A group of underground programmers has posted code online it says will reopen a backdoor in Apple Computer’s iTunes store, allowing Linux computer users to purchase music free of copy protection. The release comes just a day after Apple blocked a previous version of the program, called PyMusique, in part by requiring all iTunes customers to use the latest version …

Consumer groups launched a full-scale assault on the entertainment industry’s file-swapping legal strategy on Tuesday, with a study arguing that peer-to-peer networks are good for consumers. The near-80 page paper (PDF file) discusses the benefits to consumers of online music distribution, how peer-to-peer technology can be used for political speech, and cites record labels’ “anticompetitive” activities in the late 1990s …

Apple Computer has closed a security hole that allowed an underground program to tap into its iTunes Music Store and purchase songs stripped of antipiracy protections. The PyMusique software, created by a trio of independent programmers online, emerged last week as a copy protection-free back door into the popular iTunes store. One of the creators was Jon Johansen, the Norwegian …