Peer-To-Peer News - The Week In Review - Jan. 4th, 2003

[JackSpratts]

We Partied For Miles

Starting with friends in the East, many international netizens followed the commencement of 2003 right around the globe in a 24 hour, 25,000 mile cyber celebration that seems to have slowed only recently, although the after effects may continue for a while. In other words, some of you people partied like rock stars, or if you’re of a certain age, like jazz musicians! Likewise the hangover from the 1999 Napster cotillion continues to stumble through the courts, congress, parliaments and the various international business communities headlong into 2003 and will no doubt totter well beyond. The latest upheaval concerns European copyright expirations covering a special period in history for jazz and classical music fans - the high definition recordings of the 1950’s including works by artists such as Davis and Maria Callas. They’ve now been sprung into the public domain if recorded before 1954 - regardless of where they were made or more to the point, where first released. The Americans are screaming at whoever will listen to get that changed as apparently 50 years in the vault is not a long enough sentence. While not specifically a result of Napster (the law was made before Shawn Fanning was born) the labels are furious because it becomes that much harder to persecute file sharers when half the world’s files are free. Who will even attempt to bring charges, and what will those charges be? Indeed, what's the point? But rest assured, they’ll try to come up with something.

So download some pre ‘54 Miles for me please and don’t spare the vinyl. Might as well toss in some Max Roach and hey while you’re at it how about throwing in a couple of early Elvises?

Cause we’ve waited 50 years and now they’re free baby, my happy swapping Europals!

Enjoy,

- Jack






Current Week In Review




Who Owns the Internet? You and i Do
John Schwartz

SOMETHING will be missing when Joseph Turow's book about families and the Internet is published by M.I.T. Press next spring: The capital I that usually begins the word "Internet."

Mr. Turow, a professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, studies how people use online technology and how that affects their lives. He has begun a small crusade to de-capitalize Internet — and, by extension, to acknowledge a deep shift in the way that we think about the online world.

"I think what it means is it's part of the everyday universe," he said.

Capitalization irked him because, he said, it seemed to imply that reaching into the vast, interconnected ether was a brand-name experience.

"The capitalization of things seems to place an inordinate, almost private emphasis on something," he said, turning it into a Kleenex or a Frigidaire. "The Internet, at least philosophically, should not be owned by anyone," he said, calling it "part of the neural universe of life."

But, he said, dropping the big I would sent a deeper message to the world: The revolution is over, and the Net won. It's part of everyone's life, and as common as air and water (neither of which starts with a capital).

Some elements of the online world have already made the transition. Internet often appears with a lowercase I on the Internet itself — but then, spelling online is dreadful, u kno.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/29/we...ew/29SCHW.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Why RIAA Keeps Getting Hacked
Michelle Delio

The Recording Industry Association of America may not want people to share digital files, but the organization certainly seems to be in favor of open access to its website.

On Monday, the RIAA site was hacked for the sixth time in six months.

Some security experts said in no uncertain terms that the latest defacements indicate the RIAA is clueless about technology. They charge that this ignorance has resulted in the RIAA attempting to combat digital file sharing in ineffective, counter-productive ways.

"It's obvious that they don't get the Web, and they don't get technology, or they'd understand how to protect their own website," said Wall Street systems administrator Anthony Negil.

"The flaws that people are exploiting to access their site are elementary security issues and there's no excuse for an organization that purports to understand the dark side of the Internet to leave such gaping holes in their own network infrastructure."

"My opinion is that the people at the RIAA (who are) making the statements about P2P hacking and the (Digital Millennium Copyright Act), the executives and legal staff, are completely disconnected from the technical folks who actually run the website," said Robert Ferrell, a systems security specialist.

Ferrell and others predicted that if the RIAA escalates its anti-piracy efforts, the organization's site will be completely knocked off the Internet.

"The RIAA honestly has no idea what they're up against. They will be toast the first time they try to shut down a P2P network being used by any serious black hats," Ferrell said.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,57048,00.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Napster, the beat goes on

When Napster, the revolutionary Internet music-sharing Web site used by 70 million people world-wide, was finally felled by the Recording Industry Association of America, the official reason was "contributory infringement." By providing the software users needed to share files over the Internet, it was argued that Napster was guilty of copyright violation every time individual users shared files.

According to Jonathan Band, an intellectual property lawyer with the Washington, D.C., branch of Morrison & Foerster, the very concept of "contributory infringement" does not exist in many countries.

"Many countries don't have a version of contributory infringement, and the treaties don't make any mention of it, so it's' hard to imagine that they will have any real effect on any file-trading networks," said Band in an interview with Wired Magazine columnist Brad King, who added that, while recording companies can go after sites like Napster, in some countries, it just won't work. "In a country like the Netherlands, the record industry went in to court with a theory and they lost."
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?n...507134&rfi= 6

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Take your finger out of file sharing dike, RIAA
John Boyles

To the Recording Industry Association of America, will you people get over it already? OK, yay, you killed Napster. Want a cookie? Reality check, nobody noticed. They were all too busy downloading Metallica songs from Kazaa, Morpheus, Madster, and Grokster.

RIAA kind of reminds me of the kid who, in the middle of a flood, saw a leak in the dike and, genius that he was, decided to plug it with his finger. Then another leak formed so he plugged that one with another finger. Then four more leaks formed and he plugged those. Then water started breaking through in 20 or so other places and, well, he realized that he didn't have enough fingers. That was shortly before the dike burst. The moral being, if the river is going to flood, it's going to flood. All the fingers and lawsuits in the world aren't going to change that.

Face it, RIAA, technology is your river. You'd better figure out how to use the flood to your advantage because you can't stop the tidal wave by desperately sticking your fingers in the cracks. That's not a judgment of right or wrong, that's reality.

But cheer up, reality isn't all that bad. Radio has been playing free music for quite some time now and, gasp, people still buy recordings. The tape recorder came out and people, though they could freely record off of the radio, still bought singles. Television networks started broadcasting professional sporting events for free but it hardly killed ticket sales as many feared, just the opposite.
http://www.nineronline.com/vnews/dis.../3dedcb36caaea

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Broadcom buys WLAN patents from Unova
Martyn Williams

NETWORK AND COMMUNICATION chip maker Broadcom has paid $24 million for patents covering wireless LAN and other technologies from Unova, of Woodland Hills, Calif., Unova announced on Thursday.

The deal covered around 150 domestic and foreign patents covering wireless LAN, wireless communication, dual-radio access points, hierarchical networks, dynamically switchable power supplies and personal video recorders, according to a Unova statement. In addition to the cash payment, Broadcom will give Unova a royalty-free license to use technology covered by the patents in products manufactured at its Intermec Technologies.

Unova holds more than 700 patents, and its smart battery power management technology has been licensed to many major notebook computer makers, it said. Most recently it licensed the technology, which allows a computer and battery to communicate to regulate and save power, to IBM and during 2002 also concluded patent disputes over the technology with Dell Computer, NEC and Matsushita Electric Industrial.
http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn...va.xml?s=IDGNS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Business continues to contract
DSL.net Clears Hurdle in Acquisition Bid

DSL.net has cleared a legal hurdle in its effort to finalize yet another acquisition.

The New Haven, Conn., broadband access provider said its $14 million bid ($9 million cash plus a $5 million note) for Network Access Solutions (NAS) has been approved by a U.S. bankruptcy court judge. The offer was submitted in late October.

If closing conditions are met, DSL.net expects to complete the transaction by mid-January.

"This acquisition will benefit the customers of both companies and position DSL.net as a much stronger broadband provider both in terms of our network footprint and our customer base," said DSL.net chairman and CEO David F. Struwas.

Herndon, Va.-based NAS has everything DSL.net looks for in an acquisition: a strong customer base (13,000 business subscribers); a busy geographic market (Virginia to Massachusetts); good technical facilities (300 central offices (define)) and a balance sheet written in red ink (NAS filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June).

Struwas said NAS customers currently served by the NAS network assets to be acquired by DSL.net should experience a seamless transition since no new installations or equipment changes are required.

DSL.net, whose offerings for residential and small business customers include digital subscriber line (DSL), T1, and virtual private network (VPNs), has declared itself an "industry consolidator."

In February, it acquired Broadslate Networks, of Charlottesville, Va., netting customers in Florida, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Then in August, DSL.net gained nearly 1,100 business and residential customers from Aplus.net.

A company spokesman said the DSL.net can make buys because it made difficult decisions to cut staff and unprofitable COs last year. That, along with the infusion of $15 million in recent financing, gave the company a war chest.

DSL.net's push comes at a time of jockeying in the DSL market. Faced with competition among themselves as well as cable and rival satellite providers, some DSL providers are closing shop or selling.
http://www.internetnews.com/xSP/article.php/1562631

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FCC Puts Off Decision on SBC Dominance of DSL

Federal communications regulators on Tuesday put off a decision on a request by SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC - news) to be declared not a dominant provider of high-speed Internet services, potentially freeing it of numerous regulations.
However, the Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites) did agree to A request to eliminate the requirement that the No. 2 local telephone carrier's affiliate that offers advanced services file tariffs outlining its offerings and prices.

The five FCC (news - web sites) commissioners were split over the decisions, saying the agency had not done enough analysis to make a judgment or that the limited relief was not enough.

SBC made the request to be declared non-dominant in October 2001, arguing that the regulations made it harder to compete against rival providers of high-speed Internet services, namely cable operators.

"We would have preferred to deny SBC's request for forbearance and required it to maintain its tariffs and cost support until the Commission completes its examination of dominance in the broadband market," said Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps in a joint statement.

Cable modem (news - web sites) service has outpaced the Internet offerings by local telephone companies, known as digital subscriber line service, or DSL. There were 9.2 million cable modem subscribers at the end of June, compared with 5.1 million asymmetric DSL lines in use.

"The FCC has given us the parity we asked for," said SBC spokesman Dave Pacholczyk. "It may not be everything we asked for, but the decision will enable us to compete on an equal footing with our competitors in the advanced services and broadband markets." http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...oms_sbc_fcc_dc

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Looks Like A Tough Year Ahead For Cable IP
Michael Harris

Happy New Year! By all measures, 2002 was an extremely challenging year for all players in the cable IP infrastructure and services market. As much as we would all like to see blue skies in 2003, our forecast calls for continued stormy weather. The combination of flattening cable modem subscriber growth, accelerated DOCSIS cable modem standards updates and product price declines, and delayed cable IP telephony deployments will vex vendors in the New Year. And continued operator consolidation, combined with basic cable TV subscriber growth hiccups, will leave MSOs with their hands full.

We fed industry trending inputs into the Cable Datacom News crystal ball and are pleased to share the following 10 prognostications for 2003, in no particular order. Do you have any predictions of your own or feedback on ours? Email us at editorial@cabledatacomnews.com.

Cable Modem Subscriber Growth Peaks
Based on historical numbers, it is looking like 2003 could be the last year the North American cable industry sees an increase in its total annual cable modem subscriber additions. And that's if all goes well. If not, 2003 could actually be the first year of decline. Based on our initial analysis, North American MSOs added approximately 4.3 million cable modem subscribers in 2002, a 10.5% increase over the 3.9 million added in 2001. However, as you check out the chart below, you will notice a rather unsettling trend. The increase in customer additions is down from 37.3% in 2001, 137.3% in 2000 and 154.3% in 1999.

What gives? The broadband market is simply becoming saturated, at least for a $40-plus monthly all-you-can-eat service. It has already happened in Canada, where cable modem subscriber additions have come to a crawl as MSOs have reached the 20% penetration mark and DSL competition has intensified. In the U.S., most large operators are not likely to reach that threshold until 2004, when annual cable modem subscriber additions are certain to drop.

Peer-to-Peer Gets Pummeled
MSOs seem increasingly incensed about "bandwidth abuse" resulting from the use of peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing applications by cable modem subscribers. Ironically, this anger is developing at the same time that MSOs are touting broadband Internet operating margins above 40% and the coming of "symmetric services" with DOCSIS 2.0. Nonetheless, MSOs are always looking for ways to squeeze another ounce of juice from the same lemon. So, before they do anything with complex DOCSIS 1.1 quality-of- service (QoS) implementations or expensive DOCSIS 2.0 upgrades, look for many MSOs to start blocking or slowing P2P traffic on their networks in 2003 as a way to equalize bandwidth consumption. Forget all the fancy talk about bandwidth, QoS and application tiering for the next year. Historically, MSOs have shown a preference for performing network surgery with a baseball bat rather than a scalpel. Clamping down on P2P fits that bill.
http://www.cabledatacomnews.com/jan03/jan03-2.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dropped in via Link? Check the Napsterites.net forum Peer To Peer for the latest news, information and comments concerning all things P2P.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spiritual Connection on the Internet
Mindy Sink

In her book "Give Me That Online Religion" (Jossey-Bass, 2001), Brenda E. Brasher, who has been studying religious Web sites for more than a decade, gives the example of a Hindu temple in India where the faithful wait in line for hours to enter before they are welcomed by the sounds of chanting priests and the scent of embers, along with the smells of fruit and flowers. She contrasts that with a visit to a virtual temple online that features a graphic drawing of a Hindu god and downloadable meditation music and chants.

"Prayer, itself, has changed over the centuries, varies considerably based upon the religious tradition involved, can mean a variety of things to one single person," Ms. Brasher explained in an e-mail interview.

She acknowledged that the "religious experience itself has been altered" by this transition from real to virtual worship, but she said she supported this change.

"Nostalgia is a generational issue," she said. "Where some see loss, others see new possibilities. The computer and computer-mediated communication can be a vehicle for prayer."

And the new generation has embraced spiritual technology, a 2001 study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project shows. "Some 25 percent of adult Internet users — approximately 28 million people — have gone online to get religious and spiritual material," said Elena Larsen, the principal author of the study.

In the report, Ms. Larsen found that these people, whom she referred to as "religion surfers," were augmenting their spiritual lives by using the Internet. She added that after the Sept. 11 attacks, there was a spike in the number of people going online to send or receive prayer requests.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/28/national/28RELI.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

France Télécom Sells Cable Unit
Bloomberg

France Télécom, working to reduce a crushing $70 billion debt load, said today that it had agreed to sell its Dutch cable television unit, Casema, to three buyout firms for 665 million euros ($690 million) in cash.

France Télécom's proceeds from the sale, to the Carlyle Group, Providence Equity Partners and GMT Communications Partners, will be about 510 million euros ($529 million), a company spokesman, Bruno Janet, said. The remaining 155 million euros ($161 million) will repay Casema's bank debt, France Télécom loans to the unit and other costs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SONY MAY BUY STAKE IN USEN UNIT
Bloomberg

Sony said yesterday that its Internet unit might buy a stake in Use Communications, a unit of the Usen Corporation. Usen is an owner and wholesaler of fiber optic networks in Japan. The stake would help Sony bolster its ability to offer high-speed Internet access. Details, including the timing and how much the Sony Communication Network Corporation might pay, will be decided by the end of February, said Sony, one of the the world's largest makers of consumer electronics. Sony Communication will begin offering its customers Web access through Usen's fiber optic network at that time. The move highlights Sony's efforts to distinguish itself from rivals like Samsung Electronics by offering products that can be linked to the Internet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Consumers' rights given little respect
Dan Gillmor

Suppose all the companies that manufactured cars informed customers, in the fine print of the purchase contract, that they could only have the car serviced and
repaired at a company-owned dealership.

Suppose, further, that the automakers enforced this rule by installing electronic hood-locks that could be opened only by dealers with authorized hardware and software keys -- and then sued out of existence anyone selling an unauthorized key.

You'd call your member of Congress to complain. And Congress would pass a law prohibiting such a blatantly anti-competitive, anti-customer practice.

Yet something akin to this practice is already in existence, and growing. In the world of electronic devices, digital entertainment and software, customers are routinely subjected to restrictions that forbid modification of products they've already purchased.

Your DVD player is just one example. There's a reason you can't fast-forward through the FBI copyright warning or other material DVD makers put at the start of movies. They won't let you. DVD titles often contain software instructions that DVD players, which can't be made without a license from an industry cartel, are required to obey.

The issue is front and center in an obscure but important legal battle under way in Hong Kong. The three major video-game console makers -- Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft -- have used the courts against a seller of hardware modification chips, often called ``mod chips,'' that give the boxes more capabilities than the makers allow when sold off the shelf.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/sil...or/4794800.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Win One For the Ripper - The Biggest IP Cases of 2002
Lewis R. Clayton

Kelly v. Arriba Soft Corp. considered questions of fair use on the Internet. In response to a query, Arriba's visual search engine displays thumbnail and full-size images taken from other Web sites. Included among those images were photographs taken by plaintiff Leslie Kelly, which appear on Kelly's Web site.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that Arriba's use of thumbnail images of Kelly's photos was fair use. The use was transformative because the search engine "functions as a tool to help index and improve access to images on the Internet," and the market value was not affected because the thumbnails are too crude to substitute for the full-scale images. Arriba's display of full-size images, however, was not fair use, because it was not transformative and was likely to harm the market for Kelly's work by reducing visits to his Web site and allowing free downloads

An Illinois federal court handed the music industry another victory over a digital music service accused of copyright infringement in In re Aimster Copyright Litigation. The Aimster service used America Online's Instant Messaging feature to allow its subscribers to exchange copyrighted music files with one another. Granting a preliminary injunction, the court held that the plaintiffs, a group including record companies and music publishers, had shown a likelihood of success on claims of contributory and vicarious copyright infringement, and that Aimster could not take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that apply to Internet service providers. While the court stressed that it was not bound by the 9th Circuit's rulings in A&M Records Inc. v. Napster Inc. (2001), it reached a similar result.

In United States v. Elcom Ltd a/k/a Elcomsoft Co. Ltd., the Northern District of California sanctioned criminal prosecution of a Russian software company and one of its employees for violation of the anticircumvention provisions of the DMCA. The defendants were prosecuted for selling software that allows users to remove copying restrictions embedded in digital books. The court rejected a host of constitutional challenges, finding that the statute is not overbroad or vague. The court determined that the statute does not prevent fair use of copyrighted materials, but merely limits the technological means of exercising those rights. The decision opens the way for vigorous criminal enforcement of the DMCA.

Playboy Enterprises failed in its attempt to prevent its 1981 Playmate of the Year, Terri Welles, from using Playboy's trademarks on her Web site. In Playboy Enterprises Inc. v. Welles, the 9th Circuit held that Welles' use of Playboy marks on her Web site -- in headlines, banner advertisements and in metatags (keywords used by search engines to identify Web sites) -- were proper.

The court applied a three-part test for nominative use: that the product or service is not readily identifiable without use of the trademark; that only so much of the mark as is reasonably necessary to identify the product or service is used; and that the user do nothing to suggest sponsorship or endorsement by the trademark holder.
Welles' use of a Playboy mark as part of the background "wallpaper" of the Web site, however, did not satisfy this test and was not protected from a claim of infringement or dilution.
http://www.law.com/servlet/ContentSe...t=LawArticleIP

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Motley Fool: Death grip on music files

The music industry is running scared. Many record execs had hoped the multiyear slump in new album sales would end after the demise of file-sharing service Napster in 2000.

However, Napster's centralized file-sharing model has been replaced with a decentralized, impossible-to- destroy peer-to- peer model.

To combat this, Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) recently debuted its new Label Gate digital rights management package.

Beginning in 2003, all CDs released from Sony Japan will be encoded and will require proprietary Sony software to play tracks on a computer.

This solution is flawed.

For starters, to be able to save the audio tracks on your PC (and tough luck if you use a Mac), you'll have to register online.

If your PC crashes or you want to save tracks onto another of your computers, you'll have to pay again. Worse still, you'll have to buy all the tracks, not just the ones you want, at $1.64 apiece. For a CD with 12 tracks, that's $19.68. You're paying again for a CD you already own!

Sony is hurting those who legitimately buy their products, making listening to music a hassle. This actually encourages people to search online for "unrestricted" copies of tracks, which can be listened to anytime, anyplace.

If record companies want to compete with peer-to-peer networks, they must find a way to give consumers fast, inexpensive access to music. Restricting access and irritating customers is bad business.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drm...640253,00.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Internet Marks its 20th Anniversary
Richard W. Wiggins

As you celebrate New Year’s Day, pause to contemplate that it marks the 20th anniversary of the birth of the Internet. Given the use of the Internet and the World Wide Web by hundreds of millions of users worldwide, it may seem as if today’s Internet was an inevitable development. Indeed, it probably was inevitable that something like the Internet and the Web would eventually evolve. But the particular protocols that govern how we move information over the Internet took the work of a number of engineers who were both visionaries and skilled technologists.

On Jan. 1, 1983, the Internet Protocol that we use today became the only approved way to move data on the young Internet. This important milestone set the stage for a global peer-to-peer network, where every computer was equally able to exchange information with any other computer. Higher-level protocols for transferring files, logging into remote computers, and exchanging mail, all followed the same philosophy. Had the Internet accepted multiple incompatible protocols, today's World Wide Web likely would not exist.
http://www.infotoday.com/newsbreaks/nb021230-1.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One computer guru offers his resolutions for the coming year
David Benson


· I will not respond to spam. I will forward it to my Internet service provider and let those folks deal with it.

· I will visit www.lavasoft.nu at least once a month to make sure I have the latest version of the ad and cookie killer.

· I will not try to get a tan from my cathode ray tube.

· Eye we'll knot relay own spelling checkers.

· I will RTFM and check FAQs before I ask any questions.

· I will not get up at 2 a.m. to check my e-mail.

· I will spend no more than 10 hours a week in peer-to-peer chatrooms. (OK, 12, no, 16. Rats. I'll never keep this one).

· I will not expound on the virtues of Linux over every other operating system, even though its superiority should be apparent to everyone.

· I won't say LOL, ROFL, LMAO anymore.

· I will have a cup of coffee in the morning and read my newspaper like I used to, before the Web.

· I will try to get out of the house at least once a week, if it is necessary or not.

· And I never again will type ;-) :-P or :/ From now on, real life facial expressions only.

¤.¸¸.·´²`·.¸¸.·´°`·.¸¸."" Happy New Year "".¸¸.·´°`·.¸¸.·´²`·.¸¸.¤
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/n..._DEC29_02.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fences go up as Net outgrows its innocence
AP

On the Internet, you can learn about virtually anything. You can seek comfort from others similarly afflicted by a rare disease or explore such sensitive topics as birth control. Just as long as you're not connecting from work, a school or a public library, that is.

And if you're using any number of email services that employ junk mail filters - or a search engine such as Google - don't count on wholly unfettered access, either.

As the Internet matures, governments, corporations, universities and service providers are erecting fences, some by design, others often unintentionally.

Stop signs, detours, road closures and guarded gateways to exclusive communities went up in 2002 as never before.

Jonathan Zittrain, a Harvard law professor who specialises in the Internet, worries that little public discussion attends the construction of these impediments to the free flow of information.

"We could end up with an increasing amount of filtering in the middle without anyone particularly raising much of a hue and cry about what impact it has," Zittrain said.

Knowledge and innovation are at risk if publishers and researchers must get permission pass through each gateway, argues attorney Fred von Lohmann of the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/...196588793.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the archives –
Did This Man Just Rewrite Science?
Dennis Overbye

You can try this at home.

Take a sheet of graph paper that has been divided into grids. Color a square in the middle of the top row black. Drop down to the next row. Now invent a rule that will decide if a square should be black or white, based on the square above it and that square's neighbors — for example, that a square should be the same color as the one above it unless that square has a black neighbor. Go across the second row filling in squares accordingly, then repeat the process, following the same rule, for the third row, the fourth row, and so on.

There are 256 rules you can concoct to play this simple game. Most will create a boring or repetitive pattern. But at least one rule will cause the page to explode into complex, ever-shifting patterns. You will have created a so-called universal computer, equal in its computational sophistication to Apple's jazziest laptop. Given the right starting pattern, and the right rule, according to Dr. Stephen Wolfram, a former teenage particle physicist and software entrepreneur who has been doing this at home for the last 10 years, those lines and shapes cascading downward can be made to pick out the prime numbers, compute pi, calculate your income tax, or model the evolution of a star — anything a real computer can do.

The idea that complex things can arise from simple ones is as old as Euclid, who built a whole geometry out of a few axioms and logic, but the giant on whose shoulders Dr. Wolfram is most securely standing is the English mathematician Alan Turing. In 1936, Mr. Turing and Dr. Alonzo Church, a Princeton mathematician, showed that in principle any mathematical or logical problem that could be solved by a person could be solved by a so-called Turing machine. As envisioned by Mr. Turing, it was like the head of a modern tape recorder that would move back and forth along an endless tape reading symbols inscribed on it and writing new ones. Moreover, a so-called universal Turing machine could emulate any other conceivable computer.
From that point on, Windows 95 and the Internet were only matters of time and transistor technology.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/11/sc...t&position=top

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

China Has World's Tightest Internet Censorship, Study Finds
Joseph Kahn

China has the most extensive Internet censorship in the world, regularly denying local users access to 19,000 Web sites that the government deems threatening, a study by Harvard Law School researchers finds.

The study, which tested access from multiple points in China over six months, found that Beijing blocked thousands of the most popular news, political and religious sites, along with selected entertainment and educational destinations. The researchers said censors sometimes punished people who sought forbidden information by temporarily making it hard for them to gain any access to the Internet.

Defying predictions that the Internet was inherently too diverse and malleable for state control, China has denied a vast majority of its 46 million Internet users access to information that it feels could weaken its authoritarian power. Beijing does so even as it allows Internet use for commercial, cultural, educational and entertainment purposes, which it views as essential in a globalized era.

Only the most determined and technologically savvy users can evade the filtering, and they do so at some personal risk, the study says.

The study offers fresh evidence that the Internet may be proving easier to control than older forms of communication like telephones, facsimile machines or even letters. China can tap some telephones or faxes or read mail. But it cannot monitor every call, fax message and letter.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/04/in...ia/04CHIN.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Klez makes it to the top of the charts
Andy McCue

Stubborn mass-mailing worm Klez has officially been named as the number one virus of the year.

Discovered in April, Klez deletes files on local and network drives and overwrites other files with random data, making them impossible to restore.

Antivirus firms confirmed that Klez topped the charts for the year. Sophos said that it accounted for almost one in every four infections, and McAfee said that it was easily responsible for the highest number of infected files.

But for home PC users threats will come from online file sharing services such as Kazaa, which can lead to people downloading 'Trojan horse' files that give hackers remote access to their PC.

"The emergence of broadband this year has led to increased file- sharing and that increases the number of viruses shared," said Jack Clark, product marketing manager at McAfee.
http://www.vnunet.com/News/1137749

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Internet
Non-users have high expectations
AP

Even the unconnected appreciate the Internet.

A study released Sunday found that most Americans who do not use the Internet still have high expectations for getting information on-line — with those on-line having even greater expectations.

According to the telephone-based survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 64 per cent of non-users expect to be able to find information in at least one of the following four categories — health care, government, news and shopping.

In fact, 16 per cent of the non-users say they would turn to the Internet first the next time they need health care and government information.

"The Internet has become such a go-to tool in America that even non-Internet users think it's an effective way to get information," said John Horrigan, a senior research specialist at Pew.

How can non-users know what the Internet offers?

Mr. Horrigan said past research shows that many non-users had access at one point or live in households where someone else can log on for them.
http://rtnews.globetechnology.com/se...nology/techBN/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PC Spies at the Gate
Lisa Gill

Last spring, the public got a firsthand look at spyware's pervasiveness when it was discovered that peer-to-peer file-swapping app Kazaa was bundling a program designed to form a giant distributed network -- composed of Kazaa users' computers -- that could transmit information back to Brilliant Digital Entertainment, the company that created it. In effect, this network would use people's computers to perform work for Brilliant Digital.

The program had been distributed with Kazaa since the fall of 2001, according to a document that Brilliant filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in April.

Even though Brilliant said it would not "flip the switch" to turn on the distributed network without gaining user permission, Internet privacy advocates were outraged. Because Brilliant had installed its software on users' computers in a seemingly underhanded way -- notification of the program's inclusion was buried in Kazaa's user licensing agreement -- Kazaa assumed a permanent spot on routinely posted lists of spyware applications.

But many users seem blissfully unaware of spyware's reach. Kazaa Media Player was the number one PC download last week at Download.com and has topped the charts for the last 33 weeks. This week alone, the program exceeded 2.8 million downloads.

Without a doubt, use of software that monitors Internet activity without a user's knowledge is on the rise, according to Yankee Group security analyst Eric Ogren. Besides spyware embedded in downloadable apps, the number of active Web pages, which can transmit information about users to companies running ads on a page, also has increased, Ogren told NewsFactor.

Spyware monitoring groups, such as SpywareInfo, Counterexploitation and Spy Check, condemn the practice. Specifically, they name Adware, Alexa, Aureate, Cydoor, DSSAgent, EverAd, OnFlow, Gator and Webhancer as the guilty parties.

The most pervasive use of spyware appears to be in P2P file-sharing apps, particularly -- and now unsurprisingly -- Kazaa.

"In Kazaa there is at least one program, Cydoor, that you cannot opt out of, and if you remove that, Kazaa stops working until you reinstall it," Mike Healan, operator of the SpywareInfo Web site, told NewsFactor.

The watchdog groups also list file-sharing programs Bearshare, Imesh and Limewire as purveyors of spying technology.
http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/20361.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prepare To Help Assimilate

Ian Clarke of Freenet fame has been putting the finishing touches on a new file-sharing beta called Locutus. Built for networks, for the last couple of weeks he’s been looking for testers. You can sign on here, http://locut.us/signup.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another one bites the dust.
An Altnet For iMesh - Beta v.3.2.0.2 Bows
Press Release

iMesh was created to enable fast and efficient delivery of digital media through the Internet. iMesh provides a revolutionary solution, "FireLoad," a cost effective, secure solution providing vast quantities of content to multiple users.

The FireLoad platform is the first system available that ensures industry-standard quality of service levels, including:

· Reduced cost of bandwidth and network resources
· New revenue streams from unique features, such as:
· Pushing of content to the users desktop
· Accelerated Downloads
· Scheduled Downloads
· Previews of downloaded Media
· Pause & Resume of Downloads
· Fast and simple integration into existing web-sites
· Skinable

Caution: Contains major 3rd party software.
http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail.php3?fid=942858230

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EarthLink reaches settlement with Oregonians for outages
AP

EarthLink has agreed to pay up to $2 million to about 50,000 Oregon customers who experienced Internet service outages last year.

EarthLink this month notified customers of a settlement with lawyers representing former customers of Portland-based Teleport, whose parent company was acquired by EarthLink. When the systems merged in early 2001, customers reported Internet outages and e-mail failures.

Under the preliminary settlement, EarthLink will pay $42 to each customer who received Teleport service at any time in 2001, though that amount could drop before final approval in February. The settlement is equal to about two months of dial-up Internet service.

Former Teleport customers complained that for months, e-mail took days to send and receive and Web pages would not upload onto servers.

"It was about more than just suing them for money," said Virginia Bruce, a Portland Web developer who was the lead plaintiff in the class-action complaint filed in March 2001. "It has a lot to do with corporations and takeovers and how that affects the average person."

Virginia-based EarthLink this month mailed notices of the settlement to the affected customers in its databases. Once the settlement receives final approval, those customers will receive a simple claim form, which will entitle them to their portion of the settlement.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/20...arthlink_x.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Electronic records for entire Japanese town stolen
AP

In a blow to Japanese government assurances that its new electronic ID system is secure, tapes containing personal data on residents of a town in central Japan have been stolen, officials said Saturday.

The digital tapes storing confidential data on all 9,600 residents of Iwashiro were stolen Dec. 16 while they were being transported for safekeeping to a local security firm, town hall spokesman Yoshihiko Kanomata said. The tapes were backup copies of data entered into a national computer network linking local resident registries in August.

The town wanted to ensure in the event of an earthquake or other disaster, the information would not be lost. Instead, the tapes were stolen from a car before even reaching the security firm's safe box, Kanomata said.

Police said they do not have a suspect yet.

The ID system - which assigned an 11-digit identification number to each citizen much like the U.S. social security number - has met with uncharacteristic resistance since its inception.

Critics said it is vulnerable to leaks and argue the government has failed to pass legislation to protect individual privacy.

Municipalities have opted out of the system, while citizens are suing the government for privacy violations. Just Thursday, Kunitachi city, near the capital Tokyo, severed its connection with the network, citing inadequate security.

But the government has insisted the system is safe and will cut down on bureaucratic red tape. The ID number allows municipal, prefectural and national governments to draw up basic information - limited to name, address, sex, and birth date - on Japan's 126 million citizens.

Japanese have had to pay numerous visits to various government offices to complete a single administrative procedure, such as a change of address. Records are often filed on paper and identification could require obtaining a slew of documents.

Iwashiro is located in Fukushima prefecture, about 240 kilometres northeast of Tokyo.
http://www.canada.com/news/story.asp...DB01BCAFA72%7D

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Canadian RIAA group using Christmas as a weapon
Jack Kapica

The spirit of Christmas is being pummeled from all sides, most notably from the
forces of "inclusiveness," which are trying to drain all traces of religious meaning from it.

Any more proof of this distressing situation isn't really necessary, but last week it reached a new low: Christmas being used as a weapon in a corporate dogfight.

On Dec. 10, the newly formed Canadian Coalition for Fair Digital Access held a press conference in Toronto to express its objections to the threat of appalling increases in the levy put on the sales of all recordable media — CDs, hard disks, flash memory. A group of record companies, performers and music publishers called the Canadian Private Copying Collective has asked the federal government to increase the levy to further compensate its members for losses due to the all-too-common practice of downloading MP3 files over the Internet.
http://rtnews.globetechnology.com/se...nology/techBN/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If 2001 was the year of corporate headaches, 2002 saw average PC users under attack.
Virus
Becky Worley

The virus outbreaks of 2002 were less dramatic than the Code Red and Nimda scares of 2001. But this year's trends are very clear: The new target is the home user. Find out how to protect yourself, on tonight's "Tech Live."

Businesses took computer viruses seriously in 2002, meticulously scanning email, locking down networks, and educating corporate users about the danger of attachments. But on the home front users are transmitting viruses at an epic pace.

Who's targeted

Viruses had less success with corporate attacks in 2002. Outbreaks such as Code Red and Nimda were nonentities this year. One trend in network attacks is malicious code written to exploit Linux vulnerabilities. A hole in Apache Web servers running on Linux led to a new worm called Linux.Slapper.

Mac viruses were practically nonexistent in 2002, as were PDA and cellphone viruses. In 2001 security analysts predicted a pending storm of mobile viruses and worms, but not one made any significant inroads.

Peer-to-peer file sharing services, especially KaZaA, were targeted more and more throughout the year. The

Benjamin, Backdoor.K0wbot, Lolol, and Duload worms infected computers and then renamed themselves as enticing downloads. Once downloaded, they started the infection process all over again.

A unique form of attack via KaAaA, called "eight ball," emerged in December. The malicious code masqueraded as a KaZaA skin, but when installed it erased all music files on a victim's hard drive. In response KaZaA created its own form of file screening for malicious code, but the cat-and-mouse game of new code vs. old screening methods continues in the P2P world.
http://www.techtv.com/news/security/...412680,00.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

High Court Grants Hollywood's Christmas Wish
Roy Mark

O'Connor granted a Christmas wish to Hollywood last week when she issued a stay temporarily halting a California Supreme Court decision that limited the jurisdiction of a lawsuit filed against a Texas programmer who posted to the Web computer code designed to bypass copyright protections of DVDs.

Along with hundreds of other individuals, Matthew Pavlovich was sued in December 1999 by the California-based DVD Copy Control Association after being accused of republishing an open source DVD de-scrambling program known as DeCSS. In November, the California Supreme Court ruled Pavlovich could not be sued in that state.

Last week's stay by Justice O'Connor puts that decision on hold while the high court collects more arguments in the case. Additional filings are due later this week.

At the time Pavlovich allegedly posted the DeCSS code, he was a student at Purdue University, where he worked to improve video and DVD support for Linux and other open source systems. Pavolich, who is now president of a Texas-based technology business known as Media Drive, claims his goals at Purdue could only be accomplished be cracking the encryption code of DVDs since the code, known as the Content Scrambling System (CSS), wasn't available for open source systems.

Pavlovich's attorneys also argue that he wasn't first to publish the code. The attorneys claim that was first done by a teen-aged programmer in England.
http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/1562641
http://www.salon.com/tech/wire/2002/...dvd/index.html
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-978985.html?tag=fd_top

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It blowed up. It blowed up real good!
CDRs That Go Bang In The Night
Nathan Cochrane

Take a moment to consider that next CD or DVD-ROM drive upgrade. If you thought it could damage your PC - or even your person - would you go slow?

Consumers like to buy the latest, swiftest devices, but research from Sweden and the experiences of Australian PC users show that speed can inconvenience and possibly kill. At revolutions of about 200 metres per second, today's state-of-the-art lead-foot drives approach the speed of sound - 340 metres per second through air at room temperature - subjecting the spinning disc to a force 1500 times that of gravity, researchers have found.

"I think it's a matter of time only before we see disks shattered everywhere," says Swedish researcher Jorgen Stadje, who conducted the study. "All new machines today are delivered with 48- 56x drives, and as soon as the industrialised world has been updated with the latest hardware, disks are going to start blowing."

Although Stadje has no statistics that many people are being hurt, he had his first indication last week that consumers are suffering when he received an e-mail from a man who had a plastic splinter embedded in his skin, drawing blood. The fact some drive makers have introduced speed limits on their drives indicates to Stadje that there is truth in his claims.

"Shatter protection should be built into the drives, especially to protect the front door (of the disk drive)," he says. "What happens now is that the door just breaks and comes flying, along with parts of the disk."

Gordon Kerr, Sony Australia's optical storage product manager, says although the Japanese maker and co-inventor of the compact disk format sold 300,000 CD-ROM drives in Australia in the past year, no incidents such as those in the Swedish report were reported.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/20...379779472.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Good for hangovers and dial up – Spinners “Jazz Holiday” channel!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whither Webland in 2003?
Andre Mayer

For Web heads, the year 2002 was marked by the war over pirated music, the popularity of Web logs and a greater reliance on Internet sites for breaking news stories.

According to Internet watcher Tiffany Shlain, in 2003 we can expect to see the movie industry make greater use of the Web to distribute DVDs, and there will be a reckoning for so-called spam advertising.

As founder and director of the Webby Awards, an annual competition that determines the world's best Web sites, Ms. Shlain has become one of the foremost arbiters of Internet taste and etiquette. In late December, the San Francisco-based Web guru released a list to recap the year gone by and highlight trends likely to emerge in 2003.

For Ms. Shlain, the biggest developments of 2002 included the rise in instant messaging and the proliferation of Web logs (or "blogs"). Blogs are regularly updated Web journals that address specific issues and offer links to similar sites. Observers estimate there are about 500,000 blogs currently on-line. Evan Williams, who runs Blogger.com, told Wired News that 41,000 new blogs were created last January alone.

Ms. Shlain feels that the Internet could eventually supersede television as the source for late-breaking news, referring to the Washington sniper crisis in October as an example of people turning to the Web for updated reports.
http://rtnews.globetechnology.com/se...nology/techBN/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What lies ahead

Contributing: Mike Conklin, Robert K. Elder, Raoul V. Mowatt, Charles Leroux, Allan Johnson, Marja Mills

John Katzman, CEO of the Princeton Review:

"A major state will announce that its high school graduation test will serve as an alternative entrance test to its university system, thus sounding the death knell of the SAT. Parent and teacher protests against the ICAT and other state tests will rise; however, rising test scores and a shrinking achievement gap between rich and poor will maintain the popularity of the 'No Child Left Behind' Act.

"As the Supreme Court moves to limit or abandon affirmative action, a major college will announce a new admissions preference program, based on economic disadvantage and not race. . . . And in the coming congressional debate about special education, every student will be declared special, but extra funds will only follow students deemed to be significantly learning disabled."

Youth

Christopher Ireland, CEO of Cheskin, a consulting and market research firm:

"The trends shaping up for youth and technology have the potential to create a generational gap that we haven't seen in quite awhile. Young people 'get' technology -- they understand its potential and are not intimidated by it. They're comfortable with instant messaging, text messaging, tiny keyboards, peer-to-peer sharing and a host of other capabilities that most adults don't even know exist. Ten-year-olds are learning to barter, auction, invest and collaborate in virtual communities like Neopets. In the next few years the divide between those who understand and integrate technology into their daily lives and those who don't will become very apparent -- the side that does will be mostly populated with young people around the world."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/featur...isuretempo-hed

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Is The Internet Still Free?
Ronald Deibert

There was once a time, not that long ago, when pundits could claim that the Internet was a lawless frontier

immune to regulation and control by governments and states. Libertarian by nature, open in its architecture, the Internet encouraged democracy, freedom, and liberty around the world. Attempts by oppressive regimes to block information were futile. Thanks to this unstoppable, open, liberal architecture, citizens would be able to communicate and deliberate with each other, forming the basis for a single, vibrant global village polity.

Whatever its original merits, this conventional wisdom should now be declared dead. Far from being an irresistible force for openness and change, the Internet has itself become the object of pressures and regulations by outside forces. A tangled web of increasingly aggressive actors and interests has turned the Internet into a multi-spectrum battlefield of twisted alliances and tragic casualties. The future of the Internet is uncertain.

One battle is the well-known fight over the illegal trade in copyrighted material such as pop music. Although the celebrated Napster trading system has largely disappeared into oblivion, dozens of smaller peer-to-peer trading networks have sprung up in its place. The corporations and their lobbyists -- those with the largest stakes in the game -- have, in turn, become increasingly radical in terms of the means they're willing to employ in support of their cause.
http://www.globetechnology.com/servl...20030101/CONET

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Year Ahead: The future of viruses
Matthew Broersma

The year 2002 may have been a relatively quiet for virus attacks, but security experts say that this is likely to be the calm before the storm. In 2003, they say, new breeds of computer attacks are likely to emerge that are capable of knocking out millions of computers around the Internet in a matter of minutes.

"These techniques are now being discussed, and algorithms are being made available," said Mikko Hypponen, manager of anti-virus research at F-Secure. "It's just a matter of time before somebody tries them out in the real world."

The concepts under discussion, Hypponen said, are known as a Warhol worm -- so called because it could create a huge outbreak in 15 minutes -- and a flash worm, which could do the same thing in 15 seconds.

"The typical reaction time to a major new incident is two to three hours. If (the attack) takes 15 minutes, you have no chance," Hypponen said.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2127605,00.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Illegal copying, typically by young listeners, is blamed for worst music sales in a decade.
Lynne Margolis

Did you get a CD in your Christmas stocking this year? The recording industry sure hopes so.

But even if you purchased some of the 624.2 million CDs sold in the United States as of Dec. 22, record labels and retailers are not happy with you. Not happy at all.

Holiday numbers notwithstanding, the industry saw album sales drop at least 9 percent in 2002 - following a 2.5 percent drop the year before. These are the first years in which sales drops have been recorded since Soundscan began tracking in 1991.

The recording industry blames its falling sales on illegal CD copying, or "burning," and Internet swapping of digital music files. The music business hasn't seen a decline like this since blank cassette tapes became available in the '80s - an innovation that allegedly was going to cause its doom. The CD was seen as the industry's salvation - till the arrival of this latest copying technology.

"Complaining about downloading and the Internet is akin to the book industry obsessing about libraries," Wilco's Margherita says. "It's just missing the point. If people in the business of making records worried about actually making more great records, packaging them beautifully, and finding a way to get them to people in a reasonably efficient and cost- effective manner ... things could change really quickly."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0102/p02s01-usgn.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mash it up, tear it up
Luke Wainwright

The battle over music copyrights continued to rage this year. To combat the song pirates, the record industry unveiled copy-proof CDs and AudioGalaxy, one of the biggest music file-sharing networks in the post-Napster era, was shut down. It was a heavy blow, but MP3 hounds just regrouped and shared elsewhere. Meanwhile, U.S. legislators sent a chill through the thriving Internet radio scene by introducing a bill that would require Web-casters, both large and small, to pay hefty royalties.

One of most interesting developments came out of the burgeoning scene of "mash-ups," also known as bootlegs. Taking a tip from culture-jamming guerrillas such as Negativland, bootleggers spliced together a cappella vocals from one song with the instrumental tracks of another -- and the bastard offspring has thrived.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/...20030101a4.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Big Fat Box Office Increase
Rick Lyman

An awesome achievement! Enormously enriching! The biggest box-office year of all time!

Sometime in the next few days, when the final figures dribble in from the farthest-flung theaters in the back end of nowhere, the crowing will begin in Hollywood about yet another record-shattering year at the movies.

More than $9 billion worth of tickets were sold in North America in 2002, up about 10 percent over last year's record. Even with higher prices, actual attendance was up at least 5 percent, reaching levels not seen since Eisenhower was in the White House.

"We're ahead by an obscene amount," Jeff Blake, vice chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said happily. "We had the good fortune to have some good franchise pictures that really delivered."
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/30/movies/30SCRE.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recent Security Alerts

WORM -- BACKZAT: W32.HLLW.Backzat.B spreads in two ways -- e-mailing itself to contacts in the Outlook Address Book, and by spreading through some network-based programs, such as Kazaa, Morpheus, BearShare, AOL Instant Messenger, mIRC and ICQ. It arrives in e-mail with the subject line of "Duuuuuuuuuuuu
uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude" and a message body that reads "Whoa man amuse yourself with this funny freakin screen saver." The attachment is WUFFIE.SCR. It spreads through file-sharing programs under the name EminEmSpearsBritney.Scr.
Source: Symantec

HOAX -- SLAVEMASTER: This hoax e-mail, which warns recipients about an Internet-based predator who has "killed 56 women so far," has its roots in truth. The original e-mail warning from the year 2000 described someone named "Slavemaster" who was luring women to their deaths. Indeed, a man was arrested that year and charged with doing that, but the body count for his alleged crimes was far less. And, he's been in prison ever since. Newer versions of this warning include other screen names, such as Monkeyman935.
Source: Snopes.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Williams students delete files over copyright questions
Carrie Saldo

Over the past nine months, about a dozen Williams College students were told to voluntarily erase
computer files after the owners of those files complained the downloads violated copyright laws.

While it's not certain if the students actually violated Internet copyright laws, the file owners detected the students' file-sharing. In each case, the file owners notified Williams which, in turn, contacted students and asked the files be removed.

Williams is not unique to problems associated with file-sharing. First popularized by the music Web site, Napster, file-sharing is a way for computer users to share MP3 music files, movies, and software on the Internet. While Napster succumbed to an outraged music industry, rogue sites have sprung up elsewhere on the Internet.

Although file-sharing has its legal uses, it continues to be an issue because the Internet was envisioned as a forum for the free exchange of ideas and information. However, record companies, especially, have lobbied against copyright infringements on the Internet. Today, entire music albums can be uploaded to the Internet and the files downloaded for free -- but typically not legally.

"It's a serious -- murky, but interesting -- issue," Williams College spokesperson James Kolesar said Monday.

The college abides by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a complicated set of rules that govern file-sharing. But the college doesn't keep track of what students download or upload to the Internet.

In essence, Kolesar said Williams guidelines prohibit students from violating the law, and that includes copyright infringements.

Kolesar said the college doesn't plan to set new policy or outline disciplinary actions for a problem that has clogged higher-education school networks across the country.

As a part Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Williams is notified when its students are identified as file-sharers. As the college's Digital Millennium Copyright Act agent, Kolesar e-mails the student file-sharer. The student is presented with a list of options such as deleting the file or having the college delete it.

But the person accused of illegal file-sharing can appeal if he or she believes the file doesn't violate copyright laws, Kolesar said. The college isn't involved with appeals.
http://www.thetranscript.com/Stories...85423,00.html#

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Microsoft counts on antipiracy technique
CNET News.com

Microsoft is set to release its first mainstream consumer software application protected by product activation, in what could be a first step toward expanding use of the antipiracy technology.

On Tuesday, Microsoft plans to officially launch Plus Digital Media Edition (DME), a $19.95 add-on pack for the Windows XP operating system. Microsoft has offered various versions of Plus since the release of Windows 95. But unlike earlier versions, Plus DME is protected by product activation, meaning that consumers will have to enter a 25-key code to install the software and then "activate" Plus DME over the Internet.

The change comes as the Redmond, Wash.-based software titan also has been experimenting with new methods for distributing software.

"Plus Digital Media Edition is the first Microsoft product to be sold digitally on-line," Jonathan Usher, director of Microsoft's Windows Digital Media Division, said in an e-mail response to questions about product activation. "In order to enable digital commerce, we needed to use a technology that allows consumers to easily purchase and use the product as well as protect against casual piracy."
http://rtnews.globetechnology.com/se...nology/techBN/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FBI arrests student
Associated Press

Washington — The FBI arrested a Russian college student Thursday who was accused of stealing and distributing hundreds of secret documents about new antipiracy technology from DirecTV Inc., the leading satellite television company in the United States.

The student, identified as Igor Serebryany, 19, of Los Angeles, was accused of sending over the Internet hundreds of sensitive documents describing details about DirecTV's latest "access card" technology - credit-card devices controlling which of the company's 11 million U.S. subscribers can view particular channels.

Investigators said the documents were sent to operators of at least three underground Web sites that specialize in hacking these devices to permit subscribers to watch programming they never paid for.

Other Web sites also described details from the documents, but it was unclear whether they actually received copies, investigators said.

Investigators do not think he sought any money in exchange for the disclosures.

The documents included details about DirecTV's latest "P4" card technology, which hackers have so far been unable to crack. A lawyer for DirecTV, Marc Zwillinger, said the papers included details about the design and architecture of the new cards but did not reveal instructions for hacking them.

"Certainly anyone with this information would have an advantage," Mr. Zwillinger said.

Mr. Serebryany was charged under the Economic Espionage Act of 1996, a law so powerful that until March 2002 only the most senior Justice Department officials in Washington could authorize prosecutors to wield it. Only about 35 criminal cases have been filed under the law.
http://rtnews.globetechnology.com/se...nology/techBN/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“One more year and it can drink!"
The Net turns 20 ... sort of
Stacy Cowley

LIKE THE AGE of the Earth or of Hollywood stars, estimates on the age of the

Internet depend on whom you ask. By the calculations of one industry pioneer, this week marks the 20th birthday of the modern Internet.

On Jan. 1, 1983, Internet-forerunner ARPANET (a system developed by the U.S. Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency) fully switched to TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). The transition came after a decade of development work on the new system, which replaced an earlier, clunkier setup, the Network Control Protocol (NCP).

Transition plans for the NCP-to-TCP/IP move were published in 1981, and some administrators began migrating soon after. But New Year's Day 1983 was the deadline, and one quite a few techies found themselves cramming for, according to Bob Braden, a member of the original ARPA research group that designed TCP.

"People sometimes question that any geeks would have been in machine rooms on January 1. Believe it! Some geeks got very little sleep for a few days," Braden wrote in a recent post to an Internet Engineering Task Force mailing list, drawing attention to the 20th anniversary of the switchover. "There may still be a few remaining T-shirts that read, 'I Survived the TCP/IP Transition'."
http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn...et.xml?s=IDGNS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Professors Vie With Web for Class's Attention
JOHN SCHWARTZ

Universities are rushing toward a wireless future, installing networks that let students and the faculty surf the Internet from laptop computers in the classroom, in the library or by those ponds that always seem to show up on the cover of the campus brochure.

But professors say the technology poses a growing challenge for them: retaining their students' attention.

In a classroom at American University in Washington on a recent afternoon, the benefits and drawbacks of the new wireless world were on display. From the back row of an amphitheater classroom, more than a dozen laptop screens were visible. As Prof. Jay Mallek lectured graduate students on the finer points of creating and reading an office budget, many students went online to Blackboard.com, a Web site that stores course materials, and grabbed the day's handouts from the ether.

But just as many students were off surfing. A young man looked at sports photos while a woman checked out baby photos that just arrived in her e- mailbox.

The screens provide a silent commentary on the teacher's attention-grabbing skills. The moment he loses the thread, or fumbles with his own laptop to use its calculator, screens flip from classroom business to leisure. Students dash off e-mail notes and send instant messages. A young man who is chewing gum shows an amusing e-mail message to the woman next to him, and then switches over to read the online edition of The Wall Street Journal.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/02/te...gy/02WIRE.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Better watch it fast.
Pact Lifts an Obstacle to HDTV Transition
ERIC A. TAUB

THE switch from analog to digital high-definition television has been slow and bumpy. But representatives of the consumer electronics and cable television industries predict that a new set of rules negotiated last month will accelerate the transition.

The digital FireWire connection will allow program providers to restrict the number of times that a program can be recorded. Under the agreement, HDTV programs from network broadcasters sent through cable or satellite companies will be completely unrestricted and recordable. Subscribers to pay services like HBO could be restricted from making more than one copy of programs from those services.

While the agreement allows program providers to prevent any recording of pay-per-view or video-on-demand programs, users of hard-disk-based recorders like TiVo would be allowed to record and then watch such a program up to 90 minutes later.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/02/te...ts/02teev.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the Palm of Your Hand to the Ear of a Nearby Listener
Mark Glassman

If you find the radio too limiting or repetitive, you may like the Neuros, a new MP3 player that lets you play D.J. and broadcast your mix.

Like most music storage devices, the Neuros, from Digital Innovations, allows users to create playlists of their favorite songs. But this device, which has a built-in FM receiver, can free a playlist from a set of headphones and put it on the air live, though to a limited audience. Using an autoscan feature, the Neuros searches for an available FM frequency to use and sends the music to any radio within its range of 10 to 20 feet.

The Neuros can record music, which can then be downloaded to a computer. Then, using Neuros software and a proprietary online database, the device quickly names the tune and artist.

About the size of an iPod but compatible only with the Windows operating system, the Neuros is at least smaller than a set of turntables. And the amber backlighted screen allows users to sift through their music files more easily in the dark, where the trendiest D.J.'s can often be found.

Filling a 20-gigabyte Neuros ($399) could take up to a full day using the device's U.S.B. 1.0 connection. Songs of average length (about three and a half minutes) download from a computer at a rate of about five a minute.

More information on the Neuros, which will be available in electronics stores in February, is available at www.neurosaudio.com. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/02/te...ts/02musi.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Researchers look to extend battery life

Australian researchers are working to extend the life of batteries in mobile wireless devices and to provide carriers with the capacity to deliver higher bit rates to new handsets.

The latter efforts, if they lead to higher transmission speeds, could provide some impetus to the stalled promise of 3G (third-generation) networks, although researcher John Papandriopoulos says the new concepts have wider applications.

"3G is old hat if you're in research. Industry follows us in a five- to 10-year lag, so what we're doing here will give the industry an insight into what will happen in the future," said Papandriopoulos, who works at Melbourne University's Center for Ultra-Broadband Information Networks.

"There's a lot of unexplored territory in 3G, but it's just a standard and an access method," he said. "Our stuff relates to wireless networks as a whole."

The improvement in battery life could be achieved by using smarter power-control algorithms. The new techniques may also allow carriers to allocate different bit rates to different users on the fly.

Voice calls, for example, don't require as high a bit rate as mobile Internet connections or videoconferencing. The research that Papandriopoulos is part of allows carriers to divide users into different groups and assign bandwidth to them dynamically as their needs change.

"We've developed an algorithm that enables carriers to meet everyone's quality of service requirements," he said.
http://rtnews.globetechnology.com/se...nology/techBN/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stick this in your player and blow it: Redman’s jazz for Winamp. The real thing - no smoothies here. http://66.75.160.160:8000 for the 128k MP3 stream.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the Gadget Universe, a Common Tongue
BARNABY J. FEDER

It is too soon to describe the Bose family as an audio-world version of the Bush and Kennedy clans in politics, but they are off to a good start.

In 1964, Amar Bose, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor and inventor, created the renowned high-fidelity sound systems company that bears the family name. Now, his only son, Vanu, is gaining recognition for radio-design technology every bit as novel as the sound systems that his father pioneered.

The younger Bose's four-year old company, Vanu Inc., is a prominent innovator in the effort to use software rather than hardware to control how radios, cellphones and all other wireless communications devices recognize and manage signals. Early versions of the technology, known as software- defined radio, are beginning to be deployed in military communications equipment and cellular base stations.

The goal is to develop software and related components that recognize various wave forms at any frequency in the radio spectrum and choose the appropriate applications to process them. A single device could provide cellphone service no matter what the format or frequency, exchange wireless messages with laptop or hand-held computers, and communicate with walkie- talkies or emergency services.

There is another potential benefit: being able to incorporate improved data speeds and features simply by downloading software, rather than replacing the customer's hardware or the company's network equipment.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/02/te...ts/02bose.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

U.S. TV Shows Losing Potency Around World
SUZANNE KAPNER

LONDON — Want to catch the latest episode of the CBS hit "C.S.I." in France? Tune in Saturdays at 11 p.m. How about the CBS show "Judging Amy" in Singapore? Try weekdays at midnight.

Those programs would have been candidates for prime time several years ago. But today American dramas and sitcoms -- though some remain popular -- increasingly occupy fringe time slots on foreign networks, industry executives say. Instead, a growing number of shows produced by local broadcasters are on the air at the best times.

"Whereas American TV shows used to occupy prime-time slots, they are now more typically on cable, or airing in late-night or weekend slots," said Michael Grindon, president of Sony Pictures Television International.
The American studios priced themselves out of the market just as competition began to heat up abroad from newly privatized commercial broadcasters and upstart cable and satellite networks, industry executives say. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/02/bu...al/02TUBE.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BT error cuts off broadband surfers

Hundreds of broadband customers in the UK have been left without a fast internet connection due to a BT computer error.

The mistake on BT Openworld's computer system led to hundreds of customers being cut off and hundreds more being sent out letters telling them their service has ceased.

According to a BT Openworld spokesman the issue is being dealt with and anyone that has been disconnected in error will be back online in five working days.

"It is a system error which is affecting around 500 customers who have asked for some kind of change in their service," he said.

"This involves making a change to their account and for some reason it has gone too far and ceased their service," he explained.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2622797.stm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gangster video game upsets BT

Sony has agreed to edit a video game which shows its central character posing as a BT employee and gunning down police officers.

The game maker is responding to complaints from telecoms giant BT which did not want its name and livery associated with the violent scenes.

The offending PlayStation 2 title, The Getaway, puts players in the role of a London crook carrying out missions on behalf of a gangland boss.

The section of the game that BT objects to will be removed from future releases which will be in shops within 12 days.
Since its release on 11 December in the UK, The Getaway has proved hugely popular.

It is thought to have sold more than 250,000 copies over the festive period.

The game has won praise for depicting central London in exacting detail.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2621519.stm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rap, Country Dominate Year of Slumping Music Sales

Slumping music sales left the recording industry with a whopping New Year's hangover, but rap star Eminem has plenty to celebrate.

In a year that saw CD sales overall plunge by nearly 9 percent, the Detroit-based rapper-turned-actor sold 7.6 million copies of his latest album, "The Eminem Show," making it the biggest commercial hit of 2002, according to year-end retail figures issued Thursday by Nielsen SoundScan.

Industrywide, total album sales fell 8.7 percent from 2001 to nearly 650 million units, the second year-to-year decline in a row. A slump of nearly 3 percent the previous year marked the first sales drop in at least a decade. The major labels have blamed the sluggish economy and online music piracy for weak sales.

In terms of market share, Universal Music Group, a unit of Vivendi Universal, continued to lead the pack, accounting for nearly 29 percent of total album sales in 2002. Warner Music, owned by Time Warner Inc., was No. 2 with 15.9 percent market share, followed by Sony Corp (news - web sites)'s Sony Music Entertainment (15.7 percent), Bertelsmann AG 's BMG (14.8 percent) and EMI Group Plc's EMI (8.4 percent). Independent labels accounted for the balance.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...music_sales_dc

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Researchers Worry About Terrorism Fear
CONNIE CASS
AP

WASHINGTON - The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (news - web sites) walked away from a $404,000 study because the government wanted to restrict participation by foreign students. Other universities are balking at demands that the government check research in the name of national security before scientists can publish or even talk about it.

While most federal financing still comes free from such strings, attempts to impose restrictions on research have increased since Sept. 11, 2001, out of fear that some information could help terrorists.

University leaders worry the trend could jeopardize the nation's tradition of open science — talking and writing about findings so they can be verified and built upon by others.

"When the Soviet Union tried to keep its research secret during the Cold War, their whole scientific apparatus atrophied," said former Air Force Secretary Sheila Widnall, now an aeronautics professor at MIT.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...rorism_science

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kazaa Hack 2.0.2
http://kazaahack.250x.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Absolutely piratical products.” Yeah yeah…
European Copyrights Expiring on Recordings From 1950's
Anthony Tommasini

European copyright protection is expiring on a collector's trove of 1950's jazz, opera and early rock 'n' roll albums, forcing major American record companies to consider deals with bootleg labels and demand new customs barriers.

Already reeling from a stagnant economy and the illegal but widespread downloading of copyrighted music from the Internet, the recording companies will now face a perfectly legal influx of European recordings of popular works.

Copyright protection lasts only 50 years in European Union countries, compared with 95 years in the United States, even if the recordings were originally made and released in America. So recordings made in the early- to mid-1950's - by figures like Maria Callas, Elvis Presley and Ella Fitzgerald - are entering the public domain in Europe, opening the way for any European recording company to release albums that had been owned exclusively by particular labels.

Although the distribution of such albums would be limited to Europe in theory, record-store chains and specialty outlets in the United States routinely stock foreign imports.

Expiring copyrights could mean much cheaper recordings for music lovers, but they do not bode well for major record companies. (These copyrights apply to only the recordings, not the music recorded.) The expected crush of material entering the public domain has already sent one giant company, EMI Classics, into a shotgun marriage with a renegade label that it had long tried to shut down to protect its lucrative Callas discography. The influx also has the American record industry talking about erecting a customs barrier.

``The import of those products would be an act of piracy,'' said Neil Turkewitz, the executive vice president international of the Recording Industry Association of America, which has strongly advocated for copyright protections. ``The industry is regretful that these absolutely piratical products are being released.''

The industry association is trying to persuade European Union countries to extend copyright terms. Meanwhile, Mr. Turkewitz said, ``we will try to get these products blocked,'' arguing that customs agents ``have the authority to seize these European recordings even in the absence of an injunction brought by the copyright owners.''

Expiring copyrights have already led to voluminous European reissues of such historically important artists as the violinist Jascha Heifetz and the jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke. But the recordings of the 50's are viewed as being of another order.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/02/in...2CND_COPY.html
http://www.tribnet.com/entertainment...-2474575c.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Submit articles and press releases in English - text only, no HTML - to jackspratts at lycos dot com. Please include contact info.
The submission deadline for each Saturdays issue is the preceding Wednesday @ 1700 UTC.



Until next week,

- js.



Current Week In Review

[goldie]

That there's some good readin' JS.

psst......i like the way that kazaa hack is buried betweenst the paragraphs <hint-hint>.

Great job!!!

[theknife]

Great stuff, Jack

[TankGirl]

Great job again, Jack.

You and WT make this board one of the best informed corners on the Net as far as new technology & p2p is concerned. Max respect & cheers!

- tg