Music industry finally teaming up with Internet firms to get its share on downloads
Chris Gaither
SAN FRANCISCO -- When Apple Computer Inc., the small but influential PC maker, launches its foray into digital music downloads today, it carries the hopes of the beleaguered music industry on its shoulders. Flanked by record-label executives at a news conference here, Apple CEO Steve Jobs is expected to introduce the company's first Internet music service, which will allow customers to download songs from a broad catalog of music for about 99 cents each or $10 per album, according to people who have seen the service.
Apple's move caps a busy month for the music industry's efforts to counter the damage inflicted by file-sharing programs that have thrived even after the death of Napster, the Internet service that boasted 70 million users until lawsuits shuttered it in 2001.
Taken together, analysts say, the recent moves suggest that the recording industry may finally be learning how to play nice with some Internet music companies, even as it employs increasingly harsh tactics to fight digital piracy. The result: 2003 may be remembered as the year that authorized subscription services finally started to catch on.
''Digital music is starting to become an actual business,'' said Sean Ryan, CEO of San Francisco- based Listen.com, which last week became the first major service to be acquired, for $36 million, by Seattle's RealNetworks Inc.
A court decision issued Friday in Los Angeles increases the urgency, placing more pressure on the music industry to make authorized services like Pressplay, MusicNet, and Rhapsody so much more appealing than the free services that people will pay for them. Federal Judge Stephen V. Wilson ruled the companies behind the file-sharing services Morpheus and Grokster are not liable for the illegal exchange of copyrighted materials by their users. Wilson threw out lawsuits brought by the recording industry, which had sought to shut down Grokster Ltd. and StreamCast Networks Inc., which distributes Morpheus for free. An appeal is planned.
''My hope is that this will be perhaps a wake-up call that [recording industry executives] need to start thinking about ways to get their artists paid without declaring that the rest of the world are thieves,'' said Cindy Cohn, legal director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an Internet civil liberties group that helped defend StreamCast and Grokster.
In the meantime, with sales slipping, the recording industry is filing lawsuits designed to scare people into abandoning file-sharing software like Kazaa. This month, the Recording Industry Association sued four college students for creating similar services and won a ruling ordering Verizon Communications to identify an Internet user accused of sharing copyrighted music. In addition, two music labels, the EMI Group and Universal Music, sued Hummer Winblad, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that invested in Napster.
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/11..._online+.shtml
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IT Laws Defy Reality
Peter Coffee
When eight states propose laws that could make it illegal to use a network firewall, it would be nice if working IT professionals could laugh it off. It would be nice if those who know better could assume that laws like these would fail as quickly and obviously as a measure that seeks to repeal the law of gravity.
Unfortunately, I've seen little in the history of cyber-law to inspire much hope that legislation will converge with common sense—not, that is, unless those who understand IT operations start taking a more active role in writing the rules.
Texas, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Alaska, Tennessee and Colorado propose to forbid the use of any technology that conceals "the existence or place of origin or destination of any communication." Such as, for example, a router? Or a network address translator? Or any of several other basic tools of Internet connection and management?
From what I've seen, most legislative bodies routinely fail to understand the requirements of practical system administration and their difference from malicious mischief. The resulting laws can criminalize everyday practices.
For example, suppose I drafted an attempt at an anti-hacking law that made it a crime "to alter or remove information resident on a computer system without the permission of the person who originated that information"? That sounds good, until you realize that a system administrator could no longer purge the e-mail files of an employee who had left the company unless that former employee gave consent. In fact, that language is so badly drawn that I technically could not delete unsolicited commercial e-mail messages unless they contained a clause allowing me to do so.
Before you object that no competent body would write a law that could be interpreted in this way, consider this clause from the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, passed in November 2001 and still binding on signatory nations: "Each Party shall adopt such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish as criminal offences under its domestic law, when committed intentionally, the serious hindering without right of the functioning of a computer system by inputting, transmitting, damaging, deleting, deteriorating, altering or suppressing computer data."
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,1023158,00.asp
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New Law Putting Net—and You—at Risk
Jim Rapoza
As of this moment, the security level of the Internet has taken a big hit. And it's not because of a new worm or some nefarious hacker collective; it's because of a set of badly conceived laws that have been passed by several states.
These measures, referred to as Super DMCA laws (see Freedom-to-Tinker's Super DMCA page) are badly designed laws promoted by the Motion Picture Association of America. Super DMCA legislation has already been passed in Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wyoming.
Now Super DMCA has claimed one of its first victims, the award-winning open-source application LaBrea, which is designed to stop the spread of worms such as Nimda across the Internet. Tom Liston, the developer of LaBrea, has stopped distribution of the program for fear of prosecution under the Illinois version of this law.
Why would a program that stops harmful worms from spreading run afoul of a law that is on the surface intended to stop cable theft? Because, like the less-damaging federal DMCA law, Super DMCA is overly broad and lacks common sense (see Peter Coffee's column on these laws).
One of the common aspects of these laws is that they make illegal any device or program that can "conceal or to assist another to conceal from any communication service provider or from any lawful authority the existence or place of origin or destination of any communication." Aside from LaBrea, this makes a whole set of common IT programs and hardware illegal, from firewalls to VPNs to privacy applications.
So if you live in one of these states, you are now breaking the law if you run a firewall. And if you're an IT admin that has all of your internal systems running on NAT, you could face as much as five years in prison and up to a quarter-million-dollar fine.
Tom Liston's LaBrea, which I named the most useful application of 2001 and which was also a finalist in eWEEK and PC Magazine's 2002 I3 Awards, clearly violates the letter if not the spirit of these laws.
Some would say that Liston probably wouldn't face any legal action, but under the federal DMCA, several companies and individuals have faced legal consequences for actions that had nothing to do with the original intent of the law. Russian programmer Dmitry Sklyarov was even jailed for a time under the DMCA.
Liston outlined several of these concerns to me in an e-mail exchange. He wrote: "The real issue here is that the law is just so utterly vague that you can't be sure of anything. Everyone has been telling me that I need to get a lawyer's opinion on this, but somehow hiring a lawyer to tell me whether or not I can legally give away what I know is perfectly legitimate software just strikes me as wrong. Just plain wrong."
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,1032977,00.asp
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Colleges aggressively cracking down on downloads of music
Jefferson Graham
"More schools are becoming more aware of the seriousness of the problem and trying to figure out ways to deal with it," says John Vaughn, executive vice president of the Association of American Universities. "Administrators see this as a multidimensional problem — bad press, bandwidth, educational and ethical responsibilities to teach. It's a real struggle to reduce illegitimate activity without causing a total breakdown of the system."
The Recording Industry Association of America has been working with universities since last fall to increase anti-piracy efforts, including letters and e-mails to students about copyright theft, and to make punishments more severe (specifically, loss of Internet access) if students are caught using the system for uses other than homework.
But a few weeks ago, the RIAA took the battle to a dramatic new level by filing lawsuits against students at Princeton, Michigan Technological University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, marking the first time the industry had gone after individually identified Net users. These students weren't users of the most popular pirate download program, Kazaa, but rather had posted internal sharing sites on university servers. At $150,000 per song, each student is potentially liable for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
"Right now, there's near-universal agreement among university presidents that we'd like to rid our campuses of illegal use of peer-to-peer file sharing," says Graham Spanier, president of Penn State University, who chairs a committee with RIAA president Cary Sherman aimed at curbing piracy. "It's costly for us, in terms of tying up huge amounts of bandwidth — but what our students are doing when they pirate copyrighted material is not only illegal, but also immoral."
Penn State recently temporarily took Net access from 220 students for downloading. Harvard instituted a new policy earlier this month removing access for one year if, after a warning, a student returns to downloading. And just last week, in Australia, a site run by three college students was shut down by local police for copyright violations. Most of the music and movie files on the site were hosted by university computers.
Campuses are small places. Yale's Derek Lomas says he is a friend of a friend of Princeton's Daniel Peng, one of the four students being sued by the RIAA. (Peng's attorney hasn't responded to calls.) Still, Lomas says the reaction among fellow students to the suits and crackdowns has been mild. "I know students who won't touch the download sites anymore because they're worried about legal repercussions, but I also know sharing and CD burning is as popular as ever."
Princeton senior Yashih Wu just did her economics thesis on whether campus students would be willing to pay for a legal online music system. Despite the stated defiance from students in the past, some 46% of the students she surveyed said yes, while 27% said no. Wu says current services such as Pressplay and MusicNet don't have enough content to satisfy students, and their pricing plans are too complex, with none offering one price for unlimited songs.
"College students have gotten used to unlimited music downloading, and it's not going to be something they'll want to give up easily," she says.
The services are not well marketed, she found: Some 40% of her 679 respondents didn't even know legal services existed.
The college crackdown is not universal. Labels' efforts at more effective policing "run flat into University of California policies against invading privacy," says UC-Berkeley associate vice chancellor Jack McCredie. "We don't read people's mail or snoop on what they do on the Net."
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/te...download_x.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Can the DMCA be Fixed?
Lucas Graves
Five years after it was enacted, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is living up to critics' worst fears. The antipiracy law has become a broad legal cudgel that's wielded against legitimate reapplications of intellectual property, from mix CDs to off-brand toner cartridges. Representative Rick Boucher (D-Virginia) has written the Digital Media Consumer Rights Act (HR 107), which would make it legal to, among other things, create an archival copy of a CD or DVD. Good fix for a bad law - but why not just blow up the DMCA instead?
WIRED: Are you trying to defang the DMCA by reasserting fair-use rights?
BOUCHER: I'm reluctant to make a really broad statement, because no sooner would I say that than I would have those words quoted back to me by [Motion Picture Association of America president] Jack Valenti. HR 107 does not defang the DMCA with respect to people who are trying to commit piracy. It does, however, defang the DMCA with respect to the innocent, with respect to the purchase of digital media for legitimate purposes.
WIRED: Where was the DMCA opposition on Capitol Hill in 1998, when it would have counted?
BOUCHER: I was paying a lot of attention then, and in fact I offered the same amendment. Not very many members of Congress were willing to listen to those concerns at the time. Now a much larger external community is determined to make changes - most notably technology companies, which were not a part of the debate in 1998.
WIRED: What's brought Silicon Valley into the picture?
BOUCHER: The realization that the market for technology products and services will be adversely affected as the DMCA bites deeper and inhibits the rights of digital media purchasers. I might add that the entertainment companies will also get hurt: When consumers start finding they can't use the media fully, they will value it less.
WIRED: You've called the DMCA a testament to Hollywood's lobbying power. How can you win?
BOUCHER: Consumer outrage will grow as copy-protected CDs make their way into the market in greater numbers. The public response is going to be visceral, and it will be heard by members of Congress.
WIRED: Digital piracy has been illegal since the 1976 Copyright Act. Why not just scrap the DMCA?
BOUCHER: As a practical matter, it's probably easier for us to make these surgical changes than to simply attempt to repeal the act. And, after all, we're looking for a victory. We're not looking just to make a statement.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.05/view.html?pg=3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heading off film piracy
Movie trade group staying one step ahead in lobbying efforts
Benny Evangelista
Three weeks ago, technology groups and digital rights advocates were startled to discover that the motion picture industry had successfully pushed legislation in several states that strengthened cable TV piracy laws.
Groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Consumer Electronics Association claimed the new laws could potentially turn consumers into criminals. But just as alarming for these groups -- which are normally on top of such developments -- was the fact that they hadn't noticed that Hollywood had been pushing the bills since 2001.
Even critics had to begrudgingly tip their caps to the Motion Picture Association of America, the film industry's powerful trade group, for its sophisticated, multifaceted approach to protecting Hollywood from the kind of digital piracy that has put the recording industry on the ropes.
"These guys are everywhere," said Fred von Lohmann, senior intellectual property attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a digital rights advocacy group in San Francisco. "They're pushing their agenda in places we haven't even begun to look at."
"Everywhere I turn over a stone, there's been a bevy of MPAA people who have been working that area for years," he added. "I almost never encountered that with the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America)."
The MPAA's efforts run the gamut, from joining arcane groups like the Content Protection Technical Work Group, which writes standards for future technology, to producing a series of antipiracy movie trailers, featuring stars like Ben Affleck, that are due in theaters next month.
The industry lobby has even stationed people with night-vision goggles in theaters to stop pirates from recording movies.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...8/BU269543.DTL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Government-Mandated Technology Has No Place in DVD Showrooms
Companies can solve their own copyright protection problems
The Detroit News
Congress should not make DVD and MP3 makers use government-designed technology in their devices. The scheme is designed to reduce copyright violations, but there are other ways to attack the problem. American industry is more than capable of solving its own technological problems. The proper government role is to determine what is legal and what's not. Entertainment companies are pushing for Congress to prevent the manufacture of digital media devices unless they include government-approved copy restriction technology. Similar copyright fears, of course, surfaced in the past but proved unfounded. In the 1970s, movie companies said VCRs would ruin their business. In a lawsuit, they said Sony was liable if people used a video tape recorder to copy TV programs to watch later. The U.S. Supreme Court came down in favor of couch potatoes all across America. The call for government action died and the VCR industry survived, even though Sony's Betamax faded quicker than expected. Now VCRs are yesterday's technology. So entertainment companies have targeted DVDs (which play and record video) and MP3 players (audio). Copy protection devices can help limit piracy. But government mandates are a wrong way to go: Every advance in protection technology would, literally, require an act of Congress. The issue is critical for both consumers and the economy. DVD players are a hot electronic item, with sales jumping to 17.6 million last year from 350,000 in 1997. Congress should stick to its traditional role. Decide what's illegal and then let private companies go their own market-driven routes to protect investments.
http://www.detnews.com/2003/editoria...a10-107997.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kalashnikov with MP3
JS
Hey, I'm not kidding. Blow away the bad guys with your assault style MP3s! Tons of fun on airplanes.
http://www.audiobooksforfree.com/kalashnikov/ak-mp3.asp
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Home internet use increases five- fold in four years
Ananova
Five times as many households now have access to the internet compared to four years ago.
The National Statistics Omnibus Survey shows 45% of all households - 11.4 million homes - can now go online.It says 62% of adults have accessed the internet at some time. In the 16 to 24 age group, 95% have used the net, decreasing with age to just 15% for the 65s and over.
Men still use the internet more than women, 66% compared with 58%, says the survey.
Among those who had used the internet for private use in the 1,800 people surveyed, 79% said they had done so to find information about goods or services, while 72% sent and received email. Almost half the adults surveyed had ordered tickets, goods or services over the internet.A total of 29% used it for personal banking or finance. The most popular purchases were for travel (31%), events tickets (21%), music or CDs (21%) and books and magazines (19%). Of those who had never bought over the internet, 25% said it was because they had security concerns - although only 6% of people said they had ever experienced problems.
Of the 38% of adults who had never gone online, 42% said they had no interest, 30% had no means of access and another 26% said they did not feel they had the confidence or skills to use it.
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm...ews.technology
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Web Sites Shut Down in Spam Fight
Saul Hansell
Scores of Web sites were taken off the Internet over the weekend because of new pressures on a commercial Internet service provider to stop unwanted marketing e-mail, or spam, and the companies that use it.
Most of the Web sites that were shut down had no relation to the company accused of sending spam other than having the same Internet service provider for their Web site. But in the escalating spam battles, some anti-spam groups seem to care little about collateral damage.
On Sunday afternoon, 89 Web sites operated by US Moneywerx, a Bryan, Tex., company that operates Web sites for small businesses, were disconnected.
They were cut off because Server Beach, the San Antonio company that actually houses US Moneywerx's server computer, reacted to complaints by the public and an anti-spam group who said that a site that had US Moneywerx as its host was sending spam.
Richard Yoo, the president of Server Beach, said he evaluated information provided by the group called the Spam Prevention Early Warning System that runs a Web site called Spews.org. That site added to its list of spammers a small Los Angeles company called NetGlobalMarketing, which was a client of US Moneywerx.
Many Internet service providers block e-mail not only from sites identified on the Spews.org list but from any company that provides Web services for those companies.
Executives of NetGlobalMarketing were quoted in an article in The New York Times last week on the efforts by e-mail companies to block spam. The article quoted company executives saying that all of the e-mail messages they send are to people who have requested e-mail offers. Nonetheless, the company has received thousands of angry and threatening e-mails and telephone messages over the last week. And personal information about company executives has been placed on anti-spam Web sites.
"I am not a spammer, and we do not spam," said Alyx Sachs, the company's co-founder. "I run a marketing company, and we use e-mail the way we use radio or print."
Don Wood, president of Childwatch of North America, an organization that tries to prevent abduction of children, said he sometimes hired NetGlobalMarketing to send e-mails to parents inviting them to events where their children can be photographed and fingerprinted.
Ms. Sachs said the company does work for dozens of well-established companies, including some in the travel, insurance and entertainment industries. But, she said, they do not wish to be identified because of the current reaction against spam.
"People are being wrongfully accused of spamming based on rumor, gossip and innuendo," she said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/29/te...gy/29SPAM.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beyond High C, High Technology
William Honan
For the love of opera, Stefan Zucker trained to reach the upper limits of the tenor's range. "I started as a singer," Mr. Zucker said, "and soon became fascinated by the way in which singing had evolved."
Recently, Mr. Zucker acquired for Bel Canto Society a live recording of a 1939 "Il Trovatore" performance starring Jussi Bjoerling and Gina Cigna. The original was made on a 78 r.p.m. recording marred by fluctuations in speed and audible clicks and pops.
Mr. Zucker said that it could take as much as three hours on a digital audio work station to delete just one of the 900-odd clicks or pops on the original without compromising the music. He also adjusted playback speed in 10th- and 20th-of-a-percent increments, making more than 500 corrections. "If you don't get the speed right," he explained, "not only is the sound off pitch but it is also off in timbre, or sonority." The remastering took five months.
"It took that long," he said, "because you have to isolate the sounds you don't want and then suppress them, and maybe restore some if you think you've gone too far. It's a very delicate process. Bel Canto Society sells the two-disk CD set for $19.95, so you can see this isn't a get-rich-quick scheme."
Why go to so much trouble? "Well," Mr. Zucker said, "when people watch and listen to the finished product, I see them leap with joy.
"I'm also motivated by the fact that I'm in a race against time. I'm trying to preserve these films before they disintegrate and before the collectors die and the films get discarded."
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/29/nyregion/29OPER.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vivendi Gives Up on Hollywood Dream
Tim Hepher and Merissa Marr
Media giant Vivendi Universal on Tuesday announced plans to sell its American entertainment business including Universal Studios, smashing the Hollywood dream of a firm that slid from boom to near-bust.
Almost a year after the ouster of ex-CEO Jean-Marie Messier, who turned Vivendi from a water firm into a global media player with crippling debts, the restructuring expert brought in to replace him pulled down the curtain at a shareholders' meeting.
CEO Jean-Rene Fourtou told shareholders it was "illusory" to think Vivendi could run its Los Angeles-based Vivendi Universal Entertainment subsidiary -- which groups Universal Studios, theme parks and cable TV assets -- all the way from Paris.
Firming up the company's previous line that it had been approached by various people interested in buying its Hollywood stake and was open to offers, Fourtou said Vivendi was in talks with a number of players over the sale of all or part of VUE.
Setting out a strategy in the boldest terms since Fourtou arrived, Vivendi said it would focus on telecoms and French TV after ending its three-year dalliance with Hollywood. Music could also be an integral part of the restructured group.
Fourtou had been under pressure to spell out Vivendi's future strategy after a string of asset sales since Messier fell to a boardroom coup last July. Its debts have fallen sharply since he took over, but the company has some way to go before meeting a target to cut its debts to less than 11 billion euros.
Fourtou said no decision had been taken on whether to sell Universal Music, the world's top music firm, which is not part of VUE but is another key part of Vivendi's ragged empire.
But sources close to the matter say Vivendi is leaning toward holding onto Universal Music Group, in which U.S. computer firm Apple has been reported to be interested.
Messier bought the Universal film and music empire from Canada's Bronfman family to forge the world's second-largest media firm in 2000, renting part of the Louvre Museum to celebrate France's biggest transatlantic business coup.
But the dream turned sour after frenzied deals done at the top of the stock market bubble left Vivendi with over 20 billion euros of media debt.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=2652872
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New Briefs Filed in Madster Case
Ciarán Tannam
With all the hype this week over the FastTrack case one would be forgiven for thinking that this is the only case ongoing in the US against a P2P company. However this week there have also been key developments in the ongoing court battle in the Madster case.
At the end of last year Madster lost a preliminary injunction in their case in Chicago. Deep initially ignored this ruling, then tried with some success to get it over-turned in a local court but now seems to have resigned himself to an appeal.
Deep launched his appeal in Mid March. Key attorneys for the RIAA filled briefs on their position on the appeal in recent days. This was followed by a brief filled by Deep yesterday, which lays the grounds for the appeal.
The brief contains a serious attack by Deep on the RIAA and MPAA. He said that they have "erroneously characterised the [Madster] technology at issue". He also once again argued that the Sony decision was applicable to this case and that the Napster decision was non applicable because of the different technology been used.
Johnny Deep continues to represent himself in his long running fight for P2P in Chicago court.
http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=144
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Plaintiffs allege that Defendants communicate with users (both directly and through information displayed on a web ‘start page’), and can prompt users to initiate modifications or upgrades to the client software.
Even if this is true, it is irrelevant. Whether Defendants can communicate with the users of their software and provide updates says nothing about whether Defendants facilitate or enable the exchange of copyrighted files at issue in these cases. ”
- Stephen V. Wilson, United States District Judge, April 2003
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Licensed to War Drive in N.H. By Brian McWilliams
Brian McWilliams
DURHAM, New Hampshire -- A land where white pines easily outnumber wireless computer users, New Hampshire may seem an unlikely haven for the free networking movement.
But the state, known for its Live Free or Die motto, could become the first in the United States to provide legal protection for people who tap into insecure wireless networks.
A bill that's breezing through New Hampshire's legislature says operators of wireless networks must secure them -- or lose some of their ability to prosecute anyone who gains access to the networks.
House Bill 495 would, experts say, effectively legalize many forms of what's known as war driving -- motoring through an inhabited area while scanning for open wireless access points.
http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,58651,00.html
Spectrum Analysis of Popular Compression Algorithms
From
http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/a/s/asv108/slashdot/
Hackers Have Field Day with Madonna Decoy
Chris Marlowe
Anyone who thinks they can control the Internet received an object lesson during the past week.
It all started when Madonna literally lent her voice to a popular antipiracy technique. Warner Music Group had audio files purporting to be her new songs uploaded onto peer-to-peer file-sharing services. Anyone who downloaded the decoys, however, heard nothing but the pop star swearing at them. But since then, the pithy profanity has taken on a life of its own.
Some observers thought Madonna was smart to fight piracy with its own tools. Others perceived a thrown gauntlet -- hackers soon defaced Madonna's Web site with an equally profane retort along with several downloadable files of the then-unreleased songs. The defacement also carried a marriage proposal to Morgan Webb, an associate producer and on-air presenter at TechTV who had nothing to do with the prank.
A third group saw a creative opportunity. "What the f--- do you think you're doing," Madonna's now-infamous phrase, is turning up in dozens of remixes and the computer-aided musical collages known as cutups or mashups.
Independent music community DMusic is now hosting a competition for the best Madonna- based track, with the first prize being a "boycott-riaa" T-shirt and stickers.
Links to other related tracks are being put together at
http://www.iriXx.org/madonna/ and other sites.
"Madonna was trying to put one over on the kids ... and they in turn wanted to let her know that she's not in as much control as she thinks she is," Webb said, adding that "coke, anger and boredom" were also possible motivators.
Madonna's "American Life" was released Tuesday and is predicted to enter Billboard's charts at No. 1, albeit with sales considerably lower than that for her previous album "Music."
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=2637797
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spam Sent by Fraud Is Made a Felony Under Virginia Law
Saul Hansell
In the toughest move to date against unsolicited commercial e-mail, Virginia enacted a law yesterday imposing harsh felony penalties for sending such messages to computer users through deceptive means.
The law would be enforced against those who use fraudulent practices to send bulk e-mail, commonly known as spam, to or from Virginia, a state that is headquarters for a number of major Internet providers, including the nation's largest, America Online.
The new statute adds criminal penalties for fraudulent, high-volume spammers. It outlaws practices like forging the return address line of an e-mail message or hacking a computer to send spam surreptitiously. Those found guilty of sending more than 10,000 such deceptive e-mail messages in one day would be subject to a prison term of one to five years and forfeiture of profits and assets connected with these activities.
Public outrage at spam is causing states and Congress to start looking at stronger measures against it. The Internet industry estimates that spam represents nearly half of all e-mail sent. And a new report by the Federal Trade Commission yesterday found that two-thirds of spam is sent with either false return addresses or a misleading subject line.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/30/te...gy/30SPAM.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New File-Cash Online Music Service to Debut June 1 Using World's First Legitimized and Monetized Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Network
Service Offers Extensive Online Music Library and Provides Consumers with Financial Incentives to Download Files Legally in a Reliable and Secure Environment
Press Release
File-Cash, the world's first legitimate online music file sharing service based on the popular peer-to-peer delivery method, will launch June 1 and offer consumers an extensive catalog of music from over 100 independent labels.
Among major independent music distributors to partner with File-Cash is AudioObsessive (
www.audio-obsessive.com), which will provide its extensive and diverse digital music catalog for downloading.
File-Cash will utilize the new E-C Logix E-Cash(TM) digital cash technology to enable direct and instant payments, including micropayment transactions of as little as 1/10 of a cent, to the artists, labels, publishers and other rights owners. It will also offer financial incentives for consumers to download registered files and co-host the files on their home computers' shared directories.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/...m&footer_file=
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michael Weiss Returns as CEO of StreamCast Networks
Entertainment Industry Veteran Hired to Make Company's Morpheus Software Most Popular Download
Press Release
StreamCast Networks, Inc., developers of the Morpheus(TM) peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing software, today announced the re-appointment of Michael Weiss as chief executive officer.
"There is no one better qualified for this job than Mike," said Bill Kallman, a member of StreamCast's board of directors and a managing partner at Timberline Venture Partners. "No one knows the P2P market better. He's worked in the entertainment industry for decades. He understands how to build a business and was responsible for creating Morpheus in the first place. We are fortunate to have him take charge at such a historic moment in time as the company enters a new era of growth."
During his tenure as president and CEO with StreamCast Networks, formerly known as MusicCity.com, Weiss launched the first version of Morpheus software two years ago and was responsible for it becoming the most popular software on the Internet according to CNET. Since then, over 110 million copies of the software have been downloaded worldwide. Just last week, the U.S. District court in Los Angeles rejected entertainment industry copyright claims against StreamCast Networks, making Morpheus software the most widely used legal file sharing software product available.
"I intend for Morpheus to regain its #1 position," said Michael Weiss, newly appointed CEO of StreamCast Networks. "We were #1 because we cared about our users, we listened to our users and we provided our users with a superior experience. My message for everyone that has ever used Morpheus in the past is 'we're back' and it starts tomorrow with the release of Morpheus 3.0."
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/st...2003,+06:05+AM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New Morpheus 3.0 Provides Users With What They Want - Fast Access And Better Connections to Available Content
With Over 110 Million Downloads, Morpheus is the Most Widely Used Legal File Sharing Software Available
Press Release
StreamCast Networks, Inc., announced Morpheus 3.0(TM), the newest version of its popular peer-to-peer file sharing software, will be released May 1st. Morpheus 3.0 has been completely redesigned with new technology and a new interface to make file sharing faster and easier. The Morpheus(TM) software product allows millions of people to connect directly to search, share and download all types of digital media, including audio, videos, games, photos, software and documents.
StreamCast has incorporated months of user feedback to build what consumers are asking for, streamlining the Morpheus software product to eliminate the complexity of other P2P products. Morpheus 3.0 has a sleek interface that is easy to navigate and intuitive to Morpheus users. Additionally, Morpheus 3.0 boasts an integrated media player and media library that helps users find and manage their media without leaving the application.
Morpheus 3.0 brings its users the ability to conduct multiple searches simultaneously and provides unlimited search results delivering better access to content. Morpheus' multi-source downloading delivers faster and more reliable downloads and its new architecture provides faster and better connections to the Gnutella network while using less system resources on users' computers. These features set Morpheus apart from the leading competition.
"Now that the US Courts have reaffirmed that Morpheus is both legal and legitimate, we're poised to regain our position as the # 1 most popular software on the Internet. Morpheus 3.0 is just the beginning," said Michael Weiss, the newly appointed CEO for StreamCast Networks. "We intend to provide users with the tools and technology that they want and place a top priority on making community an integral element to the entire Morpheus experience."
The Morpheus software product is free to users and can be downloaded from
http://www.morpheus.com and other popular download sites on the Internet including CNET's download.com.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/st...2003,+06:05+AM
Download May Contain 3rd Party Software – Jack.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Steve Jobs, Pied Piper of Online Music
Alex Salkever
Apple's iTunes Music Store provides a new model for pay-for-play services -- one that the big music labels will find tough to follow
The wraps are now off Apple's long-rumored music-download service. If anything, the Apr. 28 launch of the iTunes Music Store was anticlimactic. Not because it didn't live up to expectations but because it so easily did. But don't be fooled. This service promises to forever alter the balance of power in musicland.
Apple (AAPL ) has delivered a very marketable, very easy-to-use, and very pretty product that I'm sure will earn millions of dollars in download fees. The 200,000 titles now available at the iTunes Music Store include songs from all genres and all five major record labels. Some tracks also come with video. Others are exclusive cuts that only Apple is selling right now.
As with most other Steve Jobs efforts, the buying process is highly intuitive. I found it simple to download tunes onto my hard drive, manipulate them in the newly released iTunes4 jukebox software, and ultimately burn them onto CDs in any of three formats. While I might quibble with the 99-cent per download price, I believe the market will either prove me wrong or force Apple to go lower.
FEW LIMITS. Compared to previous online music services, the key thing here is that somebody has finally done it right. You pay your money, and you get your song. You can do whatever you want with that song, store it on up to three computers, share it with multiple iPods (apparently any number of them), and burn it onto as many disks as you want. The only limitation I found was a 10-copy limit of CD burns from individual playlists. According to Apple execs, this was to prevent people from turning their Macs into CD factories burning large quantities of pirated music.
I think Jobs's maneuver will go down in history as the final straw that broke the back of the old music-distribution system -- and the industry's pyramid hierarchy that gives big stars big treatment and gives nearly everyone else squat.
The take-away from all this is simple. Apple is heralding a new era of online retailing, where the retailers will have the same kind of brand recognition as Apple -- perhaps Amazon, eBay, or Yahoo!. The labels will from now on play this game at a distinct disadvantage not only because they lack a true brand name but also because they have forever lost control of distribution.
http://www.businessweek.com/technolo...9569_tc056.htm
NYTimes
Not a chance
Apple Won’t Stop Peer-To-Peer
Noah Shachtman
By most accounts, Apple's new iTunes music download service is pretty cool -- the first legitimate alternative to the song swapping on Kazaa, Morpheus and other file-trading services.But Apple's move won't slow down the manic expansion of these trading networks. Why not? Here's a one-word answer: porn.
Kazaa and company are increasingly trafficking in dirty video clips. And until Apple starts offering up Christy Canyon downloads, the swapping services can sleep easy. "There is absolutely no way Apple is going to make a dent in file sharing," said Aram Sinnreich, a former Jupiter Communications music analyst who is now affiliated with the University of Southern California.
Smut was the most sought-after content on the Gnutella file-trading system, according to a February survey, with 42 percent of all users hunting for blue pictures and movies. Greg Bildson -- chief operating officer of LimeWire, a leading maker of Gnutella software -- said delicately, "We're about all different kinds of content sharing." Wayne Rosso, president of the Grokster file-sharing software firm, was more blunt. "Porn -- there's a ton of it being traded around," he said.
The file-sharing networks have more than a triple-X advantage going for them, however. Their customer base is enormous and active. They are in a newly strengthened legal position, thanks to last week's victory in court that ruled peer-to-peer networks were not liable for copyright infringement committed by users. And Apple's service has an uncertain future on Windows machines.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs says the iTunes Music Store will be ready for Gates-controlled computers by year's end. But such adaptations are notoriously tricky. And the rights-management issues -- key to any download service -- are bound to get much more complex in Microsoft's world, since the company has invested a great deal into a rights-management system of its own.
What's more, so-called "a la carte" downloads of singles are only a small segment of the online music market, Sinnreich noted. "The future of music is not 99 cent downloads, no matter how bad certain people want it to be true," he said.
Then there's the importance of free. While Apple is offering downloads for 99 cents a pop, file traders don't have to pay for the songs at all. "It's not free, but it's 99 cents a song, pretty doggone close,'' Jobs said yesterday.
"What they (Apple executives) don't understand is that 99 cents ain't free. It's a lot more than free. It's 100 percent more than free," Rosso said.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,58665,00.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Experts: Iraq will need telecom, IT services soon
Peer to Peer can bridge gap
Grant Gross
Two telecommunications experts see much opportunity for IT and telecom companies wanting to help rebuild Iraq after the U.S. war there, but it could take months or even years before the country is ready for IT infrastructure improvements.
Kenneth Camp, managing director of KDC Architects Engineers, said he believes IT and telecom infrastructure in Iraq could be built up in one or two years, with work beginning in a matter of months, but French Caldwell, a vice president at technology analyst Gartner, believes a full-fledged IT infrastructure in Iraq could take up to five years to put in place.
Camp sees some opportunity in Iraq, both for telecommunications vendors and for the Iraqi people. "Once everything calms down over there, it could be an interesting set of priorities," he said. "Once everything is done, they're going to have a first- rate communications system, built from the ground up."
As of now, the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is heading U.S. government rebuilding efforts, hasn't issued any requests for proposals for IT-related projects in Iraq. Between Jan. 31 and March 4, the agency issued eight requests for proposals, for projects such as road and port repair, seaport and airport administration, public health and education. An agency spokeswoman said IT- related projects may still be on the way.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/...Niraqit_1.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FLEXSTOR to Release FLEX-db DAM Technology Into Open Source
Press Release
FLEXSTOR has announced plans to release its base FLEX-db Digital Asset Management (DAM) technology into the Open Source community. The company plans to post the source code by the end of the third quarter of 2003. This strategy is designed to accelerate development enhancements with the associated level of software quality control that comes from Open Source initiatives.
The FLEXSTOR solution is comprised of 3 separate technologies: FLEX-db, FLEX-dbLink, and FLEX-si. FLEX-db-- Digital Asset Management technology which ingests digital files, updates metadata tables, creates thumbnails, and processes files according to business rules and logic. FLEX-db is currently comprised of 70 services such as: archive, cut, copy, paste, convert, check in, check out, update, move, delete etc. FLEX-dbLink--Allows digital files stored on any server to be made part of a virtual global repository using peer-to-peer technology. FLEX-si-- Service Initiated technology allows processes within FLEXSTOR and other applications to be linked together, and triggered by changes in metadata to create custom workflows without requiring custom code to be written.
http://www.econtentmag.com/Newslette...ewsletterID=56
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The hi-tech Luddites
Music companies must embrace the web
The internet was celebrating an unexpected outburst of common sense over the weekend. A Los Angeles district court judge, Stephen Wilson, ruled that companies making software enabling users to swap music and film files over the internet are not doing anything illegal. The people who swap those files, he argued, may be involved in illegal activity but the company providing the software should not be held any more responsible than the manufacturers of video machines are for all the copying they spawn.
This judgment draws a line between the first swathe of "peer-to-peer" companies like Napster, which kept a central index of swappable films and music files (thereby becoming a central part of the operation) and the current outcrops like Grokster, StreamCast and Kazaa which merely provide enabling software that can be used, like so many other products, for legal and illegal transactions. No one sues the roads because criminals use them or Hotmail or Yahoo because they deliver spam mail. Don't shoot the medium just because it is the messenger.
No one denies that the music and film industries have a big problem over the ease with which their products can be swapped over the web. Millions of people are doing it every week. But the correct reaction is not to adopt a Luddite attitude but to use the new technology by offering their own music and films for downloading at prices reflecting the cheapness of transmission that the web affords. There are encouraging signs that companies like EMI are starting to do this and Apple, the computer manufacturer, is negotiating with the music giants over paid-for downloads to MP3 digital music players like Apple's iPod. The music industry will, doubtless, appeal against this judgment. It would be far better off spending the same effort embracing the new technology rather than fruitlessly trying to snuff it out.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/new...944907,00.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ministry aims to cash in on music downloads
Owen Gibson
Ministry of Sound is relaunching its website in a bid to make music downloads from artists such as Fatboy Slim, Christina Aguilera and Eminem a major part of its business. The clubbing empire founded by James Palumbo, who last month quit the day-to-day running of the company, is planning to offer more than 100,000 tracks for sale individually and by monthly subscription.
Last week EMI announced plans to make more than 140,000 tracks from artists including Coldplay, Radiohead and Robbie Williams available to buy online. EMI's decision is considered a significant step in record labels' efforts to dissuade users from using illegal download sites such as Kazaa in favour of buying music over the web.
In a key US ruling on Friday a judge threw out a claim from the Recording Industry Association of America that file-sharing sites were to blame for allowing users to swap pirated music files. The decision to exonerate the companies that created the download technology will force the record industry to concentrate on devising legal solutions rather than forcing the closure of services.
Ministry's interests include its nightclub in south London, a range of clothing and a record label. It has been hit hard by the downturn in the dance music market and hopes downloads will become a lucrative part of its business.
http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia...946021,00.html
Top 10 D/Ls - Singles
BigChampagne
It's All Free!
Music! Movies! TV shows! Millions of people download them every day. Is digital piracy killing the entertainment industry?
Lev Grossman
James Phung saw Phone Booth before you did. What's more, he saw it for free, in the comfort of his private home-screening room. Phung isn't a movie star or a Hollywood insider; he's a junior at the University of Texas who makes $8 an hour at the campus computer lab. But many big-budget Hollywood movies have their North American premieres in his humble off-campus apartment. Like millions of other people, Phung downloads movies for free from the Internet, often before they hit theaters. Phone Booth will fit nicely on his 120-GB hard drive alongside Anger Management, Tears of the Sun and about 125 other films, not to mention more than 2,000 songs. "Basically," he says, "the world is at my fingertips."
Phung is the entertainment industry's worst nightmare, but he's very real, and there are a lot more like him. Quietly, with no sirens and no breaking glass, your friends and neighbors and colleagues and children are on a 24-hour virtual smash-and-grab looting spree, aided and abetted by the anonymity of the Internet. Every month they — or is it we? — download some 2.6 billion files illegally, and that's just music. That number doesn't include the movies, TV shows, software and video games that circulate online. First-run films turn up online well before they hit the theaters. Albums debut on the Net before they have a chance to hit the charts. Somewhere along the line, Americans — indeed, computer users everywhere — have made a collective decision that since no one can make us pay for entertainment, we're not going to.
Can the for-pay services compete? Maybe. Can antipiracy laws be enforced? Perhaps. Can copy protection stand up to a hacker army of teenage Jon Johansens? It's possible. But all this raises an interesting question: What if the pirates win? If you play the thought experiment out to its logical extreme, the body count is high. After all, you can't have an information economy in which all information is free. The major music labels would disappear; ditto the record stores that sell their CDs. The age of millionaire rock stars would be over; they would become as much a historical curiosity as the landed aristocracy is today. Instead, musicians would scratch out a living on the touring circuit, since in an age of free music the only commodity they would control is live performance, along with any merchandise they could hawk in the parking lot after the show. Hollywood would also take a hit. People might still pay to watch movies in the theater — viewing on the big screen beats watching movies on your computer — but Hollywood would have to do without revenue from video stores. Who's going to rent what they can download for free? TV studios would likewise have to do without their cushy syndication deals, since the Net would become the land of infinite reruns. Hope you like product placement — you'll be seeing a lot of it. Already this July the WB network and Pepsi plan to launch an American Bandstand — style TV show called Pepsi Smash, featuring performances by big- ticket music acts. Alternative revenue streams never tasted so good.
It's a scary cautionary tale — but at this point, hypothetical horror stories are almost beside the point. The people have spoken, and they say they want a revolution. File sharing isn't going to save us from corporate entertainment the way the Beatles saved Pepperland from the Blue Meanies, but if it allows more people to listen to more music in more ways than they ever have before, can it be all bad? And does good or bad even matter? Technology has a way of sweeping aside questions of what is right or wrong and replacing them with the reality of what is possible. Recorded entertainment has gone from an analog object to a disembodied digital spirit roaming the planet's information infrastructure at will, and all the litigation and legislation in the world won't change it back. The genie is out of the bottle, and we're fresh out of wishes.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/pr...447204,00.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finland's VDSL Systems files for bankruptcy
Broadband technology and modems developer VDSL Systems has filed for bankruptcy.
Part-owners UBS Capital, 3i Group and Kennet Venture Partners have provided combined funding of some E18m to the firm since 1999 but VDSL Systems was neither able to secure further funding nor succeed in boosting sales of its products, some of which are still under development.
The company had cut staff, down from 75 to 18, and had been searching for a buyer. However, trying market conditions had stymied negotiations with possible buyers, leading to bankruptcy.
http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=16114
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“The doctrine of vicarious infringement does not contemplate liability based upon the fact that a product could be made such that it is less susceptible to unlawful use, where no control over the user of the product exists.”
- Stephen V. Wilson, United States District Judge, April 2003
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wanadoo broadband subscriptions up
Leigh Phillips
French internet service provider Wanadoo has announced its first quarter results in which the company reports revenues up 38 per cent, spurred by strong broadband growth.
The company had consolidated revenues of E567m for the first quarter of 2003, and both of Wanadoo's core segments recorded revenue growth.
Revenues for the Internet Access, Portals, e-Merchant segment grew by 58 per cent compared to the year-earlier period on the strength of a 61 per cent rise in internet access revenues. Directories revenues climbed nine per cent between first quarter 2002 and first quarter 2003.
The company also saw 370,000 new internet access subscribers on a pro forma basis, excluding Wanadoo Belgium, which was divested on February 7, 2003 and which had 119,000 total subscribers at December 31, 2002, of whom 25,000 were ADSL customers. This includes 264,000 broadband customers. Broadband customers represented 18.4 per cent of the total internet access customer base at March 31, 2003, up from 16.1 per cent at December 31, 2002.
At March 31, 2003 the company had 8.786m internet access customers in Europe, including 1.613m subscribers to broadband service (ADSL and cable). Wanadoo added 251,000 new customers during the first quarter of 2003, of whom 239,000 signed up for broadband service.
http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=16100
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
William Gibson stops blogging to focus on writing
Nadia Poulou
Blogging vs. writing: lots of people – especially fanatic weblogging chatterboxes- think the two terms are identical.
Science fiction writer William Gibson has a different opinion. He has been maintaining a very popular blog since the beginning of this year. But, according to Wired News, he intends to stop after his promotional tour for his latest novel, Pattern Recognition. The writer feels the need to let his ideas ripe over time towards his next book, something that may be hindered by the regular exposure his blog entries – however enjoyable - bring along.
In today’s cyberspace (to use the term Gibson introduced) mass amateur e-publishing creates an ocean of virtual content. However, the amount of bytes does not form a guarantee for quality. Blogs represent sharply the need of the modern human to communicate her experiences and her apprehension of events as soon as possible. Sometimes so fast that the message takes the place of the experience it tries to communicate.
Gibson’s weblog featured his familiar style and will be missed by his fans. But the father of the cyberpunk community reminds us that ideas need their incubation period and that not everything can be produced and distributed at the same time it is conceived, even if this may sound like the ultimate dream of an information society.
http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=16125
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Internet more popular with men than women in Germany – survey
Leigh Phillips
Twenty-five per cent of German web surfers have cable or DSL broadband access to the internet, according to a recent survey from Atfacts, a joint venture of Lycos Europe, IP Newmedia and SevenOne Interactive.
The survey also reports that the number of DSL users in the country increased to 6.53m by the end of the first quarter, and that with the increase in broadband uptake has come an increase in the amount of time spent on the internet: an average of 60 minutes a day in 2003 – up from 56 minutes in 2002. Daily internet users have increased the time spent online from an average of 69 minutes to 87 minutes over the same period.
Internet usage also seems to be more popular amongst German men than it is amongst German women: 59 per cent of all German men have gone online in the past 12 months and 43 per cent of all German women have done so. However, growth in internet usage has been highest amongst women, at ten per cent, compared to the five per cent growth in internet usage by men.
The survey also found that the most visited websites in the first quarter were Google, with 15.5m visitors, and Ebay, with 14m. Rounding out the top five are TV channel RTL, with 11m; ProSiebenSat.1, also with 11m; and the Lycos portal, with 8m.
http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=16121
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Singer Van Morrison Faces Huge Compensation Bill
Reuters
Veteran Irish rock star Van Morrison will learn on Thursday whether he might have to pay up to $479,100 in compensation for canceling a concert in a British pub -- a far higher amount than he originally faced.
The 57-year-old singer is being sued by a disgruntled hotel owner who claims his business was ruined after Morrison pulled out of a concert at his venue last August.
Gary Marlow, landlord of the Crown Hotel in Everleigh, Wiltshire, in western England, will seek permission from London's High Court on Thursday to put forward expert financial evidence that will substantially raise his claim from the $31,940 mark Morrison was expecting to defend to around $479,100.
Marlow's lawyer Stuart Cakebread told judge Justice Buckley when the trial started on Wednesday that it was a "make or break claim" for his client.
"The case is that it destroyed his (Marlow's) business and his personal life," Cakebread said.
Morrison's lawyer Thomas Croxteth, who is trying to block moves to introduce the expert evidence, said that although the evidence was that Marlow's business was close to bankruptcy, it was an "enormous improbability" that this had been the result of the cancellation of a one-off concert in the village pub.
He said that the way Marlow had put his claim was "scandalous."
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=2661042
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AMD to release its fastest desktop chip
John G. Spooner
Advanced Micro Devices plans to launch its newest processor for desktop PCs in early May, sources have said.
The chipmaker is set to deliver its new Athlon XP 3200+ chip during the first half of the month. The chip will sport at least one new feature, a 400 MHz system bus, according to sources familiar with the company's plans.
The move to the faster bus, a step up from the company's current 333 MHz bus, is intended to give the Athlon XP more performance by accelerating data traveling between the processor and system components such as memory.
While much of AMD's focus is on its new AMD64 chip family, which includes the recently introduced Opteron processor for servers, the Athlon XP chip is still what pays the bills for the company. It's in the chipmaker's best interests, then, to keep the desktop chip as competitive as possible with Intel's Pentium 4 processor.
An increase in the bus speed alone would likely offer enough of an overall gain to justify the 3200+ designation, analysts said. AMD has been naming its chips to reflect their performance.
"If AMD can get a performance boost from going to the 400MHz bus, it can get a [model number] performance boost without raising the clock speed much. It's entirely possible it would do that," said Dean McCarron, principal analyst at Mercury Research.
The company is expected to offer at least a slight increase in clock speed as well.
http://www.globetechnology.com/servl...dapr30/GTStory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How to Sidestep a Two-Pronged Vampire
Peter Wayner
IAN WOOFENDEN and Matt Buchman, neighbors in the San Juan Islands of Washington State, share a similar quest: to avoid wasting power in a way that most Americans unwittingly do every day.
Both men have taken aim at the basic transformer, the power converter that allows electronic devices that commonly operate on 5 volts or 12 volts to run on 120 volts, the standard in most American homes. Transformers, the most recognizable of which are the fat black boxes attached to power cords, are sometimes called two-pronged vampires by energy conservationists because they continuously draw power, remaining warm to the touch even when a device is turned off.
Mr. Woofenden went to an extreme to avoid transformers by adding wiring for 12-volt, 24-volt and 120-volt power drawn from his solar panels and windmills - an expensive and complicated method that he said he would not use again. Rather, he advocates simpler changes. "You want to buy the most efficient appliance you can buy," he said. "The ultimate way to save energy is not to use it in the first place.''
While newer appliances and electronic devices are considerably more efficient than older ones, most homes still have devices with older transformers that, by one estimate, waste about 5 percent of the power in the country - enough for more than 5 million households. In Japan, as much as 10 percent to 12 percent of the country's power may be wasted.
The transformers are necessary because most modern electronic devices with solid-state components can run only on low-voltage direct current, known as DC, while most homes are wired for the standard 120-volt alternating current, or AC, that is supplied by power companies. That was acceptable in the 1940's and 50's, when the hot new gadgets were vacuum cleaners and refrigerators with motors that used 120-volt power. But silicon-based, solid-state components could sustain damage without transformers to convert AC to DC.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/01/te...ts/01volt.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Headphones With a Twist Make the World Go Away
Ivan Berger
Even if you are wearing headphones, music is hard to hear in noisy places like airplanes. The QuietComfort headphones from Bose counter the din in two ways: with circuitry that cancels out low-frequency noises, and hard-shell ear cups lined with cushions that block higher frequencies.
The new version, QuietComfort 2, offers more convenience than the original model: the ear cups fold flat to take up less space in a carry-on bag, and the battery and circuitry are built into the cups, not placed in a box on the cord. Remove the cord altogether, and you get noise reduction without the music.
The QuietComfort 2 headphones are to be available this month for $299.95 at Bose's online (
www.bose.com) and bricks-and-mortar stores. They come with a small jack to fit portable stereos, adapters for the larger jacks on home audio gear and in some airline seats, an extension cord, a AAA battery and a travel case. The original QuietComfort headphones with the same accessories cost $249.
The upgraded headphones are portable enough to be carried on a daily commute, not just long plane trips.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/01/te...ts/01head.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Wireless Wonder Converts Squiggles and Browses the Net
J.D. Biersdorfer
With the Tungsten C, Palm's line of electronic organizers continues its evolution from its origins as a scrappy little palmtop with a monochrome screen and less than a megabyte of memory into a true hand-held computer. The Palm Tungsten C comes with a beefy 64 megabytes of memory under its tiny hood, a bright color screen with 320-by-320-pixel resolution and built-in wireless networking that allows it to sense and connect to Wi-Fi networks for e-mail and browsing the Web.
In place of the area set aside on earlier Palm models for making text with the Graffiti handwriting-recognition program, the Tungsten C has a small qwerty keyboard suitable for thumb-dancing and two rows of shortcut keys for jumping instantly to places like the Address Book or Web browser. Those who prefer handwriting input will find that any part of the screen the stylus touches can now recognize and convert the squiggles to text.
The Tungsten C runs on a 400-megahertz Intel XScale processor, uses the Palm OS 5.2.1 operating system, and comes with the DataViz Documents to Go program for creating and editing files compatible with Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The organizer sells for $499 and works with computers running Windows 98 or Mac OS X or later; more information is at
www.palm.com/products/handhelds/tungsten-c.
Tipping the scales at a slight 6.3 ounces, the Palm Tungsten C provides a lightweight link to the office that barely makes a bulge in a purse or coat pocket.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/01/te...ts/01tung.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Get Broadband Cable, Install a Modem Yourself
J.D. Biersdorfer
Q. How can I install a cable modem for Internet broadband service with a kit supplied by the cable company?
A. If you have cable television service, adding a cable modem for high-speed Internet access is not difficult.
When you order a modem installation kit from your cable provider, you will probably receive a user name, password and other information you will need to set up an e-mail account and a Web browser program on your computer.
The contents of a such a kit may vary, but a typical package includes the modem itself, a CD of software to install on your computer, a short instruction manual, two coaxial cables, an Ethernet cable (also called a Category 5 cable) and a small device called a directional coupler. The directional coupler is a box with a single coaxial jack on one side and two more coaxial jacks on the other.
To set up the modem, unplug the coaxial cable from the back of your television's cable converter box and plug it into the directional coupler's single jack. Use one of the two coaxial cables from the kit to connect the TV's cable box to one of the two jacks on the other side of the coupler. Use the other cable to connect the cable modem to the remaining jack on the coupler. This allows the TV and the modem to share the cable signal.
Once the modem is connected to the coaxial cable, you can use the Ethernet cable to connect the modem to the computer's Ethernet port. Be sure to install the software that came with the kit so your computer can communicate with the cable modem. Finally, follow the instructions provided by the cable company to set up e-mail and Web browser programs.
Q. How can I tell how much RAM is installed on a Macintosh running the OS 9 operating system?
A. Under the Apple icon in the Mac's menu bar, select About This Computer. A box will pop up, and the number next to "Built-In Memory'' will show how much RAM is installed.
The Apple System Profiler program, also found under the Apple menu, provides details about RAM and other hardware on the Mac.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/01/te...ts/01askk.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Slimmer, Lighter iPod, With Room for More Music
David Pogue
UPDATING a classic can be tricky business. Tinker too much with the formula and you risk spoiling what made it a hit. (Just ask the creators of New Coke.)
Tomorrow, Apple's best-selling chrome-and-white iPod music player will go on sale in three revamped models, with a 10-, 15- or 30-gigabyte hard drive inside (for $300, $400 or $500, respectively). That's enough to hold 2,500, 3,700 or 7,500 songs, which ought to suffice for most workouts, commutes and parties. Each of the two higher-priced models comes with an exquisitely designed belt-clip carrying case, a recharging-synchronizing dock and a wired remote control in gleaming chrome.
Despite the expanded capacity, the player is even thinner and lighter than before. You can no longer describe the machine as "about as thick as a deck of cards"; you now have to add, "or at least the clubs and spades."
There are, however, a few tradeoffs. For one, the svelte shape is easier to carry, but it leaves less room for a battery, so these iPods run for only eight hours on a charge instead of 12 hours as their predecessors did.
Similarly, the Play, Menu, Previous and Next buttons are now four round, backlighted buttons just below the screen. Because they're touch-sensitive and don't actually move, you don't have to worry about beach sand getting inside. But because they are no longer arranged around the iPod's famous scroll dial, it's much harder to navigate blindly with minimal thumb motion, as iPodders worldwide love to do.
And because the new iPod is too thin to accommodate a standard FireWire cable, it comes with a proprietary, slitlike FireWire connector on the bottom. If you lose the cable it came with, you can no longer charge your iPod or sync it with the music collection on your Mac or PC. On the other hand, this single connector conducts not only electricity and music data but also sound; when you're not actually out there jogging or hang-gliding, you can slip the iPod into its charging dock, which you can leave hooked up to your stereo system.
There are no longer separate versions of the iPod for Mac and Windows; the new crop is compatible with both. Better yet, to accommodate Windows fans whose PC's don't include a FireWire jack (as all Macs do), Apple now makes a U.S.B. 2.0 cable available for $20 more.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/01/te...ts/01ipod.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dollar Songs: Bargain or Rip-Off?
Joanna Glasner
When CEO Steve Jobs unveiled Apple Computer's new music-download service here this week, he touted the introductory price of 99 cents per song as "pretty doggone close" to free.
But according to academics who've studied the economics of digital music distribution, the cost still seems too high to attract users of peer-to-peer file-trading services.
Following Apple's much-anticipated rollout of its iTunes Music Store, which is backed by the five major music labels, some researchers maintain that in order for such platforms to take off, recording companies and distributors must either cut prices substantially or alter current business models.
"There's a good chance that if the price was as high as 50 cents, services would still suffer because they're facing, practically speaking, competition at zero," said William Fisher, director of Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, who is writing a book on technology, law and the future of entertainment.
Fisher said he believes operators of downloading services need to set prices by keeping in mind that it is substantially cheaper to deliver an electronic file than a packaged CD or single.
In addition, commercial services shouldn't put restrictions on the way files can be remixed or transferred, causing potential customers to opt for freewheeling file-trading services like Kazaa or Morpheus.
Fisher isn't alone in doubting Net users' willingness to pay CD-like rates for downloaded songs.
Neil Netanel, a law professor at the University of Texas, said he would prefer doing an end run around the pay-per-download services altogether.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,58684,00.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Movie Extras Needed - Star Wars
Live in OZ and have the acting bug? Check it out.
http://www.maurafay.com.au/casting/c..._frameset.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New dreams for Morpheus
John Borland
StreamCast Networks' Morpheus, once the Net's most popular file-swapping software, is being reborn yet again with new technology, and StreamCast also has a new CEO: Former Chief Executive Michael Weiss.
StreamCast, which saw most of its top executive staff depart last month, said Wednesday that Weiss had returned to the helm, and that it would release a wholly new version of its file-trading software May 1.
The announcement came just days after a federal judge made a surprise ruling that StreamCast was not liable for copyright infringement that took place using its software, giving the struggling company a new lease on life.
"It's a new day for us," Weiss said. The ruling "allows us to expand the company, and perhaps reach out to artists who would like to directly connect with users. It really allows us to come out of the shadows and move the way we'd always wanted to."
StreamCast's quick announcements mark the first of what is likely to be a string of similar reactions from a rejuvenated peer-to-peer community collectively rejoicing over its first legal win in the United States.
Although Friday's court decision is sure to be appealed by the recording industry and movie studios one way or another, it appeared to be a clear defense of the legality of decentralized file-swapping services. As long as the companies simply distribute software, and don't actively participate in linking uploaders and downloaders, they are shielded from liability in the same way manufacturers of VCRs or copy machines are protected, Judge Stephen Wilson ruled.
The appeals process remains somewhat unclear, since the ruling was made on a summary judgment motion, or request to dismiss the suit. The two sides--the peer- to-peer companies and the Recording Industry Association of America--are meeting with the judge to determine what the most efficient way forward will be, RIAA President Cary Sherman said Tuesday.
Twists and turns
Even by the unsettled standards of file-swapping businesses, StreamCast Networks and Morpheus have ridden a roller coaster of change over the last few years.
Originally launched as Music City, and as a streaming-media company, StreamCast later launched the Morpheus file-swapping application. As people fled Napster's service in 2001, Morpheus became the most popular replacement for people looking for a new way to swap files.
However, StreamCast had licensed its file-swapping technology from the same Amsterdam-based developers that created the Kazaa software, and a licensing dispute ultimately ended with the Morpheus network going dark almost overnight. StreamCast quickly released a wholly new version of its software based on open-source Gnutella technology, but the company's popularity never recovered.
http://news.com.com/2100-1032-999026.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Apple's music: Microsoft's sour note?
Joe Wilcox and Evan Hansen
Apple Computer's new music service could help shift the battle to control digital media away from Microsoft's proprietary file formats, according to analysts.
Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple on Monday launched the new service, which makes a catalog of about 200,000 songs from all major record labels available for download to a computer. Liberal licensing terms mean the songs also can be burned to CDs or moved to portable music players, such as Apple's iPod. Apple charges an average of 99 cents per song.
While some record labels have called the music service an "experiment," analysts see huge potential for Apple to stall or potentially derail Microsoft's own digital media strategy if, as expected, it brings the service to Windows as well as the Mac.
"There's a possibility that Apple could do an end run around Microsoft...particularly) if Apple makes the service available to Windows users," said IDC analyst Roger Kay.
http://news.com.com/2100-1027-998880.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Interview With the President of Grokster
Ciarán Tannam 4/30/03
Last week marked an historic step in the record industries battle against P2P with the summary judgement issued by Judge Wilson in favour of Grokster Ltd and Streamcast Networks. Slyck has spoken exclusively to Wayne Rosso the outspoken President of Grokster Ltd about the summary judgement and other issues...
Slyck Ciarán: Firstly, tell us your reaction to the extremely important summary judgement.
Grokster: We at Grokster are obviously very happy with the Judge’s decision. The Court recognized that our file-sharing software has numerous legal and beneficial uses. This opinion lifts the cloud the plaintiffs have attempted to cast over innovation and investment. It makes clear that innovators will not be held liable for creating or investing in new technologies. This ruling also means that the labels and studios cannot ban 21st-century technology in defence of their inefficient and outmoded 20th-century distribution models
Slyck Ciarán: What is the next step in the lawsuit for you?
Grokster: The plaintiffs have commented publicly that they intended to appeal the ruling, so we assume they will and we will, of course, fight the appeal.
Slyck Ciarán: Janus Friis recently told Slyck that "Grokster is an older customized version of KMD/FT" and that older versions "supernode server to fetch seed IP addresses when not available locally". The verdict seemed to clear Gokster Ltd of operating any supernode server. Can you categorically say that Grokster does not need a supernode server and if not how does it fetch the location of supernodes when not availably locally?
Grokster: Grokster does not operate a Supernode server or a server with IP addresses or any type of server that interfaces in any way with the operation of Grokster or FastTrack with the exception of ad serving via the Start page. Grokster does not need a Supernode server to operate.
Slyck Ciarán: A side note in the summary judgement said that Sharman/Kazaa BV operates one such superode server/root supernode. Do you believe this statement to be accurate?
Grokster: We have no information as to whether they do or do not.
http://www.mp3newswire.net/stories/2003/grokster.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TiVo Names Former NBC Exec as President
Bloomberg
TiVo Inc., which makes a video recorder that can pause and replay live television programs, named former NBC Executive Vice President Martin Yudkovitz its president.
Yudkovitz has resigned his position at General Electric Co.'s NBC network, where he had served for about 20 years, helping to create the CNBC and MSNBC cable networks and NBC's MSNBC.com Internet site.
As president, Yudkovitz will be responsible for helping arrange TiVo service through partnerships with satellite, cable and advertising companies.
He replaces Morgan Guenther, who resigned in January after three years at the company.
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la...s%2Dtechnology
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We need to keep pushing the 'free as in freedom' message," says open-source advocate Bruce Perens. "If our users are never told how this great software came about, they won't understand that we need the freedom to continue making it."
Will Patents Kill IT Innovation?
Joe "Zonker" Brockmeier
More than 7,000 companies rely on Remedy for out-of-box best practice Service Management solutions that reduce costs, improve service, and maximize operational effectiveness. Come see why Remedy, a BMC Software company, is the leading choice for Service Management needs today and into the future.
Software and business processes were not even patentable until 1980, when the U.S. Supreme Court broadened the scope of what qualified to "anything under the sun that is made by man." There is plenty of evidence to suggest that the court's generous interpretation has been taken to heart -- someone, somewhere seems to be seeking a patent for everything to which the human imagination has given form.
Many in the tech industry are critical of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and its policies. It is certainly not hard to argue that some patents should never have been approved, and patent examiners are not even expected to have the expertise necessary to judge the worthiness of high-tech inventions. The question is whether patents are an impediment to the industry, a necessary evil or just a high-visibility nuisance.
While the patent process certainly concerns many companies -- particularly smaller companies without a sizeable patent portfolio -- there is little evidence to show that it has stifled attempts to innovate and create new products industry-wide. If anything, it only serves to hinder companies after they have created a new or interesting product.
However, Bruce Perens, an open-source consultant and advocate, says the patent system could become a serious problem for the IT field. "Almost all advancements in the technologies are incremental," he told NewsFactor. "One researcher is building upon the work of others. So, in such a young field as computer science, patents do tremendous harm by blocking the major mechanism of innovation -- building on the ideas of others. We're also seeing this problem in pharmaceuticals and electronics."
When a company or project is faced with a patent infringement suit, said Perens, the cost of litigation can make it prohibitive to fight back. "Defending a patent case in court is so expensive that even large companies will often pay off the patent holder rather than go to the expense of winning the case," he noted.
Combining a patent with an industry standard guarantees real trouble, he added -- especially for open-source and free software. "Standards are supposed to be a way that everybody in an industry agrees to interoperate. If we allow royalty-bearing patents into those standards, free software won't be able to implement them. We won't be able to interoperate. We don't charge royalties on our own software, and thus don't collect the funds to pass on to patent holders."
http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21270.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RIAA Instant Messaging Facing Trigger Happy Hackers
Paul Rotello
In the Two Can Play The Same Game dept. savvy computer users are wondering how long it will be before some Robin Hood hacker takes on the company that’s sending out all those “Big Brother Is Watching You” instant messages now blanketing the various Fasttrack file-sharing clients. In between worrying about “What will happen to us”, nervous users are crafting revenge fantasies that see them – or somebody – taking down whatever outfit is responsible for cranking out the copyright spam. If it happened to Madonna, if it happened to RIAA, surely it’ll happen to these guys.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Record labels' latest Napster suit unnerves venture capitalists
AP
Venture capitalists didn't need another reason to avoid high-tech investments — but two major record labels have given them one anyway.
Still seeking retribution for Napster's online file- swapping system, industry giants Universal Music and EMI are trying to break new legal ground by suing the venture capital firm that helped finance the revolutionary Internet service.
Napster failed last year, but the discord about the service and the free music that it distributed is far from over.
The music industry's latest legal assault would push the boundaries of blame by holding investors liable for the actions of a company and its management.
It's a showdown venture capitalists have long dreaded.
If the music labels prevail, "it could destroy the whole venture capital industry," said J. William Gurley, a general partner at Benchmark Capital in Menlo Park
"It's pure thuggery," said Philadelphia lawyer Howard Scher.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/20...italists_x.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“In a case like this, in which Congress has not plainly marked our course, we must be circumspect in construing the scope of rights created by a legislative enactment which never calculated such a calculus of interests.
Therefore, for the reasons stated, the Court HEREBY GRANTS the following Motions:
1) Defendant Grokster, Ltd.’s Motion for Summary Judgment [132-1];
2) Defendant StreamCast Networks, Inc.’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Re: Contributory Infringement [140-1]; and
3) Defendant StreamCast Networks, Inc.’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Re: Vicarious Infringement [142-1].
The Court HEREBY DENIES Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment [146-1], with respect to Defendants Grokster, Ltd. and StreamCast Networks, Inc.
IT IS SO ORDERED.”
STEPHEN V. WILSON
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Until next week,
-
js.
Current Week In Review.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Recent WIRs -
http://www.p2p-zone.com/underground/...threadid=16080 April 26th
http://www.p2p-zone.com/underground/...threadid=15980 April 19th
http://www.p2p-zone.com/underground/...threadid=15843 April 5th
http://www.p2p-zone.com/underground/...threadid=15729 March 29th
The Week In Review is published every Friday. Please submit letters, articles, and press releases in plain text English to jackspratts@lycos.com. Include contact info. Submission deadlines are Wednesdays @ 1700 UTC.