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Palm managed to re-enable iTunes sync on the Pre barely days after Apple had managed to block it using iTunes update 8.2.1. The said update had ephemerally pulled the plug on the ability of non-Apple devices to sync with iTunes by rejecting all Vendor IDs apart from Apple’s.
Palm soon responded with an ingenious solution, the legality of which may be probed in coming days. Palm chose the WebOs 1.1 update to deliver its riposte. The WebOs 1.1 update changes the USB Vendor ID associated with the Palm Pre to the one assigned to Apple. This hoodwinks iTunes into treating the Pre just like a legitimate Apple device.
Palm is very serious about its role as the archpriest of “openness and interoperability.” It reckons that it is in fact Apple that is misusing its Vendor ID number and has notified the USB Implementers Forum about the same.
“Palm believes that openness and interoperability offer better experiences for users by allowing them the freedom to use the content they own without interference across devices and services, so on behalf of consumers, we have notified the USB Implementers Forum of what we believe is improper use of the Vendor ID number by another member.” Palm told AllThingsD.
Image Credit: EveryJoe
Comments are closed on this article
Khaled
September 29, 2009 at 12:58am
the USB-IF told Palm to explain themselves .. seriously Palm, how hard it is to make a simple script that syncs with the iTunes library? RIM is doing it.
It's like nVidia blocking PhysX on ATI ...
Tekzel
July 28, 2009 at 10:54am
Apple is such a pack of bitches. They seriously need some slapping around.
Caboose
July 28, 2009 at 7:52am
I really think that the EU needs to come down on Apple pretty damn hard about iTunes and the fact that you are FORCED to sync only w/an iPod, and the fact that MacOS users are FORCED to use Safari. Heck, if they'll clamp down on Microsoft for stupid shit, why not Apple!
-= I don't want to be dead, I want to be alive! Or... a cowboy! =-
jeffhex
July 29, 2009 at 6:42pm
I've been able to sync my BlackBerry Pearl with my iTunes collection for some time now. It's not just iPods. That's a lie.
Of course... I don't use iTunes to do tha sync. But why should that matter? I don't use Windows Media Player to share my video collection around that house, either.
nekollx
July 28, 2009 at 9:08am
um my mac uses firefox i'm no more forced then MS and IE...thoug hthe EU dud crack down on that...
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Coming soon to Lulu.com --Tokusatsu Heroes--
Five teenagers, one alien ghost, a robot, and the fate of the world.
Vegan
July 27, 2009 at 11:00pm
If there's one thing that makes me mad, it's updates that were only rolled out to block out something that most people weren't involved in. All those PSP updates that you're forced to sit through because of modders, and this iTunes thing... These companies waste MY time doing updates and reboots when I didn't do anything wrong.
mesiah
July 27, 2009 at 10:26pm
While I am all for palm forcing their way into apples territory and making it easier for other companies to get a foothold in the market, I have a bad feeling about the latest tactic. I don't know enough about the USB standard to know what is and is not allowed, but palm may have given apple just enough room for a legal battle by using apples vendor id. However, if apple does sue I think palm should use it to the advantage and run with it in their advertising. Apple has been using every trick in the book to make sure they get every penny of profit from consumers. They do everything they can to make their software and equipment proprietary and block any other manufacturers from adding their own flavor to the technology. People talk about microsoft and other big companies, but I think apple is the king of anti-competitive practices. But they can get away with it as long as they have a small market share. But that is no longer the case in the world of digital media and I sincerely hope they start feeling the backlash. I know plenty of tech savy people who felt they had no option but to buy an ipod because of itunes and their proprietary file format. Apple has finally caved and allowed DRM free downloads, but its about time they allow easy file transfers like every other company in the industry.
big_montana
July 27, 2009 at 8:33pm
I do not use iTunes, and I have an iPod and a Pre. I use media Monkey to synch bopth devices. The following is how to get an iPod to work with Media Monkey or Winamp, than you can use and music service:
You need to extract the AppleMobileDeviceSupport.msi and QuickTime.msi from iTunes which is not all that difficult.
1. Download the iTunes.exe file
2. Rename the .exe to .zip
3. Open up the zipped file (use an app like 7 zip as windows will not be able to open the file) and extract AppleMobileDeviceSupport.msi and QuickTime.msi
4. Install these two files.
You can then sync your iPhone/iPod/Pre with Media Monkey or Winamp without iTunes. (this process is only needed for Winamp as Media Monkey has an included iPod/iPhone/Pre plugin)
Havok
July 27, 2009 at 7:10pm
It's cool to see other companies than Microsoft stick it to Apple.
OMGWTFBBQ
nekollx
July 27, 2009 at 5:25pm
My best wishes to Pre, we have a lot of stuff via iTunes between home and office and that update crewed everything up. It would be nice if i could buy a song on one computer to install on aother, like i use to be able to do. Wasn't that the entire point of DRM free MP3 iTunes?
------------------------------
Coming soon to Lulu.com --Tokusatsu Heroes--
Five teenagers, one alien ghost, a robot, and the fate of the world.
Cooketh
July 27, 2009 at 5:24pm
Good for Palm. If Microsoft did something like this with their software, they'd be in court, but Apple can get away with it. Anyone remember the Internet Explorer lawsuite way back? Msoft had to allow other web browsers onto their operating system? Same idea should apply here. Don't try and market your software back to yourself by forcing users to fit your standards, especially at random with a patch like this.
