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Old 11-03-22, 07:34 AM   #1
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Default Peer-To-Peer News - The Week In Review - March 12th, 22

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March 12th, 2022




Russia Considers Legalizing Software Piracy to Combat Tech Bans

The Kremlin may suspend criminal penalties from pirating software for the duration of sanctions.
Jorge Jimenez

The Russian government is reportedly working on a law that would make some software piracy legal. The move would help Russians circumvent tech and software bans that have been placed on the nation since it invaded Ukraine two weeks ago, according to Torrentfreak.

Tech companies including Microsoft, Sony, Adobe, and Apple have pulled products and services from Russia. EA, Ubisoft, Take-Two, CD Projekt Red, and other game companies have made their games unavailable for purchase. The bans by these companies paired with the severe economic sanctions are meant to apply pressure on Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine.

The proposal, called the "Priority Action Plan for Ensuring the Development of the Russian Economy in the Conditions of External Sanctions Pressure," comes from the Russian Ministry of Economic Development. It lays out numerous policies that attempt to help stabilize the Russian economy.

The bit related to software piracy is item 6.7.3 under the Information Technology portion of the proposal, which proposes the "cancellation of liability for the use of software (SW) unlicensed in the Russian Federation, owned by a copyright holder from countries that have supported the sanctions."

Basically, if this law passes, Russia would wave any criminal or civil penalties involved with pirating software so long as it's from one of the companies that have supported the sanctions. The distinction is important because this doesn't mean that Russia is legalizing all forms of software piracy. It's specifically targeting the software companies based in countries that are sanctioning Russia.

The proposal, translated by Hothardware with software and assistance from a Russian speaker, seems to apply to any type of unlicensed software, including videogames. However, its primary purpose is to allow Russian business owners to continue to use software made by companies like Oracle and Microsoft.

As Russian business site Kommersant points out, though, most business software is a subscription-based cloud service or requires a form of online verification, making it impossible to use without access to those servers.

Despite attempts to beef up its anti-piracy laws, software and other piracy are already common in Russia. Still, the Russian government signing off on international software piracy would be like nothing we've ever seen.
https://www.pcgamer.com/russia-consi...bat-tech-bans/





All Three Major Music Labels have now Suspended Operations in Russia
Wynne Davis

The entertainment exodus from Russia is continuing. Both Sony Music and the Warner Music Group announced Thursday that they would be suspending operations in Russia.

All three of the U.S. major music labels have now ceased operations in the country: Universal Music Group was the first to do so with its announcement on Tuesday.

In Sony's announcement, the company directly acknowledged the war in Ukraine.

"Sony Music Group calls for peace in Ukraine and an end to the violence," the company statement said. "We have suspended operations in Russia and will continue our support of global humanitarian relief efforts to aid victims in need."

Warner Music is majority-owned by Len Blavatnik, an oligarch who is often described as a British American businessman and philanthropist after becoming a naturalized dual citizen of both countries. Blavatnik was born in Ukraine and raised in Russia to a Jewish family.

In its statement, Warner Music said it would continue humanitarian efforts. The company has said it is supporting the International Committee of the Red Cross and has a direct link to a donation page on its Instagram profile.

"Warner Music Group is suspending operations in Russia, including investments in and development of projects, promotional and marketing activities, and manufacturing of all physical products," the company said in a statement sent to NPR. "We will continue to fulfill our agreed upon obligations to our people, artists, and songwriters as best we can as the situation unfolds. We remain committed to supporting the humanitarian relief efforts in the region."

Music labels aren't the only entertainment entities moving away from Russia. Major Hollywood studios, including Warner Brothers and Sony Pictures Entertainment, have said they are delaying the release of new blockbusters in Russia.

The gaming industry has done the same.

Sony said Wednesday it would stop all sales of PlayStation consoles in Russia and disable the PlayStation Store. Microsoft did the same with its Xbox consoles and online services last week.

Electronic Arts also said it would "stop sales of our games and content including virtual currency bundles, in Russia and Belarus while the conflict continues."

On a larger scale, Nintendo announced Tuesday that "in light of recent world events," it was delaying the release of Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp to all markets. The game was scheduled to come out on April 8.
https://www.npr.org/1085814568





Vietnam Blocks Sony's Action Movie 'Uncharted' Over South China Sea Map

Vietnam has banned Sony's action movie "Uncharted" from domestic distribution over a scene featuring a map that shows a disputed line declared by China to stake its claim to large parts of the South China Sea, state media reported on Saturday.

The U-shaped "nine-dash line" is used on Chinese maps to illustrate its claims over vast areas of the resource-rich South China Sea, including swathes of what Vietnam regards as its continental shelf, where it has awarded oil concessions.

"Uncharted," an action and adventure film based on a video game series about treasure hunting, stars Tom Holland and was due to hit cinemas nationwide on March 18.

"The film was banned from distribution after we watched it and found it contained an illegal image of the infamous nine-dash line," state-run Vietnam News Agency reported, citing Vi Kien Thanh, head of the Department of Cinema, a government body in charge of licensing and censoring foreign films.

Vietnam pulled DreamWorks' animated film "Abominable" from cinemas in 2019 and ordered Netflix in 2021 to remove some episodes of the "Pine Gap" series over the same issue.

The Southeast Asian country this week protested twice over military exercises by China and Taiwan in what it describes as its exclusive economic zone, and demanded they respect Vietnam's sovereignty and legitimate rights at sea.

Reporting by Phuong Nguyen Editing by Mark Potter
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...ap-2022-03-12/





CD Sales Grow for First Time Since 2004
Nate Rau

Dust off those plastic binders that lived in the back seat of your car and fire up the boombox, because compact discs are back.

CD sales enjoyed year-over-year growth for the first time since 2004, according to the Recording Industry Association of America's annual sales report.

Combined with the decade-long vinyl sales explosion, overall physical music sales grew for the first time since 1996.

Why it matters: Streaming is the new lifeblood of the music industry, but physical music is enjoying a resurgence that can no longer be dismissed as a passing fad driven by hardcore collectors.

By the numbers: Physical music sales exploded to the tune of $1.65 billion in the U.S. last year, according to the RIAA data.

CD sales grew to $584.2 million nationally last year, up more than $100 million from 2020. By comparison, 2021 vinyl sales increased to $1 billion annually, up from $643.9 million.

Zoom in: It's especially good news for local record stores, like Grimey's on East Trinity Lane. Co-owner Doyle Davis tells Axios that vinyl is still king, but CD sales have "held their own."

Davis has noticed strong CD sales for new albums, especially when there is a delay in the vinyl release, and pointed to the new album by Adia Victoria last year as an example.

"I think really this is about young people who are finding they like hard copies of music in the digital age," Davis says.

Be smart: The CD was the music industry's leading format in the 1990s, peaking at $13.2 billion in annual sales in 2000.

You know what happened next. Napster and illegal streaming sites gave way to paid streaming, which now accounts for $8.6 billion in annual revenue.

In addition to record stores, artists have appreciated the rise in vinyl — and now CD sales — because it gives them another avenue to sell their music.

What they're saying: "I just think the whole thing is great," Davis says. "It speaks to the health and the overall comeback of physical media in general."
https://www.axios.com/cd-sales-grow-...20f0b218e.html





Remember LimeWire? Shuttered File-Sharing Service is Back with NFTs
Supantha Mukherjee and Elizabeth Howcroft

File-sharing service LimeWire, which shut down in 2011 under fire from the music industry, is making a comeback as a digital collectibles marketplace for art and entertainment, initially focusing on music.

Launched in 2000, LimeWire became the world's biggest outlet for people to share music, movies, and TV shows free of charge over the internet, attracting 50 million monthly users at its peak popularity.

Blaming piracy as one of the main reasons for declining music sales, record companies sued LimeWire in 2006, forcing it to shut down five years later. But now LimeWire plans to jump on the latest internet bandwagon: NFTs.

A non-fungible token (NFT) is a crypto asset which uses blockchain to record who owns a digital file such as an image or video. read more

While NFTs would allow artists and musicians to have more control over digital copies of their work — repairing the damage caused by illegal streaming — the nascent market is rife with scams, fraud and market manipulation. read more

It was a complex process for the new team - led by co-CEOs Paul Zehetmayr and Julian Zehetmayr - to own LimeWire intellectual properties after 12 years of inactivity.

LimeWire said it will partner with the music industry and the artists, who can sell pre-release music, unreleased demos, graphical artwork, exclusive live versions, as well as digital merchandise and backstage content.

The new LimeWire team, spread over Austria, Germany and the UK, plans to launch the service in May that would allow music fans and collectors to buy and trade a variety of music-related assets.

"We want to open up the gates for small, medium and big artists with a lot of moderation and curation," Zehetmayr said.

It plans to give up to 90% of the revenue to the artists and looking to onboard one million users within the first year.

"LimeWire kind of laid the foundation for music streaming ... it's a piece of internet legacy and we are thankful that we can turn it around at something for the music industry," Zehetmayr said.

Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm and ELizabeth Howcroft in London; editing by Uttaresh.V
https://www.reuters.com/technology/r...ts-2022-03-09/





10-Gbps Last-Mile Internet could Become a Reality Within the Decade

Without having to change your ISP.
Ameya Paleja

If a 1-Gbps connection allows you to stream content and make video calls seamlessly, imagine what a 10-Gbps internet connection would be able to do for you. According to CableLabs, an innovation lab for the cable industry, this could be a reality before we turn into the next decade.

The lines between work and home have thinned during these pandemic years and our reliance on the internet has increased tremendously. Even as mobile internet lets one stay connected to work from home, it is no match when you want to stream 4K content or play games with friends across the world. A solid wired connection is what one seeks if there's an important presentation to make to a client and a wireless connection might not actually work in the quiet corners of one's own abode.

The developers of technology at CableLabs are already working on delivering the next big thing on the internet in as effortless a manner as possible. Working with thousands of cable internet vendors, CableLabs is well aware of the fact that, unlike mobile internet, it is not possible to upgrade wired networks physically every time a major upgrade needs to be rolled out. This is why it has updated the workings of data transmission to improve the speeds and reliability of wired internet.

With DOCSIS 4.0 specifications, it is able to use existing hybrid fiber coax (HFC) to deliver ultra-high speeds. According to CableLabs, one of its member organizations, Comcast, delivered 4Gbps upload and download speeds during a live test last year while another member, Charter Communications, was able to reach speeds of up to 8.5Gbps during downloads and 6Gbps during upload on an HFC.

CableLabs has borrowed technologies such as coherent optics that are typically used on long-haul, metro, and submarine networks, and used them to task on existing fiber networks. When teamed with wavelength division multiplexing (using different colors to send data over the same fiber optic cable), the technology enables existing fiber assets to carry a much higher number of bits per second. Using these specifications, Comcast was able to achieve 10 Gbps speeds during a test, CableLabs said in its press release.

To further the demand for these ultra-high speeds, CableLabs has launched the 10G Challenge to develop applications on these networks. If you would like to experience these speeds, you can also head over to Medina, Ohio, where another CableLabs member, Armstrong, has already launched its 10 Gigabit network and currently connects over 3,000 businesses and houses with these mind-blowing speeds.
https://interestingengineering.com/1...hin-the-decade





DNA Gets Artificial Upgrade to Store Humanity's Boundless Digital Data

Scientists add seven new letters to the existing nucleotide alphabet, opening the door for extreme levels of data storage capacity.
Monisha Ravisetti

In the last few years, humanity has created more data than in all of history combined -- a remarkable level of output with no signs of slowing down. But where are we going to put all of it?

Though scientists are constantly increasing hard drive sizes to hold humanity's information, and many of them believe this could be done indefinitely, some suggest these efforts will eventually be outrun by the exponential rate at which we generate data. In response to such worries, scientists have been looking into a rather unique solution -- storing files, photos and documents on nature's very own information database: DNA.

DNA is both vast and condensed enough to contain an unfathomable amount of data in hyper small spaces. After all, the double helix strands protect our bodies' entire blueprints while tucked inside cell nuclei merely 10 micrometers wide. Plus, DNA is naturally abundant and can withstand super harsh conditions on Earth. Scientists can even retrieve genetic information from DNA that's several centuries old.

"Every day, several petabytes of data are generated on the internet. Only one gram of DNA would be sufficient to store that data. That's how dense DNA is as a storage medium," Kasra Tabatabaei, a researcher at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, said in a statement.

Tabatabaei is the co-author of a new study, published in last month's edition of the journal Nano Letters, that may well take the DNA data storage concept to great heights. Essentially, the study team is the first to artificially extend the DNA alphabet, which could allow for massive storage capacities and accommodate a pretty extreme level of digital data.

Before we dive into the details, here's a quick biology recap.

DNA encodes genetic information with four molecules called nucleotides. There's adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine, or A, G, C and T. In a sense, DNA has a four-letter alphabet, and different letter combinations represent different bits of data. With just these four letters, nature can encode the genetic information of every single living organism. So, theoretically, we should be able to store a ton of digital data with this crew of letters, too. But what if we had a longer alphabet? Presumably, that'd give us a much deeper capacity.

Following this line of thought, the team behind the new study artificially added seven new letters to the DNA repertoire. "Imagine the English alphabet," Tabatabei said. "If you only had four letters to use, you could only create so many words. If you had the full alphabet, you could produce limitless word combinations. That's the same with DNA. Instead of converting zeroes and ones to A, G, C and T, we can convert zeroes and ones to A, G, C, T and the seven new letters in the storage alphabet."

Further, ensuring information encoded in these 11 letters can be regurgitated on demand, the researchers also coined a novel mechanism that precisely reads back the synthetic DNA's data. The system uses deep-learning algorithms and artificial intelligence to discern between the human-made DNA letters and natural ones, as well as differentiate everything from one another.

All in all, it provides an extremely clear readout of the DNA's letter combinations, thereby unveiling any and all information hiding inside.

"We tried 77 different combinations of the 11 nucleotides, and our method was able to differentiate each of them perfectly," Chao Pan, a graduate student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a co-author on this study, said in a statement, and "the deep learning framework as part of our method to identify different nucleotides is universal, which enables the generalizability of our approach to many other applications."

DNA isn't the only up and coming, innovative way of holding our compounding data. A Harvard University research team, for instance, is working on using neon dyes to encode invaluable information. Still, Tabatabaei remarked, "DNA is nature's original data storage system. We can use it to store any kind of data: images, video, music -- anything."
https://www.cnet.com/news/dna-gets-a...-digital-data/

















Until next week,

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