Apple’s new iPod checksum cracked by GtkPod coders

Posted on September 17, 2007
Filed Under ipod |

A few days ago, WinAmp iPod plugin developer Will Fisher wrote a blog entry about the changes Apple made to the iPod music database format that break compatibility with third-party software. Although the iPod has never officially supported open music management, the database format used by the device was previously relatively straightforward. The new database format uses a checksum value that locks the database to a specific device and prevents third-party database modification. If the device’s internal database is modified by a third-party program in any way, it will refuse to play any of the content and report that the device contains 0 songs, even if the database is still completely intact in every other respect.

Read the full article by Ryan Paul

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