New iPod Shuffle stuffed with DRM, says EFF

Despite their recent action to remove DRM from the music they sell through iTunes, Apple continues to add more DRM to their hardware, says the EFF, with the latest example being the new iPod Shuffle.

For the new model, Apple has moved the volume and control buttons to the headphones themselves, leaving nothing on the actual hardware unit.

According to the EFF, any third-party headphone maker will not have an easy task making headphones for the Shuffle however as they will need to use an "Apple authentication chip" for the headphones to even work with the device.

Headphone makers could, normally, reverse engineer the interface but the chip makes it illegal to do so and any company found doing it will have the DMCA thrown at them.

A review at iLounge summarizes the DRM:

"This is, in short, a nightmare scenario for long-time iPod fans: are we entering a world in which Apple controls and taxes literally every piece of the iPod purchase from headphones to chargers, jacking up their prices, forcing customers to re-purchase things they already own, while making only marginal improvements in their functionality? It�s a shame, and one that consumers should feel empowered to fight."

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Mar 2009 13:18

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35 comments

ROMaster2

Yet another good reason not to go with iPods

15.3.2009 13:42 #1

Matt898

I agree
Not to mention I think its a really bad Idea to have controls on headphones. I personally do not like the ear buds that came with the Ipod and have replace them. By doing this Apple is making have to use there headphones since they cannot be reverse engineered. Total BS.

15.3.2009 13:46 #2

kalkap

Apple is the biggest rip and on top of that doing exactly what Microsoft has been accused of for years....only much worse. Apple wants you to use only their software and hardware by doing crap like this and nobody does anything about it. Yet Microsoft gets sued left and right just because they make IE the "default" browser which you can easily change. Paying double for stuff that truelly isn't yours....what a load of..

15.3.2009 16:25 #3

MacHelp

Nice try guys, but the new iPod Shuffle works just fine with my Shure SE210 earphones.

Next!

15.3.2009 17:05 #4

ZippyDSM

So what is a good alternative to a 30-160GB Ipod?

15.3.2009 18:17 #5

MacHelp

@Zippy - Depends what your needs be. Personally, I never felt the need to carry all 25,000+ songs in my iTunes Library in my iPod (even if that were possible) . A 1GB Shuffle with 16 hours of music seems more than sufficient for me.

15.3.2009 18:32 #6

ZippyDSM

Originally posted by MacHelp: @Zippy - Depends what your needs be. Personally, I never felt the need to carry all 25,000+ songs in my iTunes Library in my iPod (even if that were possible) . A 1GB Shuffle with 16 hours of music seems more than sufficient for me.If you go on a 10-40hour trip in a car a 30GB is the needed.

Between shows and MP3s its good to just have most of it on their to pick from.

15.3.2009 18:36 #7

MacHelp

For those of you who don't like iPods, Apple, think the 'Apple is the biggest rip off', I have a simple solution...Don't buy an iPod. See, wasn't that simple. You can become part of the great minority. The 30% or so of people who prefer to not go with the most popular MP3 player (iPod) and software (iTunes) on the planet. S'OK by me. You'll get to know the feeling that Apple and Linux computer users get when they refer to Microsoft Windows. Enjoy!

15.3.2009 18:39 #8

ZippyDSM

15.3.2009 18:45 #9

MacHelp

@Zippy - Is my math wrong? Or do you just take really, really long road trips? :-D

1GB = 250 songs = 16 hours of music - Shuffle
2GB = 500 songs = 32 hours of music - Shuffle
8GB = 2000 songs/8 hours video - Nano
16 GB = 4000 songs/16 hours of video - Nano
32 GB = 7000 songs/40 hours of video - iPod Touch
120GB = 30,000 songs/150 hours of video - iPod Classic

Every price point from $49 - $399

15.3.2009 18:49 #10

DVDBack23

Zen is excellent...no need to convert video files for the most part...looks nice too

15.3.2009 18:49 #11

ZippyDSM

Originally posted by MacHelp: @Zippy - Is my math wrong? Or do you just take really, really long road trips? :-D

1GB = 250 songs = 16 hours of music - Shuffle
2GB = 500 songs = 32 hours of music - Shuffle
8GB = 2000 songs/8 hours video - Nano
16 GB = 4000 songs/16 hours of video - Nano
32 GB = 7000 songs/40 hours of video - iPod Touch
120GB = 30,000 songs/150 hours of video - iPod Classic

Every price point from $49 - $399I don't do much music persay and hate reloading the player, a months worth of local talk radio(12hours a day) is 6GB a season of SG or something is 4-6GB.

I want to load it once and not have to reload it for a week so 30GB is the bear minuim.

15.3.2009 18:57 #12

Run4two

It appears that the nano is basically only useful for those who want ultra light weight, short battery life to supply some entertainment while one works out. It is very limited in its applications.

15.3.2009 21:07 #13

MacHelp

run4two said - 'It appears that the nano is basically only useful for those who want ultra light weight, short battery life to supply some entertainment while one works out. It is very limited in its applications.'

It's an MP3 player! What were you expecting? It can hold 16 GB = 4000 songs/16 hours of video. It has a 2" display. And for the record I don't feel that
'Playback time -
Music playback time: Up to 24 hours when fully charged
Video playback time: Up to 4 hours when fully charged' constitutes 'short battery life'. And before you go there, it'll get 300 charge cycles before the recharged capacity only goes to 80% (which is 19.2 hours for music and 3.2 hours for video)

15.3.2009 21:58 #14

ZippyDSM

Originally posted by MacHelp: run4two said - 'It appears that the nano is basically only useful for those who want ultra light weight, short battery life to supply some entertainment while one works out. It is very limited in its applications.'

It's an MP3 player! What were you expecting? It can hold 16 GB = 4000 songs/16 hours of video. It has a 2" display. And for the record I don't feel that
'Playback time -
Music playback time: Up to 24 hours when fully charged
Video playback time: Up to 4 hours when fully charged' constitutes 'short battery life'. And before you go there, it'll get 300 charge cycles before the recharged capacity only goes to 80% (which is 19.2 hours for music and 3.2 hours for video)Correction its a basic MP3 player. *hides*

15.3.2009 22:18 #15

varnull

I'm all for taxidermy. How else are you supposed to create a squirrel army?

Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work.
I would rather you hate me for who I am than love me for what I am not.
Welcome to the other side of the looking glass Alice

15.3.2009 22:52 #16

MacHelp

Quote:Correction its a basic MP3 player. *hides*Yes! just like the Zune 16 (same specs)

15.3.2009 22:53 #17

ZippyDSM

Originally posted by varnull: I'm all for taxidermy. How else are you supposed to create a squirrel army?With a adobe product of some kind I wager...

http://andrearf.files.wordpress.com/2007...my_squirrel.jpg
http://suzieaustin.com/images/Army_Squirrel.jpg
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j123/feyd1130/ArmyHurah.png

Fallout 3 has stole my soul, for about 30 hours till the paint wore off.... even if its a action focused FPS RPG, at least its a FPS RPG not a under deved shooter like Bioshock!

15.3.2009 22:55 #18

Run4two

15.3.2009 23:21 #19

Ragnarok8

Quote:Originally posted by MacHelp: @Zippy - Depends what your needs be. Personally, I never felt the need to carry all 25,000+ songs in my iTunes Library in my iPod (even if that were possible) . A 1GB Shuffle with 16 hours of music seems more than sufficient for me.If you go on a 10-40hour trip in a car a 30GB is the needed.

Between shows and MP3s its good to just have most of it on their to pick from.Or you could just listen to the same song more than once? 16 hours * 2 = 32, almost covers your 40 hour drive. Skip the videos or swap em out when you have access to your laptop again.

15.3.2009 23:31 #20

ZippyDSM

Quote:Quote:Originally posted by MacHelp: @Zippy - Depends what your needs be. Personally, I never felt the need to carry all 25,000+ songs in my iTunes Library in my iPod (even if that were possible) . A 1GB Shuffle with 16 hours of music seems more than sufficient for me.If you go on a 10-40hour trip in a car a 30GB is the needed.

Between shows and MP3s its good to just have most of it on their to pick from.Or you could just listen to the same song more than once? 16 hours * 2 = 32, almost covers your 40 hour drive. Skip the videos or swap em out when you have access to your laptop again.Yes but the whole point for the extra space is to listen to new stuff(not music) while away from the computer for days to weeks at a time.

16.3.2009 03:55 #21

P51ride

Don't buy it. I've heard from other posters on this forum that the poor sound quality from the ipod is masked by the poor quality headphones. If the wires break in the cord then the ipod is unusable. Anyone who buys one and has problems should return it even if the warranty is expired. Also boycott their products

16.3.2009 15:01 #22

SProdigy

Makes the last gen refurbs on Apples site an even better value at the moment!

17.3.2009 00:18 #23

kalkap

Originally posted by MacHelp: For those of you who don't like iPods, Apple, think the 'Apple is the biggest rip off', I have a simple solution...Don't buy an iPod. See, wasn't that simple. You can become part of the great minority. The 30% or so of people who prefer to not go with the most popular MP3 player (iPod) and software (iTunes) on the planet. S'OK by me. You'll get to know the feeling that Apple and Linux computer users get when they refer to Microsoft Windows. Enjoy!Check! Ipods are a waste anyway. Get a half decent phone and it's completely pointless to have one. As far as an Apple computer goes, no way am I going to spend 2x the money on a machine that is not that much better. Not that I am saying microsoft is perfect, far from, but it will do anything a mac can do and for cheaper. And don't get started with security issues because now that Macs are getting more popular, guess what? Yup you guessed it, they are having the same trouble if not more i.e. safari browser.

17.3.2009 09:28 #24

Burnasty

I think the Zune is better anyway. I have a zune 30. I get fm long before ipod offered it without any add-ons and it has a bigger screen. It also streams wirelessly with my pc to sync. I can't use linux but that's what dual booting is for :)

18.3.2009 01:32 #25

DXR88

Zippy buy a PDA and do more with your 300 dollars

18.3.2009 13:49 #26

Mez

Well, I found the good thread. Make room for one more big mouthed moron!

MacHelp- what have you been sniffing? Still, you can do basic math much better than Zippy unless he is using lossless on his mp3 player. In that case Zippy what have you been sniffing?

Sansa is gaining market share over Apple even though Apple keeps dropping prices. Apple will not be able to keep up. I bet Sansa will have the first 32 g diskless mp3 player. Apples evil and cheating ways are starting to hurt them now that they have real competition.

My ipod, yes, ipod only holds 4 g. I would like more space and would upgrade if I bought a new one but 4g does me OK. I would not buy a disked mp3 player. I have a higher bit rate than 128 but I can get almost 50 hrs of tunes on my little nano. I have had it for years and it has given me perfect service.

Apple makes garbage ear buds. They will not even publish the stats because they are so bad. Plus why would an Apple Zombie care about quality? I actually applaud moving the controls to the ear buds. I would prefer that the morons that bought a touch to be flogged daily but I guess moving the controls to the ear buds will have to do.

You can buy a refurbished Sansa Clip for the same price as a like sized shuffle. I rate the Clip as better than an ipod for music. The ipod is the only descent mp3 player Apple makes. It is not locked into itunes. Who could stomach using itunes other than a Zombie? The shuffle and touch are only for Apple Zombies.

After 3 or 4 years of service my battery life is still near 10 hrs. That is why I got it in the first place. I Would prefer to have 50 hrs of music and be able to hear 10 hrs at a time than 1,000 hrs at a few hrs at a time.

Hopefully, I have been caustic enough to get some interesting feed back.

20.3.2009 11:22 #27

ZippyDSM

Originally posted by DXR88: Zippy buy a PDA and do more with your 300 dollarsI was going to spend 100$, but I changed my mind and am getting a DS lite, M3 real and a 16GB flash card :P

20.3.2009 17:11 #28

DXR88

Quote:Originally posted by DXR88: Zippy buy a PDA and do more with your 300 dollarsI was going to spend 100$, but I changed my mind and am getting a DS lite, M3 real and a 16GB flash card :Pit was just a suggestion, you can find a used PDA that can handle media files and stuff for about $150 and buy a 32GB SD card and have the same thing then some. a bit more expensive though

20.3.2009 17:44 #29

ZippyDSM

Quote:Quote:Originally posted by DXR88: Zippy buy a PDA and do more with your 300 dollarsI was going to spend 100$, but I changed my mind and am getting a DS lite, M3 real and a 16GB flash card :Pit was just a suggestion, you can find a used PDA that can handle media files and stuff for about $150 and buy a 32GB SD card and have the same thing then some. a bit more expensive thoughMeh I'd rather have a DS with media and free game playing capabilities ^^

20.3.2009 17:47 #30

chrissd

Creative is a pretty good brand. I usually go Sony but they don't make the larger music players afaik so Creative next.

@ZippyDSM

Game playing capabilites? On a DS? Atari has better gfx. =P

@DXR88

Nice idea about teh pda. I hadn't thought of that. It would have a car charger so it wouldn't need multiple batterys and it holds as much as the larger music systems. Perfect. Then a lcd screen of some sort and an adapter to suit the pda. And still cheaper than a 120gb ipod.

@Mez

Nice try but fail. Caustic nowadays just doesn't get feedback. My facebook homepage is filled with my comments on news articles I've found and I've gotten 1 reply.. And that was on feminism, Iraq, etc. Can't get reactions from people. :( Mac users will always think they're superior. With their 1 button mouse and gaming out of a virtual OS on a box that costs 4 times that of a pc. And closed music players that make MS copyright seem comparable to GPL? Well, buying statistics say people = idiot sheep. lol

24.3.2009 23:39 #31

Mez

chrissd, didn't you know Mac users ARE smarter. Buying a Mac makes a stupid person smart and sociable plus you lose 20 pounds of unwanted fat.

25.3.2009 06:15 #32

DXR88

Originally posted by Mez: chrissd, didn't you know Mac users ARE smarter. Buying a Mac makes a stupid person smart and sociable plus you lose 20 pounds of unwanted fat.really, i thought the one click mouse was for old folks with that uncontrollable wobble in there arm.

25.3.2009 10:23 #33

Mez

I think the one button is so the genius does not get confused.

25.3.2009 12:02 #34

blivetNC

I agree with the phone/SD card route. One device to carry in your pocket. If you want fantastic sound quality, park yourself in front of your home stereo system. But, to each their own.
To Jan, I'm joining the woodchuck army, look up killer woodchuck on facebook, some sick individuals over there. I like it.

25.3.2009 12:47 #35

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