 a by-product of legitimate use. iTunes is unambiguous - it is for music. There’s no way to make the same arguments on its behalf as you can make for a more general file-sharing app.
Back during the VCR court cases (Betamax), they actually studied patterns of use of VCRs by real consumers to find out what people were using them for. This went into the court record and influenced the decision. Time-shifting was a big use of the VCRs, so the argument was plausible. If a similar court case goes that far for Kazaa, et al, do you really think legal file sharing is even going to represent a percentage of use approaching 1%? The legal test, therefore, is not exclusively “can it be used for a legitimate purpose?” but it is also “all winks and nods aside, what are people actually doing with this thing?” Both questions are going to be taken into account in the courts. Judges and the law are not bound by logical positivism and the convenient causistry of people who want to pirate music. iTunes just might pass the test, but only because the average user will not know about the plug-in hacks that will enable illegal sharing and so the percentage of legitimate use will be very high.
Also, any AAC files that you download via the Music Store are locked with your account, so those songs can’t be downloaded and be useful (unless somebody figures out an easy way to crack the encryption).
I may be wrong on this because I haven’t tried it myself, but apparently, all you have to do is drag the AAC files into Toast, then burn a disc and then rip the disc, and they should be fine. Again, so I’ve heard.
This is the very RIAA that has presented itself as a technology expert- they IM users about illegal downloads, they sue individuals, etc. The music industry has heralded this as “THE RIGHT THING.”  This is a user issue. I am sure Apple has indemnified itself. The bottom line here is that this is inevitable. Software companies write off users copying their CDs and the music indistry is simply going to have to come to terms with the fact that copying is essentially uncontrollable and copies represent revenue they would have never captured anyway. They can cry, scream, sue all they want but their sliding sales figures are not going to magically bounce back. We are in an economic recession. They suffered from the same excesses that many companies suffered from in the dot.com era - bad management. And trying to hide parts of that in their perceived losses to pirates doesn’t excuse it. There stock prices reflect bad management and a recessed economy. Get over it and work on fixing the internal problems.
pg - I agree, it looks like iLeech is no Napster in terms of searchability. Nevertheless it can be used to distribute MP3 files by exploiting iTunes, and that’s all the RIAA will care about.
Yes, you could do the same with FTP, but FTP is a multi-purpose generic application established in the Dark Ages and not just used for sharing MP3 files. Let’s face it, there’s not a lot the RIAA can do about something as underground and impossible to regulate as FTP.
On the other hand, iTunes has a single manufacturer in control of how it works (Apple), has had recent massive publicity (iTunes Music Store), and is only supposed to play, stream or buy music, not transfer files “illegally”. Let’s also not forget that Apple are conspiciously in bed with the record companies, whereas FTP software companies aren’t.
I agree with you, Apple/the RIAA will swat iLeech down - but at what cost to the iTunes streaming feature and/or the possibility of increased DRM?
No big deal. iTunes is successful because it’s NOT A PAIN IN THE ASS to use. There are a LOT of people that don’t want to have to deal with Napster and the like, they just want some thing fast and reliable and are willing to pay for it.
This would mean that Apple has the stupidest people in the world working for it, which I think we can all agree is not the case.
 But honestly - why on earth would they spend all that time courting the RIAA, cosying up to the record companies and persuading them to sign contracts for music distribution and trumpeting their own “fair” DRM, whilst at the same time knowing full well they’ve left the door open for people to do the same old “illegal” filesharing that is, let’s face it, not the best publicity for a company keen to promote it’s new “legal” music store?
That is utterly illogical. That’s why I don’t buy the “Apple is taking a stand” angle, and that’s why I think Apple didn’t intend for their to be a filesharing hole in iLeech. If they did intend it to be there, they will have some serious explaining to do to the record companies, don’t you think?
No. Filesharing through iTunes is no easier than through FTP and it remains much more difficult than through Napster, Kazaa, etc. YOu have to have a rogue client, there’s no searchability and there’s a 5 stream limit.
The labels and possibly the RIAA have been fully aprised of the situation.
a) Micropayments.  It represents an intermediary step between outright piracy and pay-for-play use, and one in which people are willing to pay for things honestly because the price is fair.
And if the government goes and tries to subsidize the irfailure by overtaxing the service or prosecuting those who make off with some files under software additions to the system, people will truly rise up. Because now, file-sharers will have tried it the illegal way and the legal way. And if iTunes (and off-shoots) gets as popular as it will, and the feds try to take away the legal filesharing institution, people will realize it’s time to torch the Capitol, because now nobody owns anything anymore, not even that which you pay for.
Marcus, you said it yourself - you don’t have a Mac. Find out a little about iTunes by reading the Apple web site. 
1. Downloads from the Music Store are in “Protected AAC” format. The AAC file protection is governed by iTunes. Any “Protected AAC” file will not play on another computer unless you authorise that computer first - regardless of whether it is streamed or copied. “Protected AAC” files may be authorised to play on a maximum of 3 computers.
2. “Protected AAC” files cannot be converted directly into mp3 format (iTunes restriction…and as iTunes is the only player that can decode protected aac, well…there you are). To convert to mp3, you must burn tracks to a CD first, and then re-rip.
b) Share via Limewire,Kazza,whatever.
The point is that yes, if you really want to pirate the music, you can do that. But it costs the same, and requires the same effort as pirating CD’s bought from HMV. The RIAA isn’t trying to shut down HMV for selling a non secure format, are they?
How many CD’s have you bought and then ripped and shared the files on Kazza? Most people, even though they may have downloaded music from P2P, have not UPLOADED their OWN CD COLLECTIONS. This is why iTMS will do just fine. And the RIAA will be just fine thankyou very much.
I just don’t get why people would develop something like iLeech. How long have we been defending P2P apps as “just sharing with our friends”, when it was in fact copying? Now that Apple has developed a feature (with the support of the RIAA) that lets us do exactly that, someone has to go and defeat the whole purpose and turn it back into copying. Are we that spoiled? That we have to say “fuck you” to the very people who are working to change the music industry for the better? I just don’t get it. USE your rights, don’t ABUSE them.
Good analogy, Scott. Because a VCR can be made into a (illegal) TV station. What about a poppy flower? With the knowledge you can make it into a (illegal) drug. Ironically, once you have the know-how to make opium, it’s illegal for you to grow the flower. But you can purchase these openly and freely. Because it has the potential does that make it illegal? That’s the real question.
Thank you for posting about http://www.shareitunes.com.
We do not support the stealing of music. Our vision of sharing is Apple’s version of sharing. I don’t think Apple is libel here they did not create a program that lets you steal music, nor do we run a directory of where you should steal music from. Some other independent programmers have hacked together apps that exploit features in iTunes 4 to steal music. It is these developers who are the problem, not Apple, not Share iTunes, not SpyMac or the other sharing directories that have shut down out of fear. I hope that if the RIAA and ACAP decide to take legal action based on whats going on that they go after the developers of the stealing apps, and leave Apple, individual sharers, and the Share ITunes like sites alone.