'DVD Jon' unlocks iTunes

'DVD Jon', the infamous Norwegian hacker, has created software that lets you copy tracks you’ve bought on the iTunes Store to play on non-Apple devices.

DoubleTwist, as the software is called, lets you convert music and video stored in one file format to formats used by other devices.

This makes it possible to transfer music bought on Apple’s iTunes Store to non-Apple media players, something which isn’t currently possible. The only player that can store music and videos downloaded from iTunes is the various models of the Apple iPod and the Apple iPhone.

Digital media 'is a jungle'

"When you receive an email, you can read it on your BlackBerry, webmail, or Outlook. Email just works. With digital media such as video from a friend's mobile phone or your own iTunes playlists, it's a jungle out there," Monique Farantzos, co-founder of doubleTwist, said in a press release on the site.

"It can be an hour-long exercise in futility to convert files to the correct format and transfer them to your Sony PSP or your phone. Our goal is to provide a simple and well-integrated solution that the average consumer can use to eliminate the headaches associated with their expanding digital universe,” Farantzos added.

Converting 100 songs would take ‘half an hour or so’, according to DoubleTwist.

Apart from sharing media between computers, DoubleTwist also lets you sync media between a computer and mobile devices. The software is compatible with the Sony PSP game console, Nokia N-series handsets, Sony Ericsson’s Walkman and Cybershot lines, the LG Viewty, and Windows Mobile smartphones such as the Palm Treo and HTC models.

The DoubleTwist software application is PC-only for the time being – a Mac version is coming in the next few months, apparently.

‘DVD Jon’, real name Jon Lech Johansen, has previously developed other software breaks copy-protection for DVDs. He’s now the chief technology officer at DoubleTwist.