar has counter-sued Apple with an antitrust suit.

It’s definitely not over for Mac-copycat Psystar, either. After Apple filed a lawsuit against Psystar alleging copyright infringement, the small company announced its plans Tuesday to turn the other cheek by filing a lawsuit of its own alleging that Apple engages in anticompetitive business practices.

Psystar’s attorney told CNET that Miami-based Psystar will sue Apple for allegedly violating laws discouraging monopolies. Apple’s end-user agreement reads, “You agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-labeled computer, or to enable others to do so.” Psystar, which started selling computers hacked to run Mac OS X Leopard in April, believes Apple’s prohibitive end-user agreement constitutes “an anticompetitive restrain of trade.”

Things are looking grim for Psystar, but I’m glad they have the guts to try this.

• Wired
• ZDNet
• Slashdot
• CNET

The second iPhone OS has been unlocked, before even being released to the public.

If you were wondering how I was doing push email tests on iPhone OS 2.0 and Vodafone UK, this is the reason why. The code wizard commandos at the iPhone Dev Team have been working on this non-stop since the early days of beta testing. In fact, I had iPhone OS 2.0 running on my iPhone since last week. That was version 5A345, two below 5A347, but identical in functionality.

Now that the official iPhone OS 2.0 is out, the iPhone Dev Team will release their Pwnage tool for everyone to unlock and jailbreak their iPhones soon, although the specific date/time is not firm yet. It may not be as interesting as before—since most countries now have the iPhone and it will be impossible to buy without doing a contract first—but people looking to install unsigned applications and buy pay-as-you-go cards while traveling—instead of roaming—will find it very useful.

Once again, locking devices down is proven futile.

• Gizmodo

Apple has filed a patent on a multitouch language.

To make your next Multi-Touch Macbook or iMac, Apple will create an interactive Multi-Touch gesture dictionary software application. This application identifies a chord (e.g., a combination of fingers, thumbs, and/or other hand parts) presented to the multi-touch interface by the user and displays a dictionary entry for the identified chord

Can the computer interface in the movie Minority Report count as prior art?

• PC Joint
• Unwired View
• Boing Boing Gadgets