Peer-To-Peer News - The Week In Review - September 4th, '04

[JackSpratts]

Quotes Of The Week


"The internet shares with anarchism some important traits and values: spontaneity, flexibility, autonomy, and an invitation to hedonism." – Siva Vaidhyanathan


"The whole discussion of how we share research results is a very productive one. Science is about communicating results to serve society." – Alan Leshner


"The side effects [of copy protection] are much stronger than the medicine's desired effect." – Julien Dourgnon


"I have never bought a music file online, even though I'm a big music fan. I don't want music files which are crippled by the digital rights management tools." - Bill Thompson


"Independents are really more cutting-edge. Major record labels are always afraid to be the first to try new digital technologies." - Rob Williams


"In a divided country, a block of suddenly energized people is a good thing, unless they are energized with the goal of getting you out of office." - Charlie Demerjian























RIAA Strangling Itself

Opinion

It created a Hydra
Charlie Demerjian

THE RIAA HAS PUT ITSELF into a corner in a technical sense, and pretty much assured its demise. No, not due to arrogance and stupidity, or stupidity and arrogance, it wasn't even greed this time, directly. The problem is a technical one, pure and simple.

If you go back to the beginnings of P2P, basically Napster as far as the general public is concerned, you had a really incredible system. It was the easiest P2P server to search, quick, accessible, and you found what you wanted with frightening regularity. The RIAA saw this and concluded that it had to die. It may not have been illegal, but that didn't stop them from being spent into the ground and badgered to death.

Rather than pointing the finger at these tactics, lets look at the tech. Napster was a centralised database, and you could query it for what you needed. It knew pretty much everything that was on the entire Napster network, and any request made would search the whole thing. It also worked only for MP3s but there were hacks, plugins, and work-arounds for that. Most people couldn't figure these things out, but they technically did exist.

Part of the reason that Napster was brought down was a technicality more or less, they had the names of the files on their servers. While I can't recall if they were actually proven to have done anything illegal, they were in a grey area, according to some.

At first, the RIAA played less evil and asked Napster to block any infringing files. With the technology of P2P being new at the time, and no tools existing to do such things, it was pretty much impossible to do that. If Led Zeppelin was found to be bannable, you could find Led Zeppelin songs until you got bored. Napster actually tried to comply, but the RIAA was not satisfied.

Napster owned the P2P market. Nothing else existed at first, and even when they came up, nothing had anything close to the offerings found on Napster. Everything was contained in this one little server, in this one little company, in this one little community. It was summarily stomped into the ground using lawyers, politicians, and other undead creatures.

No, I am not talking about the fact that I have not, and will not spend another dime on music as long as the RIAA exists, I didn't spend that much money to begin with. It is at that point that the RIAA lost any hope of putting the genie back in the bottle.

Before we get to why, lets look at what there is out there today. We have Grokster, eDonkey, GNUtella, Bit-Torrent, Kazaa, and dozens of other programs. Some are second generation, some are third, some are bigger numbers. They all do different things in different ways, but have a few common threads.

One of the biggest threads is decentralization. Napster had a central server with a single point of attack. Its downfall was mainly caused by this. From the second generation on, you had distributed servers. You could run your own server and tie them into others. Searches took longer, were less accurate and there was no guarantee you would be searching a single other machine, much less the entire network.

It was however, unstompable. For every node you took the time and money to blast out of existence, there were several thousand others springing up. Clearly, the old tactics would not work. To make matters worse, these new networks were aware of the tactics being used against them, and actively tried to nullify them.

As the network programmers were adding features, they were also adding security, both for them, and for their users. Things started out simple, like support for file types other than MP3, and quickly became more sophisticated. Military grade encryption? No problem. Licence restrictions that beat the pigopolists with the very sticks they created? Sure, pick any of five. Random user names, obfuscated IP addresses, changing ports and just about everything else you could think of has been done by now.

The real stake in the heart of the RIAA and friends came with the complete removal of servers, in a true peer to peer sense. Instead of having many little servers, you had every node doing dual purpose client and server jobs. Searches were completely decentralised, and the RIAA was finished, period.

The recent string of stinging court losses for the Greediest Monopoly on Earth in the US courts assured any chance the RIAA had was gone. Its worst nightmare was confirmed, as everyone else just knew, the services were completely legal. The Grokster decision affirmed the right of the companies to provide the services they always have, and to do so with impunity. People using it may be guilty of crimes, but the services themselves are not illegal.

The RIAA, and to a lesser degree, the MPAA and friends were faced with a hostile consumer base, a hostile software industry, and more troubling to them, an increasingly hostile justice system. When the courts start wondering about your practices, you might want to take the hint and move on to another line of attack. I don't think they will, but we can always hope they will come to their senses.

The thing that killed the RIAA was not the court system nor the technological barriers. It wasn't even that people realised that the odds of them getting sued are about that of getting hit by lightning while at a doctor's office, being read your diagnosis of AIDS and cancer, while being trampled by a herd of zebras. All at 3:41 on a Tuesday.

No, the real problem is that there is no longer anyone to kiss up to. The RIAA forced decentralisation by attacking anyone who could be seen as popping their heads up. They showed how futile suing their customers are, it barely makes headlines any more. And now they have lost the big fight in the courts.

They simply have to play nice, there is nothing else they can do. All their lynch 'em now and ask questions later policies have failed, so it is honey, not stick time. But who do you kiss up to? If you come up with an amazing way to identify and filter illegal content, who implements it?

See the problem? The network providers will tell you in very colourful language exactly where to shove it, no doubt there. Even if they didn't, what would they implement it on again? They hold none of the databases, you and I do. If they manage to coerce Kazaa into forcing the filters onto your machine somehow, there are a dozen other networks out there. If they get them all, a lot of the code is open source, I'd give it 30 minutes before a dozen new networks spring up.

In the old days, there was one provider, and one repository, one throat to strangle. It was manageable technically if it came down to a technical solution. Instead of allowing that technical solution to blossom, they went the legal route, and lost. In the intervening years, the tech went around them, and they sat still, and possibly regressed.

The problem with forced evolution is that it tends to work. The RIAA made the networks evolve technically, from a relatively incocous MP3 network to the file sharing network from hell. There is nothing you can't get anymore, and there is no one to stop it. If they came up with a tool, unlikely as that may be, there is no place to implement it.

What's next? They can go the political route with bags of cash for "goodwill contributions" and get the laws changed. They may have legs, but again, their opponents are quite savvy now, much more so than when the whole DMCA fiasco was railroaded through. More daunting is the fact that in an internet aware world, which politician would want to take file sharing away from a majority non-voting teen age to early 20s crowd? In a divided country, a block of suddenly energised people is a good thing, unless they are energised with the goal of getting you out of office.

Doesn't all this just suck for the RIAA? It does however make me grin endlessly, mostly because it is of their own making. The line it took early on, and stuck to doggedly in the face of attempted compromise, reason and common sense is destroying it. Even its monopoly supported failed business model won't be able to sustain it for much longer. Once again, technology let the cat out of the bag.
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=18206


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Cash Award

Adult Film Company Wins Copyright Case
Tom Musbach

SUMMARY: Titan Media, a major producer of gay adult films, won a copyright suit against a Web producer who was accused of stealing and posting hundreds of Titan's images on his sites.

Titan Media, a San Francisco-based producer of gay adult films, won a copyright infringement case on Friday against a Web producer who was accused of stealing and posting on his sites hundreds of Titan's images.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White awarded $418,500 in damages to the company. According to a Titan Media press release, the award amounts to $1,500 for each of the 279 photographs that were illegally published.

The defendant named in the case is Timothy J. Ward, who used the stolen images on the sites www.sobe-cfg.com and www.sobear.com, according to Titan Media.

"We are extremely pleased with this large award by the courts," said Keith Webb, vice president of Titan Media. "But we are even more pleased that this judgment continues to amplify our warning to online thieves: If you steal from Titan, you will get caught and you will pay the price."

He added that Titan Media still has other lawsuits pending, with more on the way.

Like the U.S. recording industry, Titan Media has been fighting the illegal downloading and sharing of electronic files for the past few years. The company says that electronic versions of its adult photos and videos are proprietary in the same way that digital versions of hit songs are for record companies and musical artists.

Peer-2-Peer (P2P) networks, such as Kazaa, eDonkey and Grokster, are a main source of the problem for most entertainment companies, Webb said.

"We actively monitor and track down users stealing and trading our video files in the P2P networks," Webb told the PlanetOut Network. "In the past year we have caught over 475,000 people stealing our content worldwide in the P2P networks. We aggressively go after them, and have had a 90 percent compliance rating for the removal of our content from illegal trading online."
http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?2004/09/03/3


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Music Sales on the Web to Hit Jackpot – Survey

Selling songs over the Internet in Western Europe will explode to a 3.5 billion euros a year market by 2009, a new survey found on Tuesday.

This year marks the launch of new music Web Sites in Europe, such as Apple's iTunes Music Store, Sony's Connect, and Napster, music download services will expand into other European countries, analyst Rebecca Jennings said.

"Consumers are gradually coming around to the idea that paying for downloads gets them quality, reliable music, and services will become easier to use as broadband penetration increases," she added.

Half of today's online music business is drummed up by young consumers, aged between 16 and 24.

However, Forrester sees that older consumers are slowly getting into the habit, as services expand their offerings and become simpler to use.

Britain, France, and Germany will control the bulk of the market. Over 60 percent of legal downloads in Europe will be sold in these three countries in 2009. Southern Europe's Spain and Italy will grow strongly to account for around 20 percent of the market by 2009.

Apple said earlier on Tuesday it had sold five million tracks in Europe in the first 10 weeks after the launch of German, British and French iTunes stores. Worldwide, it has sold over 100 million songs, mainly through its U.S. Web Site which opened in April last year.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=6112287


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Corporate Online Music
p2pnet.net News

It's the dripping tap principal. Eventually, you can't hear anything else.

Repeat something continually and people - including the mainstream print and electronic media - will start to believe it, particularly if what you're saying comes nicely wrapped in a study.

"The paid-for music downloading market in Western Europe has been languishing behind the United States - until now," a new Forrester Research reports says, according to a Reuters story here.

"The market will finally take off in 2004."

This suggests that there is a music downloading market. However, we're two-thirds of the way through 2004 and not only hasn't it taken off, it barely exists.

Forrester reports tend to reflect prevailing corporate views (hopes?) and, "This year marks the launch of new music Web Sites in Europe, such as Apple's iTunes Music Store, Sony's Connect, and Napster, music download services will expand into other European countries," Reuters quotes a Forrester analyst as saying.

"Consumers are gradually coming around to the idea that paying for downloads gets them quality, reliable music, and services will become easier to use as broadband penetration increases."

The corporate sites are on the difficult side - but that's to be expected when users have to wade through endless pop-ups and other worthless adverjunk before they can get to the 'product'.

Independent p2p applications / sites are, by way of contrast, blindingly simple to use. And given that there's little discernible difference between one mp3 and another, quality is neither an issue nor a factor - and nor is 'reliability'.

"Half of today's online music business is drummed up by young consumers, aged between 16 and 24," the story has the Forrester analyst saying.

The implication is: these "young consumers" are buying from the likes of iTunes, Connect, etc, and that's not the case. In the real world of online music, "young consumers" are staying away from the Big Four record label cartel sites in their hundreds of millions.

"Forrester sees that older consumers are slowly getting into the habit, as services expand their offerings and become simpler to use," continues Reuters.

The services have yet to expand their offerings in any significant way and again, by way of contrast, the p2p nets are packed with "older consumers" searching for, and finding, quality 'oldies' and other tracks that aren't available from the Big Music-supplied Apple iTunes or Napster II, and etcetera.

"Britain, France, and Germany will control the bulk of the market," says Reuters. "Over 60 percent of legal downloads in Europe will be sold in these three countries in 2009. Southern Europe's Spain and Italy will grow strongly to account for around 20 percent of the market by 2009.

"Apple said earlier on Tuesday it had sold five million tracks in Europe in the first 10 weeks after the launch of German, British and French iTunes stores. Worldwide, it has sold over 100 million songs, mainly through its U.S. Web Site which opened in April last year."

This does not, however, amount to a hill of beans - even a tiny one - stacked against what's happening in the real world of online music.

There, both young and old "consumers' are waiting for the entertainment industry to wake up to the idea that it's the 21st century, not 1970.

Peer-to-peer applications are now widely used as major marketing, sales, distribution and communication vehicles, and soon they'll become primary.

Big Champagne: Internet File Tracking: Users online at a given moment

January, 2004
8,767,241

June, 2003
6,818,050

February, 2004
8,888,768

July, 2003
6,534,110

March, 2004
9,453,940

August, 2003
6,294,525

April, 2004
9,473,785

September, 2003
7,399,311

May, 2004
9,279,585

October, 2003
8,759,051

June, 2004
8,324,299

November, 2003
7,680,854

December, 2003
8,671,136


Every month, at a conservative estimate, more than one billion digital music files are moving among, and between, computers around the world.

And yet the music business and movie studios aren't even close to tapping this enormous gold mine.

You'd think their share-holders would be asking questions.
http://p2pnet.net/story/2304


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The stats according to It Innovations…

P2P population: Worldwide P2P population (active users) grew up from 15% since July 2004. The FastTrack Network (KaZaA) is still number one, its population grew up significantly right after the Landmark P2P ruling of August 19th in the favor of peer-to-peer software makers and operators. The end of the holyday season might be also accountable for this increase. eDonkey progressed ``normally", now imposing itself as a serious competitor of KaZaA. Small emerging platforms (mainly those relying on anonymous and encrypted networks) are also accountable for such a strong growth; they recently reached an overall population of more than 1M active users. The ``More secure networks" trend is still to be watched seriously. Curiously, we observed that several users migrated to BitTorrent, the most reliable but also the less secure P2P platform among those at the TOP of the charts... BitTorrent seems to be the current platform of choice for movie piracy and software piracy.
http://www.itic.ca/DIC/News/2004/09/...t_2004.en.html


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Deepnet Technologies Launches P2P Browser
WebProNews | Staff Writer

Deepnet Technologies announces the launch of Deepnet Explorer, a powerful Web, P2P and News browser that allows users to surf the web faster, share and download files on the Gnutella P2P network, and view the latest RSS news and weblogs.

Deepnet Explorer seamlessly integrates three web technologies into one application: web browsing, P2P file sharing and RSS news reader.

The Web browser allows users to view multiple web pages with its tabbed interface and it has a collection of innovative features that increase web browsing productivity, such as the pop-up blocker, direct search, keyword navigation, auto login, form filler, multiple start pages, mouse gestures, super drag and drop and more.

Deepnet Explorer's built-in peer-to-peer file sharing technology enables the user to browse the web while sharing and downloading files on the Gnutella P2P network in the background. Users can search for different file formats including audio, video and documents.

The browser also has a built in news reader that allows the user to subscribe to and receive RSS or ATOM news and weblogs. A useful feature is the News filter which blocks unwanted news or adverts. The news reader is integrated with popular RSS search engines which makes it easy to find and subscribe to news.

Deepnet Explorer is a new generation browser that allows the user to easily browse the web, share files and read news simultaneously.
http://www.webpronews.com/it/applica...ewBrowser.html


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The Right to Copy
Bill Thompson

It's somewhat depressing when the mere fact that a court has shown some common sense is newsworthy, but we should applaud the 9th US Circuit of Appeals in Los Angeles for making it clear that file sharing isn't illegal.

This is just as well since file sharing, which is just copying data from computer to computer, underpins the entire operation of the internet, from email to viewing web pages to downloading the 72Mb of Windows XP SP2.

But of course the argument wasn't about that sort of data copying.

The court had been asked to rule in a case brought against Grokster and StreamCast Networks over the use of their peer-to-peer networks to make unlicensed copies of copyrighted music.

It's certainly true that they can be used in this way. I had a copy of KaZaA on my laptop until recently, and a quick search revealed thousands of unlicensed MP3s of songs by a wide variety of artists.

But there is a well-established precedent in US law that just because something is capable of being used illegally that does not mean its manufacturers can be sued or prosecuted.

A peer-to-peer network can be used to share family photos, free software, licensed music and any other sort of digital content. The mere fact that it could in principle be used to exchange dodgy copies of a Britney song is therefore irrelevant.

And since both Grokster and StreamCast's Morpheus programs are true peer-to-peer offerings, with no central index of files shared and no central node through which requests or data about transfers is passed, the court ruled that the manufacturers of the software could not themselves be asked to stop infringing activities.

After all, they don't know it's taking place.

The judge even bothered to point out that just because closing down P2P networks would satisfy “the copyright holders' immediate economic aims” it might turn out to be bad for creativity and innovation generally, and so any such decision should be left to Congress who can pass new laws if they want to.

This might seem to settle the matter, but the Recording Industry Association of America says it's going to appeal yet again. And, more worryingly, Congress seems to be thinking about doing what the judge suggested.

A bill introduced by Senator Orin Hatch, a long-term friend of the music industry – and recipient of large campaign contributions from the same industry – would make it a criminal offence to induce anyone to break copyright.

Hatch's Inducing Infringements of Copyright Act would allow the record industry to sue Grokster because their service makes it so easy to copy music files that it counts as an ‘inducement'.

It would, as the Electronic Frontier Foundation points out, probably allow the record companies to sue Apple for making and marketing the iPod since it indirectly encourages us all to copy our friends' CDs.

We might think that such an absurd law would never be passed by the US Congress, but it's important not to underestimate just how much influence the record companies have. They employ expensive lobbyists and make significant contributions to campaign funds, so they may get what they want.

Although this is currently a US copyright battle, the results will affect everyone. European legislation like the EU Copyright Directive is often directly modelled on US law, in this case the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and the record companies are just as concerned about protecting their European markets as they are about the US.

It isn't just an abstract discussion either. The arguments over copyright are the first skirmishes in a serious battle over the shape of our digital world. If the big rights holders have their way then copyright will become a real ‘property right', like the rights I have over the laptop I am writing this on.

You can't make me lend it to you, it's mine forever unless I sell it or give it away, and if you take it from me without asking then that's theft and you could go to gaol.

Intellectual property is not like that. It was never supposed to be like that: copyright is a time-limited monopoly on certain forms of use of a book or recording, and was not to be treated in the same way as ownership of a house or car or pair of shoes. But persuading the record companies that they can't expect to exert complete control over every recording, forever, is not proving easy to do.

Perhaps they'll be persuaded if we refuse to give them our money.

I have never bought a music file online, even though I'm a big music fan. I don't do it because I don't want music files which are crippled by the digital rights management tools that every online store uses to limit what purchasers can do with the songs they buy.

I don't do it because much of the music I want to listen to is available for around the same cost as a CD, and I can then rip that onto my hard drive and download it to my portable music player myself – keeping a safe copy on disk for when my system crashes and has to be rebuilt.

In fact, I don't do it for the same reasons I don't eat meat. I'm vegetarian because I don't want to be part of a system that raises animals in inhumane conditions and kills them with cruelty. And I won't buy music online because I don't want to support a system that is trying to lock down our creative heritage, stifle innovation and claim ownership of our common culture.

The Grokster decision has given me hope that the law around copyright is still understood by the judges.

We need to make sure that this does not change, and we also need to make sure that lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic realise that they cannot give the big rights holders everything they want.
http://p2pnet.net/story/2309


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File-Sharing Lawsuits Stuck In Court

University still waiting for judicial decision that would uncover names of sued students
Jason Schwartz

Penn students who have illegally downloaded and shared songs on the Internet may eventually have to face the music, but not just yet, it seems.

The Recording Industry Association of America over the last year has filed a broad set of piracy lawsuits that target file sharers including college students nationwide.

Initially, and as is currently the case with Penn students, the suits only identify students by their computer's Internet protocol addresses.

In order to obtain the true identities of these students, the RIAA last March entered a motion for expedited discovery to an Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania. If the judge rules in the RIAA's favor, then Penn would be served with a subpoena and forced to divulge the names of the students.

According to Robert Terrell, an associate general counsel for Penn, the motion has been "dormant for months." He said that there is no explanation for this, adding, "It all depends on when the judge decides to rule on it."

In the event that the motion for expedited discovery is granted which has already happened in the case of another local university, Villanova then the RIAA would offer those students being sued a chance for settlement. According to Jonathan Lamy, a spokesman for the RIAA, 840 people nationwide have settled their cases, with the average penalty around $3,000.

As recently as Aug. 25, the RIAA announced a new batch of 744 lawsuits against students who shared files on a number of peer-to-peer music services, including eDonkey, Kazaa, Grokster and LimeWire. No students from Pennsylvania, however, were targeted in this set of suits.
http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/vn.../4136bfc2ae1e1


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OK, but can I still vote?

We Are All Anarchists Now
Siva Vaidhyanathan

The “anarchist activists” protesting the Republican party convention in New York are not the dangerous radicals of news media and mayoral imagination. Real anarchists are just like folks – and their quiet influence is spreading through the culture.

------------------------------------------

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is offering a nice deal to anti–Republican protesters who pledge not to break things during the Republican National Convention this week. Polite protesters will receive discounts at such Manhattan hotspots as the Pokemon Center and Applebees Restaurants if they display cute buttons declaring them “peaceful political activists”.

Such perks might not be as exclusive as the mayor hopes. During his announcement earlier this month, Bloomberg admitted that “unfortunately, we can’t stop an anarchist from getting a button.”

The mayor seems caught in the same unfortunate binary as many commentators on recent political uprisings. They assume that anarchists are violent by definition. They carry a cartoon image of anarchism, reinforced by more than a century of propaganda and misrepresentation of this complex political philosophy. And they fail to recognise that anarchism is now a part of millions of people’s attitudes and orientations, even if we rarely call it what it is.

Last week the New York Daily News screamed “Anarchists Hot for Mayhem” from its front page. Several stories predicted the violence that anarchist groups seemed destined to unleash on this city. Under the headline “Kelly: Anarchists Must be Axed,” the tabloid explained that the police commissioner, Ray Kelly, had urged mainstream activists to tell “the extremists to stay away.” The Daily News substituted “anarchists” for “extremists” in its headline.

This demonisation of anarchists by stereotype is understandable. The Republican party has pledged to label the thousands of protesters as tools of the Democratics and thus evidence of its disrespect for the White House and all things right and proper. So the Democrats are more than willing to let mainstream critics – Mayor Bloomberg included – blame the anarchists for whatever messiness ensues.

Well, it’s time Americans got to know the anarchists in their midst. They might be surprised at their influence and diversity. I’m not an anarchist. I’m just a good mainstream American liberal. But I have been studying anarchism for some time. So please allow me to describe it.

Anarchism is radical democracy. It eschews authority and dominance. It demands a commitment to fight coercion in all its forms. Yet anarchists (with some exceptions) generally oppose violence, vandalism, and political disengagement. Anarchist organisations (not an oxymoron) govern through conversation and consensus.

The American experience with anarchism has been tainted by images of violence and coloured by anti–Semitism and nativism: the 1877 Haymarket Square riots in Chicago; the 1901 assassination of President William McKinley in Buffalo at the hands of a deranged American of Polish descent; and the Red Scare and Palmer Raids that followed the first world war.

The European experience is richer and more nuanced. It involves the failed revolutions of 1848, the Paris Commune of 1871, the Russian Revolution before the Bolsheviks triumphed, and the influential sindicatos movement in Spain before the rise of fascism. Anarchism, as a result of such failures at the hands of enemies both left and right, has been considered a mere footnote to modern political history.

But anarchism in recent years showed itself as a powerful force in the 1994 Zapatista uprisings in Mexico and the massive protests that shut down the 1999 meeting of the World Trade Organisation in Seattle. In both cases, it was state officials who overreacted with brutality and violence, yet the anarchists who got blamed. Still, many movements took inspiration from the Zapatistas and let Seattle raise their expectations.

Although it’s been with us in some form since the cynics of Greek antiquity, anarchy matters now more than ever. As anarchism has faded as a well–defined political movement, its tactics have grown in relevance. Anarchism is now practical. It is a bag of tools.

As I explain in my new book, The Anarchist in the Library, phenomena as diverse as Falun Gong, anti–corporate protesters, radical ecologists, and free software advocates have adopted anarchistic organisational methods and have governed themselves through communication and consensus.

In fact, we can credit the rise of distributed, unregulated, instant electronic communication (email, text messaging, peer–to–peer file sharing, mobile phones, blogs) with the recent rise of anarchistic practice. The internet shares with anarchism some important traits and values: spontaneity, flexibility, autonomy, and an invitation to hedonism.

Those who immerse themselves in these technologies share what I call the “anarchistic imagination”. They are capable of contemplating new models of human interaction of scales that just yesterday seemed beyond reason. They ask themselves “why can’t we share music with friends in Lagos and Lahore?” or “why can’t we take on a brutal authoritarian government?”

Anarchism as a totalising political vision is no closer to reality (nor any more attractive) than it ever has been. No one is predicting (and few are asking for) states to crumble. But in small ways, every day, people around the world are experiencing radical democracy through powerful connectivity. And they like it.

In Manhattan this week, when the Republican convention is in town, some Black Bloc militants might smash a few windows or provoke a fight with police. And Black Hat hackers have pledged to disrupt Republican websites. But in both cases, these foolish extremists will fail to represent the quieter, more thoughtful anarchists and hackers who value liberty above all else, and decry destruction and coercion in all forms.

The real danger is not to the windows of Manhattan or the fluid execution of the Republican convention. The problem is that ugly displays of passion and anger, even when justified by larger crimes, can only serve to undermine the political message that must get through to mainstream America: the Republicans are unreasonable and dangerous. The Democrats are not. Anarchists, violent and otherwise, are not so interested in stressing this distinction, and that in a way is – and always has been – their failure.

So anarchists are not as dangerous as the police and newspapers would have you believe. And they are not as effective as they dream they are or hope to be. But they do matter.

Don’t be surprised if a few anarchists actually display that discount button the mayor is offering (as a joke if nothing else). After all, the folks at the next table at Applebees might be anarchists. In little ways, more and more, we are all anarchists now.
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/storie.../09/02/1066151


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Skype’s Free Telephony Software Has Spread To Over 7 Million Users
xtv

The launch of Skype’s free telephony software download in August 2003 caught the industry’s imagination as it rapidly overtook more established VoIP players to attain subscriber figures never before seen in an over-hyped market segment that had long been plagued with technical problems

(PRWEB) September 2, 2004 -- Research and Markets announces the addition of this new report entitled "Voice Communications: from public service to private application" to its offerings.

The software, initially offered to the users of KaZaA’s file sharing network, spread through word-of-mouth, with no traditional marketing, to claim over 7 million users in August 2004. Several copycat services have been launched this year, all offering free on-net calls within their closed user groups and offering optional extras including voicemail, conferencing and termination services to the PSTN. These all have minimal network infrastructure, relying as they do on ‘peer-to-peer’ topologies to support the services. These private VoIP applications (PVAs) highlight the susceptibility of traditional voice service providers, both fixed and mobile, to new business models made possible by widespread broadband access.

This report assesses the potential impact on the voice market of these PVAs. It evaluates the underlying business models and quantifies their short-term impact on the core businesses of both fixed and mobile service providers. The longer-term potential for a ‘critical mass effect’ of PVA users giving rise to a new market structure is also explored and the possible scale of its impact is determined. The report explains how existing service providers can protect their revenues, and evaluates the strategic alternatives available to market participants.
http://press.xtvworld.com/modules.ph...ticle&sid=1700


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ILN News Letter

Fed Circuit Court Of Appeals Upholds Skylink DMCA Decision

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has upheld a lower court decision involving garage door openers and the DMCA. The court ruled that a dismissal of the case was appropriate, concluding that "contrary to Chamberlain's assertion, the DMCA emphatically did not "fundamentally alter" the legal landscape governing the reasonable expectations of consumers or competitors; did not "fundamentally alter" the ways that courts analyze industry practices; and did not render the pre-DMCA history of the GDO industry irrelevant." Case name is Chamberlain Group v. Skylink Technologies.

Decision at http://laws.findlaw.com/fed/041118.html


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A Warped Sense of Technology
Sacha Evans

Ever been too busy to attend a concert? Or loved a band's live sound much more than canned studio tracks? Receiving a recent push from the ever-evolving Vans Warped Tour, the latest digital technology has enabled artists to sort and legally release high-quality audio and video downloads of live performances, B-sides and other rare content.

The Warped Tour is America's longest-running tour festival. Recognizing its young, zealous and techno-savvy fan base, it began releasing free, daily concert footage this year. Because Warped artists and select independent labels licensed all distribution, both free and paid files were made available across infamous, industry-disputed peer-to-peer networks such as Grokster and Kazaa.

Calling the service a good way to promote the tour and each band's abilities on stage, Warped's management partnered with Aloha Productions to capture nearly 50 shows from various stages and angles, including a daily report from a special mosh-pit camera.

For three days after each performance, Altnet, the leading online distributor of licensed digital entertainment, made free footage available on peer- to-peer networks. After this promotional period, audio and video singles were sold at 69 and 99 cents, respectively. By the end of the tour, consumers will be able to purchase entire tour compilations from the Warped Tour site, including performances by several of the 125 artists who did not perform at every show.

"Free is the basis of all these (peer-to-peer) networks because it aggregates users," said Lee Jaffee, president of Altnet.

Two years ago, Altnet gained exclusive rights to distribute all legal content on peer-to-peer networks by acquiring patent rights for the network's search engine tool. This means that all legal files currently available on file-sharing networks are sold through Altnet. The company sells to about 70 million users worldwide. Altnet says it uses the peer-to-peer system simply because it allows customers to download faster than a single, centralized system.

After collaborating with labels Epitaph and Vagrant on the tour, Altnet struck a separate deal with them and four other commercially successful independent labels. The contract allows labels and artists to customize which content they release on peer-to-peer networks and set the price of each file. Altnet currently has contracts with more than 100 record labels, film studios, software and video game developers.

Jaffee says he stands by his belief that the six major record labels that dominate the market cannot impede the progress of digital music technology, despite the fact that none have licensed content on a peer-to-peer network. Citing declining sales and the Recording Industry Association of America's pending lawsuit against several file-sharing networks, major label representatives have publicly admitted hostility toward the networks and said they are hesitant to sign anything until the courts reach a final decision about file sharing.

Since it is "nearly impossible" for them to get in heavy rotation on today's commercial radio, Jaffe says independent label managers have indicated that digital networks are their new radio. Altnet currently has contracts with the indie labels across all music genres.

"Independents are really more cutting-edge," said Rob Williams, developer of TV Desktop, a new entertainment-based technology. "Major record labels are always afraid to be the first to try new digital technologies. Leading independent companies understand the power of new technologies and don't have as much to lose."

TV Desktop, which launched last February, is a desktop rich media player that delivers personalized content to computers and mobile devices. Its most recent client was the Vans Warped Tour, offering fans daily streamed video at no charge. The company has also partnered with independent rock label Orange Peal Records to offer exclusive extras such as album tracks, concert footage and up-to-the-minute tour news.

In addition to its music industry clients, T.V.D. also works with gaming companies, toy manufacturers and an instant messaging community that combines Findapix.com with instant messaging, allowing members to view the person they are chatting with.

Once you have downloaded the T.V.D. player, you can purchase any of the entertainment content available on its network, as well as receive information directly from the artists and other distributors.

Despite any hesitation, Williams said he is convinced "the majors will jump on."
http://www.gwhatchet.com/news/2004/0...y-704893.shtml


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Protecting Your Files When a Password Isn't Enough
Thomas J. Fitzgerald

IT'S a prospect that nobody likes to think about: a laptop or hand-held computer left behind on a train or bus - or worse, stolen.

As people amass larger amounts of personal and business data on their hard disks, it becomes increasingly important to make sure that confidential files will stay that way, even if a machine is lost.

What computer owners may not know is that a computer's standard log-on password does not block access to files on the hard disk. That line of defense can be bypassed by removing the disk and connecting it to another computer, by using forensics tools or by booting the computer to a different operating system.

Various methods of file encryption are available to protect files against these kinds of direct assaults. Some of the newer ones are easy to set up and can run seamlessly in the background as you go about your work. They can encrypt individual files, or they can create "vaults" in which many files can be encrypted at once. Some can encrypt entire hard disks while others integrate smart cards or U.S.B. tokens to add extra security.

To help decide whether file encryption is for you, it is useful to know some basic information about the technology, its limitations and how to spot products that may contain weaknesses.

Cryptography has been around for centuries, as spies and diplomats scrambled letters or words in messages so only those who knew the key could unlock their meaning. With computers the idea is similar, but more complex. The bytes that make up data are scrambled by complicated algorithms and can be unscrambled only by the application of a unique digital key. If you were to catch a glimpse of encrypted data, it would look like gibberish.

As a consumer, the important thing to know about the mathematics of encryption is: steer clear of products that do not use established algorithms. While no regulatory body oversees standards, cryptography experts generally recommend avoiding little-known or new algorithms until they have withstood the test of time.

Another factor to consider is the length of the key, which should be 128 bits or greater. Key length is usually among a product's prominently displayed features, and in many instances you will be given a choice of key lengths when you install or use software on your computer.

Longer keys are more secure because they contain more possibilities for different solutions, making them harder to crack. The DES algorithm, for example, is now considered vulnerable because it uses a 56-bit key that today's powerful computers can decipher. Other algorithms, including AES, Triple DES, Blowfish and IDEA are regarded as strong, and using them with keys of 128 or 256 bits or greater substantially reduces the risk of a breach. (Some algorithms permit the use of even longer keys, but that can slow the encryption process.)

If you are a Mac user and have Apple's newest operating system, Mac OS X 10.3, you have a built-in encryption possibility. Called FileVault, this option enables users to encrypt the contents of the Home folder, which is the default location for items like documents, music files, digital photos, e-mail messages and the desktop. FileVault uses the AES algorithm with a 128-bit key.

(AES, which stands for Advanced Encryption Standard, was adopted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an arm of the Commerce Department, as the recommended standard for United States government organizations to protect sensitive data. Many cryptographers say they prefer this algorithm for consumer products as well, and many of the companies that make encryption products are now adopting it as their standard.)

Once enabled, FileVault automatically encrypts data when it is saved to disk. Similarly, it unencrypts data on the fly when it is brought to memory for use in applications or when files are moved outside the Home folder.

One aspect of FileVault that makes it easy to use, but also presents a potential pitfall, is that knowing the user's log-on password provides access to an encrypted Home folder. Thus, to complement FileVault, it would be wise to create a strong log-on password, for example an otherwise meaningless string of letters and numbers rather than a word found in a dictionary.

To enable FileVault, click on System Preferences, then Security, and then follow instructions to begin encrypting existing files. For an added layer of security, consider checking the box that requires the user to input the log-on password when the computer wakes from sleep or the screen saver. Doing so will protect a machine that is lost or stolen while in those modes.

Windows XP Home Edition does not come with a built-in encryption method. Instead, a large assortment of third-party software is available, including many programs that can be downloaded at no cost.

But because there are so many encryption products and no oversight of standards, many cryptographers recommend that consumers stick with reputable brand names when choosing software. Bruce Schneier, creator of the widely used Blowfish algorithm, cautions that poorly written programs may lead to security flaws, and that sometimes a vendor may exaggerate claims. "There is a lot of snake oil out there," Mr. Schneier said.

One piece of software that has won praise from experts is PGP Personal Desktop (www.pgp.com, $59), which includes an encryption tool called PGP Disk. The tool enables the user to create an encrypted region on a hard disk. That area is assigned a drive letter, and files saved or moved there are encrypted automatically. As with FileVault, files moved outside the virtual drive or called up with other software are unencrypted automatically. During setup, the user can choose among the AES, CAST5 and Twofish algorithms.

For an extra layer of security, PGP Disk includes a passphrase feature. To gain access to the encrypted area, users must type in the passphrase after starting up the computer. PGP Disk is available in both Windows and Mac versions.

WinMagic's SecureDoc (www.winmagic .com, $159), another piece of software that cryptographers recommend, encrypts entire hard disks and offers AES with a 256-bit key.

Another path to encryption is to use tools included with some file archiving programs. Version 9.0 of WinZip (www.winzip.com, $29) supports 128-bit and 256-bit AES. Users can encrypt batches of files by dragging them into the WinZip interface and assigning a password.

Unlike the Home edition of Windows XP, the Windows XP Professional and Tablet PC editions do include built-in encryption features. They use AES with a 256- bit key (in Service Pack 1 or newer, according to Microsoft), and are simple to use. Users can encrypt individual files or designate folders whose contents will be automatically encrypted. To use the folder feature, right-click on a folder, choose Properties, then click on Advanced. Select the option called Encrypt Contents to Secure Data, then click on O.K. and Apply.

Computer users can add still more security by incorporating hardware devices like U.S.B. tokens or smart cards. HDLock from Authenex (www.authenex.com, $80) works in association with a token that comes with the program. The HDLock program encrypts hard disks on Windows-based computers, excluding system files, using AES with a 128-bit key. Thereafter, each time the computer is started the user must insert the token and type the correct password to unencrypt the disk. The token is smaller than a typical thumb drive.

Users of hand-held computers have similar options. PDA Defense Professional, from JP Mobile (www.pdadefense.com, $30), offers the choice of AES and Blowfish and 128-bit to 512-bit keys. The software is available for Palm OS and Pocket PC devices, and can encrypt the contents of folders and storage cards. One of Hewlett-Packard's new iPaqs, the hx4705, comes with a built-in program called HP ProtectTools, which includes a file encryption tool from Credant Technologies (www.credant.com).

For businesses with desktop computers, laptops and hand-held devices, corporate software with centralized administrative tools that can be used to manage many devices are made by companies like Credant and PointSec (www.pointsec.com).

A final consideration before you take the step of locking down your files or disk drives: encryption is a high-stakes game.

If a password is forgotten or a U.S.B. token is lost, the encrypted data may be lost forever. Some products include emergency recovery plans or master passwords, but others do not. Keeping backup copies of confidential data is one way to guard against disaster. Just make sure the backup data is secure - and then don't forget where you hide it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/02/te...ts/02basi.html


The Secrets Behind Keeping Things Secret
Thomas J. Fitzgerald

The technology behind file encryption may seem arcane, but numerous resources are available for people who want to learn more.

For an overview of cryptography and how encryption works, a good place to start is "Cryptography for Dummies" by Chey Cobb (For Dummies, 2004).

Ms. Cobb explains how encryption algorithms, the complex mathematical instructions that scramble data, work behind the scenes to keep information from prying eyes.

Ms. Cobb also offers tips on how to make effective use of encryption in tasks ranging from sending e-mail to securing transactions on e-commerce Web sites.

For news about newly discovered weaknesses in algorithms and information about government standards and projects, check the National Institute of Standards and Technology Web site, csrc.nist.gov.

Another source of information is the International Association for Cryptologic Research (www.iacr.org). The group sponsors encryption-related conferences like Crypto 2004, held last month in Santa Barbara, Calif., where researchers announced vulnerabilities they had discovered in several security-related algorithms.

One newsgroup forum with discussion threads on encryption topics is www.iacr.org. The forum can be found at groups.google.com/groups?group=sci.crypt.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/02/te...ts/02bbox.html

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Computer Hard Drives Perform Better, Last Longer With Novel Polyester Lubricant
Press Release

Much discussed among computer circles is the so-called end of Moore's Law and its predictions of ever-smaller circuits. Less known is a challenge facing the next generation of hard disk drives: lubricant coatings that can hold up to faster speeds and denser data.

Perfluoropolyethers (PFPEs), the current industry standard, are running up against the polymer's limits in protecting hard drives against daily wear and tear. So University of Illinois Ph.D. candidate Wei Xiao developed an entirely new lubricant, based on inexpensive and abundant polyester. She presented her work today for the first time at the 228th national meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

In short, the lubricant, called SHP — sterically hindered polyester — "acts like a solid when cast as very thin films," says Xiao. "And it has very good adhesion properties."

Both qualities are important for lubricant design. A computer's hard drive is polished to a mirror finish to create as perfect a surface as possible on which to record, retrieve and erase thousands of hours' worth of data over its lifetime. A lubricant coating shields the disk from damage during contact with the head, which can fly back and forth across the disk dozens of times per second.

As a magnetic recording device, the head itself relies on a magnetic field rather than physical contact to read or write to the disk. But at rest, tiny arms called sliders drop down to the disk surface to protect the head.

"The lubricant needs to be solid enough that the sliders don't sink. But it needs to be liquid enough so that any debris from contact between the head and surface would sink back in," says Xiao's advisor James Economy, Ph.D., a professor with the school's department of material science and engineering. He came to Illinois after 14 years of heading up polymer research at IBM.

The sliders do sink into PFPEs, however, and the attractive forces of ‘stiction,' short for static friction, can keep them from retracting quickly enough when the disk begins to spin again. That ‘stickiness' can damage the disk or even snap off the head when the disk starts spinning again.

Two other problems have arisen as disk drives spin ever faster to speed performance, he notes. At the 10,000-plus revolutions per minute now typical of computer hard drives, centrifugal forces can ripple the lubricant like a washboard. The uneven surface can hamper reading and writing, and can leave some tracks less protected from slider strikes.

Secondly, PFPE lubricants "can also spin off entirely," says Economy. To prevent that, researchers "often try to chemically bond it to the disk surface. That's a disadvantage because you've got to figure out the chemistry to do that."

"In our approach, the polymer is very polar," Xiao explains. "So it bonds to the surface on its own." The result is a simpler and less expensive solution, the Illinois researchers believe.

To make their lubricant more stable, Xiao used polyester building blocks containing offshoots of bulky organic molecules. As they polymerize, the bulky groups surround and protect the ester bonds. The effect, called steric hindrance, also helped the team achieve the balance of solid and liquid characteristics they wanted.

Their data also suggest the SHP lubricant is more resistant to corrosion than PFPEs.

"Solving the problems [with PFPE] forced us to make a completely new kind of polyester," Economy says. "I don't think any other [research] group has tried to design new materials in this area."

Indeed, the Illinois team believes their invention may have far broader application, such as the mining industry, for example, or metals manufacturing; perhaps even automobile engines. "Any place where there are wear surfaces," says Economy.

Xiao has sent samples of SHP to the Center for Magnetic Recording Research, an industry-sponsored facility at the University of California, San Diego, which can conduct real-world testing.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization, chartered by the U.S. Congress, with a multidisciplinary membership of more than 159,000 chemists and chemical engineers. It publishes numerous scientific journals and databases, convenes major research conferences and provides educational, science policy and career programs in chemistry. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releas...s-hd081604.php


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Advanced Micro Plans to Show New Chip Ahead of Intel
John Markoff

Advanced Micro Devices plans to demonstrate its version of a new approach to processor design on Tuesday, with a chip that is expected to offer faster computing and relatively less power consumption.

The chip, which is called Opteron and has two processing units, is designed for corporate computing applications including databases, Web services and financial transactions.

Advanced Micro, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., abruptly moved up the announcement of its demonstration on Monday, and several industry analysts said that the company appeared anxious to release its news before a major rival, the Intel Corporation, described future chips at the Intel Developer Forum next week.

The shift to multiple processing units, or cores, embedded in the same chip has recently become a significant technological approach for I.B.M., Sun Microsystems and Intel as well as Advanced Micro, as computer designers hunt for new ways to increase processing power.

I.B.M. and Sun are already selling microprocessors based on the feature, while Intel has said it is moving in that direction as well. Advanced Micro is apparently seeking to demonstrate technology leadership in the market for X86-compatible microprocessors, which are widely used in both desktop and computer server applications.

Both Advanced Micro and Intel have described the new approach. Advanced Micro said on Monday that it would make the chips available commercially for servers in mid-2005 and in its 64-bit Athlon chips for desktop computers before the end of next year.

Intel has not yet set dates for its dual-core X86 processors.

Marty Seyer, a vice president who is in charge of Advanced Micro's microprocessor business unit, said Monday that he thought his company would reach the market before Intel with the dual-core Opteron.

While Advanced Micro said it was ready to demonstrate the chip, and planned to do so on Tuesday in a Hewlett-Packard server computer, Mr. Seyer said it was not yet making performance data available.

He said, however, that the demonstration was evidence the company was having a relatively smooth transition to the newer 90-nanometer manufacturing technology.

"I think our transition has been smoother than others," he said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/31/te...gy/31chip.html


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Japanese Music Companies Raided In Ringtone Case

TOKYO (AP) - Japan's anti-monopoly agency raided several top record companies Thursday on suspicion they illegally blocked other firms from offering music ringtone services to mobile phone users.

Fair Trade Commission official Toshihiko Oizumi said investigators suspect more than 10 companies violated Japan's fair trade laws by preventing the Japanese mobile phone operators from offering the service.

Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music, EMI-Toshiba Ltd., Avex Inc., Victor Entertainment Inc. and Label Mobile Inc. were among those raided, said Oizumi. He refused to disclose all the record companies' names.

The allegations center around the lucrative business of letting mobile phones users download a hit song to play as the ringer, a service first offered in late 2002.

Record companies now hold a dominant share of the industry, estimated at 10 billion yen ($91 million) a year. They charge about 100 yen (90 cents) per song, which includes royalty fees. Downloading a music-only version of a song from phone operators costs 10 yen (9 cents).

None of the companies could be reached for comment late Thursday.

More than 82 million people have mobile phones in Japan, or two-thirds of the population. The country leads the world in new cell phone features, such as those that allow users to send e-mail, search the Internet and snap photographs with a digital camera.

Experts estimate that Japanese download some 300,000 songs a day to their mobile phones.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/sil...al/9504131.htm


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Creator Of Japanese File-Sharing Software Pleads Not Guilty To Piracy

KYOTO — The creator of a program for anonymous file-sharing over the Internet pleaded not guilty on Wednesday at the Kyoto District Court to the charge that he developed the software knowing it would facilitate Internet piracy.

Isamu Kaneko, 34, who developed the Winny peer-to-peer file-sharing program, is the first person in Japan to stand trial for creating software that can be used for the unauthorized reproduction of movies and video games over the Internet. Winny allows users to swap files without revealing their IP addresses which identify the locations of their computers on the Internet. (Kyodo News)

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&id=310710


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Korea’s Bugs Music Finally Mends Fences With Recording Industry
Kim Tae-gyu

Beginning next month, up to 20,000 songs will be reinstated at the nation's largest music streaming site (www.bugs.co.kr), which Bugs Music operates.

Bugs Friday said that it has reached an agreement with the Korean Association of Phonogram Producers (KAPP), the lobby group representing about half of the music industry, on long-standing copyright rows.

``In principle, we found middle ground in settling the copyright disputes. After ironing out some minor differences, we will hold a joint news conference next Monday,'' a Bugs spokesman said.

This means Korean music enthusiasts will be able to enjoy 20,000 songs, of which the KAPP retains copyrights, at Bugs' Web site from as early as next month.

Currently, Bugs is prevented from providing some 40,000 songs to its users. The KAPP holds copyrights for around 50 percent of the titles, with non-member recording labels owning the remaining half.

``This agreement will prompt other recording labels to follow suit of the KAPP. We will push for the eventual settlement of disputes with them for the benefit of Internet users,'' the spokesman added.

The KAPP and other recording labels brought Bugs to court last year citing the firm's unauthorized use of copyrighted songs with the court proposing a settlement of 2.22 billion won.

The music industry initially opposed the mediation, saying Bugs earned much more by using their songs but the KAPP later changed its stance and accepted the proposal.

However, non-KAPP member firms remained steadfast in rebuffing the offer, claiming the compensation amount should surpass 100 billion won.

Since its foundation back in 2000, free music streaming services have been a double-edged sword for Bugs because Bugs has always had free membership unlike other online competitors, which submitted to requests from the music industry on fee-based services.

Such strategy attracted a wealth of visitors to the Bugs Web site, helping the firm move along at a rapid pace on the back of increasing online advertisement revenues.

But at the same time, Bugs has been in continual legal battles with the struggling recording industry, which has accused it of infringing on its copyrights.

In spite of its legal problems, Bugs has succeeded in becoming one of the nation's major Web sites.

According to local Internet market research firm Metrix Corp., Bugs was the fifth most visited site in Korea with a total of 12.8 million having logged onto it last month.
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/2004...7245553460.htm


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China Setting Up Principles For Modern Copyright Protection

A representative from the National Copyright Administration of China disclosed recently that China has gradually been setting up a relatively complete set of principles for modern copyright protection which is fitting not only for China's own socialism economic development, but also accords to the international copyright rules.

The complete modern copyright system in China is said to consist primarily of consummate copyright laws and regulations, a comparatively mature legal execution system, a scaled social service system and "ever improving copyright awareness".

China made a series of copyright laws during 1990-1991, and since its admission to the WTO, it has been carrying out a thorough ammendment of those laws and regulations so as to form a modern copyright legal system. As for legal execution, China has set up a system that combines judiciary judgement with administrative management to protect the interests of copyright owners.

According to statistics, during the eight-year period from 1995 to 2003, China confiscated 265 million pirated products, averaging 90,000 daily. However, there is concern that inadequate awareness about copyright, inefficient legal executionm, and the unprofessional nature of some legal bodies still remain as the main problems for copyright protection in China.
http://www.chinatechnews.com/index.p...e=news&id=1693


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French Lawsuit Challenges Anti-Piracy Technology

PARIS (AP) - Copy protection technologies used to prevent CDs from being pirated online are facing a legal challenge in France, where a judge began a formal investigation of record label EMI Group PLC for using them.

Confirming a report in French financial daily Les Echos, the record store Fnac said Wednesday it has also been placed under investigation by a French judge along with EMI's French arm.

The record company did not respond to requests for comment.

The lawsuit accuses EMI and Fnac of ``deception over the material qualities of a product.''

Filed on behalf of several individual consumers, it alleges that the copy protection system used on certain EMI discs makes it impossible to play them on many car stereos, hi-fi's and personal computers.

French consumer association UFC-Que Choisir is seeking damages in the legal action, which also claims that EMI's copy protection stops customers from making personal copies of their CDs -- a privilege granted to French consumers by a 1985 law.

Julien Dourgnon, deputy director of the consumer group, said the ability to make copies for private use -- for example by transferring music to a portable MP3 player -- was important to many record buyers.

``We're defending that freedom, we're not defending piracy,'' he said.

Fnac and EMI face a maximum fine of 188,000 euros ($227,000), excluding damages, if they lose, Les Echos reported. They could also be ordered to remove all affected CDs from sale, a measure that could cost the record label much more.

In its statement, Fnac -- a unit of luxury and retail giant Pinault-Printemps-Redoute SA -- said it has informed shoppers of potential problems with protected CDs and offered full refunds to affected customers.

``Fnac is confident about the outcome of this case,'' the statement added.

EMI is not alone in using the copy protection systems known collectively as digital rights management in a bid to stop people uploading music onto the Internet.

UFC-Que Choisir is also heading a separate lawsuit against Warner Music Group in support of a consumer's complaint that its copy protection system prevented CDs being transferred to a portable MP3 player via a computer hard disc.

The music majors have introduced the technology much more cautiously in the United States, fearing it could scare off customers.

But ``Contraband'' by Velvet Revolver, a band newly formed by ex-members of Guns N' Roses and the former frontman of the Stone Temple Pilots, became a best seller in June despite heavy copy protection and a warning on the packaging. More protected U.S. releases could follow.

Many of the systems in use are designed to make audio CDs unreadable by personal computers by including a bogus data track that makes the audio part of the disc invisible to a CD ROM drive.

The technologies are intended to curb surging online piracy that has cost record companies billions of dollars) in recent years and led to widespread layoffs in the industry.

But most devices are relatively easy for determined pirates to crack, and consumer groups like UFC-Que Choisir argue that they just end up hurting law-abiding record buyers.

``The side effects are much stronger than the medicine's desired effect,'' Dourgnon said.

No date has yet been set for a final ruling in the case.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/sil...printstory.jsp


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Universities Report Anti-Piracy Efforts
AP

Despite evidence that sharing music and movies online remains popular, a report issued Tuesday by a committee of entertainment and university leaders says universities have made strides the past year to curtail online piracy.

The report, submitted to Congress by the Joint Committee of the Higher Education and Entertainment Communities, highlights steps taken by the universities to tackle Internet piracy but offers few details of their effectiveness.

The recording industry has sued more than 3,000 computer users since September in a campaign to stem file-sharing. Studies differ as to the effectiveness of the campaign, but at any given moment, there are upward of 4 million people swapping files online, according to Beverly Hills-based BigChampagne, which tracks activity on file-sharing networks.

The authors of the report did not perform a specific analysis of file-sharing at the universities, said Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America.

So far this year, 185 people at 35 universities were among those snared in the recording industry's lawsuit campaign, according to the report.

Still, the five-page report gave high marks to universities that made changes meant to discourage file-sharing.

``It's quite clear that every university has gotten the message that this is a serious issue and they're all doing something,'' said Sherman, who is also co-chair of the joint committee. ``There really has been a fundamental change.''

Over the past year, several universities have addressed file-sharing on campus in different ways.

To date, at least 20 universities, including Pennsylvania State University, the University of Miami and Northern Illinois University, have signed deals with Napster 2.0, Ruckus, RealNetworks Inc. and other licensed download services to provide students with discounted downloading or free music streaming.

Many universities have also made the anti-piracy message a fixture of student orientation sessions. Others, meanwhile, are using technology to filter or block file-sharing over their networks.

A program employed at the University of Florida to block all file-sharing has had the best success, Sherman said.

The joint committee submitted its report to Congress in advance of hearings by the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts scheduled for next month.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/sil...al/9484951.htm


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XM Radio Pulls PC Hardware Amid Piracy Concerns
Paul Festa

Owners of a controversial PC radio receiver are making a killing selling their units on eBay following the unit's discontinuation over music piracy concerns.

Before being quietly discontinued this month, the XM PCR was one of several hardware devices sold by XM Satellite Radio to give its more than 2 million subscribers satellite radio reception. In conjunction with a third-party software title called TimeTrax, however, the PCR let listeners download songs to their personal computers.

Since XM discontinued the PCR, units have fetched steep premiums on eBay. The device, which retailed for about $50, is getting bids of more than $350 in recent auctions, with sellers advertising the unit as "discontinued" and "rare."

XM declined to confirm the discontinuation of the PCR.

"We don't comment on when products are being discontinued or not," company spokesman Chance Patterson said. "It's just a matter of policy."

But a source close to the company confirmed the discontinuation, as did a distributor of XM hardware.

"We put in an order on August 18th, and they never filled the order," said Ryan Morris, owner and site administrator of St. Louis-based XMFan.com. "Then they contacted us and said they'd discontinued the XM PCR."

The demise of the PCR comes as the recording industry battles music copyright threats on multiple fronts. Record companies, which have repeatedly filed lawsuits against people who use file-sharing programs such as eDonkey, Grokster, Kazaa and LimeWire, recently lost a crucial battle, when a federal appeals court ruled that file- swapping software programs were legal.

After years of battling file-sharing networks and individual file swappers, the recording industry found a new nemesis in TimeTrax.

Sold by Scott MacLean, an independent programmer in Bolton, Ontario, through his NeroSoft Web site, the TimeTrax software lets people with a PCR capture songs, artist and title information from the radio.

XM said that whatever its plans for the PCR, the company is working to stop TimeTrax.

"We continue to pursue appropriate options related to TimeTrax, including any legal or other options," company spokesman Patterson said.

With respect to the PCR, Patterson stressed that sales of the unit made up a tiny fraction of the company's business, half of which comes from pre-installed tuners on automobiles.

Distributors and subscribers alike have speculated that the withdrawal of the PCR from the market was a direct consequence of the TimeTrax controversy. A source close to the company agreed that the TimeTrax situation had influenced the withdrawal of the hardware.

Listen, don't keep

The Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA, has been paying close attention to XM Radio, especially after TimeTrax gained a following and media coverage.

"We are very concerned about a variety of technologies that essentially transform performances into music libraries," RIAA spokesman Steve Marks said. "We have communicated our concerns to XM and other broadcasters and Webcasters, (and told them) that we'd like to work together with them to address technologies that hijack these performances."

Marks said the RIAA wasn't behind the discontinuation of the PCR.

"We've raised the concern generally," he said. "They've obviously decided to take this action on their own. We've identified for them the potential problems."

Digital radio stations are in a tough spot between the recording industry, from which they license music, and subscribers, who want maximum flexibility in exchange for their monthly fees.

In response to that demand, XM has promised a 30-minute rewind feature on some of its receivers but declined to say when either its subscribers or satellite radio listeners generally could expect to find TiVo-like recording and playback features on the market.

Now subscribers are paying extra for what has become an eBay collector's item, and distributors are wistful about the craze.

"It sucks for us, because over the past week, there's been so much interest in the PCR," Morris said. "Everyone wants one right now."
http://news.com.com/2100-1026-5330698.html


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QnA

J. D. Biersdorfer

Q. Are the baggage-scanning machines used at airport security stations powerful enough erase the data on a U.S.B. keychain drive?

A. Those small U.S.B. drives store data in solid-state flash memory, which has no moving parts. Flash memory is generally more resistant to environmental factors than diskettes and hard drives that store data magnetically.

Flash memory drives can usually withstand temperature extremes, magnetic fields and airport security scanners, but you should check with the manufacturer of your device to make sure your drive will be safe at the airport.

The U.S.B. Flash Drive Alliance has links to many manufacturer Web sites, along with a list of frequently asked questions about the tiny drives, at www.usbflashdrive.org
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/02/te...ts/02askk.html


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Following Job’s lead

Microsoft Set To Join Music Race After Apple's Head Start
AP

Microsoft Corp., hoping to take a bite out of Apple Computer Inc.'s highly popular online music service, is gearing up to launch its own Web site for selling songs over the Internet.

With Thursday's planned debut, the software maker will become the latest competitor in a market experts say is still in its infancy -- but one that is expected to grow considerably more popular in the coming years.

Microsoft has a formidable foe in market leader Apple, which boasts both the popular iTunes music store and the iPod music player.

The landscape also is dotted with plenty of smaller services, including RealNetworks' Rhapsody, Roxio Inc.'s Napster and offerings from companies like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Sony Corp. But none of those has managed to capture hearts and minds like Apple.

``There's one company that matters here, and that's Apple,'' said Josh Bernoff, principal analyst with Forrester Research.

The stakes are high for Microsoft because the software behemoth is eager to establish its Windows Media format as the standard for copyright-protected digital music and video distribution. The popularity of Apple's products, which use different technology standards, could derail those plans.

``ITunes is a big threat to them,'' Bernoff said. ``They see how rapidly it's growing, and the more iTunes and iPod gets out there, the more they feel like they're losing an important part of that experience.''

Microsoft declined to provide more details of its offering ahead of the official launch, including whether it would match Apple's standard 99-cent-per-song price.

Analysts expect Microsoft to take advantage of two big guns.

First is its popular MSN Web site, which will provide the base for the service and could potentially draw millions of users to its offering.

Mike McGuire, research director with Gartner G2, said Microsoft's success in turning those visitors into users will depend on whether users can easily spot the service among the celebrity gossip, movie promos and other MSN offerings, and whether they immediately find it compelling and easy to use.

``What we've (seen) there is that potential sitting there of all that traffic,'' McGuire said.

Microsoft's other big gun is its Windows Media technology, which is already available on most Windows-based PCs as well as on portable media players from companies such as Rio Audio and Creative Technology.

McGuire said that broad swath of availability is a big advantage in terms of wide access to its product. But it also could turn into a big headache if one or more of the players proves faulty or just hard to navigate.

``What's going to be really important is that every single one of those players, those devices, has to deliver that base experience,'' McGuire said.

Bernoff thinks it would be a considerable challenge for Microsoft to best Apple in the online music market. But if Microsoft is able to execute well, he thinks the company stands a good chance of becoming the second most popular service within a year.

Microsoft has come from behind plenty of times and still managed to dominate, thanks to its broad reach with products like Windows and ability to play catch-up quickly.

Most notably, the company was late to the Internet browser wars, but it didn't take long before its Internet Explorer browser had soundly beat out Netscape's Navigator.

``Microsoft tends to win in these areas by being persistent and making adjustments,'' Bernoff said.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/sil...al/9538585.htm


MSN Music Store No Original
AP

On the face of things, Microsoft's online music service looks a lot like the market leader, Apple Computer's iTunes.

When the service launches with a U.S. test version Thursday, songs will cost $1 -- the same as Apple. The catalog will initially include about 500,000 songs, but the company plans to scale up to more than 1 million songs over the next few weeks -- matching the volume available to Apple users.

But Microsoft insists it is different. Among other things, the company claims its service will have a different look and feel, and says a main selling point is that songs can be played on more than 70 handheld devices that support its Windows Media format.

Apple's service only works with its iPod and a recently released Hewlett-Packard clone. But Apple may still have an advantage there: After all, the iPod has become an ultra-hip accessory.

Microsoft doesn't "look to make any money of note" from the service, said Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's corporate vice president in charge of its MSN online division.

Instead, Mehdi said Wednesday, Microsoft is hoping the service will serve as a vehicle for drawing more users to its MSN website, helping garner more advertising dollars. The service also aims to be another way to keep Windows-based personal computers enticing, he said.

Analysts have said Microsoft also is eager to boost the popularity of its Windows Media technology, which it hopes will become a standard format for distributing copyright-protected digital music and video. Apple uses different technology, posing a potential threat to Microsoft.

Microsoft is launching a new version of its Windows Media Player along with the music service.

The market for buying music over the internet is still nascent, but analysts say it stands to increase substantially in coming years. Apple said this week that users had downloaded more than 125 million songs from its service since its debut in April 2003.

Other competitors include RealNetworks' Rhapsody, Roxio's Napster and offerings from companies like Wal- Mart Stores and Sony.

A final version of Microsoft's service is expected to be completed in mid-October, Mehdi said.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,64810,00.html


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Scientists Want Research Papers Freely Available
Dan Vergano

Twenty-five Nobel Prize-winning scientists today are calling for the government to make all taxpayer-funded research papers freely available.

"Science is the measure of the human race's progress," scientists say in a letter to Congress and the National Institutes of Health.

Signers include DNA co-discoverer James Watson and former National Institutes of Health chief Harold Varmus, a longtime supporter of open access.

"As scientists and taxpayers, too, we therefore object to barriers that hinder, delay or block the spread of scientific knowledge supported by federal tax dollars — including our own works."

Science is driven by researchers publishing results to communicate findings, collect funding and gain tenure. About 25,000 scientific and scholarly journals worldwide publish studies. Most hold copyrights to papers, charging single-paper access fees as high as $28. Yearly subscription fees rose 226% from 1986 to 2000 and averaged $840 this year (though for one journal, Brain Research, the subscription runs $18,856), says the Association of Research Libraries. Publishers say the fees are necessary for journals to survive, even for taxpayer-funded studies.

"It's the biggest scam ever," says letter-signer and 1993 Nobel Prize winner Richard Roberts.

Taxpayers pay for researchers to prepare, review and edit manuscripts, he says, while scientific societies and large publishing firms reap the profits.

Over the past three years, calls from scientists and research librarians for open access to studies have grown louder, spurred by rising Internet use and higher costs for subscriptions. About 1,200 open-access journals now exist, up from five in 1992. Open-access publishers charge study authors a printing fee and release the information freely. For example, the publication fee for PLoS Biology is $1,500.

As the scientists make their case to Congress and to NIH chief Elias Zerhouni, Zerhouni meets today and Tuesday with scientists to discuss a June House Appropriations Committee directive to make electronic copies of NIH-funded research available for free within six months of publication, beginning next year. He met with publishers in July and endorsed the committee's idea in principle. "We need a balanced policy that preserves the ability of journals and publishers to play a major role," he says.

Some publishers strongly disagree with the House plan.

In an Aug. 24 letter, Pat Schroeder, head of the Association of American Publishers, said the action "surprised us all," and if the plan went through, it "would threaten the continued survival of many scientific, scholarly and medical publications and professional societies."

However, Alan Leshner, chief of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which publishes Science magazine, says, "I think all the problems are workable" for the free-access publishing plan. "The question is how to do it so we can still pay our bills."

NIH is the big dog of basic research funding with a $28 billion budget, making it a focus of the open-access debate. The federal government funds about 59% of all academic research and development, followed by universities (20%) and state and local government (7.1%), according to the National Research Council.

"The whole discussion of how we share research results is a very productive one," Leshner says. "Science is about communicating results to serve society."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/science...research_x.htm


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Broadcast Treaty Battle Rages On
Wendy M. Grossman

An international treaty to give broadcasters the right to control who may record, transmit, or distribute their signals is reaching a crucial stage of negotiation by the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva.

The current draft (PDF) incorporates many proposals, but the main ones most countries agree on give broadcasters 50 years' worth of legal control over the recording, retransmission, and reproduction of their broadcast signals. These rights are separate from those of the owners of the actual content being broadcast.

If members at the next meeting of WIPO's Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, in November approve the treaty, it could take effect by 2006.

The idea that broadcasters should have rights enabling them to combat signal piracy is relatively uncontentious. Opponents such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Union for the Public Domain are concerned, however, that broadcast rights might lock up materials that should be freely available to the public.

Cory Doctorow, the London-based European Affairs Coordinator for the EFF, highlights two additional sources of worry. First, the US, represented in Geneva by the Patent Office, is demanding that the treaty include webcasting. If that proposal should pass, broadcast rights could apply to anything downloaded from any Web site, making it impossible to be sure whether even open-source software wasn't covered.

Second, Doctorow said, one proposal in the draft treaty requires that receivers, defined as any device that can decrypt broadcasts, must incorporate technology to protect those broadcasts. As currently drafted, he believes that would include general-purpose computers.

That clause in the draft treaty echoes recent US legislation that introduced the broadcast flag, a technical control that must be implemented by July 1, 2005 for all devices for sales in the US that receive television signals.

However, said Tom Rivers, a former head of copyright for the BBC who now represents the Association of Commercial Television in Europe at WIPO, the technical protection clause is unlikely to garner enough support.

An account of the negotiations by the EFF suggests that Webcasters will not ultimately be included because only the US wants it.

The treaty's European proponents, such as the UK Copyright Office and the European Broadcasting Union, say the treaty merely extends protections that have been in place since 1998. They describe it as a way to harmonize intellectual property rights across Europe.

Ben Ivins, senior associate general counsel for the National Association of Broadcasters, sees no cause for alarm.

"Broadcast rights have been recognized in Europe for six years, and the sky hasn't fallen in," he said.

Nonetheless, Doctorow remains unappeased.

"The broadcast treaty is orders of magnitude broader in scope than the broadcast flag. You as the person who transmits information get to tell people what they can and can't do with it," he said, adding that his biggest objection is the potential impact on the public domain.

Ivins takes issue with all of these objections. The proposal for incorporating technical protection, he said, has little support. More important, he categorically denied that the treaty would limit access to public domain material.

"We are massive users of copyright material," he said. "We rely on fair use for lots of news and sports."

The treaty's primary importance, he said, is to give broadcasters a way of protecting against signal piracy. If a broadcaster in, say, Belize has paid for the right to broadcast the Olympics and takes its feed from NBC, it needs broadcast rights to be able to get an injunction against other stations that might copy the feed and send it out.

The European Broadcasting Union, whose members are primarily public service broadcasters, agrees.

"It's us who bring a lot of information to the public, who wouldn't otherwise have it," said Moira Burnett, an EBU legal advisor. "We are not only rights owners but very big users of material for which we have to have proper contracts and arrangements, and we are extremely conscious of the need to have the right balance."

For Ivins, broadcast rights help ensure that local stations can survive. If LA residents watch prime time from New York and skip LA news and ads, he said, the local broadcaster can't survive in that market.

"It will evolve into an all-pay system, but then civil societies will scream that there are haves and have-nots," he said.

The WIPO treaty's roots go back to 1961, when protections for copyright works were first extended to parties beyond the original artists and creators, including broadcasters, performers, and record producers. Known universally simply as "Rome," the 1961 treaty was updated to extend copyright for authors and record producers in 1996.

If consensus is reached in November, a two to three-week diplomatic conference will be convened to work out the final treaty, which specifies how many countries must adopt it before it becomes effective.

Rivers believes the next six months are critical, not just for this treaty but for WIPO's credibility as a treaty- making organization. If a diplomatic conference fails or is not convened by 2006, he said, "It isn't going to get done."
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,64696,00.html


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Drafts done with help from “American intellectual property experts”

US Pledges Support for Ugandan IP Law
Dorothy Nakaweesi
Kampala

The US has pledged support for the Law Reform Commission to upgrade and expand Uganda's Intellectual Property rights (IPR) legislation. Mr William Fitzgerald, the US embassy Charge d'Affaires, told stakeholders at a two-day workshop recently that the upgrading of IPR protections would increase communications between rights holders and regulators.

He said it would also improve cooperation among enforcement agencies. In a statement to the press, he urged the government and Parliament to ratify two Internet- related treaties, which were recently negotiated by the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

About 50 participants including members of parliament, Commercial Court Justices, and senior officials from the Department of Public Prosecutions, Uganda Criminal Investigation Department, Uganda Revenue Authority, the Uganda Registrar's Office, and Uganda National Bureau of Standards attended the workshop at the Speke Resort Munyonyo.

The United States Agency for International Development has been actively involved in aiding the Law Reform Commission's attempts to draft new and upgraded Ugandan intellectual property laws, to consult with American intellectual property experts. It has also financed a number of US IPR experts who traveled to Uganda to consult on the draft IP legislation, conduct workshops for the courts, lawyers, the business community, and the general public.
http://allafrica.com/stories/printab...408310747.html


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Fahrenheit: 9/11 redux – P2P to the rescue?

Citing Politics, Studio Cancels Documentary
Sharon Waxman

Warner Brothers has decided not to distribute the director David O. Russell's new antiwar documentary when it re-releases his 1999 Gulf War movie, "Three Kings," this fall, judging it "totally inappropriate" to do so in a political season, a studio spokeswoman said.

The heads of Warner Brothers made the decision this week after seeing the completed documentary, which features interviews with Iraqi refugees and veterans of the current war in Iraq.

"This came out to be a documentary that condemns, basically, war," said the spokeswoman, Barbara Brogliatti. "This is supposed to be a special edition of 'Three Kings,' not a polemic about war."

The fate of the completed documentary, which was supposed to be an add-on to the DVD and to be screened with it in theaters - is still uncertain, but the studio, which provided its $180,000 budget, said it was inclined to let Mr. Russell have it back. Mr. Russell, anticipating that outcome, said he would probably try to distribute it independently.

"It was definitely a surprise and a disappointment," he said in an interview Tuesday. "But they are being very gracious and letting me take it back."

The studio's decision reflects a heightened sensitivity by media companies over movies that may be construed as partisan. Sony recently backed out of a deal to distribute the DVD of "The Control Room," a documentary about the Arab news channel Al Jazeera. The Canadian independent company Lions Gate will distribute it instead. Earlier this year the Walt Disney Company became part of a cultural firestorm when it declined to distribute Michael Moore's anti-Bush documentary, "Fahrenheit: 9/11," saying it was too political. The documentary became a hit, and the episode deepened a split between Disney and executives of its Miramax unit who backed the film.

With the talk of quickly giving Mr. Russell back his film, Warner Brothers appeared eager to avoid creating a similar controversy. But unlike Mr. Moore's film, the Russell documentary does not endorse or even mention either presidential candidate.

Mr. Russell said he did not quite understand the political objection. "The point is, yes, Saddam was horrible," said the director, whose other films include "Flirting with Disaster" and the forthcoming "I {sheart} Huckabees." "A lot of people, my Iraqi friends, say they supported the war,'' he added, referring to the documentary. "Then you have a human rights activist saying it's better that Saddam is gone, but I'm not sure the world is better off with this war."

But Warner executives said the documentary was not what Mr. Russell had promised as additional material for the movie's re-release. They expected follow-up stories to the real lives of Iraqi extras and advisers who worked on the film, like one political refugee who moved back to Iraq and was doing underground political work.

"That's not what this turned out to be," Ms. Brogliatti said. In an interview with The New York Times last month, Mr. Russell said he made the documentary because "I thought I could perhaps make a difference before the election, let people see the situation, how Iraqis wanted to get rid of Saddam, but also show what war does to people."

That prompted Warner Brothers to ask its lawyers if the documentary might run afoul of Federal Election Commission regulations, or constitute a so-called soft money political contribution. Though the legal opinion was unclear, the studio decided not to release a film that might be construed as partisan ahead of the election. The president of Warner Brothers, Alan Horn, is an active Democrat and wanted to avoid the perception that he was using the studio to support his own political convictions, studio executives said. Ms. Brogliatti said Mr. Russell would try to come up with other additional material more closely related to the movie. If he can, she said, the studio will stand by its plan to re-release "Three Kings" as a DVD and in about a dozen theaters, probably next month.

Mr. Russell said he would still try to distribute the documentary before the election, possibly through the political grass-roots organization Moveon.org, which has promoted other political documentaries this year, including "Outfoxed," a critique of Fox News.

"Three Kings" is a dark comedy starring George Clooney about four soldiers who set out to find Saddam Hussein's hidden cache of gold bullion in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War. Along the way they meet Shiite insurgents and refugees who are battling Mr. Hussein's army after having been urged to revolt by President George H. W. Bush. The soldiers end up abandoning the gold and helping the refugees escape.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/02/movies/02film.html


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P2P-Web Radio Coverage Of Hurricane Frances
IMCistas

Hurricane Francis is quickly approaching the Florida Coast. To hear coverage of the storm from a unique, non-corporate view-point tune into Central Florida Indymedia's Webstream by clicking:
http://p2p-radio.sourceforge.net/Web...maxbandwidth=0

If the above link doesn't work, click here: http://p2p-radio.sourceforge.net/Web...P2P-Radio.jnlp and when the program runs select listener and type p2p-radio://66.234.78.28:2000

If all else fails, click here: http://66.234.78.28:8000

NOTE: all except the last link will give a security warning. This is because it requires an open source java program to run (peer 2 peer radio). Be sure to allow it to run!

We will be providing live updates about the storm as well as a wide variety of music. If you have a question about the storm or a song to request, send us an instant message at: CFL IMC using the AIM protocal. We recommend open source GAIM as a client.

Be safe during the storm, and be (((i)))ntertained by indymedia online.

http://tampaindymedia.org/bin/site/t....814453125.dat













Until next week,

- js.














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

Current Week In Review.





Recent WiRs -

August 28th, August 21st, August 14th, August 7th, July 31st, July 24th

Jack Spratt's Week In Review is published every Friday. Please submit letters, articles, and press releases in plain text English to jackspratts (at) lycos (dot) com. Include contact info. Submission deadlines are Wednesdays @ 1700 UTC.


"The First Amendment rests on the assumption that the widest possible dissemination of information from diverse and antagonistic sources is essential to the welfare of the public." - Hugo Black

[TankGirl]

Charlie Demerjian: "The problem with forced evolution is that it tends to work. The RIAA made the networks evolve technically, from a relatively incocous MP3 network to the file sharing network from hell. There is nothing you can't get anymore, and there is no one to stop it. If they came up with a tool, unlikely as that may be, there is no place to implement it."

Mr. Demerjian's brief history of p2p is a good sum-up of developments so far. In retrospect, the closing of Napster was indeed the crucial mistake for the RIAA. They could have bought it with a fairly small sum of money (just enough to make the venture capitalists happy) and let it run, buying themselves time to figure out how to make a business out of it. That would have left them with a good control over the music consuming masses and a front seat on the technological evolution. Now it is too late; all they can do is to try to disturb the inevitable evolution with bullying and corruptive measures, with no real chances to regain the control they once had.

Thanks again for a great digest, Jack.

- tg

[walktalker]

About RIAA killing Napster...

It was summarily stomped into the ground using lawyers, politicians, and other undead creatures.

[multi]

Originally Posted by TankGirl

Mr. Demerjian's brief history of p2p is a good sum-up of developments so far. In retrospect, the closing of Napster was indeed the crucial mistake for the RIAA. They could have bought it with a fairly small sum of money (just enough to make the venture capitalists happy) and let it run, buying themselves time to figure out how to make a business out of it. That would have left them with a good control over the music consuming masses and a front seat on the technological evolution. Now it is too late; all they can do is to try to disturb the inevitable evolution with bullying and corruptive measures, with no real chances to regain the control they once had.

Thanks again for a great digest, Jack.

- tg

i liked this article as well..i nearly posted it..
luckily i checked here first..
this is probably due in next weeks wir but anyway another good one..

entertainment industry has been riding rough-shod over consumers ever since Napster - the original, not the ghastly Napster II travesty - showed up online.

Its appearance represented the first act in a commercial revolution which pits ordinary people against the huge corporate interests who've been in firm control ever since the first movie first recording cylinder were made.

'Consumers' got what they were given. They liked it or lumped it.

But that's not the case any more.

'Consumers' are 'customers' again and they're exercising their choices and hitherto blocked-off rights in ways never before available to them.
http://p2pnet.net/story/2345

edit:actually it has typos and is poorly formatted....