Silicon Solution Could Lead to a Truly Long-Life Battery
Using some of the same manufacturing techniques that produce microchips, researchers have created a porous-silicon diode that may lead to improved betavoltaics. Such devices convert low levels of radiation into electricity and can have useful lives spanning several decades.
While producing as little as one-thousandth of the power of conventional chemical batteries, the new "BetaBattery" concept is more efficient and potentially less expensive than similar designs and should be easier to manufacture. If the new diode proves successful when incorporated into a finished battery, it could help power such hard-to-service, long-life systems as structural sensors on bridges, climate monitoring equipment and satellites.
The battery's staying power is tied to the enduring nature of its fuel, tritium, a hydrogen isotope that releases electrons in a process called beta decay. The porous-silicon semiconductors generate electricity by absorbing the electrons, just as a solar cell generates electricity by absorbing energy from incoming photons of light.
Supported by grants from the NSF Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from the University of Rochester, the University of Toronto, Rochester Institute of Technology and BetaBatt, Inc. of Houston, Texas, describe their new diode in the May 13 issue of Advanced Materials.
Researchers have been attempting to convert radiation into electricity since the development of the transistor more than 50 years ago. Mastering the junctions between relatively electron-rich and electron-poor regions of semiconductor material (p-n junctions) led to many modern electronic products.
Yet, while engineers have been successful at capturing electromagnetic radiation with solar cells, the flat, thin devices have been unable to collect enough beta-decay electrons to yield a viable betavoltaic device.
The BetaBatt will not be the first battery to harness a radioactive source, or even the first to use tritium, but the new cell will have a unique advantage - the half-millimeter-thick silicon wafer into which researchers have etched a network of deep pores. This structure vastly increases the exposed surface area, creating a device that is 10 times more efficient than planar designs.
"The 3-D porous silicon configuration is excellent for absorbing essentially all the kinetic energy of the source electrons," says co-author Nazir Kherani of the University of Toronto. Instead of generating current by absorbing electrons at the outermost layer of a thin sheet, surfaces deep within these porous silicon wafers accommodate a much larger amount of incoming radiation. In early tests, nearly all electrons emitted during the tritium's beta decay were absorbed.
There were a number of practical reasons for selecting tritium as the source of energy, says co-author Larry Gadeken of BetaBatt - particularly safety and containment.
"Tritium emits only low energy beta particles (electrons) that can be shielded by very thin materials, such as a sheet of paper," says Gadeken. "The hermetically-sealed, metallic BetaBattery cases will encapsulate the entire radioactive energy source, just like a normal battery contains its chemical source so it cannot escape."
Even if the hermetic case were to be breached, adds Gadeken, the source material the team is developing will be a hard plastic that incorporates tritium into its chemical structure. Unlike a chemical paste, the plastic cannot not leak out or leach into the surrounding environment.
Researchers and manufacturers have been producing porous silicon for decades, and it is commonly used for antireflective coatings, light emitting devices, and photon filters for fiber optics. However, the current research is the first patented betavoltaic application for porous silicon and the first time that 3-D p-n diodes have been created with standard semiconductor industry techniques.
"The betavoltaic and photovoltaic applications of 3-D porous silicon diodes will result in an exciting arena of additional uses for this versatile material," says co-author Philippe Fauchet of the University of Rochester.
"This is the first time that uniform p-n junctions have been made in porous silicon, which is exciting from the point of view of materials science," says Fauchet. For example, because of its characteristics and photon sensitivity, each diode pore could serve as an individual detector, potentially creating an extremely high-resolution image sensor.
"The ease of using standard semiconductor processing technology to fabricate 3-D p-n junctions was surprising," adds co-author Karl Hirschman of the Rochester Institute of Technology. That manufacturing ease is an important breakthrough for increasing production and lowering costs, and it makes the device scalable and versatile for a range of applications.
"The initial applications will be for remote or inaccessible sensors and devices where the availability of long-life power is critical," says Gadeken.
The BetaBattery may prove better suited to certain tasks than chemical batteries when power needs are limited. The structures are robust-- tolerant to motion and shock, and functional from -148° Fahrenheit (-100° Celsius) to 302° F (150°C)--and may never have to be changed for the lifetime of the device.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/511690/?sc=swtn
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Debate Focuses On Future Of Online File-Sharing
Elizabeth Landau
Amid a growing number of copyright-infringement lawsuits filed by music and film producers against college students, attorneys from both sides of the issue debated the future of online sharing of songs, movies and other files at an event organized by Princeton students.
Dean Garfield, vice president and director of legal affairs of the Motion Picture Association of America, and Wendy Seltzer, intellectual property attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, agreed on the value of copyright protection but diverged on nearly every other subject during an hour-long debate at the Friend Center on Friday, May 6.
During the debate, called "Fear-to-Peer: A Debate About File-Sharing on Campus," both Garfield and Seltzer agreed that copyright laws have long played an important role in encouraging creativity. But they disagreed about the appropriate consequences of using or creating the file-sharing technologies or how to move forward in a society with pervasive access to such technology.
File-sharing, the trading of music and video via the Internet or other computer networks, has sparked disagreements in courts and on college campuses around the country as people share copyrighted materials without paying for them. The recording and motion picture industries have sued college students for allegedly using such networks to illegally share copyrighted materials. Some of the recording industry suits have targeted Princeton students. (The University's published guidelines on copyright protection are available online.)
"I don't think that lawsuits, particularly lawsuits against individuals, including college students, are the best way to enforce copyright and ensure payments to those who create artistic works," said Seltzer. Arguing that industry should "offer the carrot before the stick," she advocated the creation of commercial services that make it more attractive for people to pay for the service than to use free networks.
Technologies have historically presented problems for copyrights, Seltzer said. The piano roll, the radio and the VCR were all “disruptive technologies” that raised fears that they would seriously damage businesses that depend on copyrights. "But in each case, we didn't kill off those technologies," she said. "We found compromises -- whether legislative changes or industries working together -- to find ways to compensate artists while letting the new technologies advance."
File-sharing presents a similar challenge, she said. "Instead of killing off that new technology, let's find ways for people to pay for it."
Garfield assured the audience that the recording and movie industries do not intend to banish file- sharing, or "peer-to-peer" networks, which facilitate the sharing of audio, video and other digital media. "Technology is not the enemy," he said.
Yet technology is clearly used to violate copyright laws, he said. "The legal aspects are the simplest part" of the subject, he said. “Just because you can do it in your dorm room without anyone seeing doesn’t mean it isn’t wrong.”
In addition to individual users, companies such as Grokster Ltd. that provide peer-to-peer services may be held liable when people use them in illegal ways, such as for downloading movies and software, he said.
“When you find out the product you created is being misused, you bear some responsibility to address the impropriety,” he said.
Garfield, who received a master's degree from Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and formerly worked for the Recording Industry of America, has led several key lawsuits related to file-sharing. Seltzer, who is a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School, has helped to defend such cases through her work at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
The debate was organized by a group of students -- seniors Stacy Chen and Daniel Peng and graduate students Harlan Yu and Alex Halderman -- who participated in the course "Information Technology and the Law" taught this semester by Edward Felten, professor of computer science. Felten moderated the debate, which was sponsored by the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Woodrow Wilson School and the Department of Computer Science.
“I hope it helped people clarify what was going on with the lawsuits,” said Peng, who was subject to one of the music industry's early file-sharing suits in 2003. " I think there is a general acknowledgement that there is a need to compensate the creators. There is not a consensus about what we should do, and that is the crux of the debate."
http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/a...ion=topstories
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WinMX MP3 Music Sharing Software Review
Joanna Gurnitsky
1) Overview of the WinMX software: This product is designed to trade songs and videos across the Internet using "peer to peer" (P2P) networking.
It works like this: thousands of users install WinMX on their PCs, and willingly open their hard drives to each other. As these thousands of people log on to the Net using WinMX, the pool of available WinMX hard drives changes moment-to-moment. Every WinMX user is empowered to search for songs and movies, and then begin downloading and uploading music files to each other. Equitable sharing of music and movies is promoted, and people will often share gigabytes of files with their fellow WinMX users.
This WinMX P2P network system employs its own custom file sharing client software, created by FrontCode Technologies. The current version of WinMX is 3.53, and is free to download here: http://
www.winmx.com/
2) Warning: WinMX is a highly controversial software because of copyright laws, and WinMX users do risk possible fines and lawsuits.
3) What You Need to Run WinMX (System Requirements)" : Windows 98 / ME / 2000 / XP. Pentium166 with 64MB of RAM or better recommended. MacIntosh "grey- market" versions are available for around $50USD.
3) Why WinMX is a Good P2P Software: WinMX is simple to install, easy to use, available for free, and is the only no-cost P2P software that is free of malignant spyware. In short, if you choose to participate in P2P file sharing, WinMX is the friendliest and cheapest choice available.
4) The Downsides of WinMX: Other than in Canada, it is a copyright infringement in most countries to share music and movie files. WinMX users risk being fined or even sued everytime they trade music files.
Part 2: Legalities and Technicalities
6) The Legalities of Using WinMX Music-Sharing Software:
True WinMX software is FREE, but you must decide if you will risk being sued for copyright infringement. The only country that legally sanctions Internet music- and video-sharing is Canada. If you are in the USA, the UK, Mexico, Australia, or elsewhere, you do run a risk of being caught and fined for sharing music.
Example of an American User Being Fined: On May 6th, 2004, a woman from Connecticut was fined six thousand dollars for downloading copyright-protected music from the Internet, and was barred from downloading, uploading or distributing copyrighted songs over the Internet. (Article here)
7) Warning About a Consumer Scam: some P2P networks will unethically sell you paid versions of various file sharing software, including WinMX, and claim that this paid software absolves you of copyright responsibility. This is a lie. While the software itself may be legal (you paid for it), the copyright aspect is not addressed by these surchages.
These unethical scammers will obscure the issue with hazy statements like: “Due to the nature of peer-to- peer software, we are unable to monitor or control the types of files shared within the peer- to-peer communities”. In the end, despite what these unethical vendors will tell you, you are still liable for music sharing copyright regardless if you pay for the software or not
8) Technical Concerns for Using WinMX P2P Software:
a. Always check your files with a good anti-virus program.
b. If you are behind a router-firewall and are curious how to set up your file sharing, go here:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/j.bucha...l?routers.html
This website contains detailed information you can use to “open up” certain ports on your router to allow the “in” and “out” file sharing traffic.
c. Personal comment: I would highly recommend that you get acquainted with some tips and tricks that will make your WinMX-life easier. These tips include: how to avoid downloading fake files, and what to do if the movie you just downloaded refuses play on your computer. You can also find a lot of information about the fine- tuning of your transfer speeds and other WinMX expert features here:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/candyst...llingWinMX.htm
http://netforbeginners.about.com/cs/...nmx_review.htm
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Toshiba Developing 45GB HD-DVD Disc
Nate Mook
Despite reports in a Japanese newspaper stating that Toshiba and Sony may be close to deal that would standardize on Blu- ray for next-generation DVDs, Toshiba has announced the development of a higher capacity disc in its competing format, HD-DVD. The 45GB capacity would eliminate Blu-ray's size advantage.
Blu-ray offers a 50-gigabyte disc capacity and proponents boast that it is intended primarily for video purposes. Original HD-DVD discs had two layers of data: one in the old DVD format and a second that holds 15 gigabytes.
Supporters of HD-DVD note its backwards compatibility, but Blu-ray's immense capacity has garnered more interest in the marketplace.
The new HD-DVD format would support three separate layers of data on a disc, with each layer holding 15GB. Toshiba also announced a new dual-layer disc that holds 30GB on one side and 8.5GB in the original DVD format on the other.
The competing high-definition DVD formats has caused a rift in the movie industry. Movie studios Walt Disney and Twentieth Century Fox have pledged support for Blu-ray, while others including Warner Bros. will utilize HD-DVD. HD-DVD discs are expected to reach the market first.
Software companies such as Microsoft and Apple, meanwhile, will win no matter what DVD format comes out on top. Video codecs from both companies will be supported by both Blu-ray and HD-DVD, and Microsoft recently announced that Warner Bros. Studios will use its VC-1 codec for its HD-DVD movie titles.
http://www.betanews.com/article/Tosh...isc/1115827313
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Yahoo Taking On Rivals With Online Music Service
Sue Zeidler
Yahoo Inc. on Tuesday said it was launching a new online music subscription service, aggressively competing against current providers such as Apple Computer Inc., RealNetworks Inc.'s Rhapsody and Napster Inc. with lower pricing.
Yahoo said it was offering the service, beginning May 11, in a trial version with an introductory price of $4.99 per month for an annual subscription, or $6.99 on a monthly basis.
The new service, called Yahoo Music Unlimited, lets individuals play tunes from a catalog of more than one million songs, transfer tracks to portable devices and share music with friends through Yahoo! Messenger.
Rivals Napster and Rhapsody provide subscribers unlimited streams on demand and other features for about $9.99 a month and both recently added portability, charging users about $15 a month for subscriptions including that feature.
Yahoo Music General Manager David Goldberg said the company could eventually raise its prices. "We're not saying it's the price forever, but we're assuming it's the price throughout the Beta (trial) period, which is an undetermined amount of time," he told Reuters.
"Yahoo's clearly putting big pricing pressure on folks like Real and Napster. Neither have the advertising leverage that Yahoo has, so this has the potential to be highly disruptive to any digital music subscription service, particularly Napster since its a pure-play digital music company," said PJ McNealy, an analyst with American Technology Research.
The shares of Real and Napster fell in after hours trading on iNet. Real's stock fell nearly 11 percent or about 80 cents to $6.50 after closing at $7.30 on Nasdaq. Napster fell about 15 percent, or $1 to $5.35 after-hours after closing on Nasdaq at $6.35.
Napster could not be reached for comment.
RealNetworks last month unveiled a free version of its service, offering users 25 songs streamed on demand, Internet radio and other features in hopes of luring consumers to its other fee-based services.
"We just started giving away music for free on Rhapsody and there's more movement to give consumers affordable access to music. Yahoo's jumping into the subscription market is a complete validation for RealNetworks," said a Real spokesman.
By linking the service to its instant messaging application, analysts said Yahoo is aiming to make legal music- sharing among subscribers a focus of its offerings.
Yahoo's service also enables fans to buy downloads, listen to commercial-free Internet radio stations and access their subscription service from any Internet-connected computer.
The subscription service is the latest push by the Sunnyvale, Calif-based Web giant to bolster its music properties under the newly rebranded Yahoo! Music division in hopes of capitalizing on the growing market for online music now led by Apple Computer Inc. with its a la carte music purchasing service and popular iPods.
Yahoo last September bought San Diego-based Musicmatch, which offers the popular Musicmatch Jukebox, online radio stations and a song download service, for $160 million.
Yahoo is also reportedly developing a search engine for finding downloadable songs and music data from across the Internet, which it plans to introduce within the next couple of months. Company officials declined to comment.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=8447352
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After The Bell-Dreamworks, Realnetworks And Napster Fall
Shares of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (DWA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) slid nearly 19 percent in extended hours of trading on Tuesday after the movie studio and entertainment company posted lower-than-expected earnings.
DreamWorks stock fell to $29.69 on the Inet electronic brokerage system from its New York Stock Exchange close at $36.50.
The Glendale, California-based DreamWorks posted net earnings of $46 million, or 44 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $25 million, or 33 cents a diluted share for the same period in 2004. Analysts polled by Reuters Estimates expected earnings of 57 cents a share for the latest first quarter.
Meanwhile, shares of Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) which had risen over 1 percent after it announced an increase in its quarterly earnings and sales, were trading at $18.30, still up half a percent from their Nasdaq close at $18.21.
Cisco, the largest maker of gear for directing traffic over the Internet, is considered by many to be a bellwether for the technology sector.
Shares of Bob Evans Farms Inc. (BOBE.O: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 3.6 percent after it said that same-store sales at its namesake restaurants fell 5.8 percent in April as average menu prices for the month also declined.
Bob Evans' shares fell to $21.50 on Inet from its Nasdaq close of $22.31.
Shares of online music service providers RealNetworks Inc. (RNWK.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and Napster Inc. (NAPS.O: Quote, Profile, Research) fell after Internet giant Yahoo Inc. (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Tuesday said it launched a new online music subscription service. The service will compete aggressively against both RealNetworks and Napster with lower pricing.
RealNetworks stock plunged over 10 percent to $6.55, while shares of Napster sank over 17 percent to $5.25.
Shares of eCollege (ECLG.O: Quote, Profile, Research) , which provides technology and services to colleges for their online academic programs, fell more than 9 percent to $9.78 from their Nasdaq close of $10.76. The stock's price fell on Inet after hours in spite of the company's report of higher quarterly results.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=8446755
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Stevie Wonder Releases Video For Blind
Stevie Wonder is releasing the first video containing an audio track for people who have trouble seeing, according to the blind singer's Web site.
One version of "So What the Fuss," from Wonder's upcoming album, "A Time To Love," will air on music channels.
Another version featuring the track narrated by rapper Busta Rhymes will air on channels with secondary audio programing, known as SAP technology, Universal Motown Records Group said.
The technology provides alternative audio, such as descriptions of scenery around program dialogue, for the blind and low-vision audience, said Linda Idoni of the Media Access Group of Boston public television station WGBH.
The Media Access Group wrote the description read by Rhymes on Wonder's video.
"Until now music videos have been very one-dimensional for those who are blind or with low vision," said Wonder in a statement.
Yahoo Inc's Yahoo! Music will premiere both versions of the video online on Wednesday.
Wonder, 54, unveiled the narrated video along with the traditional version of "So What the Fuss" at a Los Angeles news conference Monday at which reporters were blindfolded.
"So What the Fuss" is the first studio release from Wonder in nearly 10 years. Universal Motown is a unit of Vivendi Universal.
Wonder was just 12 when he started recording for Motown, and his first hit, "Fingertips, Pt. 2" topped the pop charts in 1963. Other hits include "Superstition," "You are the Sunshine of My life" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You."
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=8447725
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America Online To Unveil Free E-Mail Service
Kenneth Li
America Online will begin offering a free e-mail service on Wednesday tied to its popular instant messaging service, ahead of a big relaunch of its free AOL.com Web site later this year.
AOL's free Web-based e-mail service is nearly a decade behind Microsoft's Hotmail service and several years behind a Yahoo E-mail offering.
But the online division of Time Warner Inc. (TWX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is betting that the combination of e-mail with its ubiquitous instant messaging software (AIM) will create a more powerful service combining all electronic and phone messages.
AOL will integrate its recently launched digital phone service this fall, when the AIM software will be rewritten, allowing users to retrieve voice mail, e-mail and instant messages from any computer.
"AOL is a bit late to the Web mail game, but it's not too late," said Joe Laszlo, a senior analyst at Jupiter Research. "It's a question of integrating different communications channels together giving them an opportunity to go a bit further than anyone else has gone."
The once prominent provider of paid online services will offer free e-mail to 20 million active users of the free AOL Instant Messenger as a test before it's final launch about a month later.
The e-mail service, which offers 2 gigabytes of free storage space, will be subsidized by banner advertisements that run alongside the e-mail screens, similar to other free Web-based e-mail services.
AOL's new AIM Mail service is part of an ambitious plan to overhaul its business model to focus on freely available services and programming from one that depends on subscription revenue.
The move is a dramatic reversal from its previous strategy, built around assembling the most compelling package of Internet programming in order to get subscribers to pay about $20 a month for dial-up Internet service.
AOL has been losing subscribers to phone and cable companies offering high speed Internet packages. At the same time, AOL's advertising revenue has exploded, jumping 45 percent in its most recent first quarter from a year ago, prompting the Internet service to rethink its strategy last year.
"It's a part of our broader 'Audience' strategy that takes advantage of the significant increases in advertising, search and e-commerce on the Internet," said Chamath Palihapitiya, vice president and general manager of AIM at AOL.
AOL will be up against Yahoo Inc. (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) , at which e-mail services accounted for 53.2 percent of traffic to all Web mail services in the week ended May 7, according to measurement firm Hitwise.
It will also be up against Google Inc. (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research) . Google's e-mail service, Gmail, helps marketers target e-mail users by serving ads linked to key words in e-mail text. Google uses technology to sift through e-mail for relevant text and has said no humans actually read users' e-mail.
"That's creepy," Palihapitiya said, referring to Google's use of technology to target e-mail users with ads. AOL has a lucrative partnership with Google, which provides the search engine foundations of AOL's search site.
An AOL executive said AIM Mail will also include junk e-mail fighting features, like AOL.
AIM users will automatically qualify for an account using their current AIM user name.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=8448986
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Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Reform (HR 1201)
Posted by Drakinix
Those of us who live in the United States should consider supporting DMCA reform under HR 1201.
The following article was published by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. If you are a U.S. resident please consider using the EFF Action Center link below to indicate your support of this important consumer rights protection reform of the DMCA.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) has been wreaking
havoc on consumers' fair use rights for the past seven
years. Now Congress is considering the Digital Media
Consumers' Rights Act (DMCRA, HR 1201), a bill that would
reform part of the DMCA and formally protect the "Betamax
defense" relied on by so many innovators.
HR 1201 would give citizens the right to circumvent
copy-protection measures as long as what they're doing
is otherwise legal. For example, it would make sure
that when you buy a CD, whether it is copy-protected
or not, you can record it onto your computer and move
the songs to an MP3 player. It would also protect a
computer science professor who needs to bypass
copy-protection to evaluate encryption technology.
In addition, the bill would codify the Betamax defense,
which has been under attack by the entertainment
industry through the "Induce Act" last year and the
MGM v. Grokster case currently before the Supreme
Court. This kind of sanity would be a welcome change
to our copyright law.
Last year we sent 30,000+ letters of support for the
DMCRA, and the bill got a hearing on Capitol Hill. It's
time to double that number - take action at the link
below, then urge your friends and family to support HR
1201, too!
Make your voice heard with the EFF Action Center:
http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=115
(Note: U.S. Residents Only)
Source:
EFFector Vol. 18, No. 14 May 5, 2005
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
ISSN 1062-9424
Link:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/003536.php
Thanks for the heads up, Drakonix. Here's the letter I sent:
Mazer
"Support HR 1201, And Let Americans Own The Things They Purchase
I am a Coloradoan who owns a large DVD collection, and I am writing to urge you to support the DMCRA, HR 1201. This bill addresses many problems stemming from the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Specifically, HR 1201 would ensure that I can't be prosecuted for disobeying the ridiculous "anti-circumvention" provisions of the DMCA as long as my use of the underlying copyrighted material is lawful. HR 1201 would allow people like me to make backups of lawfully obtained DVD's by removing the restrictions that protect DVD copy-protection rather than the movies they contain.
No DVD movie is sold in this country without a digital copy-protection scheme called Copyright Control System or CSS, a very weak encryption system that begs to be circumvented. The computer code that makes this possible is so simple it can be reduced to four lines of code short enough to print on a post card, but under the DMCA it's legally risky to do so. Not only is it illegal to use such a tool, it's also illegal to talk about how it works. HR 1201 corrects this problem. This is a long overdue reform to our copyright law, and I hope that we can go even further to legalize the tools that allow me, my family, and my friends to exercise our consumer rights, our fair-use rights, and even our free speech rights. For some even better language, please see last Congress' version of the DMCRA, H.R. 107.
In addition, the bill would codify the "Betamax defense," which has been under attack by the entertainment industries in the "INDUCE Act" last year and the MGM v. Grokster case currently before the Supreme Court. This is an example of good case law that can be turned into good legislative law. It would make it clear that a technology innovator will not be held responsible for every copyright infringement committed by his customers as long as the technology is capable of noninfringing uses. The Internet itself is such a technology. This rule is critical if innovators are to have the mandate and motivation to create the new technologies that make us all better off.
I urge you to address this important issue by becoming a co-sponsor of HR 1201. Thank you for your time, your research into the matter, and your leadership on the hill."
I seem to remember the EFF form said that letters would be both emailed and faxed so there's a good chance that Congress will pay some attention to them. Whether or not they'll agree is yet another matter.
Since my Representative is a Republican I toyed with the idea of comparing the anti-circumvention clause to gun control. Had he been a Democrat I probably would have taken a different approach, but there's gotta be some way to frame the issue to make it fit into either party platform. That's what they really care about, along with their own reputations. It's unfortunate that these issues are being handled by a House and Senate that are almost split down the middle because nonpartisan issues like these get ignored.
All I can say is that if your Reps. are Tom Delay, Roy Blunt, Nancy Pelosi, Steny H. Hoyer, James Sensenbrenner, John Conyers, Lamar Smith, or Howard Berman, make sure you write a letter to them because they're the party and committee leaders that get things done in the House and they're the ones that need to hear us the most. Next in importance would be the rest of the House Judiciary Committee, especially members of the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property. Just have a look at their hearing schedule and you'll see all kinds of issues that apply to people like us. If these people represent you make sure they hear you.
http://www.p2p-zone.com/underground/...ad.php?t=21500
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'Fair Use' Bill Draws Ire Of Rights Holders
Brooks Boliek
Some of the most important copyright holders, including the studios, sports leagues and the entertainment unions, are urging lawmakers to oppose legislation that would scale back intellectual property protections.
In a letter sent to lawmakers this week, the companies, leagues and guilds told lawmakers that the Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act (HR 1201) actually undermines consumers.
"Despite its title, HR 1201 is decidedly anti-consumer. If enacted, it would promote 'hacking' and the proliferation of 'hacker tools,' undermine the incentives for both copyright owners and the people who create those copyrighted works to create and distribute the highest-quality products to American consumers," the Copyright Assembly wrote. "In the end, HR 1201 will leave individuals with fewer choices, less flexibility and inferior quality digital entertainment."
The legislation, written by Reps. Rick Boucher, D-Va., and John Doolittle, R-Calif., would allow people to bypass digital copyright protection regimes for "fair use" purposes. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, cracking a digital copyright protection regime is a federal crime.
Copyright holders contend that allowing such an action guts the protection necessary for Internet delivery of copyrighted works.
"With 2.6 billion infringing files traded each month on peer-to-peer networks, Congress should be looking for ways to limit piracy (or even to keep it from getting worse), not to facilitate it by undermining what limited technical protections do exist today," the Copyright Assembly wrote. "We urge you to seriously consider the adverse effects of this proposal and opt to protect consumer choice in the marketplace by rejecting HR 1201."
Although there has been little movement on copyright legislation since the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act was approved this year, congressional and industry sources say that the letter was prompted because Boucher has been urging colleagues to consider the bill.
Most lawmakers and industry executives think that any broad copyright legislation like the Boucher-Doolittle bill will have to wait until after the Supreme Court rules on the Grokster case. Their ruling likely will decide the copyright liability of P2P networks, and the losing side is sure to ask Congress to undo the court's decision.
http://billboardradiomonitor.com/rad..._id=1000920284
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Your papers please!
Senate Approves Electronic ID Card Bill
Declan McCullagh
Last-minute attempts by online activists to halt an electronic ID card failed Tuesday when the U.S. Senate unanimously voted to impose a sweeping set of identification requirements on Americans.
The so-called Real ID Act now heads to President Bush, who is expected to sign the bill into law this month. Its backers, including the Bush administration, say it's needed to stop illegal immigrants from obtaining drivers' licenses.
If the act's mandates take effect in May 2008, as expected, Americans will be required to obtain federally approved ID cards with "machine readable technology" that abides by Department of Homeland Security specifications. Anyone without such an ID card will be effectively prohibited from traveling by air or Amtrak, opening a bank account, or entering federal buildings.
After the Real ID Act's sponsors glued it to an Iraq military spending bill, final passage was all but guaranteed. Yet that didn't stop a dedicated cadre of privacy activists from trying to raise the alarm in the last few days.
UnRealID.com, which calls the legislation a "national ID card," says that more than 10,800 people filled out its online petition to senators.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation hastily created a "Stop The Real ID Act!" campaign last week, and the ACLU denounced the bill as a measure that would create "a system ripe for identity theft." Security guru Bruce Schneier offered his own negative critique.
If the Real ID Act had been a standalone piece of legislation--instead of being embedded in an unrelated military spending bill--its passage in the Senate might have been less certain.
The House approved it in February by a relatively narrow vote of 261-161, and some senators had condemned it. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., warned last month that the Real ID Act creates "de facto national ID cards" and the National Immigration Law Center said it will make it harder even for legal immigrants and citizens to get drivers' licenses.
Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican and Real ID Act sponsor, applauded the Senate vote on Tuesday. "The Real ID is vital to preventing foreign terrorists from hiding in plain sight while conducting their operations and planning attacks," Sensenbrenner said. "By targeting terrorist travel, the Real ID will assist in our war-on-terror efforts to disrupt terrorist operations and help secure our borders."
http://news.com.com/Senate+approves+...3-5702505.html
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Your Identity, Open to All
Xeni Jardin
A search for personal data on ZabaSearch.com -- one of the most comprehensive personal-data search engines on the net -- tends to elicit one of two reactions from first-timers: terror or curiosity. Which reaction often depends on whether you are searching for someone else's data, or your own.
ZabaSearch queries return a wealth of info sometimes dating back more than 10 years: residential addresses, phone numbers both listed and unlisted, birth year, even satellite photos of people's homes.
ZabaSearch isn't the first or only such service online. Yahoo's free People Search, for example, returns names, telephone numbers and addresses. But the information is nothing more than what's been available for years in the White Pages.
Far more personal information is available from data brokers, including aliases, bankruptcy records and tax liens. That access typically requires a fee, however, which has always been a barrier to the casual snooper.
But ZabaSearch makes it easier than ever to find comprehensive personal information on anyone.
ZabaSearch may give away some data for free, but it charges for additional information -- like background checks and criminal history reports, which may or may not be accurate. The company also plans to sell ads and other services on the search site, much like Google or Yahoo.
Launched in February, the site has emerged during a period of heightened sensitivity about data privacy and identity theft, now among the fastest-growing crimes in America. Numerous security breaches involving personal records have occurred in recent months. Earlier this week, media giant Time Warner admitted it lost the social security numbers of 600,000 employees. Other incidents of bungling or virtual burglary have compromised hundreds of thousands of personal records held by ChoicePoint, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Lexis-Nexis, among others.
Critics say ZabaSearch is exploiting the lack of data privacy in America. We unknowingly leak personal information in countless ways, the argument goes, and neither the government nor private industry provides effective ways for us to control how our digital identities are shared or sold.
Plus, an odd, often-reported connection between the company's chairman and members of the Heaven's Gate suicide cult hasn't helped make the company's image any more friendly.
But the founders of ZabaSearch maintain they're not villains, and that their service is a step toward data democratization. If your information is already out there, the logic goes, at least now you'll know about it.
Wired News sat down with Robert Zakari, ZabaSearch president and general counsel, and chairman Nicholas Matzorkis, to talk about ZabaSearch.
Wired News: How much traffic is the site receiving?
Nicholas Matzorkis: We intend to release our beta site traffic levels at the time we announce the end of our beta phase in May. But leading up to April 2005, Yahoo People Search was the most-used free people-search directory on the internet since 1998, when Yahoo acquired four11.com. After eight weeks online, ZabaSearch.com beta is processing an estimated three times as many queries as Yahoo People Search on a daily basis.
WN: Who uses the site?
Robert Zakari: Over a third of our users are media, government and companies.
Matzorkis: Based on network domains in our server logs, government use is over 20 percent. Military is 12 to 13 percent. Department of Homeland Security is around 1 percent of the government portion. Media and news agencies, about 2 to 3 percent.
Everybody feels they have the right to use this kind of a search engine, but others should not. Law enforcement tells us they think it's a great tool but question whether others should have right to use it.
There should be laws passed to ensure that access is provided in a way that reflects the public's best interest. But that is not our job. We are not given (the) task of determining those guidelines. Our job is to operate in compliance with the law as it stands. And that is what we do.
WN: Where does the data on ZabaSearch come from?
Zakari: The public domain. Information collected by the government, and information that individuals put it out into the public domain. Court records, county records, state records, information that becomes publicly available after you buy a new house or go to the post office and file a change-of-address form.
Matzorkis: When you move and fill out a change form with the post office, they record date of move and new address, then sell that to info brokers on the open market. When you apply for a credit card, and you don't check the box saying you don't want your information shared, it will be sold.
Personal information in the U.S. is a multibillion-dollar-a-year industry. People realizing that right now as a result of stumbling on ZabaSearch may find that shocking, but the data has been out there for years. It's just a question of who has access. You, or the people selling it to other companies to market things to you?
WN: How many records do you have, and from what countries?
Matzorkis: ZabaSearch does not maintain a database. It is a search engine, which queries third-party public information databases. Currently, nearly 100 percent of the records displayed in ZabaSearch results are U.S. records.
The total number of records being searched is approximately 2 billion. ZabaSearch directly queries an average of about 10 to 12 public records for every adult in the U.S. If it were possible to track back the source of every public record to its origin, the total number of individual public records that exist on thousands and thousands of hard drives right now gets up into the trillions.
WN: How far back do these records go?
Matzorkis: This varies. If, for example, an address that entered a database 10 years ago could belong to someone who was at that address for 20 years before that. I'd estimate that most records displayed were entered into an initial database in the last 10 years.
WN: What do you say to domestic-violence victims, people who've been stalked or others who fear for personal safety as a result of the fact that their home addresses and phone numbers -- information they may have made efforts to keep private -- are so easily available through your site?
Matzorkis: We understand the concern. It's something we have considered. But the real solution to that problem involves more than removing that info from one database. There are laws in some states like Massachusetts, where the state will go to the data source and force the changing or removal of information. Your address, social security number or other info. They'll do that on your behalf. But opting out of every single database won't fix that problem. The data replicates too quickly in the information industry. You have to go to the core -- the state and public information level. So I would say to those people -- if you are under threat, get state help from the courts.
Zakari: Many states -- including Massachusetts, Maine, New Jersey -- have a program called the Address Confidentiality Program in which, if you can show a verifiable threat, you can have a P.O. box or non-identifiable address associated with you on all state or legal documents. If you buy a home, get a drivers license or register to vote, those are all sources of public records. But you have to go to a court to have the information masked and get protection.
WN: What about people who don't live in states where those protections exist? Why should they have to proactively defend their state-acknowledged right to privacy, and how can they? Why should the burden be on the citizen? Doesn't your company bear some responsibility?
Matzorkis: There are other sites like ZabaSearch online already. More will come.
You said there's a state-given right for privacy. There are, for some aspects of privacy -- but not for all of them. It would be good for people to better understand their rights. For example, a lot of people think that if you have an unlisted number, it cannot be legally published or printed. All you're doing is -- and it doesn't even work all the time -- preventing it from showing up in 411 or the White Pages. By unlisting your number, it doesn't mean that info can't be bought and sold in the information market all day long.
WN: I did a search on my own name with your site. The data returned was inaccurate and obsolete.
Matzorkis: Many people point out inaccuracies in many of the records. These are not inaccuracies in ZabaSearch. ZabaSearch simply displays what it finds in the public domain and makes no claims about the accuracy of the information posted.
WN: I also tried to opt out of the site. I e-mailed multiple remove requests, and an autoresponder informed me that I'd have to submit my name and other personal data. I did, but my records were never removed. I was promised that someone would respond personally, and I contacted the site three times as specified in the e-mail with all of the info requested. That felt pretty unresponsive. The data's still there, as it was when I first contacted you.
Zakari: For about three or four weeks, our autoresponder has stated that you have to mail in your request. Our company is still new. Your request may be processing now.
Matzorkis: Yes, we ask for additional info -- how else can we verify how to pull the record? There might be multiple people out there with the same names. The procedure is industry-standard, not unique to ZabaSearch. Experian and other information companies, including publicly traded ones, all follow this process. We destroy information after we've blocked a record at the person's request.
WN: So, you're acknowledging that the system is broken. How should the system as a whole be better managed? Should there be more regulations in place so that data sources have greater accountability and accessibility?
Matzorkis: The information is out there. Many people have access to it. Others don't yet. We believe that anyone whose info potentially makes up those databases should have equal access to it -- not just the people who can afford to, or know where to go to get it, or happen to have a job that gives them access to it. We find it ironic that so many people's info makes up the databases, but these individuals don't know how to get to it themselves and manage what's available about them. At least we provide them with a rough sense of what information is out there associated with them.
Zakari: The address you find on ZabaSearch may not be yours, but it is associated with you. The idea of allowing people to have the same level of access to their own info as others do who are in positions of power -- that's a benefit. Databases exist today which are only available to private investigators, financial institutions and the like. But recent examples of data loss, hacking and theft show that the rules in place to protect that data aren't working.
Matzorkis: If ZabaSearch is a haven for identity theft, what about the 80 million people in the White Pages? You can't steal someone's identity just with a name and a phone number.
WN: But my phone company lets me opt out of the directory when I first create my customer account, and there's more available on your site than just names and phone numbers.
Matzorkis: There are birth years, which are sometimes inaccurate. You can't just walk into a car dealership and say "Hi, my name is John Doe, I'm 28 years old and I live on 123 Maple Street, give me the keys." You can't just call Visa, MasterCard or a bank and have a credit card issued to you on that limited information.
ID theft is occurring because of security breaches and hacking, not because public info -- addresses, phone numbers, birth years -- have been made available on ZabaSearch. Look at the offline issues (like) using your credit card in a restaurant or at the gas pump where employees have access to that data. Even of the theft that occurs online, most is due to hacking -- there are no groups of hackers sitting around in Russia trying to figure out how they can sign up for credit cards based on seven random names and addresses they found on ZabaSearch. They are trying to figure out how they can break into a database to steal those 17,000 credit card numbers and sell them on the black market the following morning for $2 a piece.
There should be more laws to help law enforcement track that more effectively, and there should be better international cooperation to fight identity crime. Sealing public information databases won't solve the problem. If you were to turn ZabaSearch off tomorrow, it wouldn't change anything.
We do not oppose new legislation. But we are not society's caretakers. We are technologists and entrepreneurs.
WN: How did each of you end up in the personal-data business?
Matzorkis: I founded 1-800-US-Search in 1994 as a low-cost way for people to locate lost friends and family members. I've been an entrepreneur all my life and founded the company because of an experience I had being reunited with family members in Greece.
All of my grandparents emigrated to the U.S. from Crete. After WWII, all communication was cut off ... from the four villages my family came from. Thirty years later my father was determined to go find our roots. He quit his job, sold the family house, pulled us out of school to go to Greece, and went to different villages to try and find our family. As a kid I couldn't understand it, but on an emotional level, pathos -- the feelings we feel as human beings -- those feelings are indescribable. Reunions on daytime talk shows are very highly rated shows because being reunited with a brother you've been separated from since birth, for instance -- there's almost nothing that can conjure up the same kind of emotion in people.
Twenty years later, around 1994, I was in the telecom business doing marketing for telecom services and realized that by combining publicly available databases, you could locate just about anybody. You don't have to spend thousands of dollars to hire a private investigator. That's when I launched 1-800-US Search.
Zakari: I joined US Search in 1996, after law school.
WN: After the company went public in 1999, you both left. What happened?
Matzorkis: The dynamic changed after the IPO. New management felt the search industry was headed in different direction than we did. I opened a wireless transaction company in China, focused on that for two years, but I always wanted to come back to this. I felt that companies in the business of selling public information weren't getting it right.
WN: What weren't they getting right?
Matzorkis: I believe the cost of that information will go down, availability will increase, and overall use will increase. Ten or 20 years ago, it wouldn't be possible to build a business around offering that data for free. But it is now. The information itself is not new. But technology has sped up the rate at which it can be obtained and reduced the cost involved.
WN: The two of you then founded a company called PeopleData. What's the difference between that business and ZabaSearch?
Matzorkis: The company still exists. It's a reseller of public record info for the purpose of locating individuals or conducting background checks. We wanted to bring the price down to zero, and decided it would be best to do that under a new brand. ZabaSearch is not a public record broker, it is a search engine. Yes, we'll offer additional information and services for a fee, but the idea is closer to Google or Yahoo -- it's a search engine that gives results and sells ads, integrated links, other services. PeopleData sells information which is not made available on ZabaSearch.
WN: A recent San Francisco Chronicle article pointed to a connection the two of you have with the Heaven's Gate suicide cult. What's the link?
Matzorkis: Several members of the group worked for 1-800-US Search, which was located in Beverly Hills. We had more than 300 employees at that time, some outside contractors. One of them, who became a full-time employee, came into my office and told me what he thought had occurred -- that there had in fact just been a mass suicide. When he told me all of this, I didn't even know who these people were, I didn't realize this was a cult.
As an employer, we don't ask people about their religious beliefs or use that as a criteria for hiring. They performed great work. He asked me if he could ask another employee to give him a ride down there to find out if what he feared had really happened. As his employer, if someone walks in and presents me with this, it would seem irresponsible to send him down there with another employee, so I offered to give this guy a ride to the house myself. I didn't believe that it had occurred. I assumed that it was a hoax or misunderstanding.
I gave him a ride, he went inside, and discovered that it had happened. So, he was an employee, and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and as a result -- now, when the media does reports on ZabaSearch or 1-800 US Search, or other companies I've done like Global Agora in China, they bring this association up. But it tends to be presented in some way that implies something which is not true. For the record, neither Robert Zakari nor I were ever members of that cult, believers in it, anything. We simply employed some people who happened to be members.
http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,67407,00.html
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Germany Planning To Reduce Internet Privacy
According to a ministerial draft bill for a Telemedia Act (TMG) (
PDF) drawn up by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Labor online sales platforms and other telemedia companies will in future be allowed to monitor their customers more intensely. According to §15 of the draft bill providers of telecommunications and media services are to be allowed "for prosecution purposes" to collect, store, modify and/or pass on to third parties personal data of users. Provided that there are "actual grounds for assuming" that a forbidden use of services is occurring. Whereas this permission to engage in the digital counterpart of shopping-mall all- round video surveillance to date only applies in cases of suspected fee or charge fraud, it is henceforth to be expanded to cover all acts by customers undertaken with the intention to "use services illegally at the expense of the owner of the said services or third parties."
Auction houses, which experience many instances of attempted fraud, would be the greatest beneficiaries of this change of law; which is why the TMG is know as "Lex eBay" in the industry. The authors of the draft bill write that the revised text is "of particular importance in view of the requirements in the fight against fraud at Internet market places such as eBay." Data protectionist, on the other hand, fear that the legislator through the ambiguous passage quoted above is about to create a "nosy neighborhood block leader mentality" among providers. They point out that eBay should first of all itself safeguard its platform by establishing reliable authentication methods.
The TMG draft also toys with the idea of expanding rights regarding the making available of user data by Internet providers. Though a footnote in the draft reads: "The examination within the federal government of questions as to the rights and duties regarding the furnishing of information has not yet been concluded", in one of the prepared sections of the draft bill (§12) it says: "The service provider is entitled in accordance with the relevant regulations to provide information regarding personal data to authorized agencies and persons."
A short while ago in contradistinction to these moves a number of civil rights organizations such as the Deutsche Vereinigung für Datenschutz [German Association for Data Protection], the Forum InformatikerInnen für Frieden und gesellschaftliche Verantwortung [Forum Computer Professionals for Peace and Social Responsibility](FIfF) and Stop1984.com had called for the privacy of users to be strengthened substantially within the framework of the "Internet law." The representatives of civil society had demanded among other things that recognition be accorded to an explicit concept of "privacy of telemedia use," given that each user of electronic media at each click of a mouse was creating specific data tracks and was hence much easier to spy on and tail than in the sphere of physical reality. The civil rights organizations also stood up in particular for the reinforcement and expansion of anonymous user options for telecommunications and media services -- something also demanded in principle by the TMG. A hearing on the draft bill is to take place at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Labor in Berlin on Friday. (Stefan Krempl) / (Robert W. Smith)
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/59437
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Google Suspends Web Accelerator Distribution
Staff writers, TechWeb
Google has suspended distribution of its web Accelerator, saying the company has reached the maximum number of users for the beta software meant to speed up the time it takes to search the internet.
The move occurred less than a week after the search giant launched the test.
"We have currently reached our maximum capacity of users and are actively working to increase the number of users we can support," Google said Thursday [US] in a posting on its website.
web Accelerator, which was available at no charge, runs alongside a browser and directs all searches and page requests through Google's servers. To improve performance of broadband connections only, the application makes use of a cache, or data store, on the local computer, as well as caches on Google's servers, to store frequently accessed web pages.
But Google's Web Accelerator is a waste of time, not a time saver, for the group it's being targeted at, a research firm said Wednesday [US].
"Google's Web Accelerator will help speed searches via dial-up, but it is unnecessary for broadband users," wrote Gartner analyst Allen Weiner in an online research brief.
"web accelerators were hot topics years ago, when many users were surfing the web via dial-up connections. Today, with the popularity of broadband, an increasing number of users will not find a Web Accelerator compelling," Weiner continued.
Google pitched its Web Accelerator to broadband users when it rolled out the free plug a week ago. Then, Google estimated that users could trim two to three hours from their online time if they surfed 20 to 30 hours a month.
Nor did Weiner see Google's Web Accelerator as something other large web properties, such as MSN and Yahoo, would emulate.
In fact, because "[Accelerator] cannot speed downloading of rich media files, such as large, network-clogging music and video files," Weiner noted that the caching techniques that Google uses will be made obsolete by the closed peer-to-peer networks based on instant messaging that AOL, MSN, and Yahoo are building.
These P2P networks promise fast file transfer, something that Google Web Accelerator can't.
Web Accelerator has come under criticism from privacy advocates for caching users' pages on its servers; there have also been scattered reports of some users accessing others' pages. Google spokespeople have denied that the download halt was due to any security or privacy concerns.
Under Google's privacy policies, the company does not track an individual's web activity, but does collect aggregated data from people using its services. The company has said that data collected from Web Accelerator won't be used in Google's advertising services for now. The company, however, could decide to use it later.
http://www.itnews.com.au/newsstory.aspx?CIaNID=18801
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Fiberlink to Integrate Skype into Enterprise Mobile Access Software
Press Release
Fiberlink Communications plans to bundle Skype's telephony with its Extend360 mobile access software and offer it as a value-added service to its enterprise customers. In addition to this new service offering, Extend360 will ensure higher levels of security during Skype peer-to-peer transactions, protecting against security threats.
Fiberlink offers trusted and secure mobile solutions for enterprise users seeking access to network-based resources from anywhere in the world.
http://www.convergedigest.com/Bandwi...e.asp?ID=14745
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Violating Copyright is Illegal - Period
Press Release
The Bottom Line on File Sharing at the University of Delaware
TRAFFICKING COPIES OF COPYRIGHTED SONGS, MOVIES, SOFTWARE OR OTHER PROTECTED WORKS WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR AGENT IS ILLEGAL AND IS A VIOLATION OF THE UNIVERSITY'S POLICY FOR RESPONSIBLE COMPUTING.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing applications, such as KaZaA, enable you to share music, movies and other digital files with computers all over the world. If you use P2P to share copyrighted songs, movies or software without permission, you are breaking the law. It is like stealing, and you can be caught and prosecuted according to the law and subject to University student judicial action. You are responsible for what your computer does on the network and you will be held accountable. It may have been "OK" to download files at home, but it's not OK here. You may know many others who swap files, but just because they do, doesn't make it right. Your use of this type of software raises important issues regarding copyright law, bandwidth consumption and security.
Copyright Law
Copyright laws were enacted to protect the original expression of an idea, whether it is expressed in the form of music, art or written material. A number of rights are given copyright owners by federal law. These rights include the right to control the reproduction, distribution and adaptation of their work, as well as the public performance or display of their work. Many states have laws that support the federal laws and often go further to address piracy. Existing copyright laws are as valid online as they are offline.
The University of Delaware takes a strong stand against unlawful distribution of copyrighted music, movies and software. If a student is found to be distributing copyrighted material using any University computing resource the following things will happen:
their network connection will be terminated;
they will receive a Copyright Violation Notice via-e-mail explaining the case;
they must respond to that e-mail stating they will stop violating copyright law;
they must schedule an appointment to have their computer examined by IT- User Services at a cost of $70 for first-time service and $100 for any subsequent service.
After the above items are completed, the student's network access will be re- instated.
If it is a repeat offense, the student will be referred to the Office of Judicial Affairs for judicial action.
Individuals who violate copyright laws also risk having lawsuits brought against them by the copyright owners or their agents and could be liable for statutory damages up to $30,000 per item (song, movie, etc.) and up to $150,000 if the infringement is willful.
Copyright holders and their agents - e.g., the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), are determined in their efforts to seek out and prosecute those suspected of illegally sharing their copyrighted materials over the internet. Lawyers representing the RIAA and MPAA are issuing subpoenas to universities and other internet service providers seeking the names and addresses of those who have allegedly violated federal copyright law. THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE INTENDS TO COMPLY WITH SUCH SUBPOENA REQUESTS, AND MAY OR MAY NOT PROVIDE NOTICE TO THE PARTICULAR STUDENTS ABOUT WHOM INFORMATION IS SOUGHT. YOU SHOULD ALSO BE AWARE THAT THOSE FOUND GUILTY FACE PENALTIES RANGING FROM $750 - $30,000 PER FILE - $150,000 IF THE INFRINGEMENT IS WILLFUL.
Security
Sharing files with P2P applications can open security holes for malicious programs to enter your computer. Hackers can steal files, erase files on your hard drive, plant worms, viruses or trojans and use your computer to attack others or serve copyrighted files out to the world without your knowledge. Because file-sharing applications differ in how much security they offer, it is important to educate yourself and exercise caution. Remember, you are responsible for the security of your PC. You will be held accountable for what your system does on the network whether you have knowledge of it or not. It is recommended that all users educate themselves about the basic steps to secure their PC's, and consciously choose to be a good citizen in cyberspace.
http://www.it.udel.edu/copyright/copyright_abuse.htm
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Flag Ruling Doesn't Signal End to Copyright Issues
Chris Nolan
The looming Congressional battle over copyright legislation got a whole lot hotter last week.
That's when the U.S. Circuit Court in Washington—not exactly a bunch of tech junkies—said that the
Federal Communications Commission had overstepped its authority. The FCC doesn't have the legal right to require TVs or other devices to read special "broadcast flag" coding designed to prevent digital TV signals from being copied, the court said.
They weren't polite either. Judge Harry Edwards didn't use the word "hypocrite," but he came pretty close: "The principal question presented by this case is whether Congress delegated authority to the Federal Communications Commission … to regulate apparatus that can receive television broadcasts when those apparatus are not engaged in the process of receiving a broadcast transmission. In the seven decades of its existence, the FCC has never before asserted such sweeping authority. Indeed, in the past, the FCC has informed Congress that it lacked any such authority."
Ouch.
The court's ruling—and the harshness of its language—is important because the D.C. Circuit is the expert venue due to its location. It rules on the authority of federal agencies all the time, sussing out what Congress meant when it enacted laws.
That's why Hollywood is stung by this ruling and probably won't appeal. Still, it's a bit early to celebrate.
The broadcast flag ruling is a big step in the right direction for the tech community, but hardly a victory. There's too much else going on, too many opportunities for challenges, rewrites, reinterpretations and flat out political monkey business—on both sides of the issue—in the years ahead.
If anything, this spring marked the season when digital technology came to politics. These issues— how new machines can be used, how artists and writers can be protected, what the responsibilities are of the courts and Congress—are here to stay.
"I think there's a very strong connection between this case and the Grokster case,'' said Gigi Sohn, CEO of Public Knowledge, one of the groups that sued the FCC over implementation of the broadcast flag rules. "It's about who's going to control technology."
In an increasingly networked world, who's in charge? Click here to read Chris Nolan's commentary.
As Sohn points out, the broadcast flag ruling comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is deciding MGM v. Grokster. In the case of Grokster, the court is being asked to determine the line between creating and selling a product—in this case, peer-to-peer file sharing for music—and encouraging its use for possibly illegal purposes. For Grokster, that's trading and swapping of music files, but the Supreme Court ruling will set benchmarks for other media, particularly video.
Conventional wisdom in Washington has the Grokster case being sent back to the 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco. If that happens, you can bet the California court will cast an eye on the D.C. court's broadcast flag ruling to gauge the political climate in which they're ruling.
As the saying goes, judges don't play politics but they sure do read the newspapers. They also read each other's opinions. The prevailing sentiment on the broadcast flag—that the FCC exceeded its authority—will register.
The cases will also give Congress a sense of its limits and serve as guides on what needs to be done to alter the law. Congresspeople and senators who are sympathetic to the television, recording and motion picture industries may use the broadcast flag ruling to expand the FCC's authority.
Tech companies might hold up the Supreme Court's Grokster ruling—as yet unannounced—as a way to say there should be clear limits on what Congress can and should do when it tries to protect copyright holders from theft.
Copyright legislation will move front and center in Congress later this year after Grokster, with more —and more heated—action, and maybe even law-making next year. But even if a law gets passed, that won't be the end of this fight.
Telecommunication legislation is up next and some of the same players and issues will be involved in that legislative retooling. What the industries don't get in copyright, they'll try to get in telecom: Two apples, many, many bites.
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1815034,00.asp
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Napster, Dwango Pair Up To Offer Song Ringtones
Online music service Napster Inc. and Dwango Wireless on Monday unveiled a pact to offer music ringtones and other features in a new service
that Napster hopes will widen its reach.
The mobile phone service, called Napstertones, allows users to download ringtones made from popular songs for $1.99 to $2.99, and is the first ringtone offering provided by an online music download or subscription service, Napster officials said.
Napstertones is now available to wireless subscribers of the Cingular and T-Mobile systems, giving Napster access to nearly 70 million users of those networks in the United States.
"Napster's vision is to make all of our massive (content) library available to our customers. Certainly our entry into music ringtones is a continuing development to our overall plan," said Chief Executive Officer Chris Gorog.
He added that the widely recognized Napster brand has given it an advantage against some rivals for attracting new users.
"We expect to see the same thing in ringtones," Gorog said.
Gorog declined to give financial details, but said the companies will share revenues derived from the downloads.
The service also is expected to roll out in Canada with Rogers Wireless Communications Inc. and Fido in June, and Napster is working with other U.S. cell phone services to expand Napstertones even more broadly during this upcoming summer.
Other features available for download include artist "shoutouts" and wallpapers featuring the Napster Kitty logo.
Dwango provides the wireless technology. Cingular Wireless is a joint venture of SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp., and T-Mobile USA is part of German carrier Deutsche Telekom AG.
http://today.reuters.com/News/TechSt...NAPSTER-DC.XML
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Steve Jobs, Let my Music Go
Hilary Rosen
The new iPod my girlfriend gave me is a trap. Yeah, it is great looking and I really love the baby blue leather case but when, oh when, will Steve Jobs let me buy music from somewhere other than the Apple iTunes store and put it on my iPod?
I spent 17 years in the music business the last several of which were all about pushing and prodding the painful development of legitimate on-line music. Now, the music fan is on the cusp of riches in their options - free of the viruses of the pirate sites. There are lots of places you can go for great music at good deals and with a deep catalog of songs from over the last 20 or 30 years. MSN.com, Rhapsody.com, aolmusic.com, even walmart.com. There are little players to make your favorite music even more portable than ever starting at as little as 29 bucks. Most every player device works at every one of these “stores” and it is pretty easy to keep all the songs, no matter where you got them, in a single folder or "jukebox" on your computer.
But not the iPod. Most agree it is the best quality player on the market even if the cheapest one costs a few hundred dollars. The problem is that the iPod only works with either songs that you buy from the on-line Apple iTunes store or songs that you rip from your own CD’s. But those other music sites have lots of music that you can’t get at the iTunes store. So, if you have an iPod, you are out of luck. If you are really a geek, you can figure out how to strip the songs you might have bought from another on-line store of all identifying information so that they will go into the iPod. But then you have also degraded the sound quality. How cruel.
I know Steve Jobs is a god. Look, I bowed at his feet when the iPod and iTunes was created because HE GOT THE BALL ROLLING. He is as laconically casually cool as Bono and makes really good cartoon movies too. But keeping the iTunes system a proprietary technology to prevent anyone from using multiple (read Microsoft) music systems is the most anti-consumer and user unfriendly thing any god can do. Is this the same Jobs that railed for years about the Microsoft monopoly? Is taking a page out of their playbook the only way to have a successful business? If he isn’t careful Bill Gates might just Betamax him while the crowds cheer him on. Come on Steve – open it up.
Why am I complaining about this? Why isn’t everyone?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblo...jobs-let-.html
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Apple And Sony Prepare For Download Battle
swissinfo with agencies
The Apple and Sony corporations have launched a battle in Switzerland for control of the market for downloading music via the internet.
Charging SFr1.50 ($1.25) for one track, and from SFr14.50 for an entire album they have made the downloading of music legal.
Up to now, downloads have been possible from illegal free platforms, which the music industry has been trying to stamp out.
Launched in 2003, downloading music and paying for it has become a huge success in the United States and other parts of Europe.
Apple opened its iTunes Music Store (iTMS) in Switzerland on Tuesday, while Sony opened for business on Wednesday.
A communiqué said that the launch of iTMS in Switzerland coincided with the opening of such stores in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. On a worldwide scale, iMTS has a market share of 70 per cent.
Swiss market
With the arrival of Apple on the Swiss market, which had been scheduled earlier, the Swiss now have access to one and a half million song titles via iMTS.
Apple's arrival comes almost two years after the iMTS shop launch in the US.
"We concentrated first on the big markets before becoming interested in Scandinavia and Switzerland," commented Apple spokeswoman Andrea Brack.
"Negotiations with the major players in the music industry took a lot of time," she added.
Competitor Sony is making 600,000 titles available on the Swiss version of its platform Sony Connect. It too has come on to the Swiss market later than expected.
Niche labels
Apart from big labels, Sony Connect is offering many independent and specialised niche labels, as well as Swiss acts, making it possible to use the full potential of the corporation's MP3-Walkman, a communiqué said.
To try to prevent multiple, illegal copying of downloaded titles, the providers are working with data that is specially protected.
Up to now, the Swiss market has been dominated mainly by CityDisc, Microsoft and ExLibris.
According to Professor Ivan Cherpillod, a specialist in intellectual property rights at Lausanne University, it is not illegal to make downloads of music for private use.
"Article 19 of the federal law on copyright foresees no copyright for private use. Downloading music files for me, my family or my circle of friends is not illegal," Cherpillod comments.
Ongoing debate
But there is an ongoing debate on the subject in Switzerland.
"Opinions differ when it comes to the origin of the file. For some people, the non-application of copyright law does not cover a copy of the file which has been put illegally on the internet, in other words without the consent of the author or those who own the rights."
"But for the time being, there is no jurisprudence on the issue in Switzerland," he added.
Private individuals can also exchange music over so- called "peer to peer" software. With this system, there is no question of paying for the copyright on the music downloaded.
The major music industry players have gone to war against this because they consider it the main cause of the decline in CD sales over the past years.
They also argue that it has been detrimental to artistic creation by depriving artists of their income.
http://www.nzz.ch/2005/05/11/eng/article5773157.html
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Yahoo Low-Cost Music Service Hurts Rivals
Michael Liedtke
Yahoo Inc.'s steeply discounted foray into online music subscriptions struck a sour note Wednesday with the shareholders of Napster Inc. and RealNetworks Inc. - the owners of the rival services that stand to lose the most from the new competitive threat.
Napster's shares plunged $1.70, or 26.8 percent, to close at $4.65 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, where RealNetworks' shares fell $1.54, or 21.1 percent, to $5.76.
Yahoo's entrance into the music downloading business even hurt Apple Computer Inc., which runs the dominant online music store with more than 400 million songs sold since it opened two years ago.
Apple's shares fell 81 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $35.61 on the Nasdaq, even though industry analysts say the company is far less vulnerable to Yahoo's aggressive push than Napster and RealNetworks.
Yahoo's shares gained 82 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $34.88 on the Nasdaq.
Napster Chairman Chris Gorog sought to reassure investors as $69 million of his company's market value evaporated Wednesday.
"We think there has been a significant overreaction in the market," Gorog told analysts during a Wednesday conference call. "Our customers have not fled in the past when desperate pricing moves have been made by competitors."
Echoing the sentiment of many analysts, Gorog predicted Yahoo will raise its prices within a few months, relieving the financial pressure on Napster. He also is counting on a consumer backlash to the ads that Yahoo will serve up with its music service.
Los Angeles-based Napster has been struggling financially, even before Yahoo entered the fray. After the stock market closed Wednesday, Napster announced it lost $24.3 million during the first three months of this year, while its revenue rose to $17.1 million from $6.1 million a year ago. The company expects to lose another $27 million to $28 million in its current quarter.
Wednesday's stock market reaction reflected a wide belief that Yahoo's music subscription service, introduced Wednesday, will force Napster and RealNetworks to either lower their prices or risk losing subscribers.
In an effort to make up for lost time in the booming digital music market, Yahoo is offering consumers unlimited access to a library of 1 million songs for as little as $4.99 per month, or about $60 annually.
Subscribers who don't want to make a one-year commitment can pay a rental fee of $6.99 per month.
Napster and RealNetworks charge $14.95 per month, or nearly $180 annually, for a comparable service that enables users to transfer songs from the Internet to portable MP3 players that use Microsoft Corp.'s digital music software.
The subscription services enable customers to rent an unlimited number of songs without ever owning the music outright. That's a significant distinction from Apple's iTunes store, which sells songs for 99 cents apiece and so far has frowned upon the rental approach.
Apple has been able to eschew subscriptions so far because only about 15 percent of consumers to date have expressed an interest in renting songs instead of owning them, said Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.
But the Cupertino-based company might be forced to change its tune now that Yahoo is offering music subscriptions on its Web site - the world's most heavily trafficked - with 372 million unique users. That means Yahoo will have a bully pulpit to preach the virtues of renting music.
If Yahoo's service catches on quickly with consumers, Apple probably will offer a subscription option before the end of the year, Munster said.
Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined to comment on how Yahoo's service might affect iTunes, whose current market share exceeds 70 percent.
Yahoo's audience already includes 8.9 million subscribers who primarily pay fees for high-speed Internet connections, matchmaking services and extra e-mail features.
Seattle-based RealNetworks says more than 1 million people subscribe to its music services. Napster said Wednesday that it has 412,000 subscribers.
Although Yahoo's music service already is making a big splash, analysts say the company's success is far from assured.
Yahoo still must prove its music management software, which is being licensed from MusicNet, will make the process of transferring songs to MP3 players simple and painless for consumers. Apple's easy-to-use music management software helped the iTunes store succeed.
The popularity of Apple's iPod players also figures to work against Yahoo because those devices aren't compatible with its new subscription service. Apple already has sold more than 15 million iPods, creating a loyal audience unlikely to move to a competing service.
Analysts also widely expect Yahoo to raise the introductory price of its subscription service - something that might alienate subscribers if it happens.
"I find it hard to believe that Yahoo's prices are going to remain at this level," said American Technology Research analyst P.J. McNealy. "The only real question is how much higher they will go."
Munster predicted Yahoo will raise its subscription price to $10 to $15 per month after the initial testing, or "beta," phase is completed.
A Yahoo spokeswoman declined to comment Wednesday on the company's pricing strategy. In an interview Tuesday, a Yahoo executive said the company expected to be able to make money with an annual $60 subscription.
Yahoo appears better positioned than Napster or RealNetworks to absorb the costs of a potential price war. Yahoo ended March with $1.1 billion in cash compared with $370 million at RealNetworks and $170 million at Napster.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...CTION=BUSINESS
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Open-Source Divorce For Apple's Safari?
Paul Festa
Two years after it selected open-source rendering engine KHTML as the basis of its Safari Web browser, Apple Computer has proposed resolving compatibility conflicts by scrapping that code base in favor of its own.
In an e-mail seen by CNET News.com, a leading Apple browser developer suggested that architects of the KHTML rendering engine--the heart of a browser--consider abandoning the KHTML code base, or "tree," in favor of Apple's version, called WebCore. KHTML was originally written to work on top of KDE (the K Desktop Environment), an interface for Linux and Unix operating systems.
"One thing you may want to consider eventually is back-porting (WebCore) to work on top of (KDE), and merging your changes into that," Apple engineer Maciej Stachowiak wrote in an e-mail dated May 5. "I think the Apple trees have seen a lot more change since the two trees diverged, although both have useful changes. We'd be open to making our tree multi-platform."
The suggestion, which KHTML developers said they were unlikely to accept, comes as Apple tries to quell rising dissatisfaction among the original architects of KHTML. Two years after hailing Apple as a white knight, those developers are calling the relationship between their group and the computer maker a "bitter failure."
In a conflict some call emblematic of what can go wrong when corporations embrace open-source projects, developers are airing longstanding gripes against Apple, accusing the computer maker of taking more than it gives back to the open-source group.
Apple declined to comment for this story. But Safari engineer David Hyatt did acknowledge KDE complaints in his blog, defending the scope of recent patches and soliciting suggestions on improving Apple's relationship with KDE.
"For what it's worth, the patches I posted...are not solely KHTML patches," Hyatt wrote. "What do you think Apple could be doing better here?"
The subsequent dialogue, played out in public mailing lists and blogs, led to the e-mail exchange in which Stachowiak suggested that the KHTML group start fresh from WebCore.
KDE said complaints about Apple had been brewing for some time, and attributed some of the tensions to the inherently at-odds priorities of corporations and volunteer coders.
"Business is constrained in ways that open source prides itself on not being constrained," said George Staikos, a software consultant, KDE developer and spokesman for the open-source group. "There have been problems all along in the sense that Apple had their own internal issues to deal with (that) did not mesh well with the model used by KDE to develop KHTML, and it resulted in KHTML and (Safari) quickly diverging. This problem compounded over time."
As a result of that divergence, improvements made to Safari can't be easily contributed back to KHTML, leaving the open-source original at a disadvantage to its corporate-sponsored progeny.
That issue flared in recent weeks as Apple trumpeted Safari's ability to pass the Acid2 standards-compliance test. When confronted with the question of when KHTML would get the improvements to enable it to pass the test, KDE developer Zack Rusin replied, "Probably never."
The divergence between Safari and KHTML has led to a de facto divorce between Apple and KDE, according to some developers.
"At some point the open-source ideals which we apply to KHTML and (Apple's) commercial setup...went in two different directions," Rusin wrote in an open letter to Apple's Hyatt. "At this point we have two completely separate groups developing two different versions of KHTML. We have absolutely no (say) in the way you develop your version of KHTML and you don't participate at all in the way we develop KHTML."
Apple was thought to have breathed fresh life into KHTML two years ago. The choice of KHTML was seen as a validation of KDE's work in developing a small, fast browser engine, and it represented a significant victory over open-source rival Mozilla, which in its pre-Firefox days battled serious code bloat.
"It's a great acknowledgment of the hard work done by all members of the KDE project, and proof that the concept of free software is perfectly capable of producing software worth being the preferred choice of major hardware and software vendors like Apple," KDE engineer Harri Porten said in January 2003 when Apple announced its choice.
KHTML coders said that they looked forward then to having full-time Apple engineers working on the project, which they said had languished by virtue of their own part-time, unpaid status.
After a substantial honeymoon between Apple and KHTML, the relationship soured as it became clear how different the company's priorities and procedures were from those of the volunteers.
According to KHTML developers, Apple engineers took a less "pure" approach to fixing bugs, applying patches that KHTML developers were loath to reincorporate back into their code base.
"In open source, everything's supposed to be done the right way, but sometimes the less correct way is faster," Rusin said. "In fixing one problem, they were breaking a whole bunch of other things. Apple developers were focused on fixing bugs in such a way that we could not merge them back into KHTML. Those fixes were never an option for us."
In contrast to the transparency and immediacy with which open-source developers are accustomed to working, KDE volunteers said they suddenly found themselves dealing with bug reports Apple deemed too sensitive to share, new requirements for auditing code before releasing it, and demands that developers sign nondisclosure agreements before looking at some Apple code.
To be sure, not all relationships between companies and open-source groups sour to the degree that Apple and KDE's has.
The origins are somewhat reversed in the Mozilla case--Netscape gave Mozilla the browser to develop before returning to the project to exploit it commercially--but Netscape characterized its relationship with the Mozilla Foundation as the picture of comity.
"The Mozilla Foundation has been a wonderful thing for Netscape," said Netscape general manager Jeremy Liew. "We built certain features into the Netscape browser that Mozilla didn't see fit to include in their roadmap, and there are going to be certain times when the development directions are different than where the open-source community wants to take it. So in those instances you have divergences in the code tree. A lot of times, though, we'll be exactly in synch."
One analyst said the meltdown between KDE and Apple was the exception, rather than the rule, when it came to corporate-open- source relations.
"For the most part, Apple and others have worked closely with the open-source community, often contributing considerable time and code," said Burton Group analyst Gary Hein. "We tend only to hear about those situations that don't go as smoothly."
Safari isn't Apple's only open source-based software title; the company's Macintosh operating system is based on the Darwin open-source project.
One KDE contributor said the demise and divergence of the Apple-KDE relationship was no surprise.
"It was big news when Apple decided to take the KHTML code and run with it," one KDE contributor wrote in a posting titled "The bitter failure named 'Safari and KHTML.'" "But we, those who were there, with their collective nose in the code all the time, knew from the beginning that the collaboration smelled fishy."
Another said that while Apple had stuck to the letter of the license in fulfilling its obligations to the KHTML project, the two groups were now all but estranged.
"As long as they needed us, they used us, but when they gained enough knowledge they had no reason to keep sending us reviews and patches," Rusin said. "At a certain point they decided it was a waste of time for them, and at that point the communication just stopped...We had hopes that they would pour resources into KHTML. But that never happened."
http://news.com.com/Open-source+divo...3-5703819.html
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Oz iPod Users Denied Access To Quality Pop
Alex Malik
Despite all the huff and puff emanating from the Australian music business about illegal file-sharing, it's comes as a bit of surprise to learn that you can't legally downloaded a number one single, even if you're prepared to shell out hard-earned cash for the privilege.
Jesse McCartney is a harmless enough young pop star and actor who stars in "Summerland" and has a chart-topping hit - "Beautiful Soul". Jesse epitomises all of the attributes that the recording industry likes to push – young, wholesome, American - spot on for the teen hearthrob market.
As has been widely reported, the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) and Recording Industry Association of America, among others, have been busily pushing so-called legitimate downloads. In its recent sales figures press release, ARIA had this to say:
"In 2004, there was a ten-fold increase in the global market for legitimate digital music downloads – a trend that the industry anticipates will start to be replicated locally during 2005. Whilst the online services currently operating in Australia have yet to break through in the same way that they have overseas, the industry is encouraged by the overseas results during 2004 and looks forward to similar success locally during 2005."
In their recent court proceedings against Sharman Networks and others it was clear that ARIA was also attempting to disseminate these messages:
Don’t download music from peer to peer services such as Kazaa, buy your CDs instead.
But of you have to download music, pay for it – and buy it from one of the three authorised retailers of downloads in Australia – Bigpond music, Ninemsn or Destra (through Sanity or one of their other partners).
So after all of this, and all of the money spent in the Kazaa case, you’d think you could buy a download of Jesse McCartney’s national number one single.
Right? Well... wrong!
According to my study of the top 20 ARIAnet singles and recent releases, many chart titles could not be purchased from Bigpond music, Ninemsn or Destra. Hit singles unavailable from all of the services included Jesse’s McCartney’s aforementioned smash, as well as hits from Tammin, the Wrights, Garbage and Lil Jon. This leaves iPod-owning fans of these (and other) tracks with two choices: either buy the CD singles and rip them into a compressed digital format so that they can be played on their hardware; or download the track from an unauthorised peer-to-peer service/MP3 website.
Beware, though: both of these alternatives are illegal under Australian copyright law. And forget going stateside, because Australian consumers still can't access iTunes and other MP3 services from the United States.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/05...ownload_in_oz/
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Report: Gates Says IPod Success Won't Last
AP
Microsoft Corp. co- founder Bill Gates says Apple Computer Inc. shouldn't get too comfortable atop the portable music playing world.
"I don't think the success of the iPod can continue in the long term, however good Apple may be," the chairman of Microsoft, the world's biggest maker of computer software, was quoted as telling German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview published Thursday.
"I think you can draw parallels here with the computer - here, too, Apple was once extremely strong with its Macintosh and graphic user interface, like with the iPod today, and then lost its position."
The iPod is one of the world's most popular portable digital music players, with more than 15 million sold since they were introduced.
But makers of mobile phones are targeting the device - unveiling models that feature not only phones, but onboard music players so users can download their music from services directly to their phones.
Both Sony Ericsson and Nokia have models, and more are being made by others, including Samsung and Motorola, which is working with Apple directly.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...CTION=BUSINESS
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Microsoft's Share of Browser Market Slips
Anick Jesdanun
Microsoft Corp.'s share of the U.S. browser market has slipped below 90 percent as the Firefox browser continues to grow in popularity, according to independent tracking by WebSideStory.
Firefox, an open-source browser collectively developed by the Internet community under the Mozilla Foundation, had a 6.8 percent share as of April 29, an increase from 3.0 percent since WebSideStory began tracking Firefox separately in October.
Other browsers based on the Mozilla code, including America Online Inc.'s Netscape, had a 2.2 percent share, while Microsoft's Internet Explorer share was 89 percent, a drop from 95 percent in June.
The figures are for all operating systems combined. On computers running Microsoft's Windows, Internet Explorer has a 91 percent share, down from 97 percent in June.
Outside the United States, Germany is among the leading adopters of Firefox, with a 23 percent share, compared with 69 percent for Internet Explorer.
"They just seem to be averse to Microsoft products and really interested relatively in these open- source products," said Geoff Johnston, a WebSideStory analyst.
Microsoft is strong in Asia, with Internet Explorer commanding a share of 94 percent in Japan and 98 percent in China.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...CTION=BUSINESS
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Review Finds Journalist Not Wired In With Sources
Ted Bridis
An investigation over the sourcing and accuracy of roughly 160 news stories by a freelance journalist at a leading Internet news site concluded that the existence of more than 40 people quoted in the articles could not be confirmed.
Wired News, which publishes some articles from Wired magazine, disclosed results late Monday of its review into stories by one of its frequent contributors, Michelle Delio, 37, of New York City. The stories covered subjects that ranged from computer viruses to the September 2001 terrorist attacks.
The review determined that dozens of people cited in articles by Delio, primarily during the past 18 months, could not be located. Nearly all the people who were cited as sources and who could not be located had common names and occupations and were reported to be living in large metropolitan regions.
Almost none of the information attributed to the disputed sources was considered significant. The disputed quotations typically supported details elsewhere in the articles.
Delio said Monday the investigation "concluded that my stories did not contain fabricated news, that key information in all the stories checked out and that all primary sources were located." She said she regretted not keeping contact information for all her sources.
In a private e-mail Delio sent to Wired News executives last month and obtained by The Associated Press, she said she wanted to "present my side of this sad saga."
"I don't understand why my credibility and career is now hanging solely on finding minor sources that contributed color quotes to stories I filed months and years ago," she wrote. Delio said that among hundreds of articles she wrote for the organization, there "isn't one story that contains fabricated news."
Wired News and Wired Magazine are separately owned and do not share office space or staff, but Wired News publishes Wired Magazine's content online.
The review for Wired News was carried out by Adam Penenberg, a Wired News columnist who teaches journalism at New York University. In 1998, while Penenberg was a writer for Forbes.com, he exposed fabricated articles by Stephen Glass in The New Republic. Glass was fired.
Contributing: Mark Jewell
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/20...urnalist_x.htm
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Wired News Releases Source Review
By Wired News
MIT Technology Review Online on March 21 retracted two stories written in whole or in part by Michelle Delio, citing the publication's inability to confirm a source. On April 4, InfoWorld edited four articles by Delio to remove anonymous quotes.
Wired News has published more than 700 news stories written by Delio (under the names Michelle Delio and Michelle Finley) since 2000. In April, we assigned journalism professor and Wired News columnist Adam Penenberg to review recent articles written by Delio for Wired News.
Penenberg and his staff of graduate students at New York University reviewed 160 articles, largely from 2004, but some earlier stories were also checked.
Penenberg provided Wired News with a list of 24 stories that contained sources he could not confirm (links are included at the end of this story). Penenberg's report to Wired News can be
downloaded here (PDF).
Delio, in communications with Penenberg and Wired News, stands by her reporting and the existence and accuracy of her sources. Most of Delio's sources were in fact located and confirmed by Penenberg.
The unconfirmed sources affect the content of these stories to varying degrees. For example, the Florida network tax story contains only one quote from a source Penenberg could not confirm, but the quote does not materially affect the rest of the story.
However, there are four articles in which unconfirmed sources arguably play a more prominent role.
• "Spyware on My Machine? So What?" The premise of the article is that general users don't care all that much about spyware. However, Penenberg cannot confirm any of the quotes from the users in the story.
• "Searching for Life Amid Rubble" In this article about the 9/11 rescue efforts, Penenberg was unable to trace several of the people quoted, and an apocryphal survival anecdote is included (which other reporters apparently wrote about at the time as well).
• "Meet the Nigerian E-Mail Grifters" This article is based completely on sources whom Penenberg was unable to identify.
• "Nasty Malware Fouls PCs With Porn" The anecdote at the beginning of this article features a family Penenberg was unable to contact. The family's experience was used to illustrate the extent of the problem caused by the malware.
In addition, a quote in "Patron Saint of the Nerds" is attributed to the Rev. Michael Amesse. According to Penenberg's report, Amesse says he never spoke with a reporter from Wired News. We therefore have removed the quote from the story.
Wired News is not retracting any of these stories. Rather, we are appending notes to the stories, indicating what we have been unable to confirm about them and editing them, as noted, where appropriate. By keeping these stories posted and clearly marked, we hope that our readers can help identify any sources whom we cannot track down.
In addition, Wired News will now require freelance reporters to submit contact information for all named sources. Also, anonymous sources will be used only with appropriate justification.
Wired News will continue to review the remaining Delio stories in its archive and post notes and report findings as appropriate.
If you have any information about the sources in these stories, please contact us at sourceinfo[at]wired.com.
1. "Spyware on My Machine? So What?" (Dec. 6, 2004)
2. "Patron Saint of the Nerds" (Nov. 10, 2004)
3. "Minniapple's Mini Radio Stations" (Oct. 8, 2004)
4. "Florida to Tax Home Networks" (June 24, 2004)
5. "Nasty Malware Fouls PCs With Porn" (April 30, 2004)
6. "A Web of Electronic Denial" (April 28, 2004)
7. "Technology Resets the Clock" (April 3, 2004)
8. "Outsourcing Report Blames Schools" (March 24, 2004)
9. "Multiplayer Games: Shards Unite!" (March 22, 2004)
10. "What Have We Here? Junk, Mostly" (March 15, 2004)
11. "The Masters of Memory Lane" (March 2, 2004)
12. "New MyDoom Virus Packs a Wallop" (Feb. 24, 2004)
13. "AOL Peeved by Adware Outbreak" (Feb. 13, 2004)
14. "Adware Spreads Quickly on AOL IM" (Feb. 11, 2004)
15. "Cheapskate's Guide to a Safe PC" (Feb. 10, 2004)
16. "Mood Ring Measured in Megahertz" (Jan. 29, 2004)
17. "Promise of Eternal Youth Dashed" (Nov. 26, 2003)
18. "Clocked by Two Smoking Barrels" (Nov. 18, 2003)
19. "Meet the Nigerian E-Mail Grifters" (July 17, 2002)
20. "How to Thank Kenya for 9/11 Cows" (June 5, 2002)
21. "Read The F***ing Story, Then RTFM" (June 4, 2002)
22. "Klez: Hi Mom, We're No. 1" (May 24, 2002)
23. "Searching for Life Amid Rubble" (Sept. 12, 2001)
24. "CD Program Making Users Burn" (May 8, 2001)
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,67428,00.html
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Robot Walks, Balances Like a Human
If you nudge this robot, it steps forward and catches its balance---much like a human.
The machine called RABBIT, which resembles a high-tech Tin Man from "The Wizard of Oz," minus the arms, was developed by University of Michigan and French scientists over six years. It's the first known robot to walk and balance like a human, and late last year, researchers succeeded in making RABBIT run for six steps. It has been able to walk gracefully for the past 18 months.
U-M researcher Jessy Grizzle, who developed the control theory for the robot, said that the balancing ability programmed into the robot has many applications in the medical field, such as so-called smart prosthetics that adapt to the wearer, and physical rehabilitation aids to help people regain the ability to walk.
Bipedal robots---or two-legged walking machines---in existence today walk flat-footed, with an unnatural crouching or stomping gait, said Grizzle, professor of electrical engineering and computer science.
Up until RABBIT, scientists produced stability in two-legged walking machines largely through extensive trial and error experiments during development, Grizzle said. Current walking machines use large feet to avoid tipping over and do not require the robot's control system to be endowed with a real understanding of the mechanics of walking or balance, Grizzle said. If you provided these robots with a pair of stilts or asked them to tip-toe across the room, they would just fall over.
RABBIT was built without feet. Its legs end like stilts so that it pivots on a point when it moves forward. "If you build a robot that pivots on a point you must understand how the different parts interact dynamically, or else it will fall over," Grizzle said. If a robot has no feet, it's impossible to "cheat."
The U-M/French control theory for walking, which was published in a recent paper in the International Journal of Robotics Research, gives scientists an analytical method that can predict in advance how the robot will move, Grizzle said.
"The concept of stability is reduced to two formulas," Grizzle said. "It's a matter of understanding enough about the dynamics of walking and balance so that you can express with mathematical formulas how you want the robot to move, and then automatically produce the control algorithm that will induce the desired walking motion on the very fist try."
Grizzle's work has promising applications in designing human prosthetics.
"Our analytic method is very cost effective by reducing the amount of experimental work that goes into motion design," Grizzle said. "If you can take properties of a patient, their height, weight, how the valid leg functions, etc., maybe you could more quickly have the prosthetic adapt its characteristics to the person, instead of the person adapting his gait to the prosthetic -- which is essentially what happens now. These things are dreams, we're not there yet. But you need principles to get there."
Other applications include rehabilitative walking aids for spinal injury patients, machines designed for home use that can climb stairs or robots for use in exploratory missions over rough terrain.
RABBIT is part of France's ROBEA project (Robotics and Artificial Entity), which involves seven laboratories and researchers in mechanics, robots and control theory. The machine is housed in France's Laboratoire Automatique de Grenoble,
Video of RABBIT shot by researchers during experiments shows a pair of mechanical legs walking in a circle while attached to a boom that keeps it from falling over sideways but does not guide or control its forward momentum. When pushed from behind by researcher Eric Westervelt, formerly a student of Grizzle's and now an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Ohio State University, RABBIT lurches forward, then rights itself and continues its even forward stride.
U-M became involved in the research in 1998, when Grizzle met with the lead researcher on the ROBEA project while on sabbatical in Strasbourg, France. Grizzle was able to bring his expertise in control theory, something the researchers designing the robot in Strasbourg were without.
Photos and a video are available at:
http://www.umich.edu/news/Releases/2...bit_video.html and
http://www.umich.edu/news/Releases/2...bbit_anime.gif
See more Web links below.
Visit Grizzle's Web site for a running video and many other videos on walking:
http://www.eecs.umich.edu/~grizzle/p...periments.html
For Web video of RABBIT walking, visit:
http://www.umich.edu/news/Vid/rabbit1.ram
For Web video of RABBIT walking after disruption, visit:
http://www.umich.edu/news/Vid/rabbit2.ram
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/511722/?sc=swtn
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Simple but Seminal: Building a Robot That Can Reproduce
Cornell University researchers have created a machine that can build copies of itself. The basic principle could be extended to create robots that could replicate or at least repair themselves in space or for work in hazardous environments.
One of the dreams of both science fiction writers and practical robot builders has been realized, at least on a simple level: Cornell University researchers have created a machine that can build copies of itself.
Admittedly the machine is just a proof of concept -- it performs no useful function except to self-replicate -- but the basic principle could be extended to create robots that could replicate or at least repair themselves in space or for work in hazardous environments, according to Hod Lipson, Cornell assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and computing and information science, in whose lab the robots were built and tested.
Lipson and colleagues report on the work in a brief communication in the May 12 issue of Nature.
Their robots are made up of a series of modular cubes -- called "molecubes" -- each containing identical machinery and the complete computer program for replication. The cubes have electromagnets on their faces that allow them to selectively attach to and detach from one another, and a complete robot consists of several cubes linked together. Each cube is divided in half along a long diagonal, which allows a robot composed of many cubes to bend, reconfigure and manipulate other cubes. For example, a tower of cubes can bend itself over at a right angle.
To begin replication, the stack of cubes bends over and sets its top cube on the table. Then it bends to one side or another to pick up a new cube and deposit it on top of the first. By repeating the process, one robot made up of a stack of cubes can create another just like itself. Since one robot cannot reach across another robot of the same height, the robot being built assists in completing its own construction.
Although these experimental robots work only in the limited laboratory environment, Lipson suggests that the idea of making self-replicating robots out of self-contained modules could be used to build working robots that could self-repair by replacing defective modules. For example, robots sent to explore Mars could carry a supply of spare modules to use for repairing or rebuilding as needed, allowing for more flexible, versatile and robust missions. Self-replication and repair also could be crucial for robots working in environments where a human with a screwdriver couldn't survive.
Self-replicating machines have been the subject of theoretical discussion since the early days of computing and robotics, but only two physical devices that can replicate have been reported. One uses Lego parts assembled in a two-dimensional pattern by moving along tracks; another uses an arrangement of wooden tiles that tumble into a new arrangement when given a shove.
Exactly what qualifies as "self-replication" is open to discussion, Lipson points out. "It is not just a binary property -- of whether something self- replicates or not, but rather a continuum," he explains. The various possibilities are discussed in "A Universal Framework for Analysis of Self- Replication Phenomena," a paper by Lipson and Bryant Adams, a Cornell graduate student in mathematics, published in Proceedings of the European Conference on Artificial Life, ECAL '03, September 2003, Dortmund, Germany.
For example, the researchers point out that human beings reproduce but don't literally self-replicate, since the offspring are not exact copies. And in many cases, the ability to replicate depends on the environment. Rabbits are good replicators in the forest, poor replicators in a desert and abysmal replicators in deep space, they note. "It is not enough to simply say they replicate or even that they replicate well, because these statements only hold in certain contexts," the researchers conclude. The conference paper also discusses the reproduction of viruses and the splitting of light beams into two identical copies. The analysis they supply "allows us to look at an important aspect of biology and quantify it," Lipson explains.
The new robots in Lipson's lab are also very dependent on their environment. They draw power through contacts on the surface of the table and cannot replicate unless the experimenters "feed" them by supplying additional modules.
"Although the machines we have created are still simple compared with biological self-reproduction, they demonstrate that mechanical self- reproduction is possible and not unique to biology," the researchers say.
Co-authors of the Nature communication are Viktor Zykov, a graduate student in mechanical engineering, Efstathios Mytilinaios, a former graduate student in computer science now at Microsoft, and Adams.
Related World Wide Web sites: The following sites provide additional information on this news release.
Hod Lipson's page on self-replication:
http://www.mae.cornell.edu/ccsl/rese...frep/index.htm
Video:
http://www.mae.cornell.edu/ccsl/rese...eo/4x4ht4a.wmv
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/511628/?sc=swtn
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Digerati Vogues, Caught Midcraze
Sarah Boxer
Two sickly words, "contagious" and "viral," are supreme compliments on the Internet. Now there's a museum exhibition that honors the contagion, all those videos, e-mail messages and hoaxes that spread like wildfire on the Web.
"Contagious Media," the exhibition, occupies a room in the temporary quarters of the New Museum of Contemporary Art in Chelsea. A quick visit reveals more than a half- dozen media: a telephone, a few computer screens, a bunch of framed photographs, printed e-mail messages, various kinds of paper covered with Magic Marker messages, red paper hearts, a television screen and a yellow sweater on a hook.
Nothing looks contagious, except perhaps the sweater. It all seems sad and shabby. Then again, maybe it is supposed to. (In Web design, this sort of carefully engineered basement look has a name, "dirt style.")
The exhibition offers seven viral artifacts: Black People Love Us! (a Web site), "Nike Sweatshop" (an e-mail exchange), "All your base are belong to us," (a badly translated phrase from a Japanese video game), Hot or Not (a Web site), Fundrace (a Web site), Dancing Baby (a piece of animation) and the Rejection Line (a phone number).
Don't worry if you've never heard of these. It just means that you're not cool. And now that you've learned about them in the mainstream media (known as MSM on the Web), they're not all that cool, either.
Dancing Baby, a bit of brilliant animation created in 1996 by Michael Girard, Robert Lurye and Ron Lussier, is easily the most famous, for a simple reason. The computer folks caught the craze, and then the tube folks did: the dancing baby, spinning round and round, waving and bending, was a recurring hallucination on "Ally McBeal."
Displayed on one of the museum's computers, Dancing Baby is an object lesson in Internet culture. No matter how fast something spreads online, the gold ring is television. New media, no matter how hip, want old-media affirmation.
Another case: The largest display in the exhibition, a whole wall, is given over to Black People Love Us!, a Web site created by the brother-and-sister team of Jonah and Chelsea Peretti. Four of the seven contagious objects in the exhibition are by one of the Perettis or both.
The site itself is designed to look as if it's the work of a clueless white couple, Sally and Johnny. The home page says: "We are well-liked by Black people so we're psyched (since lots of Black people don't like lots of White people)!!" The site includes captioned snapshots of Sally (in a yellow sweater) and Johnny having fun with black people. There are testimonials from "real" black people, little red thumping hearts and comments from visitors to the site. You get the idea.
In the museum, the display looks as if Sally and Johnny have put it together themselves. The snapshots are framed and hung. The readers' e-mail messages are written in low-tech Magic Marker on various kinds of paper and stuck to the walls alongside red paper hearts.
But what about that huge television screen at the center of the wall continually playing a "Good Morning America" segment in which Diane Sawyer interviews the Perettis about their Web site? Suddenly the homemade mask is dropped. The Perettis seem almost as uncool as Sally and Johnny. Oops.
Of course, if your site is good enough, you can get away with bragging about your own virality. The wall devoted to "Nike Sweatshop," another Peretti project, emerges from its self-satisfaction intact.
Four years ago, Mr. Peretti, on learning that Nike customizes shoes, ordered his emblazoned with "Sweatshop." Nike kept giving reasons for canceling the order. He kept swatting them away. In good Michael Moore fashion, he had the last word: "I have decided to order the shoes with a different ID, but I would like to make one small request: Could you please send me a color snapshot of the 10-year-old Vietnamese girl who makes my shoes? Thanks." Nike had no response.
The show highlights not the original exchange but the reaction. Running from floor to ceiling are the e-mail messages Mr. Peretti received after forwarding the original exchange to 10 friends. He got 3,655 responses, the show says, from Jan. 15 to April 5, 2001. It was a fabulous contagion. And the proof of it makes nice wallpaper.
The rest of the show is on a single countertop, where you'll find one telephone and a lineup of computers. And what's this? Someone left a napkin with a lipstick kiss on it.
"Call me!" the napkin demands. There's a number. Dial it. You won't get a date. It is the Rejection Line, yet another Peretti production. "Unfortunately, the person who gave you this number does not want to talk to you or see you again. We would like to take this opportunity to officially reject you." It's grand and deserves to be viral forever.
But nothing is. On the counter, four computers each display a Web site that was once contagious. The sites now seem like pickled relics sitting in a science museum.
They include Fundrace, where you can spy on your neighbors' political contributions, and Hot or Not, where you can rate photos of men and women on a scale of 1 to 10 and see how often they check their ratings.
Finally, there is the cult classic "All your base are belong to us," an animated slideshow that commemorates the time four years ago when some bad English from a 1989 Japanese video game began zipping around the Internet.
Does this culture sound adolescent? You bet. And male.
You needn't set foot in the museum to enjoy all of this. Just use your computer from home. Why the exhibition, then? Well, having a show at an offbeat museum may not be as good as getting on television or in print, but it's something.
Spreading Online or by Phone
The Web sites and phone number discussed in this article:
DANCING BABY burningpixel.com/Baby/Babygif.htm
BLACK PEOPLE LOVE US!
www.blackpeopleloveus.com/
'NIKE SWEATSHOP'
www.shey.net/niked.html
FUNDRACE
www.fundrace.org/
HOT OR NOT
www.hotornot.com
'ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US'
www.planettribes.com/allyourbase/AYB2.swf
THE REJECTION LINE (212) 479-7990
The exhibition continues through June 4 at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, 556 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, (212) 219-1222.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/12/ar...gn/12cont.html
Until next week,
-
js.
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