UPDATED: Playfair cracks iTunes DRM protection

The digital rights management technology that Apple uses to restrict the copying of songs bought from its iTunes Music Store has been cracked. An anonymous programmer has released software called Playfair that takes one of the iTMS AAC files, decodes it using a key obtained from an iPod or Microsoft Windows system and then writes the new, decoded version to disk as a regular AAC Audio File. It can also, if required, copy the metadata tags that describe the song, including the cover art, to the new file. ...more

Petrol, newspaper, sandwich, broadband

BTopenworld has struck a deal with BP that will see broadband Internet registration CDs available at the 450 BP service stations nationwide. The CDs contain software and instructions for registering BTopenworld's 'Plug and Go' self-install ADSL. Provided users 'meet all the criteria for receiving broadband' - such as access to an enabled exchange - running the CD's software will provide automatic registration and ordering of the necessary hardware, which will then be dispatched. ...more

HP beholds the Zinfandel

That's its new range of Pavilion notebooks, by the way. We reported our first nuggets of info on these just a month ago, but HP have since kindly popped in to show off the latest models. The entry level offering, the zt1121s weighs in at a not too wallet-worrying ?999 including VAT. ...more

Music file swapping network in the dock

Another file sharing network has been brought to book over copyright infringements. The Taiwan music service Kuro has been found guilty of criminal charges and becomes the first such case to see the imposition of gaol terms. The owners of the Taiwan-based Fashionow company, which operates Kuro, have been sentenced to three years in prison, and the company has been fined 3 million Taiwanese dollars (T$). ...more

Jal Computers changes ownership

Jal Computers has changed ownership, being acquired by Sartac Limited, but the new owner states that existing customers and their warranties will be honoured. The company was acquired for no cash outlay but on the provision that Sartac did not take on Jal's debts. The only alternative, a spokesperson for the company told us, was to shut down the company. ...more