Ok, doubeTwist didn’t really crack iTunes DRM. What they did do is create a free little application that essentially mimics the good old “burn n’ rip” technique, but handles the entire process locally. That’s right, the days of wasting another blank CD every time you buy music from iTunes are over. In a nutshell, doubleTwist rips selected tracks at accelerated speeds and re-encodes the audio data to MP3 on the fly. Aside from being much more convenient than burn n’ rip, it’s faster as well. doubleTwist can push through about 200 tracks per hour; not too shabby. Of course just like the old method, this solution is not entirely lossless when it comes to quality. The developer claims about a 5% audio degredation as a result of the liberation process. We’ll take it. Beyond “liberating your iTunes library,” doubleTwist has some nice additional features such as file sharing and syncing your iTunes playlists with a wide variety of mobile phones. The software is currently in beta but the authors insist that it will remain free even after the beta period ends. Premium features will be added over time, but no word yet on what they might be.
[Via Electric Pig]
