[SA_Dave]

Thanks for the hard work as usual!

Parental-control software does not work on the P2P file-sharing programs. None of the parental-control programs tested by the GAO (including the common NetNanny) managed to block all pornographic images. Parental-control settings within the P2P networks can easily be disabled by children. Penny Nance, president of the Kids First Coalition, says she sees the lack of filter ability for parents as a major concern and believes that the Federal Trade Commission should force P2P networks to install effective parental controls.

Maybe you could start by not suing every hash/verification portal site out of existence? [Maybe killing off Sharman isn't such a bad idea though... ]

Deep Links Are Legal In Germany. Official
Drew Cullen

Deep-linking has won the legal thumbs-up in Germany.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/31838.html

The fact that it took this long casts doubt on the overall intelligence and integrity of the judicial system in (ahem...) "certain territories".

The Bill

Piracy Deterrence And Education Act Of 2003 (H. R. 2517)

Pity that the 10-year old that wrote this doesn't know the difference between a dirty, amoral murderer and someone who shuffles bits through a wire. And don't get me started on the "intellectual property" moniker!

It's horrible to think that real criminals are actually being treated more fairly than the average consumer and these outrageous copyright and patent restrictions are having a negative effect on the rest of the world too. As though there aren't more important things to worry about!

Mickey Aims To Sink The Pirates
Paul Carr

Success based on talent rather than scheduling; a sackload of revenue for broadcasters; massively increased choice for viewers? Oh brave new world of television! And if Microsoft and Disney put their financial muscle behind it, it might not be that far away. For once I wish them every possible success.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/new...002126,00.html

How amusing conservative naivete ("optimism" if you will) can be! He forgot about the physicists and biomedical researchers though. This technology is more about running accurate simulations than streaming commercials...uhmm..."content".

DVD's Meant for Buying but Not for Keeping
Eric A. Taub

Once the product is exposed to the elements, a chemical clock starts ticking, turning the disc black and making it unreadable by a DVD player's laser after the designated time has elapsed. Until that happens, the disc can be played as often as desired. Employing a chemical rather than software process to disable the disc is meant to ensure that the process will work with any DVD player. And like any standard DVD, the discs can have software copyright protection that would deter a user from copying them onto the hard drive of a computer or onto a blank DVD that would not self- destruct.

While experts say that the technology is intriguing, it remains an open question whether a self-destructing DVD will interest consumers who normally expect that any purchase of a physical object is theirs to use forever.

This reminded me of a stupid fake news article I read about DVD players that explode after you've watched a movie...

Hollywood's file-sharing plea badly backfires

Australian reader Stephen McBride believes the ads will have the opposite effect and will actually advertise the fact that films are available to download online. "Of course it won't work," he said. "If anything it will increase by advertising the fact through cinemas."
http://www.silicon.com/news/500022/1/5301.html

I've always felt that the RIAA doesn't understand this concept, and the MPAA seems to have the same philosophy. Your FastTrack stats are proof that all the media attention will only unite and recruit more users into the p2p ranks.

I'm not so sure about Cringley's Snapster. At least the article gave me a good chuckle!