| I Want My (Digital) Rights!It does seem unfair... you paid | | | | formats."Converting AAC to MP3Bzzzt! Sorry, thanks |
| for those songs and now you can't play them outside | | | | for playing. It turns out you can only convert |
| of the iTunes environment, on hardware not supported | | | | non-protected formats (such as WAV or WMA) to |
| by Apple, or on operating systems not supported by | | | | MP3. So what can we do? Fortunately, there are two |
| iTunes.That's because the iTunes tracks that you | | | | ways to get around this annoying restriction.Method 1: |
| purchase and download are in a "protected" AAC or | | | | Burn the track(s) to a CD, then you can open the CD |
| M4P audio format. Only it's not YOU that is being | | | | in iTunes and the Convert Selection to MP3 will do |
| protected, it's Apple, or rather Apple's bottom line. | | | | exactly what you want. Just be aware that you'll have |
| Apple explains this by saying that their proprietary | | | | TWO copies of that song in iTunes -- one in the |
| format gives you superior sound quality, but that's a | | | | original AAC format and one in MP3 format. You can |
| smokescreen. It's all about DRM, and DRM is all about | | | | delete the AAC version if you like.Method 2: If you |
| the money.The ability to make copies of copyrighted | | | | have lots of music, you might need a big pile of CDs to |
| materials is seen by the recording industry as a threat | | | | convert everything with the "burn and rip" method |
| to its profitability, and perhaps rightly so. DRM (Digital | | | | above. That's where the JHymn software can help. |
| Rights Management) was created by digital media | | | | JHymn was created to allow you to exercise your |
| publishers so they could control the duplication and | | | | fair-use rights under copyright law, and will free your |
| dissemination of their content. But DRM is actually a | | | | iTunes music from DRM restrictions with no loss of |
| misnomer. Because rather than granting rights, DRM | | | | sound quality. JHymn provides a drag and drop |
| actually restricts the consumer from doing perfectly | | | | graphical interface for both Mac OSX and Windows |
| valid and reasonable things with music they own.MP3 | | | | users. But currently, JHymn will not work with iTunes |
| is the standard for digital audio. An MP3 music track | | | | Version 6 or higher. If you have an earlier version of |
| can be played on almost ANY player, whether it's | | | | iTunes, keep it, or visit to search for a backlevel |
| portable or computer-based. You can burn MP3s to a | | | | version.Note that JHymn is not meant to aid music |
| CD and they'll play just fine on almost any modern CD | | | | piracy, but it does contradict the iTunes user |
| player.But Apple's iTunes software doesn't create | | | | agreement, and may not be legal in your country. You |
| MP3 files when you buy a song. The files are | | | | should be aware of the legalites of DRM circumvention |
| "protected" and cannot be played on a computer | | | | in your country and make your own decision whether |
| which does not have the iTunes software. You CAN | | | | using JHymn software is right for you. Then use |
| copy them to your portable music player, as long as | | | | JHymn only for making archival copies of your own |
| you bought that player from Apple and it says iPod on | | | | music, for copying tracks to an MP3 player, or for |
| it. Understandably, this makes Linux users, and the | | | | playing your music on a non-Itunes platform. If you |
| millions of owners of non-iPod music players a little | | | | decide against using JHymn, you might want to look |
| upset.Converting iTunes to MP3If you right-click on a | | | | into TuneBite. The makers of Tunebite claim that it lets |
| music track in iTunes, there is an option to Convert | | | | you make "totally legal" unprotected copies of |
| Selection to some other format. Probably it says | | | | copy-protected music files by recording them while |
| "Convert Selection to AAC", which is useless because | | | | they are being played.Reprinted from: RANKIN... is a |
| your iTunes tracks are already in AAC format! So | | | | tech writer and computer programmer who enjoys |
| click on Edit / Preferences / Importing then change the | | | | exploring the Internet and sharing the fruit of his |
| Import Using from the default setting to "MP3 Encoder". | | | | experience with others. His work has appeared in |
| Click OK to save this setting. Now when you right-click | | | | ComputerWorld, NetGuide, and NY Newsday. Bob is |
| on a music track, there is an option to Convert | | | | publisher of the Internet TOURBUS newsletter, author |
| Selection to MP3. But just try it... iTunes will tell you that | | | | of several computer books, and creator of the |
| "Protected files cannot be converted to other | | | | website. |