OurTunes
Encyclopedia
ourTunes is an open source
cross-platform
Java
-based file sharing
client which allows users to connect to iTunes
and share MP3
and AAC
music
files over a local area
subnetwork
. ourTunes v1.3.3 has been downloaded over 3,000,000 times.
The current version of ourTunes, v1.7g, works with all versions of iTunes
up to iTunes 7, with both Mac OS X
and Microsoft Windows
operating system
s. OurTunes does not currently work for iTunes 8 or later.
student. It originally started as 'One2OhMyGod', a Swing
-based client designed for iTunes's version 4.1 authorization, which was made obsolete by Apple's release of version 4.5. After Australia
n student David Hammerton cracked the new encryption
and authentication
system used by iTunes http://crazney.net/programs/itunes/libopendaap.html, One2OhMyGod was forked
into a program called 'AppleRecords'. ourTunes was developed further from AppleRecords, including the conceptual design of programs such as MyTunes
, designed by Trinity College (Connecticut)
student Bill Zeller, although these programs lacked ourTunes's searchability features.
When iTunes 7 was released, Apple changed the authentication scheme again which caused the older version of ourTunes to fail. In response, a grass roots effort to "Save ourTunes" was founded to develop a version of ourTunes compatible with iTunes 7. So far, a working version has been posted to the website, although the project is not identified as complete.
programs like Kazaa
and Napster
, ourTunes cannot search for or download music from users who do not share a subnetwork. ourTunes does not offer its users the opportunity to share files. ourTunes offers the ability to both download and stream music off the available shares. Because the program does not operate over the public Internet, users do not attract scrutiny or legal responses from the RIAA, which has asked colleges and universities to crack down on the programs in response.
and libraries, where there may be a large number of music sharers on the network.
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
cross-platform
Cross-platform
In computing, cross-platform, or multi-platform, is an attribute conferred to computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented and inter-operate on multiple computer platforms...
Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
-based file sharing
File sharing
File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information, such as computer programs, multimedia , documents, or electronic books. It may be implemented through a variety of ways...
client which allows users to connect to iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
and share MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
and AAC
Advanced Audio Coding
Advanced Audio Coding is a standardized, lossy compression and encoding scheme for digital audio. Designed to be the successor of the MP3 format, AAC generally achieves better sound quality than MP3 at similar bit rates....
music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
files over a local area
Local area network
A local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...
subnetwork
Subnetwork
A subnetwork, or subnet, is a logically visible subdivision of an IP network. The practice of dividing a network into subnetworks is called subnetting....
. ourTunes v1.3.3 has been downloaded over 3,000,000 times.
The current version of ourTunes, v1.7g, works with all versions of iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
up to iTunes 7, with both Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s. OurTunes does not currently work for iTunes 8 or later.
History
ourTunes was developed by David Blackman, a Stanford UniversityStanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
student. It originally started as 'One2OhMyGod', a Swing
Swing (Java)
Swing is the primary Java GUI widget toolkit. It is part of Oracle's Java Foundation Classes — an API for providing a graphical user interface for Java programs....
-based client designed for iTunes's version 4.1 authorization, which was made obsolete by Apple's release of version 4.5. After Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n student David Hammerton cracked the new encryption
Encryption
In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information...
and authentication
Authentication
Authentication is the act of confirming the truth of an attribute of a datum or entity...
system used by iTunes http://crazney.net/programs/itunes/libopendaap.html, One2OhMyGod was forked
Fork (software development)
In software engineering, a project fork happens when developers take a legal copy of source code from one software package and start independent development on it, creating a distinct piece of software...
into a program called 'AppleRecords'. ourTunes was developed further from AppleRecords, including the conceptual design of programs such as MyTunes
MyTunes
myTunes is a program that allows Windows users to download music from an iTunes music share over a network, circumventing restrictions in iTunes that only allow streaming music. The software is widely popular on college campuses across the U.S. It was developed by Bill Zeller at Trinity...
, designed by Trinity College (Connecticut)
Trinity College (Connecticut)
Trinity College is a private, liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut after Yale University. The college enrolls 2,300 students and has been coeducational since 1969. Trinity offers 38 majors and 26 minors, and has...
student Bill Zeller, although these programs lacked ourTunes's searchability features.
When iTunes 7 was released, Apple changed the authentication scheme again which caused the older version of ourTunes to fail. In response, a grass roots effort to "Save ourTunes" was founded to develop a version of ourTunes compatible with iTunes 7. So far, a working version has been posted to the website, although the project is not identified as complete.
Features
Unlike the iTunes music sharing feature, which allows a maximum of five users every 24 hours to connect and listen to the music of another user who has enabled sharing on a given subnetwork, ourTunes allows users to download music files to their own computer and provides the functionality to search through the songs from all connected hosts. ourTunes cannot download music purchased from the iTunes Music Store. Unlike peer-to-peerPeer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...
programs like Kazaa
Kazaa
Kazaa Media Desktop started as a peer-to-peer file sharing application using the FastTrack protocol licensed by Joltid Ltd. and operated as Kazaa by Sharman Networks...
and Napster
Napster
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
, ourTunes cannot search for or download music from users who do not share a subnetwork. ourTunes does not offer its users the opportunity to share files. ourTunes offers the ability to both download and stream music off the available shares. Because the program does not operate over the public Internet, users do not attract scrutiny or legal responses from the RIAA, which has asked colleges and universities to crack down on the programs in response.
Use
This software can be useful in environments like dormitoriesDormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
and libraries, where there may be a large number of music sharers on the network.