DRM Dumpster is a free Mac OS X tool for removing the DRM from tracks purchased from iTunes. The tool can be used for exercising traditional fair use rights, such as using iTunes downloads with a Zune.
DRM Dumpster uses a CD-RW and iTunes itself to convert all of your DRM music files to MP3 files that you can use with any music player. It automates the process of burning tracks to CD and then re-ripping them.

TiVo has announced a major new initiative to let TiVo subscribers convert and transfer broadband video from their PC to their television sets.

The move affirms the growing importance of video podcasts, vlogs and other Internet video to the future of television.

Through an expansion of its Desktop PC software later this year, TiVo subscribers will be able to view videos from the Web on their TVs, even if they are not originally in a format that televisions can display. This is in addition to the broadband programming delivered via TiVo’s TiVoCast direct delivery feature.

‚ÄúThere is an explosion in video on the Web that is not intended to be rights-protected,” notes TiVo CEO Tom Rogers, “and now the consumer can decide which of that video he or she would like to view on the TV set.‚Äù

The Beatles are moving into the digital age. Their music will be available soon as digital downloads, according to EMI.

EMI hasn’t spilled the details yet, but it has dropped the first hint that the group’s catalog of songs will be made available on the internet. David Munns, head of EMI‚Äôs North American division, told a web-industry conference in San Francisco that the Beatles‚Äô music would be available for download ‚Äúsoon‚Äù. Munns declined to be more specific on timing. Fellow EMI officials refused to comment further or to provide details of how the music would be available.

The Beatles have been one of the last remaining mega music acts whose work has not been sold online.

via Times Online

Apple today announced it is teaming up with Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United to deliver the seamless integration between iPod and in-flight entertainment systems, and there’s not a @#$# thing Microsoft can do about it.

These six airlines will begin offering their passengers iPod seat connections which power and charge their iPods during flight and allow the video content on their iPods to be viewed on the their seat back displays.

The move will let iPod users view video podcasts, downloaded movies and other portable videos on planes’ larger displays.

Early reviews are in on the Microsoft Zune, which debuts today. The consensus is….the Zune zucks.

The Zune has benefited from a tremendous amount of buzz. Unfortunately, it appears that Microsoft’s second attempt at an iPod/iTunes killer suffers seriously in comparision to its 5th generation competition.

• Engadget has a blow-by-blow walkthrough of installing the Zune software, saying that “Installing the Zune sucked.”
• PC World says it’s a good first effort, but “the Zune’s features don’t seem compelling enough to make it a serious threat to take a big chunk out of iPod sales.”
• Popular Mechanics calls the Zune “the husky, ugly cousin of the iPod”.
• Gizmodo says the brown Zune looks like it’s made of swamp water jello. We’re not sure what that means, but it sounds ugly.
• USA Today says “it’s no iPod.” Reviewer Edward C. Baig adds “I’d like to see more offerings in the store, and less stringent wireless restrictions. And Microsoft should rethink the silly points system. For now, I’m sticking with iPod.”
• The New York Times review, by David Pogue, agrees, noting that a list of things that iPods do that Zunes don’t could stretch to Steve Ballmer‚Äôs house and back 10 times.
• SeattlePI’s review is one of more the positive reviews, but concludes “We hate to send a Dear Zune after such a brief courtship, but at the end of the night there is no doubt who we’re going to go home with” (an iPod).
• WSJ’s Walt Mossberg liked several aspects of the Zune, but concludes that the “first Zune has too many compromises and missing features to be as good a choice as the iPod for most users.”
• Business Week calls the Zune “a dismal failure“.

While the first generation Zune has failed to impress most reviewers, Microsoft is already talking about updates to the Zune software and upgraded Zune hardware. It’s likely that Microsoft will make frequent updates to the Zune system in the next year, until it has a platform that has mass-market potential.

ESPN has launched the first phase of what it describes as a nationwide local podcasting network.

For the first time, local ESPN Radio programs like Pittsburgh’s Mark Madden Show, New York‘s Michael Kay Show, and Los Angeles‘ The Big Show with Mason and Ireland, as well as other select ESPN radio affiliate shows, are now available to download or listen to online via ESPN Podcenter.

Additionally, ESPN will debut a new ESPNdeportes.com PodCenter next week, dedicated to providing Spanish-language downloadable digital audio content.

Radio shows previously heard only locally in New York, Pittsburgh and Chicago are now available for fans nationwide to download, with local ESPN Radio shows from Los Angeles and Dallas joining the ESPN podcasting lineup by the end of November. According to ESPN, this marks a first step in a long-term effort to create an ESPN local podcast network.

Educational podcasting, while largely pioneered at the university level, is increasingly being adopted as a tool in K-12 public school systems.

The Hopkinton, MA School District has updated their Web site, adding podcasting as a part of their new web presence.

School Technology Director Greg Martineau said that the first priority will be offering educational content…but he’s also open to lighter fare such as sports events.

“There’s obviously a lot of potential,” he said. “Our first priority is providing content to students, by offering a series of lessons that they can re-watch at home. We’ll also capture HPTA events for parents and students.

“We’d also love to provide other school-related events at some point, he added.

Rocketboom creator Andrew Baron is distancing himself from Microsoft and a Zune cross-promotion, despite the potential for massively increased traffic.

According to Baron, the promotion came with restrictions that were causing him to lose sleep.

“Just by having the Zune logo on our page would mean we would not be able to make disparaging comments about Microsoft,” notes Baron, “and that’s just not a reasonable restriction for Rocketboom.”

The move is being viewed by some as an example of how not to handle a disagreement with a client, while others are praising Baron for sticking to his principals.

Business Week is skeptical about the prospects for Microsoft’s upcoming Zune.

Business Week’s take on the Zune is scathing. “The Zune will be seen for what it is: a me-too product that is expressing Microsoft’s envy at not being cool. It will carve out its own niche of the market, but by this time next year, it will be considered a dismal failure.”