While we firmly believe that Zune hacking should first and foremost be confined to making the device work on all operating systems (OS X, Linux, Windows), we still like to see any kind of progress being made in this arena.
Nutzipper, some sort of clever hacker from Sweden, has claimed to have successfully hacked not only the DRM scheme of the Zune, but also its WiFi-based music sharing aspects. This one-two punch, called “Zukebox”, allows a Zune owner to browse and download any songs from any other WiFi-enabled Zune’s in a given area. It then strips the pilfered MP3s of their DRM shackles. It’s not like Bill Gates is even that fond of DRM, but you have to know that, if true, this is exactly what the RIAA was afraid of when it learned about the Zune’s planned music-sharing features.
This perhaps solves the DRM restrictions many users complained about, but it doesn’t solve the biggest problem Zune users face: finding other Zune users.
Or maybe it does?
If the ability to find and use any music from any other user does indeed exist, this might increase the value of the Zune in many buyer’s minds. After all, the ability to grab songs from others on the fly is the whole point of Zune, but the way in which it does it is not (to many) the fulfillment of the grand promise Microsoft has made: Sharing music is the future.
Swedish Teen Hacks Microsoft Zune’s DRM and WiFi (unconfirmed) [Zune Boards]