Apple has issued an automatic software update that disables a popular internet sharing function from its iTunes music program.
Apple鈥檚 venture into online music distribution has so far been a major hit with both music fans and the recording industry. The company has been keen to distance iTunes from controversial internet file-sharing applications such as Kaazaa and the now defunct Napster.
iTunes 4.0, released in April 2003, gave Mac users the ability to stream music between computers across a local network or the internet. This was intended to enable people to access their music from any computer.
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But some programmers developed tools to let users search for music belonging to any iTunes customer connected to the internet. The iTunes update, released on Tuesday, restricts streaming to local networks and prevents play lists being shared online.
Friends and family
鈥淲e designed it to allow friends and family to easily stream (not copy) their music between computers at home or in a small group setting,鈥� Apple said in a statement. 鈥淏ut some people are taking advantage of it to stream music over the internet to people they do not even know.鈥�
However Apple has upset some of its loyal fans by removing the internet streaming function from iTunes.
鈥淚t is a shame,鈥� wrote one user to the bulletin board at Spymac.com. 鈥淢y friends thought that the feature was so great and lauded Apple for its innovation and ease of setup of this new (and legitimate) form of music sharing.鈥�
Another 鈥渦pset鈥� user wrote: 鈥淚 used the sharing to access my system at home to listen to my music at work. They won鈥檛 allow me to copy 3 gigs worth of music on our workstations. So this was a great option for me. Now it鈥檚 gone if I upgrade!鈥�
The iTunes Music Store, also launched in April 2003, lets Apple computer users in the US download songs for 99 cents each and without any subscription fee. Songs can be copied to portable iPod players and burned to CDs.
Unrestricted MP3 music file-sharing programs such as Kazaa have come under legal assault from the music industry for letting internet users share copyrighted music without payment. But many legal music download services have been criticised by users for being too expensive and placing too many restrictions on the use of files.