Paid to peer
Gerald Wee
I could get to love peer-to-peer computing.
Put simply, P2P computing is the sharing of computer resources and services by direct exchange between systems. These resources and services include the exchange of information, processing cycles, cache storage, and disk storage for files. It takes advantage of existing desktop computing power and networking connectivity, allowing economical clients to leverage their collective power to benefit the entire enterprise.
The heart of peer-to-peer computing (and the challenge) lies in the ability to actually harness these idle CPU cycles and excess storage capacity and convert them into useful, meaningful labour.
In these tough economic times (a common refrain, I know), I discovered that one can actually rent out one's computing power to entities who actually need it (yes, one actually gets paid!).
It seems that Porivo, a web site performance measurement company, offers a testing service called peerReview that measures the end-to-end performance of web applications from the customer's perspective. Rather than just rate performance within the backbone, it uses actual PCs logged onto the Net to give performance visibility all the way to the desktop.
While the amount paid isn't much (maybe a couple of dollars a month), it also doesn't cost you any time or money to use it, especially if you have your computer always turned on and hooked into an unlimited broadband account.
http://computerworld.com.sg/pcwsg.ns...D?OpenDocument
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Metaphor's Metaphors
Arnold Kling
"Since the Internet has lowered distribution and reproduction costs, bad IP laws are more costly now than they were in the past. 150 year copyright terms just didn't matter much before Napster. A new IP regime needs to understand the economics of production for different types of ideas and tailor the right laws for the right circumstances. Personally, I'd like to see shorter copyright, no patents on business processes or software, and longer patents for drugs."
--Zimran Ahmed
Ahmed's intuition about intellectual property (IP) closely accords with my own. However, it is difficult to provide a rigorous justification for my thinking.
One tends to use metaphors when talking about IP. In fact, the very term "intellectual property" is itself a metaphor. Physical property is something that you can feel, touch, and take away from someone else. Knowledge has none of those characteristics. So why treat ideas or creative works as property at all?
As James DeLong points out, the philosophy that was influential in America at the time of our nation's birth emphasized "natural rights," including the right of a man to the fruits of his labor. Within that philosophical framework, the effort spent composing a creative work or developing an idea is labor, and the creator has a natural right to a reward for that labor. That remains a morally compelling argument for IP.
Another rationale for IP is purely utilitarian. Taking the existence of a creative work as given, the social optimum is to make it available to everyone, for nothing more than the cost to copy and distribute the work. With the Internet, the marginal cost of accessing digital music and text approaches zero, so that all else equal, creative work ought to be available for free.
However, all else is not equal. If creative works were available for free, there would be no reward for creators, and this would reduce the supply of creative works. Therefore, even if we were strictly utilitarians and had no belief in "natural rights," we might still support the concept of intellectual property in order to ensure the development of creative works.
Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine developed a theoretical argument suggesting that copyright laws are not necessary in order to protect IP. Douglas Clement provides a nice survey of the controversy surrounding their view.
The Boldrin-Levine argument is couched in mathematics, which makes it a bit unclear what is going on. My understanding of it can be articulated using a metaphor from horse racing.
A couple years ago, Laura Hillenbrand wrote what turned out to be a best-selling book about a racehorse named Seabiscuit. The horse's owner and trainer clearly had to go to considerable effort to evaluate and develop their racehorse.
People attempt to make copies of horses, in the process known as breeding. Because a champion like Seabiscuit is valuable for breeding purposes, the owner is able to earn rewards for selling the breeding services. Thus, the fact that a racehorse can be "copied" enhances rather than detracts from the wealth of the original owner.
The Boldrin-Levine paper makes a similar argument about copies of creative works. They suggest that because the first people to buy a creative work will capture value from copying that work, what they will pay for the first copy will be very high. Thus, copyright is not necessary. The owners of Seabiscuit did not need a copyright in order to capture the breeding value of their horse.
If Seabiscuit, the horse, does not need a copyright, why do we need a copyright for Seabiscuit the book? My guess is that the publisher, Ballantine Books, could not be sure ahead of time whether Seabiscuit would be a winner or an also-ran. The book was available to be copied before this uncertainty was resolved. Without copy protection, another publisher could wait for Ballantine's full line-up of books to come out, observe how they sell, and then choose to copy only the popular titles.
In contrast, the owner of the horse could wait until the quality of the horse was established before making the horse available to others to make copies. I can see how the Boldrin-Levine mechanism works for horses, but I have a hard time seeing it work for books.
I believe that music publishers should not be entitled to take legal action against file swappers. The metaphor I use for this is popcorn.
When I go to a movie theater, I never buy popcorn there. Even though I can afford the four bucks, I am offended by the price.
There are movie theaters that will not allow you to bring your own popcorn into the theater. Clearly, what they are thinking is that if they forbid you from bringing your own popcorn, then you will buy their popcorn. My reaction, however, is that this is just one more reason not to go to the movies (along with the deafening sound, obnoxious patrons, and Hollywood's predictable story lines).
Music publishers who go after file swappers are like movie theater owners who won't let you bring your own popcorn to the theater. They are simply alienating their customers while trying to protect a revenue stream that they were not going to get, anyway.
Baseball players and coaches always work on hitting technique. For example, a popular current saying is "short to, long through" meaning that hitters should try to drive directly into the ball as opposed to starting with a backswing or looping motion.
Suppose that I had been the person who came up with the concept of "short to, long through." Should Barry Bonds be required to get a license from me in order to use it? If you believe that, then you support the idea of business process patents.
Because business processes, like hitting techniques, depend so heavily on execution, the idea of granting them status as intellectual property is abhorrent. Patents on business processes make a mockery of the game and serve only to create opportunities for lawyers.
Drug companies go to considerable effort and expense in order to develop pharmaceuticals. The reward for this is a patent on the drug. The patent gives the developer control over the manufacturing license for a fixed period of time. The value of this license is the prize for finding the drug.
An alternative mechanism would be to offer prizes for drug development. There are foundations that are dedicated to dealing with particular diseases, such as breast cancer or diabetes. These foundations could offer prizes for the development of pharmaceuticals that achieve certain objectives. Money from the private foundations could be supplemented by government funding for prizes. My guess is that reducing the role of patents and increasing the role of prizes as incentives for drug research would help to shift resources away from research into solutions for hair loss and erectile dysfunction and toward research into solutions for illnesses that many people would regard as more important to address.
I think that the public policy issues that surround ideas and creative works require more than one metaphor. In fact, for many creative works, my controversial metaphor Content is Crap applies. That is, until the works have been sifted by a filter, they have no value.
For me, the overall topic is too complex to be resolved with a single formula or policy. The term "intellectual property" is overly broad. We need multiple metaphors.
http://www.techcentralstation.com/10...D=1051-030303B
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Keeping Honest People Honest
Edward W. Felten
At today's House committee hearing on the broadcast flag, Fritz Attaway of the MPAA used a popular (and revealing) argument: the purpose of the broadcast flag is "to keep honest people honest." This phrase is one of my pet peeves, since it reflects sloppy thinking about security.
The first problem with "keeping honest people honest" is that it's an oxymoron. The very definition of an honest person is that they can be trusted even when nobody is checking up on them. Nothing needs to be done to keep honest people honest, just as nothing needs to be done to keep tall people tall.
The second problem is more substantial. To the extent that "keeping honest people honest" involves any analytical thinking, it reflectss a choice to build a weak but conspicuous security mechanism, so that people know when they are acting outside the system designer's desires. (Mr. Attaway essentially made this argument at today's hearing.) The strategy, in other words, is to put a "keep out" sign on a door, rather than locking it. This strategy indeed works, if people are honest.
But this is almost never the kind of security technology that the "keeping honest people honest" crowd is advocating. In my experience, you hear this phrase almost exclusively from advocates of big, complicated, intrusive, systems that have turned out to be much weaker than planned. Having failed to build a technologically strong system, they say with cheerful revisionism that their goal all along was just to "keep honest people honest." Then they try to sell us their elaborate, clunky, expensive system.
The problem is that it's cheap and easy to build a "keep out" sign. If that's all you want -- if all you want is to help honest people keep track of their obligations -- then simple, noncoercive technology works fine. You don't need a big, bureaucratic initiative like the broadcast flag if that's your goal.
The funny thing here is that the MPAA is getting out in front of the curve. Usually vendors wait until their security technology has failed before they change their sales pitch to "keeping honest people honest."
http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/archives/000306.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EU court hears opinions in landmark copyright case
David Lawsky
The European Court of Justice on Thursday weighed limits on the right to protect ideas through copyright, in a case that may have broad implications for intellectual property in Europe.
The case involves two United States companies which gather drug sales data in Germany and sell them to pharmaceutical manufacturers.
NDCHealth lawyers argued before a five-judge panel at the European Court of Justice that it should be allowed to license part of the intellectual property of its bigger, more established rival, IMS Health.
IMS Health lawyers said that if the firm were forced to license its intellectual property then every company could be forced to license away its competitive advantages. NDCHealth said circumstances in this case were special.
The European Commission, which has taken the side of IMS Health's rivals and has a separate case on the matter, backed up NDCHealth's views.
At issue is the collection of data for pharmaceutical companies. It is so important to drug firms planning sales strategies that IMS Health (nyse: RX - news - people) of Fairfield, Connecticut last year made $1.4 billion in the business world-wide. NDCHealth Corp (nyse: RX - news - people) of Atlanta, Georgia, made $150 million.
The companies combine data from several pharmacies in a single geographical area, allowing them to report the data anonymously.
IMS Health copyrighted its geographic survey areas and does not want to share them with NDCHealth, which has been trying to become competitive in the German market.
"The refusal to grant a license does not constitute an abuse," Stephen Barthelmess, the lawyer for IMS, told five members of the high court. He said copyright law gives firms temporary monopolies.
IMS Health sued NCDHealth in Frankfurt, accusing the upstart of poaching on its intellectual turf by copying the design of its geographic areas in Germany.
It was the Frankfurt regional court, Langericht Frankfurt Main, which asked the ECJ to resolve some of the thorny European Union legal issues in the case.
http://www.forbes.com/home_europe/ne...rtr899117.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anti-piracy swords drawn in theaters
A new trailer says film theft harms lower-rung industry workers.
Lorenza Munoz
After targeting colleges and companies and their computer users, Hollywood is taking its battle to curb illegal downloads to people who watch movies the old-fashioned way -- by purchasing a ticket.
When studio executives and movie theater operators gather this week at ShoWest in Las Vegas, 20th Century Fox will unveil a movie trailer intended to educate U.S. filmgoers about piracy, in particular illegal file-trading via services such as Kazaa and Morpheus.
Initially, the two-minute trailer that puts a human face on the victims of piracy will be shown at most Regal Cinemas, the nation's largest theater chain. It will be unveiled Wednesday at ShoWest, which runs today through Thursday.
Fox, which had disclosed plans to create the trailer last fall at a conference in Aspen, Colo., declined to comment, but Jack Valenti, head of the Motion Picture Assn. of America, said the trailer will make the case that downloads and other piracy are really theft that takes an economic toll on individuals working in the movie industry such as makeup artists and set builders -- not just multimillion-dollar movie stars or directors.
"These are just hard-working people on the movie set," said Valenti. "They are not fat with compensation," and their livelihoods are at stake.
Among some students, the notion that a trailer could persuade anyone to stop downloading movies seems naďve, like the "Just Say No" anti-drug campaign. "It's become so acceptable to download movies and music off the Internet that people don't think it's wrong," said USC sophomore Jacqui Deelstra, 19. Added sophomore Art Priromprintr: "Nobody's going to think 'Oh, I'm hurting the movie industry right now' -- they don't care."
Despite the estimated 400,000 to 600,000 copies of movies downloaded daily, relatively few people choose to watch films on computer monitors and even fewer, for now, have the technical facility to play downloaded material on regular TV screens.
http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/c...ore%2Dchannels
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spill Over Effects between Media
Paul Szynol
Broadcast Flag technology, in order to stem the spread of online piracy, aims to prevent the unauthorized transmission of data across the Internet by embedding in the transmission "a sequence of digital bits . . . that signals that the program must be protected from unauthorized redistribution."
The pure principle argument against the Broadcast Flag is that it would "give Hollywood unwarranted control over the development of digital television (DTV) and related technologies to the detriment of creators and consumers of the technologies" (EFF.org).
A technical counterargument to the Broadcast Flag is the Internet's technological inability to sustain the kind of piracy envisioned by the entertainment industry. Downloading an entire DVD via a dial up connection, for instance, would be painfully slow, and few - if any - individuals would attempt to transmit an entire DVD through a telephone line. And current broadband transmission speeds, though faster, are still too slow to facilitate a convenient transmission of, say, an entire DVD. The relatively slow speed of transmission, in other words, is a solid argument against the use of the Broadcast Flag - there is no need for legal or technological devices that protect against unlikely crimes.
Indeed, Professor Felten has registered with the FCC this very objection: "It is easier and cheaper to record a movie on a VHS tape and send it through the mail than to record a digital broadcast and transmit it over the Internet, said Edward Felten, a computer science professor at Princeton University." (Entertainment and computer industries face off over digital television copy protection).
CNN has just reported, however, that Stanford Linear Accelerator Center researchers have managed to send 6.7 gigs of data across 6,800 miles in just 58 seconds. And the article uses an apropos measuring cup: 6.7 gigs equals approximately 2 DVDs.
However far in the future this technology may be for the Internet proper, the general spirit of the innovation is, for Internet surfers, great news. Faster transmission speeds mean more information flow, easier access to data, and so on.
To Hollywood, however, faster transmission speeds are a threat, for they make possible the kind of online piracy the Broadcast Flag aims to prevent. Once a DVD can be delivered via the Internet in 30 seconds, online transmission will be far easier than sending a VHS tape in the mail.
If courts and legislatures are willing to anticipate a future with blazing online transmission speeds, then -- particularly given the current legal-political predisposition to overprotect copyright holders -- they will likely condone restrictive technologies like the Broadcast Flag. Developments in one medium will create spill over effects in another (a phenomenon which the Supreme Court recognized over half a century ago -- "[l]aws which hamper the free use of some instruments of communication thereby favor competing channels", the Court wrote in 1949). In this case, progress in one channel of communication -- the Internet -- might very well lead to the creation of laws that, at least for consumers, hamper a competing channel -- viz., broadcast.
http://research.yale.edu/lawmeme/mod...rticle&sid=984
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Entertainment and computer industries face off over digital television copy protection
David Ho
Hollywood and Silicon Valley carried their battle over Internet piracy to Capitol Hill on Thursday, debating the need for technology to prevent the illegal trading of movies and television shows online. The entertainment industry told lawmakers that without copy protection the threat of extensive piracy will force the industry to move its best programming to pay services such as cable and satellite TV. "Over-the-air television as we know it today will be a thing of the past," said Fritz Attaway, an executive vice president with the Motion Picture Association of America. He testified before the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on the Internet. The entertainment industry has proposed technology called a "broadcast flag," an electronic marker in digital programming that could thwart or limit copying or distribution of pirated broadcasts over the Internet. Many in the industry fear high-quality broadcasts could be sold online. The Federal Communications Commission is studying whether to require the marker, but it is unclear when its review will be finished, said Kenneth Ferree, chief of the FCC's media bureau. Congress has set a goal of December 2006 for TV broadcasters to switch from analog to digital signals, which offer more vivid pictures and crisper sound. The FCC is concerned the piracy issue could slow that transition. Opponents of the broadcast flag say it won't prevent piracy, but will restrict consumers who want to make copies for personal use. "The more we restrict how our customers can use our products, the more likely they are to be annoyed," said Ed Black, president of the Computer and Communications Industry Association. The association represents technology companies, including one that develops software used by people who share music files online.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tech's love-hate relationship with the DMCA
Declan McCullagh
When it comes to the subject of copyright protection, neither Intel nor Hewlett-Packard can make up its mind what to do.
The two companies seem to simultaneously love and loathe the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the 1998 law that's famously unpopular among hackers, programmers and the open-source crowd.
Last week, Intel and HP's names appeared on a press release circulated by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) opposing crucial changes to section 1201 of the DMCA. Specifically, the BSA lashed out at a bill that would make it legal to bypass copy-protection mechanisms--as long as you're not planning to circulate the resulting file to tens of thousands of your closest friends.
The BSA, likely the world's most influential antipiracy group, offered the following warning: "Of particular concern, provisions of this legislation allowing the disablement of technological protection measures on copyrighted materials would provide safe harbor for pirates who could easily claim that the 'intent' of their actions were legal even if it resulted in knowingly unlawful infringement and economic loss to copyright owners."
That means researchers like Ed Felten at Princeton University and companies like Static Control that sell toner cartridge chips will remain vulnerable to civil or even criminal prosecution. So will people who sell patches to DVD-burning software or distribute descrambling utilities that let legally purchased DVDs be watched on a Linux computer.
In other words, the BSA, speaking on behalf of its members including Intel and HP, thinks these DMCA prohibitions should remain intact. So it opposes two related bills in Congress--one championed by Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., and the other by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.
http://news.com.com/2010-1071-991676.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Universities cracking down on students who download on campus
Adam Klawonn
They don't wear badges or recite Miranda rights, but tech staffers at the three state universities are the campus network police when it comes to enforcing music and movies pirated from the Web.
And Alicia Fremling, an honors college freshman, was in the wrong place on the wrong dime. Her university-funded Internet privileges were yanked temporarily last week after members of the tech staff were notified that she had downloaded the 1978 comedy classic movie Animal House.
"I think it was the luck of the draw," said the political science major from Fargo, N.D. "I had the wrong thing on my computer."
Fremling's case is an example that the message is getting clearer: Students are there to learn, not download.
The enforcement of campus copyright policies comes two years after Napster was shut down, and six months after the entertainment industry made a plea to 2,300 universities. They asked them to curb Internet piracy of movies and music by users who swap them electronically.
It also follows a blanket e-mail sent out to honors college students Feb. 19, warning them to stick to policies established by the federal government and adopted by ASU.
And it coincides with a glimpse that movie industry insiders had recently of a two-minute, anti-piracy movie trailer created by 20th Century Fox.
It will be released internationally later this year, in several languages. It claims that downloading films and music using Web services like Kazaa and Morpheus hurts makeup artists and set builders, not just the stars.
"There are a number of fronts that need to be fought," said Rich Taylor, a Motion Picture Association of America's spokesman in Washington, D.C. "That includes reaching out to university students and corporations through the trailer."
Universities that provide high-speed Internet connections to students are practically forced to respond to the industry. They are, essentially, the Internet Service Providers, or ISPs, using monies from a variety of sources, including tuition.
This is what concerns April Ellis, an ASU pre-business freshman from Willcox.
"If I'm paying for it through my dorm fees, I should be able to use it however I want," Ellis said. She said she quit downloading after receiving the honors college e-mail last month.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...wnload-ON.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
College CIOs face unique demands
Must balance security and legal issues with free exchange of ideas
Hiawatha Bray
Daniel Moriarty oversees a Boston-area computer network that connects 100,000 computers and handles a half -million e-mail messages a day. Like any corporate chief information officer, Moriarty has to keep the servers up and running, and configure the network to handle the data with maximum efficiency.
But few corporate CIOs must respond to a steady stream of mail from music recording companies and movie studios, complaining that someone is using an Internet address on their network to swap music and movies without paying. Moriarty does, and it's his job to stop them.
''It's not a huge number,'' Moriarty says of the letters. But the number he receives has doubled since last year. And dealing with each letter takes up an inordinate amount of time.
If Moriarty were the CIO of an ordinary business - a bank or a computer company, say - it would be easy for him to simply rig the network to block all file swappers. But Moriarty is the CIO of Harvard University, a place dedicated to the free exchange of information. Completely banning a particular way of sharing information would seem almost sacrilegious to many of Harvard's students, faculty, and staff.
Yet Moriarty has to do something. Swapping music and movie files without paying is a violation of federal law, and the recording and film industries are demanding action against college students, who are among the worst offenders. Even Congress is chiming in. Last month, at a hearing in the House of Representatives, lawmakers urged universities to crack down on the practice, unless they want to see students hauled away in handcuffs.
So each time a letter arrives, Moriarty and his staff identify the student or faculty member who's been abusing the network and gently warn him to cut it out. That's not quite the iron-fisted crackdown favored by many members of Congress, but then the lawmakers don't work at Harvard.
If there's a computer job more challenging than being a corporate CIO, it's the job of the college CIO. Colleges, after all, perform most of the same functions found at any business, and need the same kind of robust, reliable hardware and software that businesses use. But colleges are also places where students live and study, and where faculty members teach and conduct research. Which means that the campus CIO routinely copes with problems and challenges that his corporate colleagues rarely have to consider.
''Think about what a research university is,'' said Moriarty. ''It's all about discovering knowledge, about disseminating knowledge. And so access to information ... kind of [dominates] the way you think about the appropriate use of technology, rather than trying to secure, prevent, and protect as the dominant thing.''
That's why Harvard and other schools tolerate file-swapping software that would be banned in any workplace, why they risk hacker attacks by letting students and faculty members plug insecure computers into the network, why they reject strict standardization of hardware and software, preferring to let a hundred digital flowers bloom.
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/06...demands+.shtml
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Technology leads to battle for control of artistic property
New devices change or share media content that is copyrighted.
Christian Berg
No one would call a parent a criminal for fast-forwarding through a movie's sex scene while their children were in the room.
But some were calling Bill Aho a criminal after his company developed software that automatically filters nudity, graphic violence and foul language from popular DVD movies.
Aho is chief executive officer of ClearPlay, a Salt Lake City firm that's being sued by the Directors Guild of America and eight major Hollywood movie studios, including Sony, Walt Disney, Universal and Warner Bros.
ClearPlay's opponents claim the company's software violates their copyrights because removing objectionable material creates new versions of the movies without directors' permission. They also say the software infringes on directors' artistic integrity and imposes ClearPlay's values on the public.
''This is a choice families ought to have,'' said Aho, a father of seven. ''Consumers are well within their rights to experience a movie in their homes in the way that they choose.''
ClearPlay attorney Andrew Bridges said the company's software is merely a tool to help parents do what they're already doing.
''If ClearPlay is illegal, then so is the remote control,'' Bridges said. ''What Hollywood is essentially saying is, 'Watch the movie our way or don't watch it at all, even when you've bought and paid for the DVD.'''
ClearPlay's fight against Hollywood is among a growing number of copyright debates spawned by new digital technologies that allow consumers to easily modify, copy and share media content.
While the specifics vary from case to case, the battle lines are clearly drawn. On one side is the power of technology. On the other is the desire of copyright holders to protect their intellectual property.
ClearPlay's legal battle is a potentially groundbreaking case that could vastly expand the power copyright holders can exert over how their work is used by the public, said Bridges, a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, Calif.
''What's at stake here is whether copyright law gets expanded…to control all aspects of a user's experience, and that's just way too far,'' he said.
''The way I see it, ClearPlay is getting sued for actually fulfilling the promise that digital technology brought to the world, which is that was going to offer consumers new convenience, choice and control over how they enjoyed things like motion pictures.''
Attorney Justin Hughes, a professor at Cardoza Law School in New York City, said digital technology ''has opened up some huge new questions about the relationship of copyright law to the area of fair use.''
http://www.mcall.com/business/local/...ghtmar09.story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I understand that the larger labels are just interested in the projects that can generate the most capital for their quarter," she continued. "But I didn't want to subject the music to that kind of corporate boardroom and radio censorship. Why subject myself and the work that I do to that kind of environment when it really doesn't matter any more?"
Natalie Merchant, No Strings Attached
Jon Pareles
Natalie Merchant has stepped off the pop treadmill. After 17 years with Elektra Records, first as the main songwriter and singer of 10,000 Maniacs and then with million-selling solo albums of her reflective folk-rock, Ms. Merchant decided to go it alone.
When her Elektra contract expired in August 2002, she chose not to renew it or to seek a deal with another major label. "I would make a big-budget pop album, followed by a year of touring and promotion and then some downtime for recovery," she said. "I don't even know if I was writing music that was appropriate for that mold." Instead she will release her next album, a collection of traditional songs called "The House Carpenter's Daughter," on her own label, Myth America Records. It is to be released June 1 through Ms. Merchant's Web site, nataliemerchant .com, and July 1 in stores.
Recorded on a modest budget, marketed primarily to existing fans and not relying on radio exposure, "The House Carpenter's Daughter" breaks free of the commercial pressures that have turned major-label releases into risky gambles that can cost a million dollars in promotion alone. In contrast, Ms. Merchant's transition suggests the model of a sustainable career for a musician who is no longer eager to chase hits.
"The business is going one way, and Natalie's going another," said her manager, Gary Smith, also the general manager of Myth America.
Ms. Merchant paid for recording and packaging "The House Carpenter's Daughter," including the $3.50 manufacturing cost of an elaborate box for the first 30,000 copies. (The CD will sell for $16.95.) The special package "was printed in America for three times the price in Hong Kong," Ms. Merchant said.
"It's just not in keeping with American business practice right now," she added.
Even so, "The House Carpenter's Daughter" needs to sell only 50,000 copies to break even, less than 15 percent of what "Motherland," her last album for Elektra, sold.
"We're not trying to recoup some enormous debt," Mr. Smith said. "The economics of making this record are very prudent. When we sell 200,000 copies, we'll be standing on our chairs, hollering. If we released this record with these kinds of goals on a major label, we would look like a failure. At Elektra, if you just sell 1.5 million, everyone goes around with their heads down."
"This is the kind of record I want to make, going forward," Ms. Merchant said. "I've been writing things that are much more obscure and sort of shelving them, thinking I can't get this past a corporate boardroom and I won't even try."
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/13/ar...ic/13NATA.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Songs to Start Out on Video Games
Lynette Holloway
In a first for the music industry, a major record label will introduce new songs on a new video game, not the radio. The goal is to lure young, male consumers into buying entire CD's when they are released to stores up to four months later.
The company, Island Def Jam, a unit of Universal Music Group, has joined forces with Electronic Arts, the world's largest game maker, and will create video games to capitalize on two hugely popular forms of entertainment among boys and young men ages 11 to 25: hip-hop and video games. Universal Music Group is owned by Vivendi Universal.
The first game, Vendetta, one in a series of three, will be released on April 1. Vendetta, a wrestling game, will contain 12 Def Jam artists, including DMX, Scarface, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Ludacris, Redman, N.O.R.E., Capone and Christina Milian, who will choke-hold and drop-kick their opponents around the ring.
The games will allow players to take on the role of their favorite artists in wrestling matches, which will take place against the backdrop of upbeat new singles by each of the artists, said Lyor Cohen, chairman and chief executive of the Island Def Jam music group. All the artists in Vendetta will release albums by the end of the summer, he said.
"You would have to be totally disconnected from the street to not realize how important gaming is for kids," Mr. Cohen said. "And you have to be equally disconnected not to see the value in leveraging music along with this boom in gaming."
Industry executives are scrambling to come up with new ways to sell music at a time when CD sales have reached a low. In 2002, about 62.5 million fewer CD's were sold than in 2001 — a 9 percent drop to 649.5 million, according to data from Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks record sales.
The video game industry is lucrative. The market for consoles and video games is worth more than $9 billion a year. Video games typically sell at retail for $50. Demand for video games continues to grow. In January, sales for Nintendo's GameCube console went up 31 percent, Microsoft Xbox sales went up 29 percent and Sony Corporation's PlayStation 2 went up 24 percent in contrast to the previous January.
Joining forces with a game company is a bold departure from the usual business model that music industry executives are using increasingly to try to improve revenue. Most industry executives have focused on selling online music. But it may take years to map a profitable plan.
Analysts say that the joint venture of Def Jam records and Electronic Arts is a good intermediate step that will help the label improve earnings.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/10/te...gy/10VIDE.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Verizon, RIAA spar over second subpoena
Declan McCullagh
Verizon Communications and the major record labels will face off again before a federal judge on April 1. That's when U.S. District Judge John Bates will hear arguments over a second subpoena the Recording Industry Association of America sent to Verizon under the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Bates ruled the first subpoena seeking the identity of a Kazaa user was valid, but Verizon has appealed. The case pits the reach of copyright law against Internet users' right to privacy.
http://news.com.com/2110-1028-991899.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Technology Briefing: Internet
U.S. CHARGES AUSTRALIAN WITH COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT The federal government charged a leader of one of the largest Internet piracy "warez" groups yesterday as part of a continuing two-year investigation by the Customs Service, called Operation Buccaneer. Hew Raymond Griffiths, 40, of Bateau Bay, Australia, was charged on one count of copyright infringement and one count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement. Mr. Griffiths is expected to be extradited in a few weeks. The indictment said Mr. Griffiths, who was known by his screen nickname, Bandido, was a leader of DrinkOrDie, an Internet piracy group that started in 1993. The other leader, John Sankus Jr., pleaded guilty last spring, but Mr. Griffiths had proved elusive for the United States government because of his Australian residency. As part of Operation Buccaneer, 10 defendants have already each been sentenced to prison terms of 33 to 46 months in the United States.
HOUSE TO HOLD HEARINGS ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY The House Government Reform Committee will hold hearings today on the risk to young Internet users posed by the volume of pornography available on peer- to-peer networks. The hearing is prompted in part by a General Accounting Office report scheduled to be released today. The report says that peer-to- peer networks are a growing source of child pornography, though they are still exceeded by Web sites. The report also found that more than half of the material found when searching for common keywords like the names of cartoon characters or celebrities was pornographic in nature. "G.A.O.'s findings are very disturbing, especially because file-sharing programs are becoming increasingly popular with kids," Tom Davis, Republican of Virginia, the chairman of the committee, said in a statement. "We need to alert parents to this problem and learn what they can do about it."
Amy Harmon (NYT)
BLACK BOX STOCK FALLS TO 4-YEAR LOW Shares of the Black Box Corporation, a networking services company, fell about 31.6 percent to a four-year intraday low yesterday, a day after it warned that weak technology spending would push results for its fourth quarter substantially below forecasts. Shares fell $12.36, to $26.78. Stock in the company, a reseller of networking equipment based in Pittsburgh, has fallen more than 40 percent in the last year. Black Box's outlook for the quarter ending March 31, issued after the market close on Tuesday, followed last week's warning by Dimension Data, the network equipment reseller, as well as a lowered sales forecast by the 3Com Corporation. Black Box said demand in early January was weak, but late January and February remained soft and March was acting the same. It added that network overcapacity and the threats of terrorism and war in Iraq were depressing technology spending in the short term. "We believe the announcement and commentary from Black Box is another confirmatory data point for subdued demand trends on networking equipment," Tim Luke, a Lehman Brothers analyst, said in a research note to clients yesterday. (Reuters)
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/13/te...y/13TBRF2.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Big Music, you are cut off-singed, college students everywhere
There's a revolution afoot - and if you're in doubt, go check out a typical college dorm. Almost all U.S. colleges and universities are now wired for high-speed Internet access, which means that students can download music files in a matter of seconds (if they couldn't already at home). According to a recent study conducted by research firm Ipsos-Reid, 28 percent of the American population 12 and older have downloaded a music file off the Internet. That translates to 60 million downloaders.
So here's a news flash for Big Music: It's over. We have cut you off, and guess what? We don't feel the least bit guilty.
Why? Because the overwhelming majority of the artists who fill our hard drives are considerably well off, as are the people and companies who manage them.
"Why should I feel guilty?" asks Princeton University freshman Molly Fay. "Most of the artists I download make more money than I ever will. Who am I to care if I cheat them out of a couple of bucks?"
Another reason there's no chance of us returning to the music stores: making our own CDs is just way too convenient.
"The majority of my CDs are definitely my own mixes," says University of Pennsylvania freshman Merrill McDermott, adding that since she likes a lot of different genres of music, "downloading is the only way to obtain that eclectic mix" she's after. And Merrill isn't alone. None of us want to have a decision as important as what to put on a CD made for us by a bunch of executives in a California conference room.
We aren't revolting against the artists. We are revolting against the non-artists, the people who take art and make it fit into a Doritos commercial. For those of us who have the money, supporting the little-known groups remains an important cause.
"The only reason I would ever buy a CD," says Brown University freshman Janis Sethness, "would be to support the music groups that I like. But if a group is on and I like what I hear, I go to Kazaa, not Tower Records."
Our revolution doesn't threaten the future of music. In fact, we have high hopes for what these changes could bring to our ears. University of Pennsylvania freshman Kevin Collins recently wrote in Wharton's First Call newspaper: "File sharing systems will force the resurrection of the album." Programs like Kazaa, Collins argued, will "force the artists to return to the album to sell music" instead of going on MTV to promote a single song.
Fay captures a prevailing sentiment: "If having MP3s means that some in a suit won't be able to buy that third BMW he was craving, along with the house in the Hamptons, because the rest of the population saves necessary money by not purchasing music from a store, then I'm all for it."
http://www.theeastcarolinian.com/vne.../3e70c51d2decc
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It’s just business.
Big Blue, meet Big Brother
Paul Roberts
Looking to cash in on an increased demand for video surveillance and other security- related services, IBM said today that it will offer services to help companies deploy digital video surveillance and security systems.
The new services are designed to help companies make a transition from older, videotape-based surveillance systems to IP-based surveillance networks, IBM said in a statement.
As opposed to analog video equipment, digital video makes possible new, more flexible systems that can store images electronically while communicating with the rest of an organization's IT and security infrastructure, such as badge readers and intrusion-detection systems, IBM said.
IBM will also be offering consulting, system design and integration services, as well as hardware and software installation and maintenance.
Switching from videotape- to IP-based surveillance enables a company to add intelligence to the images captured by digital video cameras, according to IBM. For example, customers could deploy systems that recognize a brandished weapon or suspicious movements in a customs line, or allow security professionals to index and quickly review the faces of all individuals who used a particular entrance to a building.
In addition to providing its consulting expertise, IBM plans to tie a variety of products into its digital video surveillance offerings, including the company's eServer servers, WebSphere application servers, storage systems and Tivoli storage management software, it said.
Accordingly, IBM is showing uncharacteristic pluck in entering the market. "IBM is known for being conservative -- moving into a market when it's more mature," Latham said. "With [video surveillance], they've been more aggressive than usual about getting out in front of the curve."
As for the inevitable questions about encroaching on civil liberties, Lipton said IBM is sensitive to such concerns and hopes to "work on issues like those as well." For the time being, she said, the company's security offerings are targeted squarely at meeting market needs.
http://www.computerworld.com/managem...,79253,00.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RIAA's 'Hide The Website' game moves to Virginia
Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco
The RIAA's travelling "Hide The Website" gameshow rolled into
Virginia this week, with a new hosting company given the privilege (or curse) of looking after one of the world's most reviled web destinations.
But this strange story gets even stranger.
A few minutes after we reported on Monday that the RIAA's website had flickered back to life (see RIAA website now routable and public), it was down again. The RIAA had given the job to a first- time hoster, a 'Small Disadvantaged Business' whose owner was maintaining the site from his home in Rockville, Maryland.
The following day a new company was given the responsibility of Hiding The Website.
This time, it's an accounting firm in Arlington, VA called Kilday CPA. The accountancy firm - whose front page motto is "We're ... NOT ... What ... You'd ... Expect" also runs a Techology Services operation.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/29653.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Senate to Hold P2P Hearing
Ciarán Tannam
A Senate hearing is set to take place on P2P. The informational hearing is set to take place at Sacramento, California on March 27th. Those who will attend will include representatives from Sharman Networks (kazaa owners), Streamcast Networks (Morpheus owners), the MPAA, the RIAA, Eartlink and others.
The Senator Kevin Murray and the senate entertainment committee will host the hearing. Details of how to contact Kevin Murray in advance of the hearing can be found at his website.
P2P companies such as Sharman Networks have taken part in several closed- door discussions with representatives of the RIAA previously. What will be different about this hearing will be that it will be one of the first times that such discussions will be on an open platform. It will also be a key opportunity for those involved with P2P to influence the Senate.
http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=112
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support wanes for antipiracy chips while increasing for software solutions
John Borland
Plans to hard-wire copy protection into popular digital music and video devices are being shelved as the consumer-electronics industry grapples with interminable battles over antipiracy policies, standards and consumer rights.
Until recently, many makers of chips for consumer-electronics devices hoped to build anticopying technology into the chips themselves, a process known as "hard coding." That technique speeds up a device, saves on battery power, and makes the antipiracy technology harder to break through. Prominent security researchers say that hardware-based rights management technologies are more secure than alternatives that rely primarily on software.
Chipmakers have not completely abandoned efforts to create such copy protection features, but developers now say that they're ready to move ahead with what some call a second best alternative in order to feed surging demand for chips bound for new multimedia devices such as MP3 players, cell phones, and PDAs. This so-called soft coding--putting antipiracy rules into software that is more accessible to users--is slower and less secure, but lets companies adapt to rapid changes in the market more easily, developers say.
"In the past we've invested in hardware security that has not borne fruit," said Michael Maia, vice president of marketing for Portal Player, a company that makes multimedia chips focused on portable devices. "But there's a big risk there, because the market changes so much. Until it stabilizes enough, we will be soft coding."
The impasse over copy protection has stretched on for years, feeding distrust between the entertainment industry and consumer-electronics makers swept up in the digital technology revolution. Delays in hammering out antipiracy features for MP3 players and other devices have led to at least one proposal for legislation that would mandate the creation of a government-backed copy protection standard--a plan that was greeted with a standing ovation in Hollywood and catcalls in Silicon Valley.
That doesn't mean chipmakers oppose hardwired copy controls. Indeed, the trend toward software- based protection is at odds with the longer-term direction of companies such as Intel and Microsoft, and their so-called trusted computing initiatives. Under both companies' plans, a hardware-based authentication system would let computers guard against hackers' intrusions and viruses, as well as potentially block use of pirated software, songs or movies.
Hard coding has proven extraordinarily elusive, however, making software-based copy controls the best alternative for bringing passable, but not perfect, antipiracy features to the coming generation of digital devices.
"For the average user, soft coding is sufficient. For the hacker, soft coding leads to a wide-open hole," said Maia. "But that's the reality right now, because the business is in flux."
URL:
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-991936.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The fast track to queue-free CD selection
Sue Cant
Ever get sick of waiting in line to listen to a song off a CD in a music store? Well, the United States-based book and music retail chain Borders regards itself as queue-free, thanks to its digital music system.
The proprietary system, developed by the US company Advanced Communication Design, has been rolled out in the US, Britain and Australia during the past two years.
Customers can pick up a CD, scan the barcode at a station, and start listening. The music is part of an original 40,000-title database, updated each week with the latest tracks. ``We have gone with digital music because it provides a better customer service,'' says Sam Hosen, Borders IT manager in Australia. ``It's like having a recording studio at the corporate offices.''
Hosen says the system has been ``pretty stable''. The main issue seems to be an occasional missing song.
The first six weeks of the implementation was spent burning CDs onto the database to get some Australian music into the system.
The system includes a JVC Jukebox Player, which is like a huge CD burner, standing 1.5 metres high, on which up to 800 CDs can be loaded at a time.
The ``recording studio'' has a number of dedicated components, including a scanning module on which the ACD software scans the CD's barcode to create a catalogue of the music. Once
the catalogue has been generated, the recording module burns the catalogued CDs off the Jukebox and then adds the recorded material to the data server, which stores the master database.
The data server runs on a Linux operating system and the recording and scanning modules run on Windows 98 machines.
Each store has its own database, which is an image of the master database.
A dedicated employee is needed for the constant updates of new releases. Each week, head office sends out new CDs to the nine stores in Australia, including Brisbane, Adelaide and Sydney, which have their own PCs and burners used for updating their music databases.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/...144904664.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BT 'unlimited' audio offer contested
Wippit, the music download service, has complained to trading standards officers at Westminster City Council, that BT’s claim that its new online music-on-demand service is ‘unlimited’ is misleading.
Paul Myers, the wippit founder, told The Register: "We've already had a conversation with trading standards officers who are as concerned as we are that the BT claim is more than a little misleading."
BT last week launched its ‘dotmusic on demand’ service with much fanfare that users could take ‘unlimited downloads’ and 10 CD burns all for roughly E15 a month. These downloads, however, are not transferable to other device unless paid for in full and will also be lost in the user decides to terminate their account.
http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=15309
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mickey D’s Serves Up Wi-Fris
AP
Would you like super-sized Internet access with that burger and fries?
In a further sign of the spread of wireless Internet technology, McDonald's restaurants in three U.S. cities will offer one hour of free high-speed access to anyone who buys a combination meal. Ten McDonald's in Manhattan will begin offering wireless WiFi, or 802.11b, Internet access on Wednesday, McDonald's spokeswoman Lisa Howard said.
By year's end, McDonald's will extend the access to 300 McDonald restaurants in New York City, Chicago and a yet-unannounced California town, Ms. Howard said.
"You can come in and have an extra value meal and send some e-mail," Ms. Howard said. Window signs will alert customers to the restaurants with WiFi access, she said.
Besides McDonald's, Internet surfers will also be able to tote their laptops to 400 U.S. Borders book stores, hundreds of hotels and a pair of U.S. airports where WiFi access will be available by summer, companies announced Monday.
And computer maker Toshiba and chipmaker Intel say they'll set up wireless "hot spots" in coffee shops, hotels and convenience stores across the United States and Canada.
For those who roost with their laptops in McDonald's, Internet surfing could affect the waistline.
http://www.globetechnology.com/servl...imar11/GTStory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quiet Hush makes big noise about PCs
Savior of soft Music
HUSH TECHNOLOGIES claimed that its introduced quiet PC cases that won't scream at you as your working. The firm is launching a range of mini-ITX PC cases at CeBIT tomorrow and will use Via' Epia boards as the basis of the machines.
The firm says it will produce custom machines for people that don't want a racket drowning out their PC experiences.
The cases use a fin design and what Hush describes as an intelligent cooling system, with the parts built by German engineers.
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=8201
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dog's dinner boosts broadband
A businessman in Derbyshire has come up with a low-tech solution to a hi-tech problem. David Taylor has used dog food cans to connect his home through the airwaves to the internet. The cans work as an antenna, boosting the internet radio signal and bouncing it from his office to his home.
Mr Taylor, information technology manager with Derbyshire-based consultancy Equation, was fed up with being cut off from the broadband revolution. So he set out to find a neighbour in an area where you can get broadband willing to help him with the initial connection. "People were a little suspicious at first but it didn't take long to find a willing household," he told Computing magazine. Other tins ended up rusting but the dog food tin has worked very well
When he found a good neighbour, he set up a connection through a wireless transmitter to send the internet signal the two and a half kilometres to his office. Mr Taylor was so impressed with the new super fast connection that he decided to boost the signal even further to beam it to his home at a nearby Travelodge hotel. At first he tried using a milk powder tin as a transmitter but found that it was not waterproof. Other tin trials also ended in disaster as the metal could not withstand the elements of the Derbyshire weather. Eventually he hit upon the idea of dog food cans to send the internet signal to his home.
"Other tins ended up rusting but the dog food tin has worked very well," he said. "Now not only do the 20 staff in the office have internet connectivity, but I also have full access from my home even with the entire area lying off the broadband grid," he added.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/h...gy/2826617.stm
Top 10 Downloads – singles
BigChampange
PlayStation 3 chip nears completion
John G. Spooner
Collaborating engineers from IBM, Sony and Toshiba have wrapped up the design for the inner workings of a mysterious new chip called "Cell."
The new multimedia processor, touted as a "supercomputer on a chip," is well on the way to completion, IBM says. The chip could end up inside the PlayStation 3, and elements of its design will be seen in future server chips from IBM.
Cell has nearly "taped out" -- an industry term meaning that the chip's pen and paper design and layout have been completed. Soon these will be handed over to engineers in manufacturing, who will craft samples. Meanwhile, engineers have been testing various sub-elements of the processor, both separately and together, before the manufacturing unit connects them inside actual Cell chips. At this rate, commercial production of Cell could come as soon as the end of 2004.
While details remain vague, Cell will differ from existing microprocessors in that it will have multiple personalities. The chip will not only perform the heavy computational tasks required for graphics, but it also will contain circuitry to handle high-bandwidth communication and to run multiple devices, sources say.
Ultimately, Cell will provide a "much more interactive way of delivering content, including advertising, sports and entertainment such as video," to a wide range of Internet- ready devices, said Jim Kahle, director of broadband processor technology and a research Fellow at IBM.
This esoteric approach is possible because a single chip will contain multiple processing cores (hence Cell), a design concept rapidly gaining steam, sources said. Communications features expected to be in the chips will also allow devices to form powerful, peer-to-peer like networks, some analysts believe.
"It's sort of like having a group of handymen who are able to raise the roof (on a building) or do plumbing if it's needed," said Richard Doherty, analyst with Envisioneering.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2120395,00.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Analysis: Germany's copyright levy
Sam Vaknin
Based on the recommendation of its patent office and following fierce lobbying by VG Wort, an association of German composers, authors and publishers, Germany is poised to enforce a 3-year-old law and impose a copyright levy of $13 plus 16 percent in value added tax per new computer sold in the country.
The money will be used to reimburse copyright holders -- artists, performers, recording companies, publishers and movie studios -- for unauthorized copying thought to weigh adversely on sales.
This is the non-binding outcome of a one-year mediation effort by the patent office between VG Wort, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Germany's largest computer manufacturer and other makers.
VG Wort initially sought a levy of $33 per unit sold. But Fujitsu and the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media, known as Bitkom -- including Microsoft, IBM, Alcatel, Nokia, Siemens and 1,300 other member firms -- intend to challenge even the more modest fee in court.
They claim that it will add close to $80 million to the cost of purchasing computers without conferring real benefits on the levy's intended beneficiaries. They made similar assertions in a letter they recently dispatched to the European Commission.
The problems of peer-to-peer file sharing, file swapping, the cracking and hacking of software, music and, lately, even e-books, are serious. Bundesverband Phono, Germany's recording industry trade association, reported that music sales plunged for the fifth consecutive year -- this time, more than 11 percent.
According to figures offered by the admittedly biased group, 55 percent of the 486 million blank CDs sold in Germany last year -- about 267 million -- were used for illicit purposes. For every "legal" music CD sold, there are 1.7 "illegal" ones.
Efforts by the industries affected are under way to extend the levy to computer peripherals and, where not yet implemented, photocopying machines. Similar charges are applied already by many European countries to other types of equipment: tape recorders, photocopiers, video-cassettes and scanners, for instance.
Blank magnetic media, especially recordable CDs, are -- or have been -- taxed in more than 40 countries, including Canada and the United States.
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=...2-120912-6894r
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shareaza 1.8x open for bidness. Check this controversial but quickly growing Gnutella “update”. While other developers Gnash their teeth, this G2 protocol rolls along converting users with features and speeds unavailable at the old school.
http://www.shareaza.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Group resumes Xbox cracking project
David Becker
A group of computer hobbyists has resumed its effort to crack the main security code for Microsoft's Xbox video game console.
The Neo Project, a group that uses distributed computing techniques to crack security challenges, on Wednesday began offering software for its "Operation Project X."
Distributed computing, best known by the Seti@Home project searching for signs of extraterrestrial life, divvies up complex computing tasks among myriad computers. The Neo Project software will use thousands of PCs to try to guess the 2,048-bit encryption code used by the Xbox, an approach that could take years to yield results.
A cracked encryption code could allow hackers to run homemade Linux software on an unmodified Xbox, satisfying a $100,000 Xbox hacking challenge by Michael Robertson, chief executive of Linux software company Lindows.
The Neo Project began working on the Xbox security code late last year but abruptly dropped the project, citing unspecified legal concerns.
Project founder Mike Curry said in an e-mail interview that after consulting with lawyers, he was confident the new project was on solid legal ground as an educational research project. "We will not actually break any laws until we crack the code," he said.
Microsoft zealously has fought efforts to crack security systems built into the Xbox, particularly "mod chips," gray-market add-ons that can be installed in consoles to bypass security measures. The company has changed the Xbox configuration, sued a leading mod chip distributor, and used its Xbox live online gaming service to thwart mod chips. The U.S. Department of Justice entered the fray late last month, shutting down a mod chip reseller for allegedly violating provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
http://news.com.com/2100-1043-992252.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TiVo doubles revenue for quarter
Richard Shim
Digital video recorder service company TiVo said on Thursday that revenue was up for its fourth quarter and reported a lower-than-expected net loss.
The San Jose, Calif.-based company said for its fourth quarter ended Jan. 31, revenue was $13.7 million, up twofold compared with the same period a year ago when revenue was $6.8 million. TiVo reported a net loss of $14.7 million, or 25 cents per share, which improved on last year's fourth-quarter net loss of $41.6 million, or 92 cents per share.
The figures beat analysts' estimates of a loss of 32 cents per share, according to financial research firm FirstCall.
TiVo also said it signed up about 115,000 new subscribers in the fourth quarter for a total of about 624,000 subscribers as of Jan. 31. Its base of subscribers grew 64 percent during its fiscal year.
http://news.com.com/2100-1047-991415.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They didn’t actually look at the stuff…
Congress has fit over supposed P2P porn
Declan McCullagh
The U.S. Congress is targeting peer-to-peer networks again--and this time politicians aren't fretting over music and software piracy.
A pair of government reports scheduled to be released at a hearing on Thursday warn that file-swapping networks are exploding with pornography--much of which is legal, and some of which is not.
Searching for words such as "preteen," "underage" and "incest" on the Kazaa network resulted in a slew of images that qualify as child pornography, the General Accounting Office said in a 37-page report, one of two obtained by CNET News.com. The second report, prepared by staff from the House Government Reform Committee, concluded that current blocking technology has "no, or limited, ability to block access to pornography via file-sharing programs."
Using this technique, GAO did not open the image files, which means that mistitled images could be erroneously classified. The GAO's auditors chose not to open them because under federal law, it is illegal to knowingly possess child pornography. The GAO did not disclose which 12 keywords its auditors typed in, except to say they were supplied by law enforcement.
The auditors did, however, ask the U.S. Customs' CyberSmuggling Center to test a smaller number of images found using three keywords related to child pornography. "The CyberSmuggling Center analysis of the 341 downloaded images showed that 149 (about 44 percent) of the downloaded images contained child pornography," the report says. "The center classified the remaining images as child erotica (13 percent), adult pornography (29 percent), or non-pornographic (14 percent)."
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Child Pornography Prevention Act, which banned any image that "appears to be" of an unclad youth in what could be viewed as an erotic or sexually suggestive pose. "First Amendment freedoms are most in danger when the government seeks to control thought or to justify its laws for that impermissible end," a 6-3 majority of the justices wrote. "The right to think is the beginning of freedom, and speech must be protected from the government because speech is the beginning of thought."
David Greene, director of the First Amendment Project in Oakland, Calif., said the two reports use the old definition of child pornography that existed before the Supreme Court's ruling. "They don't indicate that the images they identify as child pornography would meet the (Supreme Court's) definition of child pornography," Greene said. "So it's hard to assess the significance of the finding without knowing (whether) what they found would be illegal child pornography, or whether it's legal computer-generated images that appear to be child pornography...which would be a waste of money to direct law enforcement funds. That is potentially an enormous hole in the report."
Green added: "It's hard to assess the methodology, because we don't know the search terms that they used. That makes it difficult to assess how likely it is that a child will stumble across pornographic images inadvertently."
Of the 177 images the CyberSmuggling Center downloaded from Kazaa using "three keywords representing the names of a popular female singer, child actors and a cartoon character," it classified only two as falling into the category of child pornography. The remainder would be legal to possess--and legal to distribute assuming they did not violate other restrictions such as obscenity or copyright laws.
http://news.com.com/2100-1028-992371.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes to Internet music swapping
Downloading free music like MP3s is a current trend that record labels say is adding to their downfall.
Frank Bojazi
I always wonder why the music industry dislikes peer-to-peer file sharing and bootlegging. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) fights to close websites/applications that promote the modern trading of MP3s. Don’t you think file sharing and bootlegging will assist musicians in promotion and increase their development of an appreciative fan base?
Bootlegging has been around for ages. Recordable cassettes are what everyone used to trade music until the Mp3 was formally introduced in 1992 by the Industry Standards Organization (ISO).
The modern means of file sharing may be more expensive, but most definitely better because you can be a fat lazy American and download all the MP3s you desire, all while you eat a cheeseburger and drink a diet soda.
Experts say that CD sales have been low, and I don’t think it’s due to file sharing. I think its because most new music is terrible. For example, new rap music is horrible, bands selling out like Limp Bizkit, musical junk by Creed, and the played out and predictable trance/club covers of 80’s music. Ja Rule and J Lo are the worst of it. All Ja Rule does is say “Yeaaaaaah” in his scratchy cheese-grated voice, while trunk-of-funk J-Lo wobbles her intrusive rear and occasionally sings. She was much better before she met up with the wrong crowd. Rap music stopped being cool when Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace passed away.
If record labels didn’t pay radio stations so much to play audible trash, then how else would people find out about Ja Rule and J Lo? File trading. And because of file trading, Ja Rule would have new mindless groupies. J Lo would have more borderline-stupid people gasping at the two basketballs in her pants that are most commonly referred to as her buttocks.
File sharing is what helps bring the audience closer to the musicians. Even if CD sales are low, what about concert sales? I haven’t purchased a CD in at least half a decade, but if I have a burned CD, or downloaded MP3s of a band I like, and I find out they’re coming to town near me – you better believe I’ll see that show.
If the RIAA had any brains, they would develop an Internet browser used primarily for trading files of artists who permit free downloads, develop an RIAA MP3 player, develop a brand of RIAA blank CDrs, and maybe that would make up for lost CD sales.
I think the RIAA is all about money, and they exist because jerk-off artists cry about people sharing the music they enjoy. Any musician who becomes angry over people sharing enjoyable music is not worth listening to anyway. If an artist/s cares only about money, then they’re in the music business for the wrong reason. Sure it’s a job, but when you selling platinum and you crying like a fat kid who dropped his triple scoop ice cream cone – you need to be put in your place, and your ‘fans’ need to become fans of an artist/s who is down to Earth and appreciative of fans.
http://keystoneonline.com/story.asp?Art_id=549
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Glenayre Unveils Versera High Density Messaging Platform
Press Release
Glenayre Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: GEMS) today unveiled its Versera(TM) High Density Messaging (HDMu) solution platform, the next phase of the Company's evolutionary path to a next-generation IP-based communications platform.
With three times the density of the Company's successful MVP(R) product, Glenayre believes that the Versera HDMu can help service providers reduce operating expenditures by:
· Decreasing peripheral equipment requirements (including spares, power supplies and voice drives) while increasing overall capacity;
· Working with existing provisioning interfaces, alarming interfaces and switch translations;
· Reducing total need for installation and maintenance staff;
· Decreasing overall power requirements and;
· Freeing valuable central office space for other networking needs.
Glenayre's Versera High Density Messaging unit will be commercially available in approximately one week and can be deployed in stand-alone configurations, clustered in peer-to-peer environments or deployed as part of Glenayre's Large Solution platform. The Versera High Density Messaging solution platform enables service providers to increase competitiveness while protecting their capital investments.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/st...2003,+09:00+AM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Apple's Chance to Get Online Music Right
Alex Salkever
If Steve Jobs joins with the record industry to create a Mac-friendly service, he should think radically different about its terms.
It's an incredible technological irony: Apple's iPod is the best-selling and most acclaimed digital music player on the market -- but iPod owners can't legally use big-label music sites to download tunes. That because the recording industry has basically shunned Jobs & Co., resulting in the ridiculous situation where the big labels' commercial download sites aren't compatible with the No. 1 MP3 player.
That may be about to change. If the rumors floating around the techsphere last week are to be believed, Apple users will soon have a bona fide legitimate online music service of their own, on par with PressPlay, MusicNet, Listen.com, and other PC-only sites that offer vast catalogs of legal tunes.
Naturally, Apple (AAPL ) wouldn't comment for this story on the rumors allegedly leaked by loose-lipped record execs. Those accounts, which appeared everywhere from music and tech trade magazines to wire services and the big local dailies (see last week’s
WIR – Jack), claimed that Steve Jobs had talked the beleaguered music business into backing an Apple service. It would provide at least comparable terms to the PC-based sites, many of them owned directly by the labels themselves and operated by subsidiaries. That means Apple users could listen to libraries of music for a monthly fee in the $10 range. Or they could pay a buck or so to download a tune and burn it to a CD.
http://www.businessweek.com/technolo...9271_tc056.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now They're After You: Music Cops Target Users
Recording industry expands focus and guns for file traders.
Dylan F. Tweney
Millions of people download copyrighted songs and even movies from the Internet with little fear of being caught. That's about to change.
"[The music industry is] starting to move down the food chain," says Lawrence Hertz, a partner at New York law firm Hall Dickler Kent Goldstein and Wood, and a specialist in online law.
He predicts that music publishers and other content owners will soon use 1998's Digital Millennium Copyright Act much more aggressively--prosecuting not only companies like Napster but also individuals who download copyrighted content--and that they will start with the biggest users of peer-to-peer networks.
The new strategy became evident last year when the Recording Industry Association of America served Verizon with a subpoena demanding that the service provider disclose the identity of a user who uploaded more than 600 songs while connected to the company's Internet service.
Verizon protested, but recently a U.S. district court judge ruled in favor of the RIAA and ordered Verizon to reveal the user's identity.
Verizon asked for a stay of the judge's order; at press time this was still pending, but approval seemed unlikely.
"If this ruling stands, consumers will be caught in a digital dragnet," says John Thorne, Verizon senior vice president and deputy general counsel. If the stay is denied, Verizon says it will seek a stay at the appeals court level.
"It's going to have quite a huge impact on privacy," says Gwen Hinze, staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The EFF argues that the ruling lets copyright holders get users' identities merely by alleging copyright infringement (a fairly easy standard to meet)--without review by a judge and without giving users any chance to protect themselves or their identities.
The music industry says that it's just defending itself from digital piracy, which has contributed to two successive years of declining CD sales.
"Most consumers are getting what they want on the Internet, and it's really hurting this industry," says Brian Dunn, senior VP of corporate development for Macrovision, a provider of copyright-protection technologies. Dunn predicts that cash-strapped music labels could start paring promotion budgets for new artists in the coming year, while moving to include copy protection on all of their CDs. (So far, only a handful of major-label releases in the United States use copy protection.)
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,109584,00.asp
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All Het Up
Fritz Attaway… Jerry, you once again mention free speech, despite the fact that court after court after court has said that free speech does not mean you have the right to take someone else’s speech and use it. The first amendment has nothing to do with what we are talking about here.
Pam Samuelson… I’ve read those cases and that actually isn’t what they say. (laughter)
Fritz Attaway…What monopoly problem do you see? (laughter) We are not in the business of creating the essential material. We make entertainment. If you don’t like the entertainment, and quite frankly, sometimes we make movies we can’t subpoena people to see…
Mozelle Thompson… You fly to Washington and tell us how important your industry is, and now you come here and play, like oh, we’re just fluff that comes out of [Hollywood]?
Transcript.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lessig Petitions Court for Rehearing. Bases Argument on Harm To Public Domain 
“Petitioners believe the cause is their own failure to make plain the profound harm to vital speech interests that this continued tolling of the public domain will effect. That failure allowed the Court to believe that the only real consequence from term extension is higher costs for commercially available works.
This is a mistake. The harm from extensions is not just that prices are higher. The real harm is the removal of a vast amount of our recent past from a domain where it might be usefully or easily cultivated. Because of this extension, for example, a museum cannot freely post an exhibit about the New Deal until 2030—not because the costs of a license are too great, but because it would be impossible to trace the rights necessary to avoid potential liability. Nor can publishers freely reprint now out-of-print books until at least a century after their initial release—again, long after any reasonable effort to locate a copyright owner could be undertaken. These extensions will therefore not simply mean that work that would be “free” will now have to be sold. They will mean instead that much of the culture from the early part of the 20th century will be lost long before the copyrights expire.”
PDF.
Until next week,
-
js.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Current Week In Review
Recent WIRs -
http://www.p2p-zone.com/underground/...threadid=15437 March 8th
http://www.p2p-zone.com/underground/...threadid=15348 March 1st
http://www.p2p-zone.com/underground/...threadid=15292 Feb. 22nd
http://www.p2p-zone.com/underground/...threadid=15219 Feb. 15th
Submit articles, press releases and letters in English - plain text only, no HTML - to jackspratts at lycos dot com. Please include contact info. Submission deadlines are Wednesdays @ 1700 UTC.