Apple Takes Aim at Music Piracy

Apple Computer on Tuesday released an update to ITunes, its digital music player software. The new version, 4.0.1, can be downloaded through the Software Update system preference pane. ITunes 4.0.1 gains performance and network enhancements, according to Apple, but one feature has been disabled: Internet-based playlist sharing.

ITunes 4 introduced several enhancements to Apple's popular digital music player, including support for Dolby Advanced Audio Codec (AAC) and the ability to browse and buy music from Apple's ITunes Music Store.

The software also introduced the ability for users to share one another's playlists through Apple's zero-configuration networking technology, Rendezvous.

Shared Concerns

This playlist-sharing technology had a fringe benefit: It also enabled ITunes 4 users to share each other's playlists over the Internet. Entering another user's IP address in the Advanced menu's "Connect to Shared Music" selection provided users access, regardless of location or proximity.

Although ITunes possesses no innate way for users to download one another's music files directly using this method, ITunes' music sharing capability was seen as a possible means to facilitate piracy, as users could, through the use of third-party software, record the remote stream and thus download illicit copies of the music themselves.

Apple has reduced this functionality with the new release of ITunes. Apple notes that ITunes 4.0.1 "only allows music sharing between computers using ITunes 4.0.1 or later on a local network [in the same subnet]."

An Apple spokesperson was not available for comment at the time of this report.