Thursday, October 20, 2005

DVD Hacker Joins MP3tunes

Michael Robertson, founder of MP3.com, Linspire, and MP3tunes is reporting on his personal blog that MP3tunes has hired Jon Lech Johansen, the infamous hacker who has been a thorn in Hollywood's side for cracking the encryption scheme on DVDs, Apple iTunes, and Microsoft's Media Player. Robertson said in his blog that he was hiring "DVD Jon" to work on a project called Oboe, which reportedly involves reverse engineering of some technology. Johansen underwent two trials in Norway, after the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) targeted him for his DeCSS DVD decryption software, although he was ultimately acquitted. Johansen is moving to the United States under the auspices of MP3tunes. Robertson said that the Oboe project will hit the market before the end of the year.

---