A friend of mine wanted to copy some files from an iTunes playlist to an external drive, but iTunes wouldn't allow her to simply let these files being dragged to the intended destination folder in Finder. She asked me what she could do about it.

I thought about it for a minute, knowing that it wouldn't work with iTunes alone - but I realized that it's probably simple to code a solution. Even better than having a separate standalone application for it, I figured I could write a new FUSE file system - making use of the excellent MacFUSE project!

Allie, this is the solution to your problem (though you can't use it on 10.3). This is a great example of someone being able to leverage an open source hunk of code to scratch their own itch and then being kind enough to release their work as well.

Apple Inc. in a new class-action lawsuit is charged with illegally tying iPods to its iTunes Store in order to forge a monopoly over the digital media market so it can inflate prices, exclude competition, and force consumers to continue to buy into its closed ecosystem.

The one thing Apple does really good is integrate all their products seamlessly. If only they published the specs for all of these integrations so it was an open, level playing field.

Random House and eMusic have begun to sell DRM-free audiobooks on their site. This is pretty big news, since iTunes has an exclusive deal with Audible for ebooks, and Audible won't sell non-DRM ebooks (though they have other non-DRM products), even when the author doesn't want any DRM.