Peer-To-Peer News - The Week In Review - Feb. 22nd, '03

[JackSpratts]

It’s estimated that total songwriting royalties from all sources, including CD and DVD sales, television, film, radio airplay, subscription music, commercials, Broadway, local theater and school plays etc is approximately one billion dollars per year in the U.S. Four percent of that is forty million dollars, or a bit less than half of what Bertelsmann put into Napster.

Please Sir, May We Have It All?

Damages
Songwriters slapped the last investor of the old Napster network with a 17 BILLION dollar lawsuit for lost royalty income this week. The action itself is unsurprising in a business where civil suits seem to be a way of doing business. Never mind that there may not have been any “losses” at all. Never mind that in a slowing economy sales might have slid regardless. Never mind that the labels released far fewer CDs that year than the year before and never mind that P2P file sharing might actually increase sales by exposing people to must have music far more effectively than those other proven sales makers, radio and videos. It’s the dollar amount that’s truly awe inspiring. Songwriters and publishers generally split a mechanical royalty of about eight cents per song per disc, or around a dollar per CD sold or less, depending on several factors and before record company deductions (and there are a lot of them so ultimately royalties are quite often much less). That works out to around five and a half percent of the $18.00 retail price, or about 11% of the wholesale cost per unit (again, these figures vary, most often downward). So the retail price to royalty ratio is on the order of 37.3 to 1 for a $2.99 single. In other words, for every dollar in royalties paid to a songwriter a song has to generate about $37.00 in retail sales at the register. Think about that for a moment. If the claim is that because of Napster real royalty damages were in the neighborhood of 17 Billion dollars, what they have to be saying then is that sales were down by 37 times that amount, or a staggering Six Hundred and Thirty Five Billion Dollars. Now if as the RIAA claims sales were lower during this time by about 4% compared to the year previous, they’re attempting to convince us that retail sales should have been 25 times higher than the previous prodigious figure, or a simply brobdingnagian $15,875,000,000,000. That by the way, is fifteen point eight Trillion Dollars! It’s higher than the entire GDP purchasing power parity of the largest economy in the World, that of the United States, by a factor of nearly one and a half. It is of course an absurd figure, and an insult to the courts and by extension those who pay for them, the people of America. The case should be promptly thrown out, the songwriters shown the door.

Is it any wonder that decades after the birth of the internet and years after the first nascent steps occurred in file sharing we are seemingly no closer to finding an equitable solution to the perceived problems of balance between the wants of content creators and the needs of content consumers? Nor will we ever, as long as these creatures continue to redefine greed in ways unimaginable before their kind slithered and crawled out of the sewers and gutters of an unstructured underworld and onto the playing fields and lecture halls of their exclusive law schools, where they really learned how to steal.

So then,

Boycott The RIAA.



Enjoy,

Jack.

















Record Companies Ask to Scan University Computers
Leonie Lamont

Recording companies have asked the Federal Court to allow their computer experts to scan all computers at the University of Melbourne for sound files and email accounts, so they can gather evidence of claimed widespread breaches of copyright.

In Sydney yesterday, the companies - Festival, Sony and EMI - reached agreement with the University of Sydney and the University of Tasmania to preserve the files as evidence. The universities have not agreed to hand over the information.

Counsel for the companies, Mr Tony Bannon SC, said industry studies of piracy had found public institutions such as universities and libraries were the biggest repositories of unlawful sound recordings.

The industry has claimed unauthorised music swapping has contributed to an 8.9 per cent fall in music sales in the past year.

The University of Melbourne, which is opposing the recording companies' application for preservation and access, said it had cautioned two students about inappropriate material the MP3 sound files and had disabled the links to record from their personal web pages. It said there was no indication that any copying has been undertaken.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/...330603596.html

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

Is That An MP3 In Your Pants, Or Are You Just Happy to See Me?
Kazaa hooks up with MatchNet

Dating services company MatchNet has announced it has entered into an agreement to exclusively provide an online dating channel on Kazaa.

Kazaa is the leading peer-to-peer file-sharing software with 186m downloads so far, and an active community of 70m users. The agreement provides for staged integration into the Kazaa application.

The co-branded content for KaZaA's ‘Love & Dating’ will be powered by MatchNet’s AmericanSingles.com. The channel will provide free profiles and premium subscriptions to all the Kazaa users around the world.
http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=15038

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

P2P Transporter
“Download” Real, Physical Products
Ananova

New machine 'could lead to 21st century industrial revolution'

US scientists are developing a "Santa Claus" machine that can make fully assembled and functioning electronic toys, mobile phones and other gadgets. They believe the technology could lead to a new industrial revolution bringing the end of traditional production lines.

A "gadget printer" uses ink-jet cartridges that deposit 3D layers of "smart polymer" droplets according to a pre- programmed design. Both the electrical circuitry and outer casing of the gadget is then built up without any need for a human worker to fit the pieces together. At the end of the process the machine spits out fully functional devices such as light bulbs, radios, TV remote controls, mobile phones and children's toys.

The engineers at the University of California in Berkeley have so far managed to print electronic components such as transistors, capacitors and inductive coils. Once they have developed all the polymers needed for casing and circuit printing, they hope to produce a complete working remote control or similar device, New Scientist magazine reports.

A TV controller would contain the necessary buttons, an infra-red transmitter, and polymer-based electronics - everything in fact except the batteries. Transparent polymers and plastic light emitters could be used to print light bulbs.

The devices are expected to make use of "flexonic" technology, which merges flexible casing materials with electronics.
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm...dgetsandgizmos

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

Streaming patent claims go to court
John Borland

Acacia Media Technologies, a company owning broad patents that could affect virtually all companies streaming audio or video online, is going to court for the first time to test its claims.

The company, which has been seeking licensing revenue from several dozen Internet-based adult entertainment companies for months, said Friday that it filed patent infringement suits against 39 of those companies in federal court.

Several of those suits were filed several weeks ago, but the adult entertainment companies had not yet been served with the court documents, Acacia general counsel Robert Berman said. The remainder are new suits against companies that have refused to discuss licensing terms or ignored Acacia altogether.

"We wrote to them in July, we wrote to them in September and again in November," Berman said. "By filing the lawsuit we're sending a message that we're not going to go away."

Acacia's licensing drive is one of the most ambitious Internet patent claims to arise in recent years, even as claims to own rights to basic Web technologies such as frames, hyperlinks and e-commerce shopping baskets have become common.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-984698.html

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

'Selfish' routers slow the Internet
Sandeep Junnarkar

A little altruism could go a long way in speeding up the Internet.

That's the conclusion two Cornell University computer scientists came to after finding that computer networks tend to be "selfish" when each tries to route traffic by the fastest pathway, causing that path to become congested and slow.

If the routers that direct the packets of data could be programmed with some altruism, the information might be able to reach its destination a little faster while allowing other packets to also move more quickly.

Eva Tardos and Tim Roughgarden described their work on Friday in a talk titled "Selfish Routing and the Price of Anarchy," at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Denver. Their presentation was part of a symposium called "Game Theoretic Aspects of Internet Computation" which explores the application of economic principles to the Internet.
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-984694.html

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


AT&T, Sprint put more media into the mix
Ben Charny

AT&T Wireless and Sprint PCS on Thursday introduced new services that let cell phone users send and receive messages containing a mix of different media.

Multimedia Message Service, or MMS, is a technology that allows e-mails to carry attachments such as documents, sound recordings or movie clips. The technology is a step beyond the short, text-only messages most of the United States' 146 million cell phone subscribers now trade.

AT&T Wireless' new service lets customers send electronic greeting cards for $1.99 apiece from American Greeting Card. One card features Winnie the Pooh dancing across the cell phone screen with "You make me happy" written underneath his feet--all while the cell phone chimes a tune.

Meanwhile, Sprint PCS announced that for $3.95, PCS Vision subscribers can get news or sports highlights automatically sent to their phones for 30 days. Subscribers receive a slide show of graphics on their cell phones, along with a newscaster's voice reading a report. The first downloads included an update on Iraq.

Both carriers say this is the start of a series of new services to come.

"We think we've clearly staked out a leadership position in the messaging category," said Jeremy Pemble, an AT&T Wireless spokesman.

"Sprint is the first in the wireless industry to offer customers news they can watch on-demand on their PCS phone," said Chip Novick, vice president of consumer marketing for the PCS division of Sprint.
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-984547.html

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

Survey: Web use trends ever upward
Alorie Gilbert

The dot-com economy is long gone, but that hasn't curbed the public's appetite for shopping, banking and generally amusing themselves on the World Wide Web, according to a recent study.

Significantly more people are using the Web to send pictures and videos, shop, download music, play games and do their banking, according a study that compares last year's habits with those of 2000. The study was released Thursday by Ipsos-Reid, a consumer marketing research firm.

Online shopping has increased dramatically, according to the study. Nearly two-thirds of 2,900 Web surfers Ipsos-Reid surveyed said that they had at some point in time bought something online, up from 36 percent of those surveyed in 2000. The biggest markets for online shopping, according to the 12-country study, are in the United States and the United Kingdom, where 77 percent and 68 percent of Web users surveyed, respectively, have made purchases online.

That surge comes too late, however, for many now defunct Internet start-ups that tried to capitalize on people's urge to spend online.

"In spite of the dot-com meltdown, the Internet is still going strong and is advancing steadily," said Gus Schattenberg, vice president of global research at Ipsos-Reid. "There is no sign that we've reached any kind of a plateau, and the Internet is becoming a more important part of everyone's daily life."

The percentage of respondents who tend to their finances online has nearly doubled, from 20 percent in 2000 to 37 percent last year, according to the findings. Online banking is most prevalent in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States, the study said.

Downloading music files has also increased in popularity, to the chagrin of the music industry. The percentage of Web surfers downloading music files online increased to 44 percent last year, up from 38 percent in 2000. The largest jump in music downloading took place in China, Russia, Mexico and Brazil, the study said.
http://news.com.com/2100-1017-984566.html

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

Online Music Swapping Survey
Jack Kapica

The practice of downloading MP3 versions of popular songs and making copies of them on compact discs remained steady in late 2002 despite the record industry's
continued attempts to stop it, a new study shows.

Teens were more likely to download music from file-sharing networks, such as Morpheus or Kazaa, reported Tempo, a quarterly study of digital music behaviour conducted by global marketing research firm Ipsos Reid. However, the study also found that more people are willing to pay for on-line music, a trend more visible among teens than among older downloaders.

Nearly one-fifth (19 per cent) of the U.S. population aged 12 and over reported having downloaded a music or MP3 file from a file-sharing network at the end of 2002, with nearly one in ten (9 per cent) doing so in the previous 30 days.

Among teenagers, more than half (52 per cent) of people aged 12 to 17 reported downloading music or MP3 files from a file-sharing network, with one third (32 per cent) having done so in the previous 30 days.

These measures mark a small increase from April, when 41 per cent of teens aged 12 to 17 downloaded MP3 music, with 23 per cent having done so in the previous 30 days.

The latest data translates to more than 40 million file-sharers within the current U.S. population, Ipsos Reid reported, and nearly 20 million who have done so in the previous 30 days.

The study echoes the findings published by Ipsos Reid in April 2002, and suggests that despite continued legal action and the closing of some file-sharing networks by the U.S. music industry, the practice has not slowed dow.
http://www.globetechnology.com/servl....gtjak/GTStory

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

He tells the FCC all about it, with footnotes!
Poor Raffi Krikorian tried and tried to pirate the Superbowl but it just didn’t happen

For my research, I installed a Hauppauge WinTV-HD PCI board7 into my Athlon XP 2700+ desktop computer running Microsoft Windows XP8. I chose this board because it allows me to capture a demodulated ATSC stream onto my hard drive. My desktop PC is attached to a fairly typical home computer network which consists of a 100 megabit (100 base-TX) Ethernet connection between the wired computers, an 802.11b (WiFi) wireless network for laptop computers, and a residential broadband cable modem connection that delivers a 1.5 megabit downstream connection and a 800 kilobit upstream connection9 to the Internet. The 100 base-TX network switches used for my wired Ethernet network commonly cost less than $50, while the WiFi equipment used for my wireless network is commonly available for less than $100.

I attempted to determine whether any of MPAA's claims about the ease of redistribution were qualitatively correct, and to gather quantitative evidence in support of my determination. I gathered all the resources to attempt all the distribution methods that MPAA suggested were feasible. I tried all the distribution methods, except explicitly attempting to share the content with the public on a P2P network. Most P2P file sharing tools place me into an uncontrolled environment -- had I started to share my recorded content with one of them, I might have unwittingly distributed the recordings in a manner out of my control, and I did not want to be responsible for that. As I explain in detail below, I carefully set up my web serving experiment to provide the same data that most P2P file sharing tools with provide me.
http://www.bitwaste.com/bpf/html/index.html

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

Latest wireless networking standard nears
Richard Shim

The latest wireless networking specification is one step closer to becoming a standard after an industry group announced Friday the approval of the specification's most recent version.

Known as 802.11g, the specification increases the bandwidth of wireless networks from 11Mbps, under the 802.11b standard, to 54Mbps. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers said Friday that a consensus had been reached to establish the latest version of the 802.11g specification, version 6.1, as the standard to be used in the industry.

The specification must go through two more hoops before it becomes a standard, which should happen in June. The standard is expected to be published in July.

"The point was to give the industry a progress update on (802.11g) and to establish a schedule for when the standard would be finished," said Matt Shoemake, an IEEE representative. "There are still technical changes going on between draft versions."

By establishing a standard, companies that participate in creating it are basically given a set of rules for developing their products to ensure that products from many different companies will be able to interoperate with one another.

The market for 802.11b-based products has benefited from the process of establishing an industry standard, with the number of products tripling in 2002 from the year before. While shipments jumped, average selling prices dropped significantly. Many expect 802.11g-based products to become the premium product in the wireless networking market.

The group that helped to develop the 802.11g specification consists of well over 100 computer, networking and software companies, as well as those from consultant
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-984680.html

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

File Trading as CD Sales Predictor?
That's how CEO Eric Garland of market researcher BigChampagne looks at music downloading behavior on KaZaA and its brethren

Widespread bootlegging prompted label Interscope to rush the release of rapper 50 Cent's debut album on Feb. 6, five days earlier than planned. Good move. The album, Get Rich or Die Tryin', sold 872,000 copies in just four days, according to the latest figures from Nielsen SoundScan. That makes it the fourth most successful rap album release in history. Total sales topped all the other albums in the Top 10 combined for the week of Feb. 10th.

50 Cent's sales sensation came as no surprise to Eric Garland, CEO of market research firm BigChampagne, which analyzes traffic patterns on file-sharing services such as KaZaA, Morpheus, and Gnutella. Garland knew that the incessant downloading of bootlegged copies of 50 Cent's single In Da Club -- as well as other songs scheduled to be on the album were telltale signs that 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson) would be the music industry's next superstar –- no matter when the album was released.

BigChampagne was founded in the middle of 2000 -– at the height of the Napster craze. The name is a tribute to a reggae song called Downpresser Man by Peter Tosh, which warns of a coming revolution that will unseat the powers that be: "You drink your big champagne and laugh all day long but where you gonna run to?" the chorus goes. "That was what Napster meant to us. It was when the balance of power shifted," Garland says.

BigChampagne's plan then, and now, is to help unearth a new business model for the music industry by providing data about the patterns and trends on file-sharing networks. Its client roster includes all five major record labels, which use BigChampagne's numbers to try to connect the dots between radio airplay, online file trading, and CD sales. On Feb. 12, Garland spoke with BusinessWeek Online technology reporter Jane Black about what file-sharing trends can teach the music industry and about how the labels can reshape their business model for the digital world. Edited excerpts follow:

Q: What does BigChampagne offer to record labels?
A: We watch the traffic over peer-to-peer networks like KaZaA and Gnutella. Our models try to get to the heart of what does this behavior -– this stealing online -- really mean? What can we learn? Our models show that it's not the volume of interest online that points to a sales success story but the nature of that interest.

Q: What types of online behavior are good predictors of a record's fate?
A: It's remarkably predictable. In our view, there are three scenarios. The first is a picture-perfect success story. [This scenario] has three characteristics: One, that an artist has mindshare -– that north of 10% or 15% of people are downloading songs by a particular artist. Two, that people are downloading three, four, or five songs by that artist, not just the one that's getting played on the radio. Three, that people are typing the artist's name, not the song name, into a search. This shows that a huge number of people know or care about who performs the songs they're looking for. We've seen this with Avril Lavigne, Kid Rock, Eminem, and 50 Cent.
http://www.businessweek.com/technolo...6958_tc121.htm

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

European Users Willing to Pay for 3G

Forty two per cent of European mobile phone users are interested in 3G services, according to the TNS Telecoms 3G 2003 report, carried out in 10 countries. But the good news for telecoms operators and manufacturers is that the majority of those users interested in 3G were prepared to pay extra for 3G handsets and services.

Half of these respondents who stated that they were interested in 3G services (21 per cent of all mobile users), said they would pay an additional 6 to 10 euros per month for some 3G services such as MMS, high speed Internet and emails. With the report showing that the average monthly invoice for a mobile phone user in Europe is currently at 26 euros (20 euros for prepaid and 37 euros for contract) operators have the potential to substantially increase their average revenue per user (ARPU).

Similarly, those interested in 3G services would also be happy to pay more for a 3G handset than they paid for their existing one. Across all countries surveyed, the majority of respondents would be willing to pay up to 330 Euros for a 3G handset. However this figure changes considerably by country, depending, among other reasons, on whether handsets are subsidised by the operators, as in France or the UK.
http://www.mrons.com/drno/frmemail.htm

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

“The cyber-libertarians are off their mid-Nineties high.”
The Shrinking Frontiers
Andrew Stroehlein

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

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

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

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

The study is also confirming that Chinese filtering is quite effective. “[It’s] not as granular as Saudi Arabia,” according to Edelman, “but increasingly sophisticated.”
http://www.ojr.org/ojr/world_reports/1037922526.php

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

No surprise: IIPA says software losses huge, doesn’t address promotion benefits
David Legard

The U.S. economy lost $9.2 billion through copyright breaches in foreign countries in 2002, the industry body International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) reported Thursday.

The report was released the day before IIPA presents its anti-piracy recommendations for 2003, known as "Special 301", to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick.

The IIPA is an umbrella group comprising several industry associations in the media and software field such as the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Motion Picture Association of America, and the Interactive Digital Software Association.

Copyright breaches include illegally copied optical disc products for audio, music, and software, and piracy carried out through the Internet of entertainment and software products.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/...Npiracy_1.html

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

Fat Chance But Go For It Anyway
Now that the Supreme Court Has Declined to Limit Copyright Duration, Those Who Want to Shorten the Term Need to Look At Other Options, Including Constitutional Amendment
March Hamilton

Recently, the Supreme Court decided in Eldred v. Ashcroft that a copyright term of life plus 70 years is "limited" as the Constitution's Copyright Clause
requires. As a result, the Court declined to strike down the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act.

Once the Court found that Congress had not violated the Copyright Clause, it was left with no other way to rein in Congress's excesses in this area. Longstanding precedent counseled that the Court ought to defer to Congress on the policy aspects of copyright law. And, as I noted in an earlier column, Congress had at least one good reason to enact the current copyright term: It harmonizes United States law with that of the European Union.

Yet there have been many such Congressional excesses in this arena - in the form of repeated extension of the copyright term at the behest of corporations who hold copyrights, and to the detriment of the public domain. Is there anything that can be done about them?

Absolutely. It's time to take the issue back to Congress, and fight for a rollback of the duration of the copyright term.

A now entrenched movement in the Internet world favors eliminating copyright altogether. And granted, young artists and performers rarely are initially eager to enforce their copyright, because they are first concerned with building an audience.

But if they want, they can waive copyright protection (as many have done by offering free downloads of music). Copyright is an option, not a requirement, for the creator.

Moreover, the successful young artists will change their mind when they seek to be musicians full-time, meaning they must live off the revenue from their music. Copyright gives them that option, too - the option to change their mind, and decide, work by work, whether to sell or give away their music.

In the end, copyright protection is sorely needed if creators are ever to capitalize on their work. Without copyright, whenever a creative work, such as a song, poem, or movie, entered the market, the artist would get little more than the initial payment for the initial use. Once the work was out there, it could be copied with impunity - with no payment to the author for subsequent users' drawing on, or simply enjoying, his or her creativity.

So the question is not whether we should have copyright. The question is how to balance two competing goals: On the one hand, we as a society want to give just the right amount of copyright protection to make it possible for creative individuals to be rewarded for their contributions. On the other hand, we also want to avoid placing too heavy a burden on later users of the copyrighted work - who can turn the work into something new, and thus also benefit the culture.
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hamilton/20030213.html

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

Don't make CDs longer. Make them better.
How to Save the Music Industry
Jimmy Guterman

Considering that the lifestyle of most people I know in the entertainment business involves at least some excess, it's no surprise that the industry's scheme for bringing CD sales back to life is one of excess. The plan, simply, is to beat consumers into submission by delivering more, more, more. Maybe that'll get us all off Kazaa.

The idea that more content increases the value of a CD makes sense on the surface, particularly if the additional material cannot easily be pirated (at least not yet), as is the case with the "bonus" enhanced CDs and DVDs Eminem and other popular performers have shrink-wrapped with recent releases.

But the quantity-over-quality ethos is a collector's mentality, focused at the top of the market. It doesn't work for the mainstream. A collector might buy an album with bonus tracks in order to build his or her music library (one record-company owner and music buff I know admits to an "almost fetishistic relationship with 78s"). For the general consumer, however, a 70-minute CD isn't much of an attraction. When a great half-hour rock 'n' roll album appears, like the latest efforts from the Strokes and the Hives, it becomes a hit in part because it's so concise. Who but a collector wouldn't rather have a lean, one- great-cut-after-another CD than a flabby one with an extra 30 minutes of subpar material or pointless alternate mixes that should have been excised?

The collector's market has room for everything-ever-recorded box sets, and this approach has proven even more lucrative in generating DVD sales. Of course, this only works if the core artistic effort is any good: A longer version of the latest piece of crap from Martin Lawrence isn't likely to be any funnier than the original.

So, if appealing to the collector impulse won't help record companies reclaim the mainstream market, what can they do to save themselves from Kazaa? Here are three steps the music industry can take right now to regain what it's tossed away. They're all dramatic, and they all go against everything the labels have tried lately, but a quick look at a graph of CD sales quarter-by-quarter (think Grand Canyon) suggests that only bold moves will save the industry from an otherwise inexorable slide. What to do?
http://www.business2.com/articles/we...,47161,00.html

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

The Case Against Intellectual Monopoly
Boldrin & Levine

We emphasize that we favor the right of sale. It is crucial that producers of intellectual property be able to profit from their invention. While sales could take place even in the absence of a legal right, markets function best in the presence of clearly defined property rights. Not only should the property rights of innovators be protected, but also the rights of those who have legitimately obtained the idea directly or indirectly from the original innovator.

It is with the right of the owner of intellectual property to control how the purchaser makes use of the idea or creation with which we disagree. Because this right gives the owner a monopoly over usage of the idea, we refer to it as intellectual monopoly to distinguish it from the right of sale. Hence, intellectual property is composed of two parts: the right of sale, and the intellectual monopoly. The first gives the producer or any rightful owner of the idea the power to sell to another party. The second gives the patent or copyright holder the right to control and limit the usage of the idea by any other person. The latter is not just a simple well-defined right of property. It establishes a monopoly that we do not usually allow producers of other goods. We will argue that thismonopoly creates many social costs, yet has little social benefit.
29kb PDF http://levine.sscnet.ucla.edu/papers/ip.ch1.pdf

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

More self serving “help” from the IFPI

The recording industry is once again trying to fight unlicensed file sharing – this time not by targeting individual
users, P2P service providers or ISPs but by addressing some of the world’s biggest businesses.

IFPI, the trade body that represents the recording industry worldwide, has sent the largest companies in Europe and the US an 8 page pamphlet entitled “Copyright Use and Security Guide”

The document has the ostensible purpose of teaching companies how to avoid employees ‘abusing’ corporate computer systems, asserting that any peer-to-peer file sharing activity raises security risks from viruses and firewall breaches and wastes time and system resources.

Throughout the guide, however, runs a veiled and occasionally more overt threat of the legal consequences corporations may face if unauthorised copyright material is found on their systems. IFPI notes that Arizona-based Integrated Information Systems paid a E0.92m (USD1m) settlement after employees were found accessing and distributing thousands of music files on the company server.

Jay Berman, IFPI chairman and CEO, said: "We want to advise companies and governments about the problem of copyright theft in the workplace and how to implement policies to minimise the risk of this happening over their computer systems. Copyright theft is bad business for everyone."

Within the IFPI document are suggested memos to be distributed and policy agreements for employees to sign. These templates attempt to ban outright the use of any P2P file-sharing activity on the grounds that such services “are likely to promote or lead to copyright infringements.” The forms also attempt to make big businesses entirely culpable for their employees’ actions in regard to file-sharing activities.
http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=14923

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

The Little Dutch File
Downloaded music and films clog parliament’s IT system

Members of the Dutch parliament and civil servants are paralysing the computer system of the country’s Second Chamber with music and film files downloaded from the internet, reports the Dutch daily, ‘De Telegraaf’.

The IT department that supervises and operates the computer system recently raised the issue with Chamber Speaker, Frans Weisglas.

Files containing music and films tend to be enormous in size, and the sheer volume of data is making it near impossible to complete the nightly backup of the computer disks on time.

Moreover, there is also the issue of copyright infringement and royalty payments to consider.

Starting in March, all such files will therefore be deleted from the system.
http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=14906

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

Korean mobile operator ‘broadcasting’ TV to 3G phones

South Korean mobile operator KTF is to start ‘broadcasting’ television channels direct to 3G mobiles by March via the CDMA2000 1xEV-DO system.

The company will offer subscribers a choice of nine channels, including a music channel and an all news channel, having signed agreements with the internet units of Korean broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS.

Programming for one hour costs a trifling E19.19 (KRW25,000).
http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=14933

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

Residential 4 Mbps Broadband Internet with Bulldog
Press Release

Broadband service provider, Bulldog Communications, today announced the introduction of Primetime 4000, a speed-shattering 4 Mbps DSL broadband service for residential customers. Primetime 4000’s downstream speed is eight times faster than other leading residential DSL broadband Internet services. The upstream speed of 400 Kbps is nearly twice the speed of other comparable residential broadband products. Primetime 4000, priced at £79.99 per month, is the UK’s fastest broadband Internet service for the home and is the newest addition to Bulldog’s Primetime family of mega-speed DSL broadband Internet products. Other Primetime products include Primetime 1000 and Primetime 2000, offering 1 Mbps and 2 Mbps downstream speeds respectively.

In addition to offering the consumer greater speed, the Primetime product line has the unique ‘time-of-day’ feature. This industry-first feature gives the residential customer the highest speeds when they are needed: weeknights (6pm – 8am), all weekend (6pm Friday – 8am Monday), and Bank holidays. During the weekdays (8am – 6pm), the residential customer has unmetered ‘always on’ access at a competitive speed of 512 Kbps. The Primetime products are based on ADSL technology which means customers are free to chat on their telephone while they surf.

Bulldog has specifically designed new, innovative and unique products to address the growing consumer demand for higher-speed broadband Internet services. Bulldog’s 4 Mbps speed will appeal to consumers who increasingly desire faster downloading of emails, file attachments, video, film, and music as well as gamers who want the ultimate peer-to-peer game experience.
http://www.world-of-adsl.com/cgi-bin...45068656,1321,

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

Austrian ISPs on the verge of bankruptcy

Every second internet service provider in Austria is on the verge of bankruptcy, argues a study by market
researchers Arge, which examined the internet activities of around 70,000 organisations.

The survey found that 140 of the 600 internet service providers are competing for contracts from the most attractive 500 big companies, four fifths of which use the services of more than one company.

Experts predict that the fierce price war will soon lead to a reduction in the number of internet service providers, as many are pushed into bankruptcy.

The survey predicted that the price of internet services would not go much lower next year and that companies would seek to win new clients by offering services such as the atomisation of data, or by specialising in certain sectors and themes and by focussing on regions.

According to the study, the relatively large number of internet service providers in Austria means that customers will continue to be able to dictate the price. Telekom Austria is the market leader with a 15 per cent share of the internet provider market, followed by UTA and Inode, each with market shares of ten per cent.
http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=14915

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

FCC rejects pleas to restrict ultrawideband
Petitions claim interference with GPS, satellite TV
Stephen Lawson

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will let stand largely unchanged its rules for the use of UWB (ultrawideband) technology after it reviewed fourteen petitions for reconsideration, the agency announced Thursday.

UWB technology can be used for high-speed, short-range wireless communication, such as in wireless LANs, as well as for radar imaging of objects underground or behind walls. It uses a wide range of radio frequencies, sending short-duration pulses that dart around other traffic traversing the same airwaves. The FCC last year issued rules for the unlicensed use of UWB devices with some restrictions.

Objections to UWB have been raised on the grounds that widespread use of the technology could interfere with GPS (Global Positioning System), satellite TV and other transmissions.

After reviewing the petitions, the agency denied the requests that sought further restrictions on UWB operations. It granted some requests for minor changes that did not increase the potential for UWB interference with other radio transmissions, according to an FCC statement.

The FCC believes UWB products could be introduced in the next 12 to 18 months. It will continue to review the potential impact of UWB devices on various radio services to determine what other rule changes may be needed, the statement said.

The agency will allow the use of ground-penetrating radar only for law enforcement, firefighting, emergency rescue, commercial mining, and construction purposes. It will allow wall-penetrating radar only for law enforcement, firefighting and rescue operations in emergencies.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/02/13/HNuwb_1.html

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

Microsoft Security fix locks users out of their own web sites
Joris Evers

A recent Microsoft security patch for Internet Explorer (IE) can lock users out of certain Web sites and Microsoft's own MSN e-mail service, Microsoft said late Wednesday.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/...iepatch_1.html

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

“The expanding capacity of portable drives opens a new front in the entertainment cartel's war with its customers. Song traders don't need to use the Internet anymore. They can hold parties in friends' homes, swapping songs from disk to disk. Soon it will be movies.”
Disk-drive capacity continues to grow
Dan Gillmor

The cost of disk-drive capacity has dropped below a buck a gigabyte. The news was anticlimactic in a sense, because it was predictable in a time of constant
technological progress.

It was one of those milestones that still means something -- not just a testament to the storage industry's achievements, but also a reminder of how the seemingly most prosaic of information technologies may have turned out to be the most disruptive.

Like others of my generation, I can remember my first computer with a hard disk, which I bought in the mid-1980s after years of personal computing with floppy disks and, before that, cassette storage. I wondered how I'd ever fill the 10 megabytes on the IBM PC, given that an entire novel's worth of text takes up less than 1 megabyte, or 1/60,000 of the space on today's typical 60-gigabyte hard drive.

I soon found out. In a Digital Age corollary to Parkinson's Law, data expanded to fit the available space.

I learned this repeatedly as the types of data changed. Text was efficient. Graphics took up more space. Microsoft created file formats for its Office software that took up even more.

Silicon Valley's disk-drive innovators kept pace. Then came multimedia, especially MP3s, the music format that routinely uses a couple of megabytes a song. My Apple iPod MP3 player will fill up one of these days.

But the iPod has a measly (!) 10 gigabytes. By this time next year we'll see tiny media players with 40 or 60 gigabytes of storage.

Ah, but what about video? That's the ultimate space hog, right? Yes, for now. My hard-disk video recorder at home has what today is a laughably small capacity, 40 gigabytes, but it holds more than 30 hours of video I record from the satellite, ensuring that there's usually something I want to watch when I get home.

The kinds of files we store keep getting bulkier, but the disk-drive wizards are moving fast enough to stay ahead. In the next few years, given their continuing innovation, they're likely to do something I didn't imagine possible until recently -- give us so much storage at such a low cost that we genuinely don't know how to use it all.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/sil...ey/5194970.htm

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

The Vin Man to Block Shareaza
First XoLoX, now this

He’s a piece o work alright and he’s taking Bearshare into full defense mode (blocking Shareaza) if he doesn’t get his way. All you can say is about open source and Vinnie is that they’ve never seen eye to eye, unless critics claim, he was getting more than giving.
http://www.zeropaid.com/news/article.../02142003a.php

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

New DVD discs hold six times more

A CONSORTIUM OF COMPANIES has started to license production technology for Blu-Ray in the hope of stealing a march on competitors. The new discs have enough capacity to hold 13 hours of video.

The discs hold up to 27 gigabytes on a layer that is similar to the way that DVDs work but the new drives will use a blue laser to read the discs. Current DVD players use a red laser. Blue lasers have a shorter wavelength allowing them to focus on a smaller area which in turn means that more information can be crammed onto a disc.

The gang of nine, Sony, Matsushita, Hitachi, Pioneer, Sharp, Samsung, LG, Philips and Thomson, pooled their resources in the hope of creating a definitive standard. Toshiba and NEC are known to be working on a competing platform but it is looking increasingly like they will be left in the cold.

There has been no indication yet as to when the first Blu-Ray players will become available. With the immense take up of DVD over the last few years, the new format is going to have a struggle to get going unless it offers something very special. µ

There was an error in this news story initially, we had stated that the capacity was 15GB per layer, in fact it can be anything up to 27GB per layer. The consortium is working on making dual-layer versions of the standard. The transfer rate from the disk is 4.5MB per second which makes the new format suitable for storing video for high- definition television. The discs are recordable.
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=7786

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

Microsoft Gets a Clue From Its Kiddie Corps
Forget productivity. The new Peer To Peer Softie project is an irreverent time waster called threedegrees
Steven Levy

Bill Gates didn’t get it. Neither did Steve Ballmer. In July 2000, when Tammy Savage, a 30-year-old manager in business development, went before Microsoft’s heavy hitters and presented a case that they were clue- challenged in understanding an entire generation, the reception was chillier than a campsite on Mount Rainier.

She’d told them all about her perception that for young people, the Internet is like oxygen, and the 13-24 set “are on instant messenger before their morning coffee.” To serve that crowd—the “NetGen”—Microsoft had to discard its methodology of starting with a technology and then creating products.

Here’s how the software works. You invite friends to form a posse of up to 10 participants. Representing the group on your desktop will be a colorful image, either one from a set provided by the software or something one of the group has produced. (It could even be a digital photo.) If you’re online—and since threedegrees assumes you have broadband, you’re probably online all the time—you give your friends a holler simply by sending the equivalent of an instant message. Everyone in the group will see it. If you want to send them a digital photo, you simply drag it over the icon and it shows up on everyone’s computer.

The most ambitious feature is called musicmix, an online equivalent of a pajama party where people take turns playing deejay. Each group member contributes favorite tunes into a shared playlist, displayed on a dashboard with a customized “skin,” and everyone listens together. A click from any participant can choose a new song. Then everyone chats about the tunes. Interestingly, men and women use this feature differently: guys will see it as a contest—who’s brought the coolest tunes?—and do virtual chest-thumps introducing the hottest bands. Meanwhile, the girls use the music as background for their chats. Also, because threedegrees relies on the cutting-edge peer-to-peer technology—which lets people send information to each other directly, without accessing sometimes overburdened servers—the project will be a great test bed for future Microsoft P2P products. Threedegrees is also a fascinating experiment in how music can be legally shared over the Internet. After much negotiation, the labels OK’d musicmix, once Microsoft agreed to somewhat hobble its features. (Playlists have a maximum of 60 tunes, and the songs won’t play unless the original owner is participating.)
http://www.msnbc.com/news/873455.asp?cp1=1

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

Warnings don't stop campus file swapping
Amy McDaniel

Due to the topic of this story, the students' comments are received under anonymity to show readers the popularity of this practice. The Jackson Sun does not normally use unidentified sources.

It used to be when you had a hit song stuck in your head, you went to a store and bought the album.

But if you're a college student today, you might wonder why you should spring for a $20 compact disc when you can get the tunes you want for free on your computer.

"Most of the CDs now are weak," said one Bethel College senior, who added that he owns only about 10 commercial CDs and now buys only discs by a few favorite artists. "If you buy one, you probably only get two or three tunes that are really good. I'd rather be able to download the music I like and create a CD."

Anyone with Internet access and a CD burner can do exactly that with popular peer- to-peer file-sharing services like Kazaa, Morpheus and WinMx. Peer-to-peer services let people download free copies of songs, videos and movies distributed by other people who use the service.

Several college students interviewed by The Jackson Sun see file sharing as simply the cheapest, easiest way to get entertainment. But file swappers could face an increasing risk of legal trouble as recording companies, performers and others try to crack down on copyright infringement.

The University of Memphis sent an e-mail last month to its 20,000 students, including those at its Jackson campus, warning them about a recent decision by a federal court in Washington, D.C. The e-mail also went to faculty and staff.

The court ruled that Verizon Internet Services had to provide the identity of one of its customers to the Recording Industry Association of America because the customer was suspected of illegally distributing hundreds of songs on the Internet. Under the ruling, copyright holders wouldn't need to file a lawsuit before subpoenaing Internet service providers for personal information about customers.

Another student estimated that he's burned about 2,000 songs onto CDs. It would be better if everyone paid something for the music, but recording artists aren't hurting for money because somebody had to buy the album to copy it, he said.

"(Rapper) 50 Cent signed with Eminem for about $1 million, and he's going to get more money from all the people who do buy his albums. He's got a million dollars. I don't have a million dollars."
http://miva.jacksonsun.com/miva/cgi-...00302164684101

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

Talking about a revolution
Celebdaq - the BBC's celebrity stock exchange game - could provide a radical solution for the
beleaguered music industry, says Niki Panourgias.

Media coverage this week, inspired by figures from the British Phonographic Industry showing a 3.7% drop in UK record sales last year, blamed the internet for the continuing decline of the music industry in the UK. This analysis, however, ignores the invaluable role the internet has played in reinvigorating what had become a complacent, unresponsive, and stagnating industry.

Worldwide, the decline in sales has been even more dramatic than in the UK, despite the industry's recent 'successes' in its fight against peer-to- peer file swapping websites such as Napster and the launch of 'legitimate' record company-backed online offerings, a fact that should have been enough to provoke more scepticism regarding whether the internet is the only reason for the decline in the fortunes of the music industry.

The way the music industry blames the internet for its ills is typical of the reaction to innovation of maturing, vertically structured industries experiencing slow decline in an environment characterised by 'comfortable' levels of competition. Such industries tend to see innovation and radical change as a threat rather than an opportunity, favouring instead gradual incremental evolution that they believe they can control better and hence guard their interests, which are embedded in the existing market order. These existing structures become so taken for granted that industry participants start to perceive them as immutable and cannot see alternatives to organising an industry and the value chains associated with it in any other way, even if there are significant indications that consumers - who are supposed to always be right! - are not satisfied with the set-up.

Ironically, it was the music industry itself that initiated the process that would eventually lead to the current situation with its decision to go digital through the adoption of the compact disk (CD). It has subsequently had to fight tooth and nail to halt - or at least obstruct - the logical implications of digitisation once the spread of the internet started to provide a way for individual digital music consumers to get in touch with one another and reproduction technologies became more wide spread and affordable. The real threat of the internet was that the unforeseen connectivity it provided derailed the existing orderly roadmaps the music industry had developed to navigate its way though the digitisation journey it had embarked on with the launch of the CD.
http://www.netimperative.com/cmn/vie...ure_0000049146

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

Multi-region DVD players open up a world of movies

Being a movie buff in the age of DVDs can be frustrating. Such films as Pasolini's Salo, Wender's Wings of Desire, Lynch's Eraserhead and Fukasaku's Battle Royale are commercially available on DVD in Europe and Asia only, and there is little indication when these pictures will become available in North America. What is even more frustrating is that if one were to purchase the European DVDs of these pictures, they would not be playable on North American DVD players because of the region encoding.

Region encoding is the system created by movie studios to protect the worldwide copyright and distribution mechanisms of their movies on DVD. Since movies are released on different schedules around the world, the studios wanted to make sure that revenues were not lost by people buying DVDs from different regions and thereby diminishing the revenues generated by the local release of DVDs.

Because of the desire of the studios to protect revenues, different parts of the world now have different region codes, restricting the playability of DVDs (see sidebar for the different region codes). A DVD purchased in Europe has a Region 2 code, and only Region 2 capable DVD machines can play the discs. DVDs from North America, with their Region 1 encoding, are unplayable on Region 2 or other region-specific machines, just as non-Region 1 DVDs are unplayable on North American DVD players. So even if a film is released in North America first, consumers in Europe or Asia will have to wait for the studios to release region-specific versions of the movie.

So what is someone to do if they have a non-Region 1 DVD and want to watch it, or if they want to purchase a movie on DVD that is only available in Europe or Asia? The best way to get around the region encoding is to use a multi-region DVD player.

Multi-region players are designed to play all DVDs, regardless of the region encoding. The problem is that most of these machines are not generally available in consumer electronics stores. Instead, they are in stores that specialize exclusively in selling video and audio products, and there are a variety of stores around North America that specialize in selling nothing but multi-region DVD players and accessories (see More Info box for stores).

Shane Gorman, wholesale and affiliate manager with the Montreal, Que.-based Merconnet, says that sales have been strong for their NextBase 2 multi-region/multi- function DVD player ($284). The company has been selling the NextBase multi-region/multi-function player for about two years.
http://www.canadacomputes.com/story.asp?id=9937&sb=122

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

Big Music's Broken Record
Jane Black

The recording industry keeps repeating that file-sharing is ruining CD sales. If it looked for some other reasons, it would find lots of them
It's the busy season for number-crunchers at the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). By the end of February, the industry trade association will release new statistics on what it says is a dizzying two-year decline in CD sales. The latest figures, from the first six months of 2002, show a 7.2% slide in CD sales from 397 million to 369 million. Revenues fell 5.1%, to $5.2 billion. Full-year sales for 2002 are said to be just as dismal -- if not worse.

Piracy is the drumbeat pulsing beneath the music industry's blues, the RIAA says. After all, CD sales defied gravity and rose during the last three recessions. It wasn't until Napster and other Internet file-sharing services such as KaZaA took off that sales began to dip. Says an RIAA spokesman: "In our view, piracy is the primary reason for the decline in sales."

Not everyone agrees. In fact, some even hold the view that the RIAA is presenting a misleading view of CD sales trends to bolster its ongoing war against copyrighted-music pirates. And the RIAA's numbers have been convincing to more than a few policymakers in the U.S. and Canada, leading to what many consider draconian and unfair proposals, regulations, and taxes for people who burn music onto CDs.

LESS STICKY STUFF. Now, George Ziemann is striking back. Ziemann, a musician and the owner of MacWizards Music, a Tempe (Ariz.) music production company, posted an article, "RIAA Statistics Don't Add Up To Piracy", on his Web site on Dec. 11. In it, he claims that one reason sales might be down is that the industry released 27,000 new titles in 2001, according to a speech made by an RIAA official, a 25% drop from the high of 38,900 in 1999.

The RIAA disputes Ziemann's analysis, saying it hasn't released an official tally of annual new releases since 1999. Industry-research firm Nielsen SoundScan has run the numbers, however, and the RIAA doesn't dispute its findings. According to SoundScan, new releases in 2001 totaled around 31,734, still a 20.3% drop.

Releases rose to 33,443 in 2002, but that's still 14% below the 1999 record. "The music industry's [modus operandi] is to throw things against the wall and see what sticks," says Nathan Brackett, senior editor at Rolling Stone. "If they're throwing 20% less stuff out there, there's less chance something will stick."

PUMP UP THE VOLUME. Ziemann's case is bolstered when you factor in CD price increases. From 1999 to 2001, the average price of a CD rose 7.2%, from $13.04 to $14.19, at a time when consumer inflation was virtually flat. What has really happened is that the record industry has drastically reduced inventory and raised prices. The result: Sales have slipped a few percentage points. Not all that bad in a beaten-down economy.

The music industry's decline also coincides with the rise of new, compelling forms of entertainment, including DVDs, video games, and, of course, the Internet. Suddenly, the music industry has stiff competition for Americans' entertainment dollar.

At the end of 2002, 35% of U.S. homes had a DVD player, up from zero just three years ago. And DVDs seem cheap by comparison: The soundtrack to the film High Fidelity has a list price of $18.98. You could get the whole movie for $19.99. According to Nielsen VideoScan figures published in the DVDinsider newsletter, DVD sales for the week ending Jan. 26 were 4.4 million, up 1 million, or 23%, over last year. Sales over the last 12 months totaled 22.1 million, up 6.4 million, or 29%, over the previous year.
http://www.businessweek.com/technolo...9095_tc078.htm

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

"If Palladium is adopted, education and research will suffer.”
Control Issues
Microsoft's plan to improve computer security could set off fight over use of online materials
Florence Olson

Computing experts in academe often blame Microsoft for producing software that is vulnerable to viruses and hackers. But, of late, the experts have been criticizing the company's sweeping plan to correct those very deficiencies.

Under the plan, announced seven months ago under the name Palladium, new computers would be equipped with security hardware and a new version of the Windows operating system.

The goal, Microsoft officials say, is to make servers and desktop PC's that people can trust. But critics say the technology, which Microsoft recently renamed "the next- generation secure computing base," could stifle the free flow of information that has come to characterize the Internet, and could give Microsoft too much control over colleges' own computerized information.

With the new technology, information-systems officials could use cryptographic hardware "keys" rather than software controls, like user names and passwords, to lock up student records and prevent illegal copying of materials. Registrars would have tamper-proof controls over who could see, copy, or alter the records. The advances could be used to prevent identity thieves from invading campus computer networks to steal Social Security numbers, grades, and other personal data.

Palladium would require colleges to make expenditures on new computers and software. Existing computers could not be retrofitted.

Colleges would decide whether to buy Palladium-capable software and hardware, and then whether to activate Palladium's security functions. But practically speaking, they would face enormous pressures to do so, especially if publishers of books, journals, software, and other electronic "content" were to adopt Microsoft's standard to deliver their materials online. The publishers could dictate that colleges had to use Palladium or else be denied access to the material. That worries many in academe, who believe that publishers would use Palladium to bar some uses of digital materials to which scholars argue that they are entitled under copyright law. That loss may outweigh the advantages of tighter security over student records, the critics say.

"If Palladium is adopted, and if other technology vendors exploit it fully to restrict access to copyrighted works, education and research will suffer," says Edward W. Felten, an associate professor of computer science at Princeton University, who was the U.S. Justice Department's chief computer-science expert in its antitrust case against Microsoft.
http://chronicle.com/free/v49/i24/24a02701.htm

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

Congress Preps Tech Agenda
Liza Porteus

U.S. lawmakers continue to pursue their high-tech agendas, having introduced about 20 tech-related bills in the first week of the new Congress alone and seeking dozens of new rules on piracy, privacy and security, among other issues.

Cyber security, digital piracy, identity-theft protections, spam limits, broadband expansion, Internet gambling and copyright protections top the 108th Congress' technology agenda. Already, about 50 bills can be found just by typing in "technology" in Congress' legislative database.

High priorities for industry groups include fighting more government technology mandates, the removal of barriers to e-commerce, tax credits for broadband and innovation, and making sure Congress doesn't try to alter the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which was passed in 1998 to protect copyright holders from piracy. This bill is part of a larger digital-rights management debate.

"The biggest thunderclouds on the horizons -- and they're on the near-term horizon -- revolve around tech mandates and the DMCA," said Robert Cresanti, vice president of public policy for the Business Software Alliance.

"There will be numerous bills this year that will take a run at the DMCA that will raise concerns for us," Cresanti said.

Among them is the Digital Media Consumers Rights Act, introduced by Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., that gives consumers more fair-use rights for digital products and calls for copy-protected CDs to be clearly labeled if they include copy-proof technologies.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., offered a similar bill last year to revise the DMCA. It would protect fair-use rights of consumers and allow them to legally copy digital materials.

Cresanti said the concern is that lawmakers are putting in too much effort altering the DMCA -- which the industry says is in pretty good shape -- rather than enforcing the existing rules.

On the other hand, the entertainment industry has long argued that additional legislation is needed for anti-copying technologies on CDs and movies. The tech industry says that's very costly and too much of an imposition on consumers.

Backing the entertainment industry, Sen. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., may reintroduce a bill to prohibit the making and distribution of "digital media devices" unless they include government-approved copy restriction technology.

Hollings has said that he really doesn't want the legislation, but some type of compromise is needed. Various tech industry groups and the Recording Industry Association of America recently promised to fight any such mandates and work out the piracy problem.

AeA -- a group of electronics and tech companies -- the Information Technology Association of America and the Association for Competitive Technology also will oppose any digital-rights management legislation.

The Motion Picture Association of America's solution to rampant piracy is "to run to Congress and try to force a solution there that is a dangerous, ongoing process for us," said Cresanti, who argued the tech industry is too young to be more heavily regulated.
http://foxnews.com/story/0,2933,78729,00.html

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

If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Buy ‘Em
16 Companies are Driving Worldwide Digital Media and Entertainment
Press Release

Twelve major media mega companies, along with four key influencers, are driving the worldwide markets for digital media and entertainment, according to In-Stat/MDR. The high-tech market research firm reports that the driving force for these very large companies appears to be that an enormous economy of scale will improve their ability to compete in a global economy. AOL Time-Warner, The Walt Disney Company, Viacom, and Vivendi Universal have been on a binge to consolidate assets, making mergers and acquisitions the order of the day. In nearly every country throughout the world, local creative content companies are being purchased, or obtaining equity investments from these very large Media Mega Companies.

In-Stat/MDR believes that these companies represent the lion’s share of media-related revenue opportunities, with AOL Time-Warner currently accounting for a whopping 22.4% of the group’s value. Disney, Viacom, and Vivendi Universal each pull in about 10+% and Sony, News Corporation, Cox Enterprises, and Bertelsmann have about 5% each. The niche players, with less than 5% of the group’s value, are Lagardère SCA, GE/NBC, Grupo Televisa, S.A., and Liberty Media. As a group, these companies’ combined annual revenues will grow from $150 Billion in 2002 to approximately $178 Billion by 2007.
http://www.instat.com/newmk.asp?ID=544

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

Industry analysts say it is also a step toward making all music forever available, one the record business has yet to take successfully.
Smithsonian Folkways Dusts Off Titles With New Technology
Chris Nelson

The major music companies may fret over falling revenue, but one label saw its business jump 33 percent last year — thanks in part to the recordable compact discs that the industry says are hurting its sales.

The label, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, is using recordable CD's, or CD-R's, to ensure that each release in its extensive catalog is always available. And in doing so, the label best known for dusty recordings by Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly is taking initial steps toward creating a 21st-century "celestial jukebox," where nothing recorded ever goes out of print.

The Folkways inventory includes 2,168 titles dating to 1948. Some of those are collections by familiar troubadours like Pete Seeger and Phil Ochs. But many more are obscurities like "Music From Western Samoa: From Conch Shell to Disco" (1984) and "Folk Songs of the Canadian North Woods" (1955).

Most recording companies, if they would ever release titles like that to begin with, would let the master tapes languish once a first pressing was sold out and initial interest had waned.

The notion of any recording falling into history's dust bin was said to gall Moses Asch, founder of Folkways Records. Dan Sheehy, director of Smithsonian Folkways, recalled that Mr. Asch used to ask if Q would be dropped from the alphabet just because it wasn't used as much as the rest of the letters.

When the Smithsonian Institution bought Folkways from the Asch estate in 1987, the museum agreed to keep every title in print. Initially, requests for rare, out-of-stock albums were fulfilled with dubbed cassettes.

Now, music fans hankering for "Burmese Folk and Traditional Music" from 1953 can pay $19.95 and receive a CD-R "burned" with the original album, along with a standard cardboard slipcase that includes a folded photocopy of the original liner notes.

"Getting rid of inventory, which is what this custom on-demand stuff is about, is a huge step in the right direction toward making even low-selling albums into a business," said Josh Bernoff, principal analyst at Forrester Research.

Industry analysts say it is also a step toward making all music forever available, one the record business has yet to take successfully.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/17/bu...ia/17FOLK.html

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

New P2P App For Wireless Coming Soon
Press Release

Unified Software Platform Extends the Development, Deployment, and Management of Enterprise Applications over Networks of Handheld Devices

Zeosoft Corporation, a pioneer of mobile infrastructure software and application development technologies, announced today the availability of the Beta version of its ZeoSphere XR product, a mobile infrastructure software suite with On Demand Mobile Server technology. New in ZeoSphere XR is XML/RPC for distributed computing, and support for the Oracle9i Lite database. With ZeoSphere XR, businesses can develop, deploy, and manage enterprise applications over networks of mobile devices forming secure On Demand Mobile Server Networks. ZeoSphere XR also provides for easy integration with distributed web applications. This release is ideal for developers and integrators who need to deliver secure, high-value, "first-to- market", mobility solutions to their clients.

"ZeoSphere XR expands the ability of enterprises to deploy wireless solutions by enabling development and deployment over a wider array of mobile devices and applications," said Mike Huestis, president and CTO of Zeosoft. "This new technology features expanded database support, easier integration for companies with distributed web applications, and a smaller footprint to meet the needs of a broader customer base."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030218/sftu092_1.html

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

Mouse With Ear Appeal Can Tune in FM Stations
Laurie Flynn

Multitasking may get a little easier with a new two-button computer mouse that doubles as a digital FM radio receiver. The device, called the MouseCaster, plugs into the computer's PS/2 port; a second cord attaches the mouse to the PC's sound card, and a third functions as an antenna. An onscreen control panel allows listeners to program favorite stations much as they would a car radio, autoscan the dial and even set an alarm or play selected programs.

Produced by SmarTec of Beverly Hills, Calif., the MouseCaster works with Windows 95 and later and sells for $24.95. It is available only at the company's Web site, www

.mousecaster.com, although the manufacturer hopes that electronic retailers will start stocking the product.

The MouseCaster is easy to install and use, and a user can quickly become accustomed to the convenience of listening to the radio through the PC while working on a document or a spreadsheet.

Unlike other radio utilities for PC's, the MouseCaster does not require the computer to be connected to the Internet. And it allows users to record songs and radio programs in a variety of formats, including MP3 and WAV.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/20/te...ts/20mous.html

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

Student creates network filter
Kansas State Now Blocking Peer To Peer
Edie Hall

Students found a number of changes when they came back to school this fall, including their ability to use peer- to-peer file-sharing applications to exchange music, movies and software on the Internet.

Josh Ballard, senior in computer science, created the software that blocks those exchanges.

Ballard, a Computing and Network Services employee, created a network-filtering software system that dramatically reduced the amount of Internet bandwidth used by K-State, which in turn reduced K-State's costs significantly.

Ballard said the peer-to-peer file-sharing applications were creating stress on the system, which was limiting people's abilities to do research and academic work.

"Our Internet connection was essentially full. We couldn't get anything out or in," Ballard said. "People who needed to do things that were essential to the university weren't able to do their jobs."

Ballard said his software can identify peer-to-peer applications as well as malicious content traveling through the network. When the software identifies these types of packets, it either drops them or returns them to the sender, saying the connection is no longer valid.
http://www.kstatecollegian.com/stori...w_filter.shtml

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

“File-sharing has allowed me to develop an obsession with music. I spend copious amounts of money on records every month.”
The RIAA's losing battle

For many music fans, file-sharing software is an invaluable tool. With the use of modern programs such as SoulSeek and Kazaa, users can trade files--songs in the MP3 file format, in particular.

With the aid of these programs, users are able to hear an endless variety of new music or build on collections of music from years past.

Yet the Recording Industry Association of America argues that this practice is illegal (which it is) and that artists and record companies suffer losses in the range of millions of dollars due to the practice of illegal file sharing.

I myself buy more music because of sharing. Through programs like AudioGalaxy and SoulSeek, I have been able to hear the music of literally hundreds of new artists. I download music everyday, checking records recommended by friends and colleagues and at the advice of esteemed record reviewers.

File-sharing has allowed me to develop an obsession with music. I spend copious amounts of money on records every month. Maybe I should sue these companies, too--sue them for causing me to develop an unhealthy habit that is leading me to bankruptcy.

But that wouldn't be right. The pleasure I get from music is invaluable. It's a love and a passion and wouldn't be as much so without file-sharing programs.
http://www.freelancestar.com/News/FL...2182003/881445

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

The school refused to restore his access until he signed a letter
Colleges ambivalent about anti-piracy role
Dawn C. Chmielewski

The nation's colleges have quietly succumbed to pressure from the entertainment industry to crack down on student use of file-sharing networks to trade music
and movies.

But many educators are ambivalent about being forced into the role of intellectual-property police. They worry that universities, fearful of being slapped with a Napster-like suit for contributing to copyright infringement, have become so aggressive they're compromising intellectual freedom on campus.

Since October, when the recording industry urged 2,300 college presidents to treat online music piracy as they would the theft of a textbook from the campus bookstore, universities have responded with a vigor that makes some educators uncomfortable.

The entertainment industry escalated its efforts this week, putting corporations on notice they could be sued if their networks were found to be harboring copyrighted work.

Many universities consider downloading a movie or song a potential honor court violation that, on first offense, can lead to temporary termination of a school Internet account, and, in the instance of repeated violations, suspension or expulsion.

Other schools like Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley treat the use of file-sharing networks as a resource management issue. They impose technological impediments -- such as throttling Internet speeds to dorm rooms -- to discourage swapping music and movie files -- and crack down on bandwidth hogs.

Universities respond swiftly to notices to remove a particular song or movie from the campus network. Not one has followed the lead of Verizon, an Internet service provider, that has gone to federal court to fight a Recording Industry Association of America subpoena, seeking the name of one of its subscribers.

“My job, as an information security person, is to try and protect the institution,'' said Cedric S. Bennett, Stanford's director of information security services. ``Sooner or later, somebody's going to go after an institution. And Stanford would be a big target.''

Penn State, Stanford and others warn incoming students, as part of orientation, that trading music, films and other copyrighted works over the Internet is a crime. They spell it out again in the ``terms of use'' policy every student signs before they receive access to the campus network.

“The RIAA said they don't want to file suit against their customers, they wanted us to do it. Talk about chutzpah,'' Augustson said.

Other academics worry that, in taking disciplinary action against students accused of copyright infringement, the schools start down a slippery slope of assuming responsibility for their conduct.

“The minute you agree you're responsible, you have no alternative but to monitor,'' said Virginia Rezmierski, an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. ``A, you can't do it. And B, . . . it's absolutely destructive to the university, because it creates a chilling environment when we want to have an environment of openness and creativity.''
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/sil...printstory.jsp

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

Hollywood Rewards Piracy Snitches

BANGKOK -- Hollywood is seeking informers to combat tech-smart and often heavily armed Asian pirate gangs, which are flooding the world with cheap DVDs and robbing the American film business of $646 million a year, an industry official said on Wednesday.

Michael Ellis, Asia-Pacific anti-piracy head for the Motion Picture Association of America, said his organization had put aside $150,000 to reward informers whose tips lead to successful police raids on illegal DVD factories.
http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,57730,00.html

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

Maker combines CD, DVD burning tools
David Becker

Software maker Roxio is set to release a new version of its market-leading Easy CD Creator application, for the first time combining tools for burning CDs and DVDs.

Easy CD & DVD Creator 6, available Tuesday from retailers and directly from Roxio, combines tools for transferring music, video, photos and data files to recordable CDs and DVDs, plus a streamlined version of PhotoSuite, the image editing package Roxio took over last year with its acquisition of MGI Software. The new package also includes a library of audio tools--for editing music files and "ripping" MP3 files from an audio CD--and expanded disc copying and archiving functions.

Christi Wilkerson, senior product manager for Roxio, said that when the Easy CD Creator line started, consumers mainly used recordable CD drives for making data discs. Since then, typical usage has expanded to include creating audio CDs, transferring photos to discs for backup and storage, and recording digital video files. Accomplishing those goals has typically meant having a myriad of unrelated applications on the PC.

"We felt the market was really looking for an integrated interface and workflow," she said. "It's so much more convenient when you have everything in one place."

While DVD burners are still confined to a small minority of PCs, adoption is increasing rapidly, Wilkerson said. Roxio decided to add DVD functions--previously limited to the company's VideoWave video editing packages--to stay ahead of the curve and to appeal to hardware makers looking to simplify the software they need to bundle with a new PC or recordable media drive.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-984715.html

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

"While we believe consumers should have the right to make perfect, personal-use backup copies of DVDs they already own, we are against the illegal use of our products."
DVD-copying upstart fights illegal burns
Lisa M. Bowman

In an odd twist in its fight against Hollywood studios, start-up 321 Studios is offering a reward for information about people who use its products to illegally copy DVDs.

The company last week began offering $10,000 for information that leads to the conviction of people who use its software to pirate movies.

The major studios sued 321 last December, saying the company promotes copyright infringement by offering products that allow people to copy DVDs. Specifically, the suit claims 321 is violating the Digital Millenium Copyright Act by selling its DVD Copy Plus and DVD-X copy programs.

321 says it merely provides a product that will allow people to make backups of DVDs they already own, a practice that has been protected under a legal doctrine known as fair use.

The company said it's committed to preventing illegal copying and uses technology that prevents consumers from duplicating copies of DVDs made with its software. People who want to report abuse of the software can e-mail 321 at AntiPiracy@321studios.com.

"While we believe consumers should have the right to make perfect, personal-use backup copies of DVDs they already own, we are against the illegal use of our products," Mike Wozniak, chief information officer of 321 Studios, said in a statement. "Therefore, we want to work with the entertainment industry and the government to prevent piracy, while continuing to protect, support and preserve consumers' fair use rights and technical innovation."

Movie studios, record labels and other intellectual property owners have been aggressively pursuing companies that make it easy for consumers to copy and share digital materials. The intellectual property owners are worried about losing control of their movie, music, books and software because digital content can be so easily copied and shared via the Internet. The studios in particular are trying to avoid the "Napsterization" of their movies.

A few years ago, the record labels were caught off guard when millions of people began swapping unauthorized copies of songs through the Napster network. Although the labels succeeded in shuttering Napster, the file-swapping frenzy continues through other services.

Meanwhile, the companies that have become the target of such legal actions have urged studios, labels and law enforcement to pursue the people who are actually creating the illegal copies, not the makers of the technology that allows them to do so.

321's legal saga began well before the studios filed suit. Last spring, the company took pre-emptive action, asking a judge to declare its copying products legal. 321 feared it could be targeted by the studios after reading news accounts in which the Motion Picture Association of America threatened to sue it for offering copying products.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-984893.html

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

F.C.C. Eases Some Rules on How Bells Treat Rivals
Stephen Labaton

The Federal Communications Commission today issued the most comprehensive overhaul of the nation's telephone rate regulations in more than six years, handing both a partial victory and partial defeat to the four large regional Bell companies that have spent almost as long in a ferocious lobbying and litigation campaign to overturn them.

In an important win for the Bells, the agency decided to broadly exempt the Bell companies from having to provide low-cost access to their rivals to crucial elements of their new high-speed Internet networks and equipment.

But the deeply split commission also rejected the efforts by the four Bell companies to throw out requirements that they offer other elements of their expensive local telephone networks to competitors at low prices.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/20/bu...CND-PHONE.html

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

University of Wyoming using system to block specific files

Audible Magic Corporation (www.audiblemagic.com), a leading provider of content management services, announced today the company is testing a prototype system at the University of Wyoming that has the potential to intelligently manage peer-to- peer (P2P) file sharing based upon the content and ownership of specific files being traded. The first of a new generation of "content-aware" applications, the system provides the university with detailed information that allows legitimate P2P application traffic while addressing industry concerns about illegal transfers of copyrighted material such as movies and songs.

The new system overcomes the limitations of earlier solutions, which recognize P2P applications but not specific files. These systems block specific network ports and protocols used by P2P applications, but the applications have learned to move from port to port, something that does not affect a content-aware application that identifies network file traffic regardless of the port being used.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030219/sfw049_1.html

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

Four Remaining Questions About Copyright Law After Eldred http://www.gigalaw.com/articles/2003...03-02-all.html

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

It's war on a generation of cyber pirates
Amanda Morgan

The recording industry has launched its most aggressive offensive yet against illegal music swapping over the internet.

In the Federal Court in Sydney today, record companies will try to seize evidence of song swapping by students using the computer networks of the universities of Sydney, Melbourne and Tasmania.

Record labels in the United States and Europe have warned the world's top 1000 companies they must stop illegal music swapping on their networks or face legal action.

Australia's major record companies, Sony, EMI and Universal, are acting on suspicions that students, and possibly staff, are using the universities' computers to swap digital music files. The industry says the three universities have not divulged information, but that others have co-operated.

Michael Speck, the director of Music Industry Piracy Investigations, which tracks swapping on behalf of the Australian record industry, believes the illegal file trading is significant.

"And we're not talking about one track here, one track there," he said. "We're talking piracy, significant
examples of piracy."

The University of Sydney says it knows of one student who established a website with a handful of songs for swapping on its system. It has "isolated the website, and will hand over the evidence at an appropriate time", a spokesman said.

There are hundreds of thousands of song files on personal computers worldwide. They are "swapped" for free using special software, robbing artists and their record companies of royalties.

But the president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, Cameron Murphy, said the industry was wrong to target students.

"The focus of these organisations should be on people who are running or pirating music for clear commercial benefit," he said. "I don't think there is any benefit to the community in prosecuting individuals who do this as a one-off. I mean, we'd have half the students in Australia in jail."
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/...330539310.html

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

Smart software tools grapple with e-mail overload, spur collaboration
Frank Bajak

We've split the atom, mapped the human genome and flown to the moon. Yet our tools for the most common computing tasks remain painfully behind.

Take e-mail. Many of us grapple with it for hours daily, but software that manages our messages intelligently is scarce.

How about online collaboration and knowledge-sharing? Networked computing was supposed to irrigate organizations with rich information flows. Instead, all we've got are rivulets that only connect pairs of workers while valuable data reservoirs sit dispersed on individual computers.

A number of smart new products debuting at this year's 13th DEMO conference, an annual showcase of tech innovation, make laudable strides in data cultivation -- refreshingly welcome for a sector in an investment trough.

More and more vital will be the ability to quickly sift through the information flood -- from the Internet to the hard drives of far-flung colleagues and associates -- for what we need.

Shared-knowledge products at DEMO 2003 included one from Ontario-based Opencola, which counts among its initial customers U.S. government agencies "in the defense area," according to marketing vice president Joel Silver, who said he could not be more specific.

Opencola Enterprise aims to keep us better informed in less time by adding semantic searching and prospecting to the same peer-to-peer file-sharing technology that made Napster infamous.

Using encryption, it lets knowledge workers securely collect and process data from thousands of sources as well as identify and connect with others who share interests and knowledge.

"It was founded on the principle of finding stuff you didn't know you didn't know," Silver said.

And Opencola brings you not only items, but people within your organization valuable to you but who you might not have known existed.

Let's say three people in a big company were researching new e-mail management tools but had never met or communicated. Opencola could pool their resources -- and even bring them together in an online chat.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...737EST0285.DTL

Opencola Releases Enterprise Solution
Press Release

Opencola Ltd, has announced the release of Opencola Enterprise, a knowledge management solution designed to give employees the ability to search for all relevant information at the same time, find people who have relevant information, and share that information over a secure peer-to-peer network. Opencola allows users to create local folders on topics that the user already tracks and automatically find other people who have relevant information. Information can then be shared from desktop to desktop via the peer-to-peer network instead of uploading to a central repository. Opencola can perform one search that includes search engines, news sites, local drive, shared drive, user's shared desktops, Intranet, and email. Opencola supports Adobe Acrobat PDF, Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, as well as all .html and txt files. Opencola's solution controls the services available on the network, but all policies are enforced on the desktop machines. The Opencola network system architecture is a blend of peer-to-peer networks and client/ server architectures. Opencola features include: search & retrieval; search all sources at once--compiles to one list; re-sorts /refreshes list based on relevancy; discovers and suggests other relevant people; browse other people's shared knowledge; and knowledge and file sharing. Opencola operates on Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition/2000/Me/XP.
http://www.econtentmag.com/ecxtra/20...03_0218_2.html

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

Real boss tackles online piracy
Alfred Hermida

The online piracy of songs and films can be stopped but just shutting down illegal file-sharing services is not enough, says Rob Glaser, boss of Real Networks.

The head of the digital media software company says the entertainment industry needs to provide people with an alternative to using file-sharing services like Kazaa.

Real recently announced new software that it says will allow the media companies to distribute their music and video online without worrying about copies springing up across the web.

The music industry blames illegal music downloads for eating away at record sales, pointing to a 10% drop in album sales in the US in 2002.

Mr Glaser says that his company has shown it is possible to convince people to pay for music or videos online.

The Seattle-based firm has more than 900,000 subscribers, who pay an average of $10 a month, to watch or listen to material over the internet.

The number pales by comparison to the millions who use file-sharing programs like Kazaa and Morpheus.

But Mr Glaser is convinced that people can be persuaded to switch to paid-for services.

"I don't think online piracy is impossible to stop," he told BBC News Online.

"But the command and control approach to just saying 'hey we want to shut this down' and not offer a compelling alternative that's commercial doesn't work very well because the internet is such an open environment.

"If you just shut services down, like shutting down Napster, others will pop up unless you offer a commercial alternative," he said.

The Real boss is also the chairman of subscription music service, MusicNet, which is part-owned by Real Networks along with AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann and the EMI Group.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2758177.stm

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

Internet penetration in Central and Eastern Europe 17% in 2003, report

Although still trailing those of Western Europe, internet usage rates in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) continue
to climb steadily, driven by users in the workplace and schools, according to Internet Usage and E-ommerce in Central and Eastern Europe, 2001-2006, a new report from market analysts IDC. The percentage of the population using the internet at least once a month in the region is forecast to reach 17 per cent in 2003 and 27 per cent in 2006.

Estonia and Slovenia stand out as leaders in the region, as both countries have internet penetration levels on par with Western Europe. This can be attributed to government efforts to promote internet usage in schools and public access points, as well as to private initiatives among businesses to promote the internet.

Increased internet penetration is also contributing to growth in the region's e-commerce markets. While B2C e- commerce still accounts for a small percentage of the total e-commerce market, the appearance of several new e- marketplaces in the region and the growing availability of PCs and office supplies for sale on the internet are pushing B2B revenue upward.

Total e-commerce spending in the CEE region is projected to reach E4.1bn in 2003. Of this total, B2B will account for 90 per cent. B2B will continue to constitute the bulk of e-commerce spending over the next five years. In 2006, the total e-commerce market should reach a value of E16.4bn.

The key e-commerce markets in CEE continue to be the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland. Together, the three countries represent nearly 90 per cent of the CEE market's total value.

One of the main inhibitors to e-commerce remains the high cost of internet access and low internet penetration levels in the region. The growing availability of broadband access services, particularly in Poland, Hungary, and the Baltic States, should drive the market forward in terms of both time spent online and penetration. Still, internet usage in the region is currently driven primarily by dial-up internet access.

Total internet connections are projected to reach 5.6m in 2003. Dial-up connections should represent approximately 85 per cent of the total.
http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=14988


Top Ten Downloads – music

BigChampange


Suit Claims $17B in Damages from Bertelsmann
Ryan Naraine

Napster may be dead and gone but the billion dollar litigation that marred its existence has shown no signs of letting up.

German media conglomerate, Bertelsmann AG, a one-time backer was slapped with a $17 billion lawsuit in New York late Wednesday alleging its financial support to Napster contributed to copyright infringement by users of the rogue file-sharing application.

Bertelsmann, itself a former foe of Napster, pumped more than $90 million into the peer-to-peer firm with ambitious plans to create a legitimate, membership-based music download service but that partnership is now at the center of the latest legal wrangle.

The suit was filed by a group of songwriters and two independent music publishers -- Frank Music and Peer International -- that have long been part of the anti-Napster brigade. According to allegations in the lawsuit, evidence in Napster's bankruptcy proceedings show Bertelsmann knew the company was breaking the law but decided to keep the service running while it worked on a legitimate version.

Lawyers on both sides could not be reached for comment at press time but one analyst described the suit as "unsurprising."

"In the music business, lawsuits are a business model. It doesn't surprise me that Napster's name is still associated with lawsuits. We saw the same thing with MP3.com and the numerous lawsuits that followed them," said Lee Black, a digital music analyst with Jupiter Research.

Black said it was unfortunate that Bertelsmann was being sued for its Napster partnership even after its public efforts and big spending to redirect the file-sharing service towards legitimacy. "It was not until after Bertelsmann invested that Napster changed direction and decided to pursue deals with the labels," he added.
http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news...le.php/1588111

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

Demo searches for next big thing
Wi-Fi tops agenda as panelists affirm innovation
Mark Jones

Panelists at IDG Executive Forum's Demo conference here on Tuesday offered a reality check on the "state of innovation," given the current negative economic climate.

The majority of time during the show's onstage demo sessions Monday and Tuesday was devoted to products in the search, productivity, security, spam, and entertainment categories, but panelists discussing the prospect of a "next big thing" kept circling back to the topic of networks.

The panelists put forth an upbeat view of the IT industry's commitment to innovation, singling out Wi-Fi and distributed networks as areas that will continue to be areas of investment.

John Patrick, president of venture capital firm Attitude, and a former IBM executive, talked up Wi-Fi, citing the emergence of mesh networks and technologies that can deliver wireless data to speeding trains.

"It will be the Internet itself that changes things," he said. "The last mile is really being broken down."
http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/...mopanel_1.html

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

802.11: Alphabet soup
The choice is easy, you can't lose
Scott Tyler Shafer

Wi-Fi's rise through the corporate structure has been meteoric. The technology has quickly progressed from an alternative wireless method to the de facto means to transfer data wirelessly within a LAN. However, before the mass adoption of Wi-Fi in the enterprise occurs, the advantages and disadvantages of 802.11a and the emerging 802.11g must be understood.

The two real choices are the existing 802.11a standard and the emerging 802.11g standard. 802.11b exists, yet doesn't offer the throughput required to meet the needs of an enterprise.

The first 802.11 specification to make the scene is 802.11a. It offers maximum data rates at 54Mbps and operates in the 5GHz frequency range. Because of the higher frequency used, 802.11a works best in the relatively short range of 50 meters to 70 meters. Yet using a higher band also means enterprises can deploy as many as 12 access points without them interfering with one another. This means many more users can be served.

Similarly, the 802.11g specification runs at 54Mbps, but therein the similarities stop. 802.11g, which will likely be ratified in June or August by the IEEE, operates in the 2.4GHz spectrum using a technique called OFMD (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) that squeezes more bits on to a radio wave; resulting in 54Mbps throughput at a lower cost than 802.11a. However, the 2.4Ghz band or ISM band is a shared frequency used also by cordless phones, microwaves, and a slew of equipment most of which is often found in hospitals. This means 802.11g is likely to experience much more interference than 802.11a. Also the use of the ISM band means 802.11g is limited to a band that is only 30MHz wide, thus limiting the number of access points that can be deployed to three.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/02/17/07gvsa_1.html

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

CD Sales Decline Slows, Rappers, Valentine's Help Propel Album Sales
Sue Zeidler

Hard-core rapper 50 Cent talks tough, but he was the sweetheart of record stores for the second week in a row, helping to fuel U.S. album sales in the Valentine's Day sales week.

The bullet-ridden ex-crack dealer signed last year by rapper Eminem landed again at No. 1 with incredibly strong second-week sales of 822,277 units, a less than 1 percent drop from last week's record opening of 872,082 units for his new album, "Get Rich or Die Tryin."'

Issued on Vivendi Universal's Interscope Records' Aftermath imprint, the hip-hop star's album sales to date is about 1.7 million units, according to album sales tracker Nielsen Soundscan figures.

U.S. album sales in the week ended Feb. 16 jumped to 13.9 million units from 11.5 million units the previous week.

While the week-to-week increase was encouraging, the total was still down about four percent from the comparable week a year ago, in a continuation of a months long slump.

Nevertheless, the year-over-year decline was still less than the prior week's year-over-year 6.5 percent decline.

"Valentines Day is traditionally a big week for record sales and there's also a buzz leading up to the Grammys," said one record executive.

Albums are expected to gain more favor with consumers in the current week as excitement builds ahead of the Grammy Awards in New York on Feb. 23. Meanwhile, there is no discount in demand for 50 Cent who is being joined on the playlists by a new release from R. Kelly.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=2256173

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

Compromise copyright bill in works
John Borland

Opponents of Hollywood's drive to strengthen copyright law are mounting a new strategy: Require anything that has antipiracy technology built in to be clearly labeled and let consumers decide at the cash register.

Speaking at the Intel-sponsored Digital Rights Summit in Silicon Valley, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said he was close to introducing a bill that would likely require consumer- electronics devices or media such as music CDs to be clearly labeled with explanations of any anticopying restrictions. Several other legislators are preparing, or have already introduced, bills that contain labeling provisions that apply to specific devices or media such as digital televisions or audio CDs.

The nascent focus on labeling already has won the backing of key companies such as Intel. Supporters hope that as consumers avoid the most restrictive technologies, the broader points about the undesirability of limiting digital media use will be made.

"I want people to walk into every store in America and see that the product they're about to buy has restrictions," Wyden said. "Let's take this to the marketplace."

The new strategy marks a potentially realistic middle ground between competing legislative visions for how to control or unfetter the chaotic world of digital media and distribution.

Previous legislative proposals, backed by some Hollywood studios, would have required all digital media players, ranging from DVD players to personal computers, to include built-in anticopying technology. Fear of that measure helped deepen suspicion between entertainment producers and Silicon Valley companies that continues to resonate today.

On the other side, legislators backed by consumer groups have introduced proposals to roll back some of the most restrictive provisions of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), protecting consumers' rights to "fair use" of digital media. Fair use is a legal defense that allows copies of works or elements of works to be used for research, educational and journalistic purposes, among others.

However, few political observers believe that any ambitious copyright proposals by either side will be successful in a Congress distracted by war and more pressing economic issues this year.

The Intel event, co-sponsored by consumer rights organization DigitalConsumer.org, proved largely a rallying of voices opposed to the strictest interpretations of copyright law supported by Hollywood, record labels and other copyright holders. Several companies that are being sued under broad interpretations of the DMCA, including a printer cartridge maker and a manufacturer of garage door openers, explained their lawsuits.

Stanford University law professor Larry Lessig outlined a plan for so-called compulsory licenses for copyrighted works, a strategy that would require movie and music companies to allow other people to use digital works but require payment to artists and other copyright holders. Variations of that idea are gaining traction among legal circles opposed to Hollywood's attempts to strengthen copyright law.

"Never in our history have fewer been in a position to control more of the creative potential of our society than now," Lessig said. "We have to buy them off, so they don't break the Internet in the interim."
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-985207.html

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

Soundless Concert Stirs The Emotions
Laura Davis

A BIZARRE experiment in soundless music has revealed how people's emotions are affected by noises they cannot hear.

Scientists have begun analysing the responses of 250 people who took part in the study into the effects of infrasound, carried out at Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral last September.

They showed the audience's emotions intensified as the inaudible sound vibrations, too low for the human ear to perceive, were blasted out during a 50-minute piano recital.


Those feeling uncomfortable when the concert began, found their mood turning to anger.

Others, who had felt happy, started to notice sensations of joy.

Some physical affects were also experienced, including tingling in the back of the neck and a strange feeling in the stomach.

Ciarán O'Keeffe, a researcher on the project who has since taken up a lecturing post at Liverpool Hope University's Psychology department, said: "When the infrasound was switched on, people experienced different emotional responses to it.

"The feelings that the listeners recorded at the time are in line with anecdotal evidence of experiences in places that have infrasound.

"Generally people found that they experienced more in depth versions of the emotions they were feeling before the infrasound began."

The infrasound vibrations were created by an ultra-low loudspeaker inside a 12m-long, 30cmwide drainpipe cannon.
http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0...l&siteid=50061

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

Intel boss blasts Hollywood
Disney and Fox cast as chief villains in digital rights delay drama
Iain Thomson

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is holding back the development of fair use standards for consumer electronic devices, according to Intel chief executive Craig Barrett.

Speaking at the Intel Developer Forum Barrett said he believed that government, the electronics industry and the Recording Industry Association of America had reached agreement on standards for allowing fair use of digital media without encouraging piracy, but that the MPAA was holding up the process.

"It's a battle," he said. "I'd like to say Mr Valenti [Jack Valenti, chief executive of the MPAA] is my friend, but at the moment the organisation is split between the extreme wing, made up of Disney and Fox, and the rest."

Ever since the rise of Napster, industry and the US government have been trying to find a way of curbing the spread of media theft while at the same time ensuring that digital media purchased by consumers can be played on a variety of devices.

Yesterday the most popular file sharing application, Kazaa, had 6.3petabytes of music, films and software offered for users to share, as well as material with concealed viruses and other malware.

Defending the MPAA Scott Dinsdale, the organisation's executive vice president of digital standards, said: "What's going on now isn't piracy, it's looting."

The MPAA estimates the total amount lost to illegal content theft to be more than $3bn (£1.9bn), and that the figure is much higher if internet content is included.
http://www.vnunet.com/News/1138890

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

Piracy suits chill valley
Moves peril profit, jobs, techies say
Benny Evangelista

Lawsuits and proposed laws designed to curb online piracy of music and movies threaten to derail profit and innovation in the Silicon Valley, local technology executives were warned Wednesday.

"There is a growing public awareness that this issue is not just about file sharing; it's about jobs and the economy," said Hank Barry, the former chief executive officer of now-defunct Napster Inc.

Now, even the "threat of litigation is certainly having a chilling effect" on new product innovation and venture capital investments, said Michael Petricone, vice president of technology policy for the Consumer Electronics Association.

Barry, whose Redwood City music-sharing firm ignited the copyright battle now engulfing Silicon Valley and Hollywood, was a panelist at a Digital Rights Summit hosted by microchip giant Intel Corp. and the year-old public advocacy group DigitalConsumer.org.

"This isn't just about music and movies; it affects the entire technology industry," said DigitalConsumer.org co-founder Joe Kraus. "This isn't about Hollywood versus Silicon Valley, it's about the innovators versus the incumbents."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...&type=business

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

Madoolly tries to thwart downloaders with bogus file
Paul Cashmere

Madonna is making sure fans don't get illegal copies of her upcoming 'American Life' single by throwing a looped teaser into peer to peer networks such as Kazaa.

The specially produced 4 second teaser has been looped to last exactly the length the legitimate copy will be. The tactic is designed to flood the illegal download market with a sample that is virtually useless but at the same time creates awareness of the new song.

'American Life' has already had a controversial introduction into the world with Madonna going as far as releasing a statement rejecting claims the song is Anti-Bush. "I am not Anti-Bush. I am not pro-Iraq. I am pro Peace" she said. "I have written a song and created a video which expresses my feelings about our culture and values and the illusions of what many people believe is the American dream - the perfect life".

A review of the lyrics certainly indicates that she is talking more about herself than George Dubya. "I got a lawyer and a manager/ An agent and a chef/ Three nannies, an assistant/ And a driver and a jet. / A trainer and a butler/ And a bodyguard or five/ A gardener and a stylist/ Do you think I'm satisfied?" she will be heard rapping when the song is released next month.
http://www.undercover.com.au/20030220_madonna.html

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

Have you ever wanted to know what a "magnolia root borer" sounds like? Visit the "Reference Library of Digitized Insect Sounds" Web site at http://cmave.usda.ufl.edu/~rmankin/
soundlibrary.html to hear this, and dozens of other insects.
Aaron Shakra http://www.dailyemerald.com/vnews/di.../3e550ed5bdd91

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

Parliament Committee approves plan for safer use of internet

In short:
On 18 February, the Parliament's Citizens' Rights Committee spoke out in favour of stricter measures to protect children from harmful internet content.

The Commission's proposal extends for a further 2 years the previous 4-year action plan 1999-2002, which was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council in 1998. It proposes to adapt the scope and implementation of the action plan to take account of new technologies such as mobile content, online games, chat rooms, instant messaging and peer to peer downloading. The proposal intends to allow users to report illegal content, promote self-regulation, empower users to avoid harmful content, promote user-friendly content rating and increase awareness about safer Internet use. It also intends to bring the action plan in line with work carried out in parallel in the field of network and information security.

In its first reading of the report by Bill Newton Dunn (ELDR, UK), the Citizens' Rights Committee approved the Commission's new action plan. The rapporteur drew attention to the fact that not all the objectives and aims of the first action plan have been achieved (e.g. not enough Member State hotlines to report harmful internet content). The Committee explicitly demanded that the new Member States in Central and Eastern Europe should be included in the action plan as much harmful content (child pornography, racist information etc.) seems to be on servers in those countries. The Committee also asked for financial support for projects of industry self-regulation and for development of filter and rating techniques.

The report on the safe use of the internet will be on the March Plenary session in Strasbourg. The Telecoms Council will try to reach a political agreement in its meeting of 27-28 March.
http://www.euractiv.com/cgi-bin/cgin...763&-home=home

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

Rolling Stones on tour with Wi-Fi
Jeff Evans

On Jan. 14, 1963, a raw young band called the Rolling Stones played its first public performance as a group under that name, at the Flamingo Club in London's Soho
district. The Stones had formed around two rhythm and blues-loving students, Mick Jagger, who had enrolled at the London School of Economics, and Keith Richards, who had chosen to study at the Sidcup School of Art. The embryonic band was direly poor: bassist Bill Wyman was allegedly accepted into the group because he owned his own amp. Their 19-year-old publicist created the group's badboy, anti-Beatles image with the insolent catch phrase, "Would you want your daughter to date a Rolling Stone?"

From that rather grotty, poverty stricken beginning four decades ago, covering classic U.S. rhythm and blues standards in smoky English clubs, the Stones have become one of the pillars of rock and roll history. They learned to write their own hit songs, and showed a talent for survival and re-invention when most other '60-s bands broke up or faded into irrelevance. They've become famous as the band that never quits, surviving tragedy, financial troubles, scandal - and worse, even occasional periods of not being regarded as cool. Forty years on, they are in the middle of their 'Forty Licks' tour, a global celebration of the Stones' enduring energy and popularity.

These days though, when the Rolling Stones roll into town for a concert, along with the electric guitars, the drum kit and the huge stage set, they also bring along a complete wireless data network, a satellite uplink and downlink, and 140 laptop computers. From Mick Jagger on down to the lowliest roadie, pervasive connectivity has become an essential part of the business and art of the modern rock tour.

Jagger, perhaps in deference to his early interest in economics and heightened by the band's early financial tribulations, has matured into a very savvy artist-entrepreneur. As a result, the Stones' organization makes use of the latest technology to run its business.

The 21st century Stones have evolved into a huge concert-touring, Internet and marketing machine. The Forty Licks tour, just now starting its European leg, is shaping up to be perhaps the largest grossing rock tour in history. The Stones' Web site, www.rollingstones.com, is the nexus of an extensive worldwide fan community, and contains links to a Rolling Stones fashion line, international ticket sales, a membership base fan club, and other merchandising, promotional and sales activities. The Stones have benefited from a clever exploitation of the potential of the Internet for on-line marketing and sales, community building, mobile wireless data based business dealings, and rapid business decision making.

For example, on the first North American leg of their tour in 2002, the Rolling Stones travelled with a complete wireless Internet system, designed to be quickly deployed as soon as the road crew reached a concert venue.
http://www.globetechnology.com/servl...onescs/GTStory







Until next week,

- js.






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

Recent WIRs -

http://www.p2p-zone.com/underground/...threadid=15219 Feb.15th
http://www.p2p-zone.com/underground/...threadid=15128 Feb. 8th
http://www.p2p-zone.com/underground/...threadid=15063 Feb. 1st
http://www.p2p-zone.com/underground/...threadid=14979 Jan. 25th




Current Week In Review

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

[assorted]

extremely groovy as always...

The Vin Man to Block Shareaza
First XoLoX, now this

He’s a piece o work alright and he’s taking Bearshare into full defense mode (blocking Shareaza) if he doesn’t get his way. All you can say is about open source and Vinnie is that they’ve never seen eye to eye, unless critics claim, he was getting more than giving.

why is anyone even using bearshare or gnutella anymore? i understand why people need to support people trying to capitalize and expand on gnutella like shareazza or gnucleus; but why does bearshare have an entrenched community of file sharers in the first place??!

Microsoft Gets a Clue From Its Kiddie Corps
Forget productivity. The new Peer To Peer Softie project is an irreverent time waster called threedegrees
Steven Levy

The most ambitious feature is called musicmix, an online equivalent of a pajama party where people take turns playing deejay. Each group member contributes favorite tunes into a shared playlist, displayed on a dashboard with a customized “skin,” and everyone listens together. A click from any participant can choose a new song. Then everyone chats about the tunes.

as much as i want to make fun of microsoft.... i think that's a really good idea. i've always wanted an irc script that does that for a channel...

[multi]

Napster rising from the grave
Roxio says it will relaunch the once-popular file sharing network as fee-based site within the year.
February 20, 2003: 6:22 AM EST
By Andrew Stein, CNN/Money Staff Writer
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - If Roxio Inc. has its way, the death of Napster may prove to be greatly exaggerated.

At an event to launch Roxio's new Easy CD & DVD Creator software product in New York, Roxio Chief Financial Officer Elliot Carpenter told CNN/Money that the company likely will launch a service allowing users to download songs for a fee before the end of the calendar year in a move to diversify its product offerings beyond software.

He added that Shawn Fanning, the creator and founder of Napster, is working for Roxio as a consultant.

"Napster is a great brand with wide recognition, and when we do roll something out it has to be easy, fun, have the broadest range of artists, and the price must be right," Carpenter said. "We're looking at something before the end of the calendar year."

The early knock on sites where users can download music for a fee has been the limited scope of the artists offered and the cost, as users can access a wider range of artists for free through file sharing networks such as Grokster, Kazaa and Morpheus.

"The fee-based online music services such as Rhapsody and eMusic don't have to report their numbers, but I doubt any of them are making any money," said Michael Kim, digital media analyst with Roth Capital Partners. "If the Napster service is going to be successful, the [file sharing networks] will have to be shut down and the company will have to go to the major labels to secure a broad range of artists."

Major music labels, which have increasingly laid the blame for tumbling CD sales on downloaded music, sued Napster for copyright infringement and essentially shut it down in July 2001.

Napster subsequently filed for bankruptcy protection in June of 2002 and received several offers to acquire it, including one from Barcelona, Spain-based adult entertainment company Private Media Group (PRVT: up $0.04 to $1.86, Research, Estimates) for $2.4 million in stock.

Roxio eventually bought Napster's assets in November 2002 for about $5 million cash and 100,000 warrants to purchase stock.
Beyond software

Napster also is part of Roxio's effort to diversify beyond its CD and DVD software suites, something Jefferies & Co. Inc. analyst James Lin said he has been waiting to see before he upgrades the stock from a "hold."

"Their software products are great and very easy to use, but we'd like to see more diversification in their offerings," Lin said. Jefferies & Co. does not have an investment banking relationship with Roxio nor does Lin own any of its shares.

In its most recent quarter, the company received more than three-quarters of its revenue from its CD and DVD software products, with 56 percent coming from retail sales and about 28 percent coming from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), such as PC makers or CD recording device firms,

"OEM used to account for two-thirds of its sales and its heading to below 10 percent," Roth's Kim said. "The OEM side puts up a nice revenue number, but the margins are increasingly becoming squeezed and this is a trend I don't see reversing. So they're becoming more reliant on the retail side."

Roth Capital Partners does not have an investment banking relationship with Roxio nor does Kim own any of its shares.

Roxio's Carpenter added that the company also will see a boost in sales as additional PC makers abandon floppy drives and increasingly rely on CD-recordable drives for storage. Dell Computer recently said it will eliminate floppy drives in some of its higher end products as it turns to CD drives and flash memory devices.

In its latest completed quarter, Roxio swung to a loss of 38 cents a share, including a 21 cent per share charge to settle a lawsuit, on sales of $26.4 million, down 27 percent from its sales a year earlier when it reported a profit of 19 cents a share.

The company expects to return to profitability in its fourth quarter with income of 19 cents per share on sales of $32 million, and Carpenter said the launch of its new software suite "is critical" to that forecast.

A Roxio spokesman said the company sold about 10 million to 15 million of its Easy CD Creator 5 and anticipates a 4 percent upgrade rate, which would indicate sales of 400,000 to 600,000 copies of its Easy CD & DVD Creator 6 just from people upgrading their current versions. The product retails at $99.95 boxed and $89.95 as a download.

The spokesman did not indicate the company's sales target for the new version, but Jefferies & Co.'s Lin said the firm probably is looking at about a 10 to 15 percent total increase in sales from its previous version.

Wall Street expects the company to earn 17 cents a share in its fourth quarter, according to Thomson First Call.

"The company should be profitable," Roth's Kim said, adding that he has a 12 month price target of $5 on the stock and a "neutral" rating.

While shares of Roxio gained nearly 5 percent Tuesday and looked to post another strong gain Wednesday, Kim added that the shares are nearly fully valued, as they are trading at about 24 times their 2003 profit estimate of 2 cents a share. Top of page
from