Peer-To-Peer News - The Week In Review - Feb. 8th, '03

[JackSpratts]

Media Moguls Shocked

After what seemed like weeks of non-stop bad news for file sharers a glimpse of a more benevolent future appeared from out of Europe of all places, the only spot on the planet – so far - that has convicted and excessively fined a student for trading files. Working on the next EU copyright directive and one that will tie the member States together, they’ve drafted a reasonable provision that exempts any individual file sharers from criminal penalties when making and exchanging copies as long as money doesn’t change hands. It’s a legitimate proposal yet quite daring in the face of a powerful and abusive multinational media conglomerate, and one that America should be a part of. Of course the media moguls are apoplectic about the proposal becoming law and vow to fight it tooth and nail. Still it indicates that the tide of blind allegiance to the corrupting influence the RIAA, MPAA and IFPI may have finally turned. We'll see if the citizens of Europe are heard with any more clarity and taken any more seriously by their leaders than the Americans are by theirs.




Enjoy,

Jack.




Don't Sever a High-Tech Lifeline for Musicians
Janis Ian

The Recording Industry Assn. of America recently won a court ruling that effectively will cut off the recording artists it represents from new listeners.

In RIAA vs. Verizon, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that anyone suspected of downloading so-called "infringing" files on the Internet -- usually an MP3 of a song -- could be sued. No evidence is required. An accuser fills out a form for a court clerk and the machinery is set in motion.

The record companies say this decision will mean more money for musicians, but they have it backward. The downloaded music they're shutting off actually creates sales by exposing artists to new fans.

If this ruling stands, many smaller musicians will be hurt financially, and many will be pushed out of the music business altogether.

I've been a recording artist for nearly 40 years, with top-selling songs such as "Society's Child," "At Seventeen" and "Jesse." Six months ago, I began offering free downloads of my songs on my Web site. Thousands of people have downloaded my music since then -- and they're not trying to steal. They're just looking for music they can no longer find on the tight playlists of their local radio stations.

That's how many artists gain new listeners these days -- through the Internet.

After I first posted downloadable music, my merchandise sales went up 300%. They're still double what they were before the MP3s went online.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedi...nes-suncomment

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

Great news for Luddites
Why recordable DVDs won't last.
Brendan I. Koerner

If you dared to enter an electronics store during the past holiday season, you were likely pitched on the coming ubiquity of DVD burners. The next must-have for your PC, the salesman may have insisted while nudging you toward a display stocked with sub-$300 models. Yet that Sony DRU-500A that Santa left under the tree is more laserdisc than compact disc, as the Golden Age of home-burned DVDs will be rather fleeting. The self-pressed DVD's heyday won't be as brief as the flagging MiniDisc's, perhaps, but it won't last as long as the floppy diskette did, either.

You remember the floppy: At its evolutionary apex, the floppy consisted of 13-plus square inches of plastic capable of holding a then-whopping 1.44 megabytes of data. For nearly 20 years, the floppy was the reigning king of computer-to-computer transfers. Numerous cinematic thrillers centered on the theft, sale, or pursuit of data encoded on floppies. (See: Eraser, The Net, Assassins.) But nowadays, few new machines come equipped with internal floppy drives.

The Internet will prove to be the technological nail that seals the homemade DVD's coffin, too. The conventional wisdom has been that recordable DVDs would replace the VHS cassette as the media of choice for archiving TV shows and movies. But that vision seems pretty shortsighted. The more logical next step is for digital videorecorders to be networked to the family PC. TiVo is already taking a step in this direction: At the annual Consumer Electronics Show a few weeks back, the company announced a $99 software upgrade that lets subscribers pull photos and music off their PC and onto their television, as well as transfer video from one DVR unit to another (provided they're registered to the same user). Thus begins the inexorable march toward allowing users to transfer TV recordings to their PC and vice versa. (Some hackers have already figured out how to do this, but Joe Six-Pack's understandably reluctant to crack open the top of his DVR and poke around the circuit boards.) Soon enough there won't be a need to burn a DVD of cousin Moira's wedding-or those Simpsons episodes you swiped off LimeWire. A direct connection between PC and DVR will eliminate the hard-media middleman.
http://slate.msn.com/id/2077945/

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

The Shrinking Frontiers
Andrew Stroehlein

Two Harvard researchers are demonstrating how what you read online depends very much on where you are.

"I think the cyber-libertarians are off their mid-Nineties high," Jonathan Zittrain said flatly. "Many now realize that the Net isn't inherently, unchangeably freedom-promoting."

To convince cyber-libertarians who haven't returned to earth yet, Assistant Professor Zittrain can draw on the growing body of his research that supports this view of the Internet. Through the "Documentation of Internet Filtering Worldwide" project at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society of Harvard Law School, Center Co-director Zittrain and JD candidate Ben Edelman have been meticulously recording the extent and effectiveness of filtering in countries that routinely censor the Internet by blocking selected foreign Web sites within their borders.

Zittrain and Edelman's work is intriguing for a number of reasons, but most of all, what their research is showing is that the Internet can no longer be thought of as a single, seamless web of practically infinite information, universally accessible to all users and in a virtual space free from the limits of geography. In fact, the virtual world is bound to the real world much more than we usually assume. With the expansion of filtering, the Internet is actually, in the researchers' words, a "mosaic of webs"; the online view you have is dependent on several factors, including, most certainly, your physical location.
http://www.ojr.org/ojr/world_reports/1037922526.php

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

Wireless pioneers
They live in remote Arctic territories, but are among the most connected in Europe. Sean Dodson reports on how wireless technology is transforming the lives of Lapland communities
Sean Dodson

It is one of the most isolated places in Europe. At the northern tip of the European Union, Norrbotten might be sparsely populated but it is far from being cut off from the latest developments in technology. Sweden's frozen land of midday moon and northern lights is home to some of the most connected in the continent. Necessity is turning the people of northern Sweden into wireless pioneers.

It is -18 C, mid-afternoon, although the sun has long sunk beneath the horizon. At the invitation of the Invest in Sweden Agency, a government-funded body, 17 journalists from Europe, Japan and the US are racing 10 miles across the frozen landscape on snowmobiles to an unlikely press conference - in a wooden ski hut in the middle of nowhere for a demonstration that video conferencing can be achieved north of the Arctic circle.

Cities such as London and New York might be just getting to grips with the wireless internet, but up here in the region of Norrbotten, which includes historic Lapland, society has already learned to depend on it. The small communities in the frozen north are too remote to string thousands of miles of cable to them. So the internet is fired through the air, and mobile phone coverage is as good as in any urban area.

"We can work together irrespective of distance and weather conditions. Even when the snow is five feet deep, wireless communications mean that you can still work," says Kari Marklund, governor of Norrbotten. "We have the highest number of internet users at home after Stockholm," he adds with noticeable pride.

There is not much profit in it. But the Swedes, known for a commitment to social democracy, insist on an inclusive version of the information revolution. Compare, for example, government attitudes to the next generation of mobile phone networks. Licences for 3G were awarded to the highest bidder in the UK and bagged £22bn for the Exchequer. In Sweden, the operators who could provide the largest coverage won the licence and were charged a nominal fee. Good news for this desolate Arctic region.
http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia...875874,00.html

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

Pentagon and Companies in Agreement on Spectrum
Jennifer 8. Lee

Technology companies and the Pentagon have reached an agreement to unlock a swath of spectrum for the next generation of wireless devices, officials said today.

The companies said this would lift the popularity of high-speed wireless Internet service, a bright spot in an otherwise moribund industry.

For the military, the agreement wards off an emerging threat to their radar systems by setting detailed technical mechanisms to deal with interference.

"The Pentagon was very concerned that wireless devices were popping up in what has historically been a radar band," said Steven Price, deputy assistant secretary of defense for spectrum and command, control and communications policy.

Spectrum has become a battleground the last few years among the competing interests of consumers, the technology industry, the military and other government agencies.

Michael K. Powell, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has advocated change, citing the need to open more unlicensed spectrum.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/01/te...gy/01SPEC.html

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

Jazz most excellent. New Jersey Public radios' WGBO. Let your browser do the talking. http://www.nj.com/wbgo/popup/index.frame

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

Sales of Wi-Fi gear jump, prices fall
Richard Shim

Sales of wireless networking products nearly quadrupled in 2002, as average selling prices dropped, according to retail tracker NPDTechworld.

Overall annual sales of Wi-Fi related products hit $280 million in 2002, compared with $76 million in 2001. Meanwhile, average selling prices for access points and networking cards were down from $136 to $87. Most of the gear was based on 802.11b, the most popular standard with consumers. Products based on the 802.11a standard made up less than 1 percent of sales in 2002. The 802.11a standard has a bigger presence in large businesses, which are not included in NPDTechworld's data.
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-983684.html

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

DirecTV DSL begins its fade to black
Ben Charny

Satellite-television company Hughes Electronics began on Friday to shut off service to whoever remains of the 160,000 subscribers to its scratched high-speed Web service, DirecTV DSL.

Hughes gave DirecTV DSL customers what now amounts to six weeks notice to find another provider when it announced Dec. 13 that it would shut down the service.

DirecTV DSL has made arrangements with Verizon Communications, SBC Communications and BellSouth for the handing off of subscribers who want to go to one of those services. In many cases, those companies offer DSL at slightly lower prices than DirecTV did.

The shuttering of DirecTV DSL, which will be completed by Feb. 28, leaves high-speed Web consumers with one less alternative, and follows a string of provider collapses in the last two years, which included NorthPoint Communications' DSL and Excite@Home's cable modem services.

DirecTV DSL, originally an independent ISP called Telocity, was acquired by Hughes Electronics in 2001. Over the last several years it had become one of the largest DSL providers not affiliated with a local phone company.

Like other independent DSL companies, however, DirecTV found that being an indie was an expensive proposition. Late last year, following the failure of Hughes' proposed merger with rival satellite company EchoStar, DirecTV's corporate parent decided the money-losing broadband operation was too costly to maintain.
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-982960.html

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

AOL bedeviled at broadband crossroads
Evan Hansen

America Online's revelation this week that its subscriber numbers had dropped for the first time in years underscores the difficult transition facing the world's largest Internet service provider as the industry shifts from dial-up access to high-speed services.

Analysts have warned for more than a year that weakening demand for dial-up Internet access in the United States would likely cut deeply into subscriber growth at the AOL Time Warner division. Even so, it was a surprise when the company reported Wednesday a net loss of about 170,000 subscribers in the final three months of 2002 compared with the previous quarter.

The reversal, just months after the company took the wraps off the latest version of its Internet service, shows how badly AOL has faltered in the two years since the company acquired media giant Time Warner. In Wednesday's earnings statement, AOL Time Warner reported a loss on the year of $98.7 billion, attributed largely to noncash accounting charges affecting the AOL unit. In addition, it said Vice Chairman Ted Turner would retire from his post in May, when Steve Case is also stepping down as chairman.

The subscriber losses come as dial-up ISPs are being shunted to the sidelines by powerful cable companies and local phone outfits in the race to unleash high-speed Internet service. ISPs have responded by bolstering premium "bring your own access" packages that can be sold to customers who buy broadband access from other providers.

AOL is not alone in feeling the pinch of fading subscriber numbers.

Microsoft's MSN Internet service reported zero net subscriber growth in the fourth quarter of 2002, holding steady at 9 million subscribers despite the backing of a $350 million advertising campaign for its new MSN 8 service. The company said the lack of growth was offset by a shift to higher-paying customers as various incentive offers came to a close in the last three months of the year.

Earthlink, the third-largest ISP in the United States, has also seen declines in its dial-up business. The company this week announced massive cutbacks at the company as it moved to outsource its customer-support call centers.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-983012.html

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

"I'm not convinced that the market for a premium service is anything other than a very small market.”
As Broadband Gains, the Internet's Snails Fall Back
Saul Hansell

The problem is speed. Consumers have been dropping their slow dial-up services and switching to faster service, called broadband. AOL and the other dial-up leaders do offer broadband service, but the latest quarterly results show that consumers are shunning these offers, despite increased promotion. Rather, they are buying broadband services offered by cable and telephone companies.

Final results are not in from every company, but it appears that broadband subscriptions in the United States increased to about 16 million at year's end from 10 million a year earlier, out of about 60 million total households online. The broadband offering by the three big dial-up players totals no more than 2 million subscribers.

A recent study by Nielsen/NetRating found that the number of people who connect to the Internet at home over dial-up connections had actually started to decline as broadband users increased by 59 percent over the last year.

"We were surprised by the rapid acceleration of broadband adoption in the home," said Bob Visse, the director of marketing for MSN at Microsoft.

At year's end, America Online, had 26.5 million subscribers, a loss of 176,000 from the previous quarter. For last year, it added only 1.2 million subscribers, far less than the 3.7 million it added in 2001.

AOL said its marketing campaigns were less effective in the fourth quarter than it expected. As a result, the number of dial-up customers paying the full $23.90 monthly price increased only slightly.

But AOL reduced the number of customers that are offered free or discounted service as an attempt to keep them from canceling altogether.

At year's end, AOL had about 650,000 broadband subscribers, up only a handful in the fourth quarter, despite a new television campaign and heavy promotion on its own service.

Even more surprising, Microsoft, which thought it would capitalize on AOL's problems with a fancy new product and a $300 million multimedia blitzkrieg for its butterfly mascot, saw no growth in the quarter; it has nine million subscribers for its various MSN Internet services.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/03/te...gy/03ONLI.html

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

A bad case of DVD rot eats into movie collections
Sue Lowe

If you think your prized collection of DVD movies will last a lifetime, think again - some are already starting to rot while others are falling apart.

Unofficial estimates put the number of affected discs at between one and 10 per cent. Yet some of the largest distributors for Hollywood Studios are accused of refusing to accept the problem exists and replace faulty products.

Last year Australians spent $398 million buying 13.3 million DVD movie titles - a three-fold increase on the 4.3 million sold in 2001, according to research firm GFK.

The technology, sold as a replacement for VHS video tape, with added interactive content, is now five years old and the DVD industry claims it is the most successful packaged media in consumer electronics history.

The failures are a combination of corrosion - known as "DVD rot" - and delamination, where the layers of the disc separate.

Symptoms of the rot include picture break-up and freezing at a specific place on the disk. The main cause is believed to be poorly designed cases. Delamination shows up as a coffee-like stain that prevents the disc from playing.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/...804519345.html

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

Key Ring Memory Devices Perfect For Sneakernet Set
Rick Taub

Dick Tracy's wrist phone is finally getting a run for its money. Continuing the trend toward ever smaller digital products, Philips Electronics is introducing Key Rings, a range of audio and photo products the size and shape of a lipstick. Available in black or white cases (with more colors to come), the units connect directly to a computer's U.S.B. port for transferring songs from the PC to an audio Key Ring or exporting pictures from a photo Key Ring to the PC for printing or e-mailing.

The Key Ring products were introduced last month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and are to reach the market in May.

They will range in price from $99 to $149. More information is to become available later this week at www.audio.philips.com.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/06/te...ts/06keyr.html

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

Wafer thin wafers
Free Clips from Zany Brits The ClassicComedy site has teamed with BT to offer free comedy clips for the next few weeks. Get ’em & swap ’em. http://www.classiccomedy.net/looking.asp

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

It's time for the RIAA to sing a different song
€uromole

IT SEEMS THAT everywhere one looks these days, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), and its counterparts in other countries, are busy blustering their way around and demanding that those who do not commit a crime should be held responsible for it.

They are busy with their demands that Verizon provide the name of a user who may have downloaded some music which may be copyright and they are busy with their allegations about KaZaA music service, a company which has the good sense to challenge the operation of the RIAA.

In the same manner it used in the Napster trial, the RIAA is making wild assertions that gullible media, public and even legal authorities appear to be accepting as fact. So far at least, it has managed to give the impression that everyone apart from its members are to blame for a slump in music sales. It can't be them - it must be those evil people using the Internet.

No doubt the RIAA was emboldened by the judgment against Napster and this gives it the feeling it can flex its muscles at the world at large.

Findlaw.com has an archive of documents related to the trial and they make very interesting reading. Time and time again, there are assertions that Napster caused a slump in record sales but none of the many witnesses - and there were many because the RIAA has deep pockets - presented any more than circumstantial evidence.

How bad were the lies and distortions? The response by Peter S Fader of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania provides an interesting rebuff to many of the witnesses. (You can find it here.)

The RIAA's claims that piracy has caused a worldwide slump in music sales are questionable. By virtue of its population size, the figures for the USA distort the total picture. The claims also ignore the fact that US music sells across the world - so if US music is unappealing, sales will be down everywhere.

To refute the RIAA's claims, CD sales in the UK actually increased by 5% in 2001 and in France by a similar amount. (The BBC News report here has the usual comment about piracy but mentions this very important point only as a final comment.) I would not be at all surprised if the influence of US music on the UK and French was somewhat less than for other countries - or that the locally produced music in 2001 was rather more appealing than US music.
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=7555







Some electric utilities offer cable
AP

If you ever wince after opening your cable bill, you're not going to like this: The good folks in Glasgow, Kentucky pay $19 a month for 70 cable channels, and for an additional $25 they can get blazing fast Internet access.

How do they get prices nearly half the national average?

Because the city-owned electric utility provides cable TV and Internet access over wires that also monitor power usage in the town of 14,000. The utility isn't trying to profit from the service -- just recover its costs.

Utility superintendent William Ray estimates that since Glasgow began offering cable in 1989, $32 million of residents' money has stayed in town that otherwise might have been vacuumed by giant telecommunications companies -- which often don't offer advanced services in rural areas like Glasgow anyway.

"It's like an armored car wrecking in the streets once a year and spreading money in the streets for people to grab for themselves," Ray says.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/interne....broadband.ap/

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

Protocol promises faster Web services
Sandeep Junnarkar

A proposed method for sharing information between systems linked on the Internet promises to speed collaborative applications by up to 10 times the current rates.

The protocol, developed by Jonghun Park, a professor at Pennsylvania State University's School of Information Sciences and Technology, is based on an algorithm that lets it use parallel instead of serial methods to process requests. Such a method boosts the efficiency of how resources are shared over the Internet. The new protocol is called Order-based Deadlock Prevention Protocol with Parallel Requests.

For many years computer scientists have been proposing protocols to improve the efficiency of distributed computing systems, but Park asserts that his method works with greater efficiency for time-critical applications. The current protocol is generally known as the Order-based Deadlock Prevention Protocol, according to Park.

While the performance results of the new protocol have impressed analysts, they note that other more critical issues holding back collaborative Internet computing and Web services need to be addressed first.

"Web services is currently held up--in my opinion--by things like security and reliability," said Stephen O'Grady, an analyst at RedMonk. Once those concerns are addressed, people will "turn their attention to something like this protocol, which would offer incremental improvements in performance."

Although the existing protocol provides sufficient speed for today's databases linked to the Net for Web services and high-powered grid computing, Park said that current methods will face a number of challenges as Internet-connected computing becomes more pervasive.

For one, he said, the current protocol will lack the power to allow efficient coordination between Internet applications as they grow larger in scale, according to the researcher. Two other problems likely to become even bigger hindrances as Web services and Internet collaborative computing become widespread are livelock and deadlock. Livelock occurs when two or more processes keep shifting their requests in response to the changes occurring in the other--with neither process succeeding in carrying out any productive work. Deadlock occurs when two or more processes get bogged down waiting for the other to make a move.

In other words, instead of concurrent applications collaborating, they will vie for resources or just freeze while waiting for the other to take a lead.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-982905.html

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

Tiny whiskers make huge memory storage
Charles Choi

New, tiny magnetic sensors could help break a technical barrier to ushering in the next generation of computer disk storage capacity, researchers reported Friday.

The sensors, filaments of nickel thinner than a wavelength of visible light, are capable of detecting extremely weak magnetic fields.

Although it is already possible to increase hard drive storage capacity many times, the process has lagged because technology has not existed to read the data signals, researcher Harsh Chopra, a materials scientist at the State University of New York in Buffalo, told United Press International.

"Now we can," he said.

The problem with expanding storage disk capacity is that as data bits become exceedingly small, their magnetic fields become correspondingly weaker and harder to read, Chopra explained. In order to read data signals reliably, the signals must produce a large enough change in the electrical resistance of the computer's magnetic sensors. The signals also must produce those changes at room temperature.

In findings to be published in next July's issue of the journal Physical Review B, Chopra and physicist Susan Hua described sensors they have developed that are both small and sensitive to improve the density of hard drives.
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=...1-020248-9059r

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

Home music downloaders are within the law, says EC

An early draft of a new copyright directive presented by the European Commission makes clear that only copyright
infringement for commercial purposes should be considered illegal, much to the chagrin of media content trade organisations.

The draft directive is designed to foster a pan-Union approach to intellectual property rights issues and aims to strike a balance between the demands made by consumers and by companies.

Industry bodies have reacted angrily to the Commission’s stated belief that home music downloaders are acting lawfully and that criminal sanctions should apply only to companies profiting from infringement. Such companies, the Commission has said, would include peer-to-peer (P2P) services such as Kazaa, which make money through advertising.

The Commission also draws attention to the increasing evidence it claims links pirates and counterfeiters to organised crime networks.

Despite such statements in the media content industry’s favour, organisations such as the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and the Motion Picture Association (MPA) have denounced the draft directive, claiming it is inadequate. The members of such trade bodies have been increasingly vocal in recent months in blaming their declining sales figures on ‘piracy’.

Many industry commentators have compared the current debate to the copyright controversy that surrounded the introduction of the video recorder and some have pointed out that record and movie executives may be fighting just as futile a battle this time around.

The Commission's draft directive has still to pass the European Parliament and the European Union's Council of Ministers before it is officially adopted.
http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=14720

The music industry has condemned proposed EU legislation for protecting intellectual property, saying that it "falls far short" of what is necessary to fight piracy.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t26...zdnetukhompage



Call me the breeze.


Hollywood Attacks File-Sharing Site

Nikki Hemming knew she'd be stepping into a legal dogfight last year when she formed an Australian venture to take over Kazaa, the Internet's leading bazaar for sharing music and video.

But Hemming, a key force behind the Kazaa file-sharing system, didn't quite bargain for the wrath unleashed by Hollywood and the music industry, which has treated her as a sinister sibling to Darth Vader.

The U.S. entertainment industry has fired lawsuit salvos aimed at pieces of the Kazaa network scattered around the globe: in Estonia, Australia, Vanuatu, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and the West Indies.

So far, Hollywood seems to be winning.

Three weeks ago, a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled that Hemming's Sharman Networks Ltd., incorporated in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu with main offices in Sydney, Australia, is subject to U.S. copyright laws.

Many legal experts believe Kazaa's days are numbered, that it will soon be vanquished alongside its pioneering cousin, Napster.

Still, they give Hemming and her Sharman Networks credit for delaying a funeral through astute maneuvering and legal savvy.

"It's a tough environment to operate in when you need to be considering litigation as well as building the leading software program in the market," Hemming said by telephone from Sydney.

But Hemming, 36, whose past ventures include video games and an Australian theme park, said she's up to the challenge.

"I do consider myself a visionary," Hemming said. "I have considered this just a phase in the journey."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/...in539104.shtml

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

Sharman Balks
Parent company of file-sharing software accuses entertainment industry of monopoly.
Joe D'Angelo

The company behind Kazaa has turned the tables and filed a lawsuit against the movie and music industries, which have sued or threatened to sue such file-sharing services ever since Napster peaked in the late 1990s.

Sharman Networks Ltd. filed a counterclaim Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles accusing the entertainment industries of failing to understand modern technology and of monopolizing entertainment. Consumers, the suit suggests, do not need to buy CDs, DVDs or videotapes to enjoy the content on them.

The suit accuses the industries of copyright misuse, monopolization and deceptive practice and seeks a jury trial, damages, legal fees and a permanent injunction so that the entertainment companies can't enforce their U.S. copyrights against any person or entity.

Record labels have monopoly power in the distribution of recorded music when they work together, according to Sharman's claim, while movie studios have monopoly power when they act in unison for second-tier distribution (when movies move from theaters to video stores).
http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/145...003/id_0.jhtml

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

Punch Upgrades Net-Based File-Sharing Service
John S. McCright

Punch Networks Corp. this week will begin shipping Version 4.0 of WebGroups, an Internet-based file-sharing and collaboration service.

The upgrade extends the service's file collaboration capabilities by adding a new access option for nonmembers, an embedded MP3 player, a slide-show player, thumbnail views of folders and personalization enhancements, according to officials at Seattle-based Punch.

Version 4.0 refines the capability for users to grant access to a Web folder. When a manager grants access to a folder, he or she can limit when and to whom files within the folder are open. Punch said this is useful for such things as time-sensitive corporate announcements and privacy-sensitive requests for comment. The Global Jukebox feature in 4.0, developed with Copia Technologies Inc., enables users to upload MP3 files into their WebGroup Web space and play them from any Web browser with a Copia Java-based Freedom Audio Player.

Simple Slide Show lets users fill a folder with electronic picture files, such as JPEGs or GIFs, and automatically converts them into a slide-show presentation that plays in a separate window. The software scales down images to fit a computer screen.

If an MP3 file is stored in the folder, the software will play it as background music while the slide show is viewed. Punch officials said this feature could be useful for ad hoc corporate presentations.

Punch will release a preview of a new synchronization feature, WebDrive Synchronization Engine, which will let users synchronize files in a WebGroup to hard drives for work offline. WebDrive SyncEngine, as it is known, runs in the background on Windows and synchronizes files in a folder named Punch WebDrive in a user's My Documents directory. Users can also have their WebDrive appear as a local drive within Windows Explorer, Punch officials said.
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,857188,00.asp

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

Sound Off.

Representatives Rick Boucher and John Doolittle recently re-introduced the Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act (DMCRA, H.R. 107), which would enact labelling requirements for usage-impaired "copy-protected" compact discs, as well as several amendments to 1998's infamous Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Sounds GOOD? If so, tell your DC Rep to support it.
http://action.eff.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=2421

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

Net ranks as top information source
Dawn Kawamoto

A UCLA study revealed Americans who go online rank the Internet as the most important information source, outpacing TV, newspapers and radio.

The study, released Friday by the University of California, Los Angeles, is just the latest example of how the Internet is gaining ground against other forms of media for information, entertainment and news.

"The Internet has surpassed all other major information sources in importance after only about eight years as a generally available communications tool," Jeffrey Cole, director of the UCLA Center for Communications Policy, said in a statement.

Two thousand people, both Internet users and non-Internet users, were surveyed for the report, which is in its third year.

The report, "Surveying the Digital Future," asked Americans who use the Internet to rank the importance of six different forms of media as sources of information. Out of these respondents, 61.1 percent ranked the Internet the most important; 60.3 percent ranked books second important; 57.8 percent ranked newspapers third; 50.2 percent ranked television fourth; 40 percent ranked radio fifth; and 28.7 percent ranked magazines last.

While the Internet received top billing as an information source, it ranked fifth as a form of entertainment. Internet users rated television as the most important entertainment source by 56.2 percent; books ranked second by 50 percent; radio ranked third by 48.9 percent; magazines ranked fourth by 26.5 percent; and the Internet ranked fifth by 25 percent. Newspapers came in dead last at 22.8 percent.

Internet users, however, reduced their weekly TV viewing last year to 11.2 hours, compared with 12.3 hours the previous year. Non-Internet users spent 5.4 more hours per week watching TV than Internet users, according to the report.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-982995.html

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

The Myth of Media Deregulation
What the Senators won't ask Clear Channel
Jesse Walker

In the public eye, the media behemoth called Clear Channel represents radio consolidation the
way Rolling Rock represents cheap-but-drinkable beer. It owns over 1,200 stations, holds about 60% of the rock radio audience, and this Thursday will see its CEO grilled before the Senate Commerce Committee, which plans to hold hearings on concentrated ownership in the radio industry on that day.

Why the hearings? Because concentrated media ownership has come in for increased criticism lately, even as Congress and the Federal Communications Commission are expected to repeal several more rules restricting media consolidation. We're seeing a war between the devotees of two phrases, "the public interest" and "deregulation," and in this political environment, the deregulationists are expected to win.

In politics, "the public interest" is generally recognized as a code phrase for "what I want." It is less widely understood that the word "deregulation" can be another obfuscation, aimed at persuading a different set of onlookers. Many rules governing media have been loosened or repealed in the last 30 years, and this can, if the picture is framed appropriately, be presented as a deregulation of the media. Remove the frame, and it becomes obvious not only that new regulations have arrived as the old ones disappeared, but that they've often been backed by the same forces who present themselves as the boosters of deregulation.

In the past five years alone, an emerging alternative to mainstream radio—Internet broadcasting —was nearly smothered by new rules imposed not by the FCC, but by the Copyright Office. Some last-minute legislation softened the injury, but still left many Netcasters with legitimate complaints. Meanwhile, the large music and movie companies have not only declared legal war on any means of online distribution that they can't control, but have attempted to impose strict new regulations on the devices we use to consume their products—a probably futile attempt to keep the next Napster from emerging, and one that would restrict our ability to use those devices in convenient ways.
http://www.reason.com/links/links012703.shtml

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

Berman Squawks
The Chairman and CEO of the IFPI explains why not giving file-sharers the chair means the end of life as we know it.

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to have the opportunity of addressing you at the opening of Midem 2003. My thanks to the Midem organisation.

The themes of Midem in recent years have closely mirrored those of the international recording industry. Three years ago, Midem was alive with the buzz of dotcom fever; more recently that mood gave way to a far more sober appreciation of the problems of creating an online music business; this year, the overriding theme is the fight against piracy - both online and in its physical form.

IFPI, I am proud to say, is the leading force in the music industry's fight against piracy. IFPI represents 1500 record companies, independents and majors, and we have affiliated national groups in over 45 countries. I warmly welcome Midem's decision to give the fight against piracy centre stage here in Cannes. It is an issue on which, more than ever before, we must stand united as a sector if the music business is to remain vibrant and in the business of making music.

We are today in a turbulent and transitional phase of the music industry's development. Piracy is still a major issue, our markets are affected by economic slowdown and we face the task of sustaining the sale of physical products to make possible the development of online business models.
http://www.ifpi.org/site-content/press/inthemedia08.htm

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

New eMule beta for your consideration, 0.26a http://sourceforge.net/project/showf...group_id=53489

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

“If a copyright holder were to agree with the manufacturers of the systems for making lawful copies and of the systems for playing them to eliminate all trade in lawful copies unless each transaction (each resale, trade, gift or rental) has the consent of the copyright holder, there is of course no doubt that such agreement would constitute a naked restraint of trade.”

“Don’t swallow RIAA party line” attorney tells tech clients.
John T. Mitchell

Today’s technology has simplified many day-to-day transactions through automation, but automation is also laying land mines that have the potential for ensnaring companies in antitrust violations. This is particularly so in the area of digital distribution of copyrighted works, where the benefits of copyright law protection are counterbalanced by limits on the scope of copyright – limits intended to preserve free trade in copies of copyrighted works, and to prevent copyright owners from controlling certain uses of their works.

For example, the Copyright Act gives the copyright holder the exclusive right “to perform a work publicly,” but no exclusive right to perform a work privately has ever been recognized. A theater owner needs permission to show (“perform”) a copyrighted movie at the public theater and a singer needs permission to sing a copyrighted song in public. On the other hand, singing a copyrighted song in the shower, reading a copyrighted book aloud to a child, or playing a DVD movie in the family room, are all examples of private performances of copyrighted works, which copyright holders have no right to control. In fact, though it may be a crime for someone to steal a DVD from a video store, it is not copyright infringement for the thief to play the movie at home. So, what is the legal effect of using technology to control, suppress or charge for those private performances?

Similarly, the copyright holder can control the reproduction of a copyrighted work, and can also control the initial distribution of its own copies of a work, but Section 109(a) of the Copyright Act also makes clear that the owner of a lawfully made copy is entitled to sell it, lend it, trade it or give it away without the consent of the copyright owner. So, what is the legal effect of using technology to control, suppress or charge for those lawful transfers?
http://interactionlaw.com/interactionlaw/id11.html

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

The Pirates of Hollywood
Joe Knowles

The language of film may be universal, but don’t tell that to the Motion Picture Association of America—you might end up in court.

Just ask Norwegian teen-ager Jon Johansen, who, after police raided his bedroom in December 1999, found himself being indicted for the crime of attempting to watch a DVD.

Johansen had wanted to watch DVDs on his computer, which ran the Linux operating system. There was no DVD viewing software for Linux, however; the DVD Copy Control Association, the MPAA-led industry group that controls and licenses DVD technology, had refused to countenance the open-source alternative operating system. Johansen figured he could just make his own Linux player, but this entailed working around the Content Scrambling System (CSS) used to encrypt DVDs. In Hollywood’s view, that is tantamount to piracy, and shortly after Johansen posted the program he helped create, called DeCSS, on the Internet, the long arm of the DVD CCA swooped in.

The ensuing three-year legal battle between Johansen and the American entertainment industry ended in January with a surprising triumph for Internet free speech—at least in Norway. Citing “no evidence” that Johansen had used the code to illegally copy movies, Norwegian Judge Irene Sogn acquitted the teen- ager of all wrongdoing, and also affirmed Norwegians’ right to access all content of legitimately purchased media, whether encrypted or not.

But Norway is not the United States, and it does not have a Digital Millennium Copyright Act. In a similar case that might spell out the difference between free speech in America and free speech elsewhere, the DVD CCA has filed suit in California against a group of programmers who, like Johansen, were trying to develop a Linux DVD player. Though that case is still pending, the DVD CCA is thought to be on firmer legal ground than in Norway, if only because of the vague powers granted it by the DMCA.
http://www.inthesetimes.com/comments.php?id=26_0_1_0_M

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

Wright's rights
Maury Wright

Unfortunately, the deal is just plain bad for consumers. The participating companies, including Microsoft, IBM, and Dell, agreed to support the RIAA in banning consumers from making backup copies of content they own. If I buy a music CD or a video DVD, I should be allowed to do anything I wish with it for my own use.

The MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) is not part of the RIAA/tech-industry compromise. That fact may sound like good news, but the MPAA withheld its support because it wants even stricter controls. In the compromise, the RIAA agreed to drop its demand that the government mandate hardware-based content locks in future entertainment devices. The MPAA wants those content locks in place and is even supporting a bill from Democratic Senator Ernest Hollings of South Carolina that would mandate such controls.

Meanwhile, advocates for consumer fair-use rights are few and far between. One, the HRCC (Home Recording Rights Coalition), has launched a "Fight For Fair Use" campaign and is backing the Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act of 2003. US Democratic Representative Rick Boucher of Virginia and Republican Representative John Doolittle of California sponsored the legislation, which seeks to affirm recording rights in the digital age.

But we each need to take a stand. This stalemate is not only a threat to our rights, but also just as responsible as any other factor for the high-tech downturn. If the content industry had been more active, perhaps we'd already be enjoying movie delivery via broadband networks. Instead, we're still relying on truck-and-car networks to ferry plastic discs from manufacturing, through distribution, to the video or retail store, and to our homes.
http://www.e-insite.net/commvergemag...cleid=CA272768

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

Microsoft protecting rights--or Windows?
Joe Wilcox

Can Microsoft be trusted?

How music labels, Hollywood studios and consumers answer that question could determine whether the software giant dominates digital media the way it does Web browsers or desktop productivity applications, say analysts.

The Redmond, Wash.-based company is engaged in a tried-and-true tactic of giving away highly valuable technology as a means of getting a foothold in an emerging market. The strategy, which was instrumental in Microsoft's victory in the so-called browser wars, is being replayed in the digital media market.

The stakes may be as high; analysts see digital media, like the rise of the Web, as driving the next great wave of PC sales. Microsoft, not surprisingly, wants to make sure Windows becomes a "preferred platform" for using digital media," said Directions on Microsoft analyst Matt Rosoff.

In mid-January, Microsoft unveiled a new toolkit that would let record labels create music CDs containing, along with the normal tracks, preripped Windows Media versions suitable for uploading to a buyer's MP3-type player or PC, but protected by Microsoft's digital rights management (DRM) technology to prevent copying and swapping. The toolkit, the DRM license and the use of the Windows Media Audio format is free for the labels, despite Microsoft's $500 million investment developing what many analysts regard as the best DRM technology available today.

"Windows Media, that whole division, is an investment," Rosoff said "They're not making money on it, and they don't plan to make money on it."

Still, Microsoft's approach greatly favors Windows. Accessing the content "would require a PC and support for Windows Media on the PC itself," Aldridge said.

This kind of favoritism is likely to make record labels extremely cautious about using Microsoft's DRM, regardless of the technology's attractiveness or the free use, say analysts.

"On the PC, they're trying to lock in favoritism for the Windows platform," said The Yankee Group's Jones. "Their plan kind of shows through, and that will put the content owners on alert."

At the same time, labels are concerned that should Microsoft's file formats come to dominate digital media, what's free today could cost plenty in the future. In other markets, Microsoft significantly jacked up the costs once it dominated a technology or market segment. A good example is Microsoft's Licensing 6 program, which raised fees for obtaining Windows and Office licenses as much as 107 percent, according to Gartner.

"You have the possibility that all your digital content protection is on their platform and they start charging for it," Jones said. "There's this template of how Microsoft can spread its influence and then capitalize on it after being patient. It's really Microsoft's patience that's going to surprise content providers at the end of the day, as it has enterprises."
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-983017.html

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

Toner company fights DMCA lawsuit
Declan McCullagh

In a final round of skirmishing prior to a court hearing Friday, a North Carolina company argued that a controversial copyright law does not prevent it from selling computer chips that allow toner cartridges to be reused.

Static Control Components said in a legal brief filed this week that Lexmark, the No. 2 printer maker in the United States, is trying to bilk customers and stifle competition by invoking the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

U.S. District Judge Karl Forester has set a hearing on Lexmark's request for a preliminary injunction for Friday in Lexington, Ky., in the case, which is the first to pit the long- established right to reverse-engineer against copyright law.

In December 2002, Lexmark sued Static Control, a family-owned business in Sanford, N.C., claiming that its Smartek chips sold to toner cartridge remanufacturers violate the DMCA. The Smartek chip "circumvents the technological measure" that the printer uses to verify the cartridge is original and not remanufacturered, Lexmark claims.

On Jan. 10, Forester accepted Static Control's offer to temporarily cease manufacturing the Smartek chip until a hearing could be scheduled.

In an interview with CNET News.com on Wednesday, a top Hewlett-Packard executive slammed the printer rival for wielding the DMCA against the remanufacturing industry. "We think it is stretching it," HP Senior Vice President Pradeep Jotwani said. "The DMCA was put in place (to protect) things like movies, music and software applications."

Static Control's 41-page brief warns that if Lexmark's claims were successful, they would set a worrying precedent and cause DMCA-protected chips to sprout in many consumer products. "One readily could envision, for example, an automobile manufacturer applying technological measures...to prevent competition in the aftermarket for replacement tires, wiper blades or other automotive parts; camera manufacturers attempting to foreclose the use of competitors' lenses or brands of film; a ball-point pen manufacturer using a technological measure and an 'ink low' program to shut out replacement ink refills; or a cell phone manufacturer applying technological measures to replacement batteries," the brief says.

This lawsuit is the latest of several recent DMCA cases--both civil and criminal--that have tested the limits of the 1998 copyright law, which Congress intended to limit Internet piracy. Eight movie studios wielded it to force 2600 magazine to delete a DVD-descrambling utility from its Web site, but the U.S. Justice Department recently lost a criminal case against a Russian firm that created a program that cracked Adobe's electronic books.

Under section 1201 of the DMCA, it is generally unlawful to circumvent technology that restricts access to a copyrighted work or sell a device that can do so. But Congress also included exemptions in the DMCA explicitly permitting activities such as law-enforcement purposes, encryption research, security testing and interoperability.

Static Control has seized on the last exemption, which permits reverse-engineering "for the purpose of enabling interoperability of an independently created computer program with other programs," and says its creation of the Smartek chip is also protected by traditional fair use rights enshrined in U.S. copyright law.

Its attorneys cite the landmark 1993 Sega v. Accolade decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In that case, the court said: "Where disassembly is the only way to gain access to the ideas and functional elements embodied in a copyrighted computer program and where there is a legitimate reason for seeking such access, disassembly is a fair use of the copyrighted work, as a matter of law."
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-983560.html

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

Blubster Redux. Piolet 1.04 Released. http://download.com.com/3000-2166-10179113.html

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

This could affect virtually anyone who streams music or video
Patent scare hits streaming industry
John Borland

Michael Roe, proprietor of the small RadioIO Webcasting station, got a surprise FedEx package this week, containing a notification that he was violating patents owned by a company he'd never heard of.

That's not uncommon in the technology world--the surprise was the scope of the claims. The sender, a company called Acacia Media Technologies, said it owned patents on the process of transmitting compressed audio or video online, one of the most basic multimedia technologies on the Net.

Roe, who recently finished fighting an expensive legislative battle over copyright fees for the music his station plays, was flabbergasted. Acacia only wanted three-quarters of a percent of his revenue, but every bit hurts at this point, he said.

"It's extortion," Roe said. "It's just another example of someone seeking to extend patents for an old technology to...cover completely new technology. It's absurd."
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-983552.html

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

Quick, somebody sue them! Nevermind, nobody sues Groove…
Groove Releases P2P Upgrade
Mitch Wagner

Groove plans on Wednesday to introduce version 2.5 of its peer-to-peer collaboration software, with improved integration with Web services and Microsoft Outlook and SharePoint Team Services.

"With the 2.5 version, we're seeing Groove start to respond to demand for integration with whatever back-end systems customers have," said company spokesman Richard Eckel.

The new version supports SOAP, enabling independent software vendors to build Groove-based collaboration into their applications, Groove said. For example, one enterprise customer is looking to use Groove to build presence-enablement -- the ability to tell when a colleague is online -- into standard desktop applications such as Office. Customer relationship management vendors are looking to do the same thing. SOAP support in Groove will enable developers to build Groove-enablement into applications written with high-level scripting languages such as Perl and Python, and to build applications on non-Windows platforms, such as mobile computers and smart phones, that will interact with Groove.

Groove 2.5 enhancements in Microsoft Outlook include the ability to import Outlook e-mail discussion threads into existing Groove shared paces. Previously, end-users could create new spaces with discussion threads. End-users can send individual Outlook calendar entries into Groove, and vice-versa. Entries changed in Groove will automatically be updated in the Outlook calendar And end-users can send e-mail contacts into the Groove shared spaces as well.

Groove integration with SharePoint allows users to take SharePoint data offline, and share it with users outside the enterprise, such as consultants, vendors and clients. Synchronization can be manual or automatic.

The new version allows users to control which files they download, so that they can avoid downloading large files over slow Internet connections.

Version 2.5 permits synchronization with LDAP and Active Directory directory servers. Previously, IT managers could import user data from LDAP and Active Directory, but when the LDAP or Active Directory server was updated, the IT manager would have to update the Groove user data manually. Now, the updates to Groove are automatic.

And IT managers can do Groove account backups and passphrase resets from a central location, rather than having to perform the actions from each desktop.

The software is available immediately, priced at $49 for a standard edition and $149 for a professional edition.
http://www.internetweek.com/story/sh...icleID=6511851

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

“The idea is a little like the peer-to-peer networks that have formed online for swapping music, movies and other files.”
Wi-Fi opportunity: Anyone can be an ISP
John Borland

Scrambling atop the roof of an Oakland, Calif., office building, John Furrier squinted like a surveyor from behind his company's wireless antenna, trying to figure out exactly where it pointed.

The Etherlinx co-founder was drawing a bead on a distant office that used his start-up's technology, receiving a fast Internet connection from a transmitter the size of a spiral notebook. As a pair of prospective clients awaited an ad hoc demo, he told them that they too could create their own broadband ISPs, competing against the phone companies with barely any start-up costs.

"Telephone companies and the other big companies are like a big rock in the river," Furrier said. "We could wait for it to move--or we can let the water flow around it."

They are part of a burgeoning wireless movement that bears remarkable similarities to the entrepreneurial garage culture that birthed Apple Computer and other Silicon Valley icons. Where those computing pioneers labored in the shadow of massive IBM, these wireless tinkerers are challenging the cable and phone companies that control the lines into most homes.

The key to their success, according to Furrier and others, is filling the gaps in vast networks constructed by large communications companies. At least today, their tools of choice are variations of the wireless technologies known as Wi-Fi or 802.11.

The cable and DSL companies control access to their networks, making it increasingly difficult or expensive for independent ISPs to offer broadband service. By contrast, wireless supporters say their technology is cheap, easy to set up, and operates in parts of the spectrum that are free to the public--unlike the walled-off portions of the airwaves that cellular phone corporations purchase for billions of dollars.

"The opportunities are pretty significant," said John Yunker, an analyst with Pyramid Research and editor of a wireless newsletter. "Wi-Fi really marks the beginning of the end of the wall between fixed network operators and mobile operators. All the lines are blurring."
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-983259.html

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

Who woulda thought
DALnet Ready to Cut Off File Sharing
Thor Olavsrud

DALnet, once one of the largest Internet Relay Chat (define) networks on the Internet, is moving to say 'no' to file sharing.

The IRC network, which has been ravaged by a sustained distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, said it will change its Acceptable Use Policy on March 1. The change will prohibit "using a channel for the primary purpose of facilitating the transfer of files."

Before the days of Napster and other file sharing networks, file traders often used IRC networks as a way to find each other, and many still do. Warez (define), or pirated software, are among the most actively traded files on IRC networks, as are tools for scripting viruses.

"DALnet is by its very nature a Chat Network," DALnet said in a statement Tuesday. "Its purpose is for people around the world to join together in channels and converse about subjects of their choosing. New technologies have sprung forth since the birth of DALnet back in 1994. Programs such as KaZaA and Napster have generated a desire for Internet users to freely transfer files. They have also generated a large amount of controversy regarding the legality of doing so. DALnet is not, nor does it wish to be thought of as file sharing network."

However, the network will not axe file sharing completely. "This is not about the occasional transfer of a file between people who otherwise are using DALnet to chat," the network said. "This is about setting up channels as a means to facilitate the transfer of files."
http://www.internetnews.com/xSP/article.php/1578991

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

Wi-Fi hot-spot at Ferihegy Airport

Hungarian mobile operator Pannon GSM and Budapest Airport Rt. have launched a Wireless Local Area Network
(WLAN) service at Ferihegy Airport, offering a high-speed connection to a local computer network and thus to the internet, WLAN will be available free to Pannon GSM customers and to mobile roamers from abroad during the three-month trial run.

During the introductory period, anyone having a suitable wireless device (such as the Nokia D-211 card phone) can make use of the service in parts of Terrapark and in the departures side of Ferihegy 2B, the restaurants and the business waiting rooms.
http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=14760

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

Pretty neat portable. New Samsung Yepp has analog inputs for encoding MP3s right off your CD player or other device. If Digital Rights Management (DRM) disallows direct DtoD transfers, this could be a great solution for your tunes to go. Broadcasts an FM signal for playback in the car. Supports multi formats. http://www.samsungusa.com/cgi-bin/na...YP-900GT%2fXAA

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

Share My songs, Please!
Anick Jesdanun

Two Guy Trio's singer, Evan Gamble, doesn't mind that bootleg copies of his band's "Shelby Sugarcane" are spreading on the Internet through the Kazaa file-sharing system.

A half-million fans have downloaded legal copies of the song through Kazaa, the Internet's leading bazaar. Illicit trading by a few million others is a minor nuisance.

More important is Kazaa's ability to help an emerging pop-rock band like Gamble's find an audience.

"Whether it's licensed or unlicensed, it's a fan," said Gamble, 21, a junior at the University of Texas. "We want people to hear the music, so they'll buy the album, so they will come to the show and request songs on the radio."

Kazaa's owners at Sharman Networks are trying to build a business out of giving stuff away on the Internet, so that artists like Two Guy Trio can flourish.

If only the major labels would cooperate.

Of course, that would mean embracing a network engaged in what the entertainment industry considers massive digital theft. Instead, the industry has sued to shut it down.

Sharman and its partner, Altnet, say the entertainment moguls should accept file sharing as a viable distribution method.

Altnet already offers a payment mechanism. Problem is, the songs Altnet embeds with copy protection are but a trickle in the flood of pirated files available through Kazaa.

Kevin Bermeister, Altnet's chief executive officer, says he has sought a working relationship with music companies even after they sued. He says he has sometimes won the interest of executives, but never their lawyers.

Maybe that's because Kazaa is more successful than its ill-fated predecessor, Napster.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...azaaend04.html



Mr. FastTrack


Tiny land's techies craft software hit
Michael Tarm

TALLINN, Estonia — When Swedish software developer Niklas Zennstrom cast about for help in writing the Kazaa file-sharing software, colleagues raised eyebrows when he chose three unheralded youths from little-known Estonia.

And jaws dropped when the program that Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu and Jaan Tallinn wrote from their Spartan office quickly became the leading software download on the Internet — CNET's Download.com distributes about 14 million copies a month.

Zennstrom knew what he wanted Kazaa to do when he hired the shy, 20-something Estonians, who favor faded jeans and T-shirts. He wanted to let any two computers trade files seamlessly and without going through a central server. He just didn't know how to do it.

"It was the Estonians — the three of them, not a full research department — who came up with the programming code," Zennstrom said. "That was the key."

The 36-year-old, lanky Swede said the software, pounded out in four months and first posted online in late 2001, worked almost glitch-free from the start.

It set usage records within the year.

"It was amazing. They are very skilled," Zennstrom said in a recent interview during a business trip to this former Soviet republic.

"Were we surprised at how successful Kazaa's been?" chimed in Heinla, his blond, disheveled hair flowing to his shoulders. "Yes, really surprised."

That the breakthrough — which led to litigation and accusations of thievery from the music industry — occurred in this ex-communist state of just 1.4 million people was no fluke, said Zennstrom.

This Baltic state has leapfrogged older technologies with investment help from nearby Finland — the home of Nokia. The Estonian programmers who wrote Kazaa still work from the same modest premises at their company, Bluemoon Interactive, sharing two or three computers.

Most Estonians burst with pride that their countrymen provoked such a global- scale fuss.

"People are very impressed," said Kristjan Ostmann, an editor at Estonia's Postimees newspaper. "Their work is brilliant."
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...estonia03.html

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

“The Internet is counterproductive to peace.”
Cognitive Dissident
John Perry Barlow, the man who popularized the term 'cyberspace', discusses the Total Information Awareness project, online activism, file sharing, and the prospect of a digital counterculture.
Tim Dickinson

Does the government need a search warrant to read your private email? Do you have a right to anonymity online? Is computer code protected by the first amendment? On all three counts the answer is yes, and for that you can thank the Electronic Frontier Foundation -- and by extension, John Perry Barlow -- for staking out those rights in court.

The EFF is a digital civil liberties union, co-founded by Barlow in 1990 to fight for free-speech and privacy rights in cyberspace. Of course, back then, 'cyberspace' wasn't exactly a household word. You can thank Barlow for that, too.

A self-described "classic boomer," Barlow is still best known for his first career, songsmithing for the Grateful Dead, with classics like "Cassidy," "Estimated Prophet," and "A Little Light" to his credit. After a go as a back-to-the-land cattle rancher, Barlow, 55, is now starring in a digital third act, one that may well fulfill his ultimate aspiration: "To be a good ancestor."

When I first met John Perry Barlow, he was sporting a black ascot, a turquoise pendant, and a hands-free cellular device that dangled, secret-service style, from his left ear; he was wired and buzzed, working the unabashedly geeky crowd at the EFF's holiday open house in San Francisco's Mission district. Afterward, I pressed Barlow for his take on the Total Information Awareness project -- the Bush Administration's Big-Brotherish effort to preempt terrorism by analyzing our purchasing habits and other previously private data -- as well as his thoughts on Internet activism, file sharing, and counterculture in the 21st century.

MotherJones.com: What do you make of the Total Information Awareness project?

John Perry Barlow: I was just writing a spam to my friends last night about its "all seeing eye" logo [The logo has since been changed - Ed.]. Looking at that logo, you've got to wonder if they aren't just engaged in some massive prank on us. It's hilarious -- straight out of a Thomas Pynchon novel. Can you beat it? It's fortunate that this is so stupefyingly funny.

MJ: But do you think that we run the danger of laughing it off and missing the danger of it?

JPB: I don't think so. I think that humor is part of what saves us from despair. The Total Information Awareness project is truly diabolical -- mostly because of the legal changes which have made it possible in the first place. As a consequence of the Patriot Act, government now has access to all sorts of private and commercial databases that were previously off limits.
http://www.motherjones.com/news/qa/2...we_268_01.html

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

Internet TV trial attracts thousands of viewers

Some 15,000 subscribers to XS4ALL’s broadband service participated in the Dutch ISP’s six week trial in television broadcasting.

Only subscribers with higher-capacity ADSL connections had access to the six TV channels on offer, which included ones on travel, fashion and adult content.

Although the response was enthusiastic, XS4ALL is still to analyse the results from this experiment, including data from the viewer survey conducted, before deciding its next move, a spokesperson stated.
http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=14765

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

RC Cola and a Moon Pie, It’s alright! Diet Kaza RC2 Released. http://207.44.130.60/ads/cx.php?c=

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

Cornell Makes New File-Sharing Policy
Jonathan Square

Cornell has recently increased its efforts to prevent the violation of copyright laws. Last week, an e-mail notice was sent to all Resnet account holders that outlined the new procedures for dealing with copyright violations.

This new fervor is due to recent legal developments, ever- present computer insecurities, and the fact that scanning agencies like the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) have stepped up their efforts to find copyright violators.

"We used to try to get in contact with a violator before blocking their Internet connection," said Tracy Mitrano '95 Law, a policy advisor to Cornell Information Technology (CIT).

There are three reasons why Cornell Information Technology (CIT) has decided to change the way it contacts violators. First, students tend to doubt the seriousness of notifications, instead considering them mere warnings. In addition, the detection of copyright violations is increasingly due to insecurities on students' computers, not the use of file sharing programs. Cornell is also concerned with the need to protect itself, because recent legal developments have raised the stakes for Internet service providers.

A federal court in New Jersey recently ordered Verizon to reveal the identity of an alleged downloader to the RIAA. This is troubling news to some because it sets a landmark precedent. If all Internet service providers are required to reveal the identities of users accused of copyright infringement, private organizations like the RIAA could legally sue both Internet service providers and the accused violators.

If Cornell was to continue to allow file sharing, Cornell and the accused violator would be vulnerable to lawsuits.
http://cornelldailysun.com/articles/7447/

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

“This is a research institution and we don’t monitor student activities.”
University of Washington grapples with campus file-sharing

Instead of trying to target the companies that own and operate the file- sharing programs, the RIAA is also trying to target individuals that are using the programs for pirating material, especially at colleges.

“We have had complaints about file-sharing here at the UW,” said Oren Sreebny, UW assistant director of computing and communications. “We do what we can to locate and notify the individual of the complaint.”

P2p file-sharing programs like KaZaA are nearly ineffective since the University limited the bandwidth within the dorms, starting last spring with Terry and McMahon Halls.

“We didn’t limit the bandwidth to the dorms to prevent file-sharing programs,” said Sreebny. “We capped the bandwidth because the dorms were limiting the University’s networking abilities outside of the dorms.”

Since the summer, according to Sreebny, all of the dorms have been operating under limited-bandwidth restrictions. The limits do make it more difficult to download large amounts of material.

Sreebny added that the dorms do, however, have unlimited network- sharing capabilities. The networking capabilities do enable students to trade files from computer to computer at speeds much faster than p2p sharing.
http://thedaily.washington.edu/news....-Token.Count=6

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

Cisco Sees No Upturn Soon for Technology Spending
Matt Richtel

Cisco Systems Inc., the largest maker of Internet network equipment, reported today that its sales held steady last quarter amid a continued technology downturn. But, in remarks that suggest an upturn is not imminent, Cisco's chief executive said customers had grown even more cautious about spending.

The chief executive, John T. Chambers, said that corporate executives seem to be holding tighter to their purse strings and that geopolitical uncertainty has had a "dampening effect" on the economy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/05/te...gy/05CISC.html

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

“No one has a fair use to copy a videocassette. If you lose it, you get another one.”
Movie Man Jack Valenti’s Scorched Earth Copyright Interview

HPR: You once remarked that "VCR is [to the movie industry]...as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone." Even though the movie industry profits from video rentals, the MPAA still fears new technologies like digital VCRs and the Internet. What are the significant differences between the threat posed by the VCR and by today's technologies?

Jack Valenti: I wasn't opposed to the VCR. The MPAA tried to establish by law that the VCR was infringing on copyright. Then we would go to the Congress and get a copyright royalty fee put on all blank videocassettes and that would go back to the creators [to compensate for videocassette piracy].

HPR: How do you view the influence of lobbyists in government and campaign finance reform? Do organizations like the MPAA have an undue influence because they have money?

JV: I think lobbying is really an honest profession. Lobbying means trying to persuade Congress to accept your point of view. Sometimes you can give them a lot of facts they didn't have before.

Money, however, is negative--it's corrupting the body politic. Even though money might be the most self-conflicting force in politics today, there are too many loopholes in this McCain-Feingold bill. All these lobbyists in town who are callous to what the bill stands for are going to exploit it. They'll turn to state parties and special interest groups and the money will keep pouring in. It's a tragedy.
http://www.hpronline.org/news/347207.html?mkey=628413







Cornered
Brian Fuller

Hollywood today reminds of a rattlesnake you back into a corner: The next few minutes are going to be brutal, but ultimately the snake doesn't get to celebrate.

The studios are hissing away over digital copyright protection and are baring their fangs, even after they've extracted blood from technology companies in the form of myriad design compromises to stop copying. After every agreement that has been hailed as the solution, a new problem has cropped up: the "analog hole" or something else. In December, EE Times' George Leopold reported on a plug-and-play agreement. In January, Junko Yoshida reported from the Consumer Electronics Show that the agreement is only the beginning of a long process that may not yield plug-and-play at all.

Hollywood has adopted basketball's four-corner offense-passing the ball around to keep it away from the opposition-to run out the clock. But in this case it's not protecting a lead; rather, it has to stall because can't figure out a viable business model.


The Internet will eventually be the death of Hollywood-as-middleman. The Internet's promise, while still years away, is to give control to the people who deserve it: the creators of movies and music. The massive model shift under way will favor truly independent production companies that will sell their works straight over the Internet, enabling megafiles to be downloaded very quickly at a reasonable price.

People are starting to smell it already. George reported recently that a lobbying group called the Alliance for Digital Progress, with heavy backing from the electronics industry, is battling Hollywood over whether government-mandated technology standards are the best way to protect digital content.

At one time, actors were virtually indentured servants to the studios, and Hollywood controlled distribution so thoroughly that it owned the theaters. Actors are high- rolling free agents now, and Hollywood is again struggling with its business model.

Hollywood may well adapt yet again, and survive. But I hope that in the process, it is forced to clean up the sludge it today produces on a massive scale.
http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20030203S0036

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

Film-censoring software angers entertainment industry
AP

Last June, Utah software developer Breck Rice met with movie directors to pitch a new program that could insert product placements into movies, make a New York skyline resemble Tokyo, and even drape a modest negligee over Kate Winslet during her nude scene in Titanic. The program, called "MovieMask," was designed to digitally alter films in large part to make them more family friendly, skipping violent or sexual content and toning down language.

To demonstrate, Rice showed the directors a demo tape. The swords in a fight in Rob Reiner's The Princess Bride were changed to light sabers. Jack Nicholson's lips in A Few Good Men were altered and a voiceover added to change a rant using an offensive term to "you funny people."

The directors were furious.

"It was heated. The directors did feel threatened," said Warren Adler, associate national director of the Directors Guild of America, who attended the meeting.

That meeting solidified the battle lines between Hollywood and a growing business dedicated to sanitizing films and television programs.

On one side are a chain of video rental stores and a number of software programs and devices serving an audience that has grown tired of gratuitous sex and violence and foul language peppering films aimed at teenagers.

"In the privacy of your own home, consumers have whatever liberties they want to take with property they own or have paid for the rights to use," Rice said. "No studio or no director should be allowed to tell parents how to protect their kids."
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/te...-censors_x.htm

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

Coding Technologies to join the Internet Streaming Media Alliance

The Internet Streaming Media Alliance (ISMA), a global alliance of industry leaders in content management,
distribution infrastructure, and streaming media, announced this week that its membership base has expanded to include four new companies.

The new members include Helsinki based Swedish company Coding Technologies. The other members are ContentGuard, Nextreaming Corporation and VBrick Systems.

The Internet Streaming Media Alliance is a non-profit corporation founded in 2000 by Apple, Cisco, IBM, Kasenna, Philips, and Sun Microsystems to accelerate the market adoption of a universal, open standard for streaming rich media over the Internet Protocol (IP). Today, the alliance is comprised of nearly forty companies representing all facets of media distribution over IP.

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

Getting there. A preview of Locutus Lite. http://locut.us/index.php/preview

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

On The Hill
The 108th Congress is working out its committee assignments. So far we've seen one big change. What's next?
Doc Searls

Capitol Hill watchers are hen's teeth in the tech world. Watching what elected Feds are up to is a recent diversion, mostly because the long-term effects of the DMCA have begun to kick in. Meanwhile, Larry Lessig and other generals in the Good Fight are yelling back at our ragtag army while standing, swords drawn, on the front line.

So it's hard to sense a common wisdom developing around the latest committee assignments, which are happening right now, as the 108th Congress convenes its first session.

This is what I gathered after visiting my mother, sister and a pile of other relatives last week, most of whom reside in North Carolina's 6th congressional district. Representing that district is Republican Howard Coble, who ran nearly unopposed and won for the umpteenth time this past Fall.

Coble, you might remember, is the coauthor of HR 5211, "To amend title 17, United States Code, to limit the liability of copyright owners for protecting their works on peer-to-peer networks". The Electronic Frontier Foundation called the bill "Vigilantism Unbound". Declan McCullagh called it "the boldest political effort to date by record labels and movie studios to disrupt peer-to-peer networks that they view as an increasingly dire threat to their bottom line."

At the time, Coble was the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property. His coauthor of the bill was democrat Howard Berman of Burbank, California, in California's 28th Congressional District.

Now (my relatives were the first to point out) Coble is gone from that committee, having switched chairs with Republican Lamar Smith of Texas' 21st district, who had been in charge of the Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee. But Coble also lost out entirely on membership in the committee he had chaired. The Greensboro News-Record reports:
http://linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6612

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

HP raps rival for invoking DMCA
Ian Fried

A top Hewlett-Packard printer executive said that although intellectual property rights are vital in the printer industry, rival Lexmark is wrong to try to use a controversial copyright law to safeguard those rights.

In an interview with CNET News.com, HP Senior Vice President Pradeep Jotwani said Lexmark is using the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act in ways it was not intended, in pursuing a lawsuit against a maker of remanufactured toner cartridges.

"We think it is stretching it," Jotwani said of the Lexmark suit, which was filed Dec. 30 against Static Control Components, a maker of remanufactured toner cartridges. "The DMCA was put in place (to protect) things like movies, music and software applications."

Jotwani said HP will protect its intellectual property rights if companies infringe on them, but the DMCA is not the right weapon to use. A Lexmark representative declined to comment specifically on Jotwani's remarks.

"I don't plan on going down that path," Jotwani said, referring to using the DMCA.

HP did threaten last year to use the copyright law to pursue a team of researchers who demonstrated a bug in its Tru64 Unix operating system. However, the company later backed down.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-983518.html

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

Western Digital announces 10K RPM SATA drives
First 10,000 RPM SATA drives to hit the market. Is the end of SCSI near?
submitted by J. Eric Smith

Western Digital will announce next week the availability of the first 10,000 RPM IDE hard drive using serial-ATA and destined for desktop usage. Heretofore, the fastest IDE hard drives have topped out at 7,200 RPM. SCSI drives long ago surpassed the 7,200 RPM mark and are offered in speeds up to 15,000 RPM, a primary reason why high-peformance servers continue to rely on SCSI drives.

This announcement puts yet another notch in Western Digital's belt as a maker of milestones in hard drives. The company previously introduced the first IDE drive with an 8M B buffer, and also had the first 7,200 RPM IDE hard drive for mass market consumption.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/story.html?id=1044471776

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

Sensor could store 1 TB per square inch
SUNY Buffalo team eyes terabit hard drives
Tom Krazit

Two professors at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo say they have come up with a way to put massive amounts of data onto smaller hard drives, using nanotechnology and magnetic fields to alter the path of electrons through a conductor.

Professors Harsh Deep Chopra and Susan Hua discovered a way to create an extremely responsive sensor by building what the researchers call a nanocontact, or an extremely small electrical conductor, in work completed last July. The pair recently found a way to more easily and reliably create the sensors, which could have enormous effects on the world of data storage.

The SUNY Buffalo researchers' sensor would allow hard drives to store data as densely packaged as a terabit (1 million bits) per square inch, Chopra said. Most standard PC hard drives can store anywhere from 20GB to 80GB, and are much larger than a square inch.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/02/06/HNsuny_1.html

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

He made the Game Boy sing. Ronald L. Jones, inventor of the Song Pro, is profiled in the Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/06/te...ts/06song.html

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

MediaForce speaks in mysterious ways
Sam Varghese

MediaForce, an American outfit which describes itself as "the industry leader in providing anti-piracy services to the music, motion picture and software industries" apparently has some rather cryptic ways of communicating with its intended audience via the Web.

MediaForce was in the news locally when it sent a threatening letter to an unnamed Australian ISP about alleged copyright infringement by one of its subscribers. MediaForce was acting on behalf of Warner Bros.

ZDnet Australia reported a second case this morning, apparently made through IP carrier Comindico to an unnamed ISP.

The MediaForce website provides this mysterious bit of information when one searches for press releases: "Microsoft VBScript compilation error '800a0400' Expected statement /news/ pressreleases.asp, line 128 Wend" .

And the sub-section titled "MF in the News" yields this morsel: "MediaForce partnerships, products, people and solutions are news-makers in the digitial copyright protection industry. Microsoft JET Database Engine error '80040e14' Undefined function 'getdate' in expression. /news/inthenews.asp, line 110."

The section "Recent News" yields this gem: "MediaForce partnerships, products, people and solutions
are news-makers in the digitial copyright protection industry. "ADODB.Connection error '800a0e7a' Provider cannot be found. It may not be properly installed. /news/index.asp, line 108."

This is a company which hunts down people who are allegedly indulging in copyright infringement around the world, and identifies them by using Internet Protocol addresses. You would think, that given the technical nature of what they claim to do, they'd be able to get their own visible house in order. Not so.

Now what was that old saying about people living in glass houses not throwing stones?
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/...318711798.html

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

Bumpy surface stores data
Kimberly Patch,

Cramming more data into a given storage device is all about making bits that are extremely small and consistently spaced.

Using individual molecules to store bits would be a tremendous leap forward. One molecule gaining researchers' attention is rotaxane, which contains a ringed portion that can move along a long, thread-like portion of the molecule. Moving the ring from one end of the thread to the other could be a way to change a bit from a 1 to a 0.

Perfecting a method to make storage devices out of individual molecules is a tall order. But it turns out that the rotaxane molecule's unique shape could be used for data storage in a different way.

When researchers from universities in Italy and Edinburgh found that drawing the tip of an atomic force microscope across a thin film of rotaxane molecules resulted in perfectly-spaced strings of dots, they realized the phenomenon could be used for storing data. "Once you have the capability to write a dot and to fix its position... you immediately think about writing bits," said Fabio Biscarini, head scientist of nanotechnology of multifunction materials research at the National Council of Research Institute for the Study of Nanostructured Materials (CNR-ISMN) in Italy.

The method could allow for a super-capacity DVD-like media that could be written to extremely quickly.
http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2003/0...ta_012903.html

Device demos terabit storage
Eric Smalley

Cramming lots of information into very small spaces means making and measuring infinitesimal containers for each bit of data.

Researchers from Tohoku University, the Japanese National Institute for Materials Science, and Pioneer Corporation in Japan have found a way to store huge amounts of data after figuring out how to make many tiny, inverted dots in a thin film of metal and determining how to sense the state of each dot.

The dots are as small as 10 nanometers in diameter and store one bit of information each. A nanometer is one millionth of a millimeter, or the equivalent of a line of 10 hydrogen atoms.

The researchers' prototype storage device packs 1.5 trillion dots per square inch, and so could store 1.5 terabits in one square inch of material, said Yasuo Cho, an associate professor of electrical engineering at Tohoku University in Japan. That's the equivalent of 48 million 250-page books, or 47 DVDs.

The storage material, a thin film of single-crystal lithium tantalate, is ferroelectric, meaning its atoms are aligned electrically, or polarized. Atoms in small sections, or domains, of the material can be polarized opposite to neighboring domains, and these two polarization states can represent the 1s and 0s of computing.
http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2003/0...ge_011503.html


Top 10 downloads

BigChampange


Pay for music whether you copy it or not
Germans battle over copyright 'tax' on PCs
Arron Rouse

GERMAN CONSUMERS FACE PAYING MORE for their PCs after a Patent Office mediator issued a recommendation that all PCs carry a €12 'tax' to pay copyright owners. The PC industry has immediately condemned the idea as unfair.

Although the recommendation is not binding, the PC industry says it would have to pass the charge onto consumers and that it would unfairly label every PC user as a pirate. Fujitsu Siemens has indicated it is likely to take the case to court, says the Wall Street Journal. At the centre of the furore is the VG Wort society which collects royalties for copyright holders. It had initially chased after a levy of €30 per machine.

The cost to German consumers could be as much as €70 million a year according to BitKom, an organisation representing the interests of 1300 IT firms. Copyright collecting societies are also trying to get levies imposed on the sale of printers, scanners and other devices on the basis that they could be used to copy material.

The battle against these levies may not be easy to win. Many European countries already impose them on blank media such as CDRs.
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=7623

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

Smarter Two-Way Radios

Before cellphones became the main means of telling your pals where the fish were biting, radio direction finders were the way big-water boaters could locate people on VHF radios spilling the beans about their good fortune. Now, the Peer-to-Peer Positioning feature on two new Garmin Rino two-way radios ($159 and $269) takes the guesswork out of locating companions on the water (or at the shopping mall). You can find out exactly where a companion is located on the lake or up the canyon creek, because these radios display their GPS position to each other. So, when your pal calls to say that he’s catching salmon 2 miles off the harbor in the fog, you can display his position, lock it in, and immediately navigate there to help out. Of course, it’s not bad as a rescue tool in case he hasn’t found fish but is out of gas or battery power.
http://www.fieldandstream.com/fields...418684,00.html

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

“It’s not stealing,” says admin.
Stanford Displays Mature Attitude Towards P2Ps
Kari Lundgren

In response to increased complaints from entertainment companies that students are unlawfully downloading copyrighted materials through online networking programs, Residential Computing has begun an effort to inform students that their Internet connections may be shut down if they engage in illegal file-sharing activities.

According to Ethan Rikleen, network and systems administrator for Res Comp, the Recording Industry Association of America and the American Association of Producers are now using file-sharing programs such as Kazaa and Bearshare to monitor individuals trading material protected by copyright laws. Upon finding such files, these associations inform the Internet Service Providers — or at Stanford, the Computer Security Office — of the users responsible for such violations.

Rikleen said that recently the Computer Security Office has received multiple complaints citing the same individuals for having the same material.

He explained that multiple complaints could mean students contacted previously lied about deleting illegal files or re-downloaded the material a second time. Alternatively, an outside user could have “broken into” the system and performed the repeat illegal activity, or the recording industry could have made a mistake, he said.

“The recording industry would have you believe that file-sharing is stealing but it isn’t,” Rikleen said. “There is an enormous amount of potential for positive uses. People should be using new technology and trying new things.”
http://daily.stanford.edu/tempo?page...=0001_article#

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

Broadcast flag possible but that’s about all.
Copyright Legislation Unlikely, Both Sides Say
Edmund Sanders

Leaders of major entertainment and technology trade groups, often at odds over piracy and copyright issues, have found something to agree on: Chances are slim that Congress will jump into their controversies with significant legislation this year.

The shared views, expressed at an investor conference here Tuesday, mark a surprising shift because advocates on both sides of the copyright and piracy debate have frequently turned to lawmakers for help.

The conference was sponsored by Washington-based Precursor Group, an investment research firm. It included representatives of the Motion Picture Assn. of America, the Consumer Electronics Assn. and the Recording Industry Assn. of America.

Several key players said factors ranging from the distractions of a possible war to the lack of consensus among various industries would keep Congress from acting on significant mandates. Initiatives likely to stall include those requiring electronics firms to install controversial copy-protection devices, restricting peer-to-peer file sharing or expanding the rights of consumers to copy their favorite movies and music, the speakers said.

"The prospects for legislation are rather dim," said Fritz Attaway, general counsel for the MPAA, which represents the major film studios. "I don't think any bill will be enacted without a large degree of consensus among the various affected industries."

Last year, the studio trade group -- along with Walt Disney Co. -- was behind the introduction of one of the most divisive bills. That measure, sponsored by Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.), would have put sweeping technology mandates on electronics makers to protect the entertainment industry's content. The bill mobilized technology and electronics firms, which fired back with their own bills to relax copyright protections and expand consumer rights.
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la...s%2Dtechnology

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

Copyright Is Only a 'Right' for a Reason
Peter Coffee

When legislators make foolish laws, or courts enforce laws foolishly, they teach people to justify doing whatever they want. In particular, when teen-agers spend their formative years acquiring contempt for laws that are made by the ignorant at the behest of the selfish, I fear for the consequences when those young people become our next generation of leaders.

That's why the battle between the record industry and the rest of the world is more than just an example of a business that doesn't understand its reason for being. And it's also why we should wish Verizon well in its appeal of last month's District Court ruling, which ordered that service provider to identify a user who may have engaged in file swapping.

At some point, someone has to go back to the source of congressional authority to grant patent and copyright protections in the first place—"to promote the progress of science and useful arts." Historian Garry Wills has observed that this clause in the Constitution is unique in that it states a reason—unlike the other clauses in Article I, Section 8, which merely grant the powers "to lay and collect taxes ... to coin money ... to establish Post Offices," and so on.

Compared with the tea-leaf reading that often takes place in the search for the Framers' intentions, the clause on patents and copyrights is a neon sign. If the Framers had thought they were recognizing and protecting a property right, they either would have said so or could merely have said nothing more than "Congress can do this." Any demand for enforcement of copyright protections is therefore without foundation unless it offers a convincing connection to the promotion of scientific or artistic progress.

As I noted late last month when discussing this issue with CBS News, Bach didn't need a record contract—or royalties—to inspire him. He had a family to feed. The present- day business model of the record companies is a temporary artifact of a transitional stage in a developing technology.

Those companies need to find new ways to add value, rather than demanding that legislators help them subtract it at the expense of technical progress and individual rights.
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,867464,00.asp









Until next week,

- js.








Current Week In Review

Submit articles, press releases and letters in English - text only, no HTML - to jackspratts at lycos dot com. Please include contact info. Submission deadlines are Wednesdays @ 1700 UTC.

[SA_Dave]

Thanks Jack!

An excellent edition, yet again.

I really enjoyed the J.P. Barlow interview :

JPB: It wasn't bootlegging. We let people tape our concerts and distribute the tapes. And that became the first example I can think of viral marketing. The record companies certainly didn't know how to market us. So we became self-marketing through our tapes.

MJ: And that helped you economically?

JPB: No question. And it makes sense that it would. Because economic success in an information economy depends not on scarcity, but on familiarity. You can be the greatest songwriter in the history of song and if 10 people are the only ones who ever heard your songs, it doesn't matter.

I also liked reading CNET's special report on wireless adoption and the excellent comic strip!

This edition really speaks for itself though.