Is there a DRM chip inside the iPod shuffle earbuds?
The folks at Boing Boing Gadgets certainly seem to think so. They have dissected the iPod shuffle’s headphone controls and found the chip marked 8A83E3 which they believe to be some sort of proprietary digital control that prevents unauthorized transmission of commands to the Shuffle without an official Apple adapter.
Here’s what Boing Boing Gadgets have to say:
It is possible the new Shuffle headphones simply send a pulse or other analog electrical signal to the headphone jack of the Shuffle, but we do not have the equipment to determine that ourselves. (Put a multimeter on the second ring of the new headphones, though, and you’ll at least be able to see if different button presses causes different resistance, implying the controls work with analog controls, not a digital scheme.)
But it is also possible the signals are digital. “Digital” does not mean “encrypted”, however. If the signals are not encrypted, then there would be no legal impediment to manufacturers making compatible and unlicensed headphones that work with the new controls. (Either way, regular audio headphones still work, although without controls they’re useless on the Shuffle.)
Could Apple be adding in “hardware locks” instead of their traditional DRM methods?
[Via BBG]
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