*HOT* Tech News And Downloads, I Would Read This Thread And Post Any Good Info

FREE,IPOD VIDEO CONVERTER AND MORE

IPOD VIDEO CONVERTER..........Freez iPod Video Converter is a tool to convert popular video formats to MP4 videos played on iPod .....(free).....
http://www.smallvideosoft.com/


Freez Screen Video Capture
version 1.2

Freez Screen Video Capture is a tool to record screen activities and sounds as standard AVI video files.
Download Now! | Learn More | How to Use

Freez Flv to Mp3 Converter
version 1.2

Freez Flv to Mp3 Converter is a a tool to extract audio stream from Flash FLV files to Mp3 files.
Download Now! | Learn More | How to Use

Freez 3GP Video Converter
version 2.0

Freez 3GP Video Converter is a tool to convert popular video formats to 3gp, 3g2 videos for mobile phone users.
Download Now! | Learn More | How to Use

Freez DVD Ripper
version 1.5

Freez DVD Ripper is a tool to convert DVD movies to DivX/Xvid avi files, H.264 MP4 files, and iPod MP4 video files.
Download Now! | Learn More | How to Use

Freez Flv to AVI/MPEG/WMV Converter version 1.5

Freez Flv to AVI/MPEG/WMV Converter is a tool to convert Flash FLV video files to AVI, MPEG, WMV.
Download Now! | Learn More | How to Use

LINK TO ALL
http://www.smallvideosoft.com/

 

YouConvert Classic 1.3

Publisher's Description
YouConvert is a video tool to convert almost any video format into a video format suitable for Internet uploading, namely 320x240 WMV. You can then upload your video directly onto popular websites like YouTube.com or videos.yahoo.com.

As YouConvert is designed solely to produce an upload-friendly video format, everything has been optimized and simplified. Click "Open Movie" to select the source, then click "Start" to start converting. That’s all.
After just a few minutes (depending on the length of the video) you are ready for uploading


Publisher: Visit Website

Release Date: 2007-05-24

Submit Date: 2007-05-28

OS: Win 9x/ME/2K/XP/2K3

LINK
http://www.freewarefiles.com/program_6_227_32861.html

 

ShareControl 1.11

Size: 619KB

Publisher: Visit Website

Release Date: 2007-03-02

Submit Date: 2007-05-28

OS: Win 9x/ME/2K/XP/2K3

Publisher's Description
ShareControl is a P2P file-sharing tool that moves all downloaded files into another folder immediately after downloading them. This helps prevent other people from uploading these files before you have had a chance to check contents. File sharing using P2P applications is fun, but providing illegal contents for uploading, even unintentionally, can have legal consequences. ShareControl lets you share your files with others without facing this risk.

File names are often misleading about the contents of the file. Previewing while downloading is not enough to reveal the true contents. Add the fact that downloads are often unattended, overnight for instance, and it is clear that users do not have enough opportunity to check the files they have downloaded before others start uploading them from their hard disk.
Is ShareControl a threat to the P2P sharing community? I don´t think so. ShareControl will not reduce the number of quality contents available for sharing. On the contrary, screening by P2P participants will significantly improve the P2P community’s general credibility. ShareControl will dramatically reduce the chance of your computer being used to distribute contents you do not approve of.


LINK
http://www.freewarefiles.com/program_5_181_32863.html

 

MPlayer for Windows (2007-05-28)

Size: 18.05MB

Publisher: Visit Website

Release Date: 2007-05-28

Submit Date: 2007-05-28

OS: Win NT/2000/XP/Vista

Publisher's Description
This is a full package of MPlayer for Windows and the MPUI front-end.
This package contains everything you´ll need in one single download!

Key features are:

* The award-winning OpenSource Movie Player available for Windows now
* Plays almost every Audio/Video format that exists today, try out yourself!
* Intuitive user-interface, no need to run MPlayer from the command-line
* Full multi-language and Unicode support, more than 20 languages included
* Self-contained "all-in-one" install wizard (made with NSIS)
* More than 192 Video- und 85 Audiocodecs supported natively! (full list)
* Latest optimized MPlayer builds by Celtic Druid for best performance
* Improved version of MPUI front-end by MuldeR, compiled with Delphi7 Professional
* Binary Codec Package for MPlayer included, no need to download/install manually
* Optimized builds for: Athlon-XP, Athlon-64, Pentium-4 (Prescott), Pemtium-M
* Also includes a ´Generic´ build with Runtime CPU Detection
* about 17 MB total download size for the complete package


Recent Updates:

* [2007-05-28] Installer Updates
* [2007-05-25] MPlayer builds updated to latest SVN revision (2006-05-23)
* [2007-03-31] MPlayer builds updated to latest SVN revision (2006-03-31)
* [2007-03-10] MPlayer builds updated to latest SVN revision (2006-03-10)
* [2007-03-10] The OpenGL renderer should work with MPUI now - more or less
* [2007-03-10] Added a tweak to enable OpenGL renderer (-vo gl2) to the installer
* [2007-02-23] MPlayer builds updated to latest SVN revision (2006-02-22)
* [2007-02-23] Install will now use UPX to "optimize" MPlayer.exe
* [2007-02-11] MPlayer builds updated to latest SVN revision (2006-02-10)
* [2007-02-01] MPlayer builds updated to latest SVN revision (2006-02-01)
* [2007-02-01] Added optimzed MPlayer build for Intel Core 2 processors
* [2007-01-26] MPlayer builds updated to latest SVN revision (2006-01-26)
* [2007-01-26] This update fixes Real/WMV problems introduced in previous update!
* [2007-01-26] Updated installer to NSIS 2.23
* [2007-01-21] MPlayer builds updated to latest SVN revision (MPlayer 1.0 RC-1 Try-2)
* [2006-12-20] MPlayer builds updated to latest SVN revision (2006-12-20)
* [2006-12-17] Various installer improvements
* [2006-12-03] MPlayer builds updated to latest SVN revision (2006-12-03)


Weblinks:

* The official MPlayer Homepage
* MPUI - MPlayer frontend for Windows (official site)
* Celtic Druid´s Homepage (MPlayer builds and many more)
* MPlayer for Windows discussion on Doom9.org

LINK
http://www.freewarefiles.com/program_6_74_21340.html

 

Movica: The Movie Editor 0.5.0 Beta

Size: 737KB

Publisher: Visit Website

Release Date: 2007-05-28

Submit Date: 2007-05-28

OS: Win NT/2000/XP

Publisher's Description
A graphical editor for Windows Media (.asf, .wmv) and MPEG files. Select or delete multiple portions from a video file. The system lets you copy, paste and fine tune the selections. Also supports joining of video / movie files.

LINK
http://www.freewarefiles.com/program_6_74_21424.html

 

UltraGet Video Downloader 1.0.1

Size: 5.20MB

Publisher: Visit Website

Release Date: 2007-05-25

Submit Date: 2007-05-28

OS: Win 2000/XP/Vista


Publisher's Description
UltraGet Video Downloader allows you to easily download and play FLV (Flash for Video) from YouTube. This YouTube video downloader allows you to easily grab and save any YouTube videos to your local computer. The internal FLV (Flash for Video) video player enables you to easily enjoy the downloaded flash videos.

With UltraGet Video Downloader, you can download YouTube videos directly into your computer and watch these files while you are offline! It makes your videos stream faster and play smoother when you watch these downloaded FLV videos offline.


LINK
http://www.freewarefiles.com/program_5_239_32855.html

 

Personal Video Database 0.8.5

Size: 1.76MB

Publisher: Visit Website

Release Date: 2007-05-28

Submit Date: 2007-05-28

OS: Win 2000/XP/2003/Vista


Publisher's Description
Personal Video Database is a free video catalog software application with user friendly interface and many useful functions that help users create their Movie collection easy and fast.

Features:

* Easy to use User Interface
* Many different information fields
* Many configuration options
* Powerful filtering and grouping
* A possibility to save Posters, Screenshots and Covers for each Movie
* Different Import / Export Plugins
* TV Series support
* Statistics
* Unicode support
* Password protection

LINK
http://www.freewarefiles.com/program_6_201_32847.html

 

Ignition 2.12.0.55

Size: 1.13MB

Publisher: Visit Website

Release Date: 2007-05-28

Submit Date: 2007-05-28

OS: Win 98/ME/2000/XP


Publisher's Description
Ignition is a CD/DVD burning optimizer. It helps you saving space on your media by optimizing the way files are placed on the CDs/DVDs of your set. For example if your backup fits on 3-4 CDs, a manual files organazation might lead on a 4th with only 10 Mb of data when a better organization would have only required 3 CDs. Thanks to Ignition, you´ll save media, time and money.

Features:

* Support 650,700 Mb CDs, HD Burn CDs and DVDs (even Dual Layer DVDs)
* Ability to create ISO images (requires CopyToDVD)
* Automatically create folders for each optimized CD or create a TXT file that contains the optimized list of each CD´s content.
* Ability to put a bunch of files on every media (autorun, codecs...)
* Ability to burn CDs/DVDs (requires CopyToDVD)
* Internationalization support.

LINK
http://www.freewarefiles.com/program_6_205_32854.html

 

Fresh View 7.22
Author: FreshDevices
Date: 2007-05-28
Size: 2.16 Mb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win All


Fresh View is a free software designed to help you organize and view multimedia files (images, audio, and video). It gives you the ability to watch movies, listen to music, and view graphics in a slide show. Image files in a folder can be displayed using a number of views, such as thumbnails view that lets you quickly see what your images are without having to open them.

You can convert graphics from one type to another, print, and even create a HTML album. This easy-to-use software supports 86 different formats.

link

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4719.html

 

How to uninstall Internet Explorer 7

Luckily, you can remove IE7 from your Windows XP PC using Control Panel's "Add/Remove Programs." Nice to know it's not more permanently glommed onto Windows' innards.

Luckily, you can remove IE7 from your Windows XP PC using Control Panel's "Add/Remove Programs." Nice to know it's not more permanently glommed onto Windows' innards.



How to uninstall Internet Explorer 7
View products that this article applies to.


Article ID : 927177
Last Review : April 12, 2007
Revision : 5.0

On This Page
SUMMARY
Method 1: Use "Add or Remove Programs" to uninstall Internet Explorer 7
Step 1: Use "Add or Remove Programs" to uninstall Internet Explorer 7
Method 2: Use Spuninst.exe to uninstall Internet Explorer 7
Step 1: Make hidden files and hidden folders visible
Step 2: Run Spuninst.exe to uninstall Internet Explorer 7
SUMMARY
This article describes how to uninstall Windows Internet Explorer 7 in Microsoft Windows XP and in Microsoft Windows Server 2003. It also describes that Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 is restored after Internet Explorer 7 is uninstalled.

This article is intended for a beginning to intermediate computer user.

You may find it easier to follow the steps if you print this article first.

Back to the top
Method 1: Use "Add or Remove Programs" to uninstall Internet Explorer 7
Step 1: Use "Add or Remove Programs" to uninstall Internet Explorer 7
a. Click Start, and then click Run.
b. In the Open box, type appwiz.cpl, and then click OK.
c. In the list of programs, click Windows Internet Explorer 7, and then click Remove.
d. Follow the wizard instructions to uninstall Internet Explorer 7.
After you uninstall Internet Explorer 7, double-click the Internet Explorer icon to verify that Internet Explorer 6 is restored.

If you cannot uninstall Internet Explorer 7 by using this method, try Method 2.


Method 2: Use Spuninst.exe to uninstall Internet Explorer 7
Step 1: Make hidden files and hidden folders visible
a. Click Start, and then click My Documents.
b. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.
c. Click the View tab.
d. In the Advanced settings list, under Hidden files and folders, click Show hidden files and folders, and then click OK.


Step 2: Run Spuninst.exe to uninstall Internet Explorer 7
a. Click Start, and then click Run.
b. In the Open box, type %windir%\ie7\spuninst\spuninst.exe, and then click OK.
c. Follow the wizard instructions to uninstall Internet Explorer 7.

After you uninstall Internet Explorer 7, double-click the Internet Explorer icon to verify that Internet Explorer 6 is restored.

APPLIES TO
• Windows Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Server 2003 IA64
• Windows Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Server 2003
• Windows Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP

link to article at microsoft
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927177

 

NirCmd v1.85 - Freeware command-line tool
Copyright (c) 2003 - 2006 Nir Sofer
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/nircmd.html

Description
NirCmd is a small command-line utility that allows you to do some useful tasks without displaying any user interface. By running NirCmd with simple command-line option, you can write and delete values and keys in the Registry, write values into INI file, dial to your internet account or connect to a VPN network, restart windows or shut down the computer, create shortcut to a file, change the created/modified date of a file, change your display settings, turn off your monitor, open the door of your CD-ROM drive, and more...

Examples of what you can do with NirCmd



Open the door of J: CD-ROM drive nircmd.exe cdrom open j:
Close the door of Y: CD-ROM drive nircmd.exe cdrom close y:
Increase the system volume by 2000 units (out of 65535) nircmd.exe changesysvolume 2000
Decrease the system volume by 5000 units (out of 65535) nircmd.exe changesysvolume -5000
Set the volume to the highest value nircmd.exe setsysvolume 65535
Mute the system volume nircmd.exe mutesysvolume 1
Unmute the system volume nircmd.exe mutesysvolume 0
Switch the system volume between the mute and normal state. nircmd.exe mutesysvolume 2
Create a shortcut on your desktop that switch the system volume between the mute and normal state. nircmd.exe cmdshortcut "~$folder.desktop$" "Switch Volume" mutesysvolume 2
Turn off the monitor nircmd.exe monitor off
Start the default screen saver nircmd.exe screensaver
Put your computer in 'standby' mode nircmd.exe standby
log off the current user nircmd.exe exitwin logoff
Ask if you want to reboot, and if you answer 'Yes', reboot the computer. nircmd.exe qboxcom "Do you want to reboot ?" "question" exitwin reboot
Turn off your computer nircmd.exe exitwin poweroff
Turn off all computers specified in computers.txt ! multiremote copy "c:\temp\computers.txt" exitwin poweroff force
Dial to "My Internet" connection nircmd.exe rasdial "My Internet"
Disconnect the "My Internet" connection nircmd.exe rashangup "My Internet"
Make your Internet Explorer windows 75% transparent ! (192 / 256) nircmd.exe win trans ititle "internet explorer" 192
Minimize all your Internet Explorer windows nircmd.exe win min class "IEFrame"
Close all your Internet Explorer windows nircmd.exe win close class "IEFrame"
Close all your Explorer windows (My Computer, folders, and so on) nircmd.exe win close class "CabinetWClass"
Hide all your Internet Explorer windows nircmd.exe win hide class "IEFrame"
Show all your Internet Explorer windows (after you made them hidden with previous example) nircmd.exe win show class "IEFrame"
Center all top-level windows nircmd.exe win center alltop
Remove the title bar of My Computer window. nircmd.exe win -style title "my computer" 0x00C00000
Return the title bar of My Computer window that we removed in the previous example. nircmd.exe win +style title "my computer" 0x00C00000
Set the My Computer window to right-to-left order (For hebrew and arabic languages) nircmd win +exstyle title "my computer" 0x00400000
Set all child windows of My Computer window to right-to-left order (For hebrew and arabic languages) nircmd win child title "my computer" +exstyle all 0x00400000
Create a shortcut on your desktop that closes all your Internet Explorer windows nircmd.exe cmdshortcut " "~$folder.desktop$ "Close All IE" win close class "IEFrame"
Create a shortcut on your desktop that hides all your Internet Explorer windows nircmd.exe cmdshortcut " "~$folder.desktop$ "Hide All IE" win hide class "IEFrame"
Create a shortcut on your desktop that shows back all your Internet Explorer windows nircmd.exe cmdshortcut " "~$folder.desktop$ "Show All IE" win show class "IEFrame"
Set the Windows Calculator as top-most window (above all other windows) nircmd.exe win settopmost title "Calculator" 1
Set the Windows Calculator back to regular window (non top-most window) nircmd.exe win settopmost title "Calculator" 0
Create a shortcut to Windows calculator under Start Menu->Programs->Calculators nircmd.exe shortcut "f:\winnt\system32\calc.exe" "~$folder.programs$\Calculators" "Windows Calculator"
Hide the desktop window nircmd.exe win hide class progman
Show the desktop window (After hiding it in previous example) nircmd.exe win show class progman
Hide the start button on the system tray nircmd.exe win child class "Shell_TrayWnd" hide class "button"
Show the start button on the system tray nircmd.exe win child class "Shell_TrayWnd" show class "button"
Hide the clock on the system tray nircmd.exe win child class "Shell_TrayWnd" hide class "TrayClockWClass"
Show the clock on the system tray nircmd.exe win child class "Shell_TrayWnd" show class "TrayClockWClass"
Kill (terminate) all instance of Internet Explorer processes nircmd.exe killprocess iexplore.exe
Create a shortcut on your desktop that opens the door of K: CDROM drive when you run it. nircmd.exe cmdshortcut "~$folder.desktop$" "Open CDROM" cdrom open k:
Create a shortcut to NirSoft Web site on your desktop nircmd.exe urlshortcut "http://www.nirsoft.net" "~$folder.desktop$" "NirSoft"
Add NirSoft Web site to your Favorities under Links folder. nircmd.exe urlshortcut "http://www.nirsoft.net" "~$folder.favorites$\Links" "NirSoft"
Create a shortcut to NirSoft Web site on the desktop of all computers listed in computers.txt nircmd.exe multiremote copy "c:\temp\computers.txt" urlshortcut "http://www.nirsoft.net" "~$folder.common_desktop$" "NirSoft"
Set the display mode to 800x600x24bit colors nircmd.exe setdisplay 800 600 24
Create a shortcut on the desktop that set the display mode to 800x600x24bit colors nircmd.exe cmdshortcut "~$folder.desktop$" &quot800x600x24" setdisplay 800 600 24
Copy all shortcuts on your desktop to another folder (f:\temp\desktop). nircmd.exe execmd copy "~$folder.desktop$\*.lnk" f:\temp\desktop
Restart your Apache server (under Windows NT/2000/XP/2003) nircmd.exe service restart apache
Create a shortcut on your desktop that restarts the Apache server nircmd.exe cmdshortcut "~$folder.desktop$" "Restart Apache" service restart apache
Restart your IIS nircmd.exe service restart w3svc
Restart MySql nircmd.exe service restart MySql
Open the desired Registry key/value in RegEdit nircmd.exe regedit "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion" "CommonFilesDir"
Open the Registry key that you copied to the clipboard in RegEdit. nircmd regedit "~$clipboard$"
Disable the screen saver nircmd.exe regsetval sz "HKCU\control panel\desktop" "ScreenSaveActive" 0
Enable the screen saver nircmd.exe regsetval sz "HKCU\control panel\desktop" "ScreenSaveActive" 1
Change the date/time of the specified filename (creation time and modified time) nircmd.exe setfiletime "c:\temp\myfile.txt" "24-06-2003 17:57:11" "22-11-2005 10:21:56"
Copy your desktop folder path to the clipboard nircmd.exe clipboard set ~$folder.desktop$
Copy your start menu folder path to the clipboard nircmd.exe clipboard set ~$folder.start_menu$
Copy the content of info1.txt (simple text file) to the clipboard nircmd.exe clipboard readfile "c:\My Files\info1.txt"
Add the text content of clipboard to info1.txt nircmd.exe clipboard addfile "c:\My Files\info1.txt"
Clear the clipboard nircmd.exe clipboard clear
Create all folders specified in "c:\temp\folders.txt". The folder path names are separated by CRLF characters. nircmd.exe paramsfile "c:\temp\folders.txt" "" "" execmd md ~$fparam.1$
Install the specified .NET assembly in the global assembly cache (like gacutil) nircmd.exe gac install "C:\temp\MyAssembly\bin\MyAssembly.dll"
Empty the recycle bin in all drives. nircmd.exe emptybin

System Requirements
This utility can work in all 32-bit Windows operating systems: Windows 9x/ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. However, some of NirCmd commands works only on Windows NT/2000/XP.
Versions History
Date Version Description
24/07/2006 1.85

* New command: cmdshortcutkey

15/07/2006 1.84

* Starting from this version, if you don't specify a sound device index in setsysvolume, changesysvolume, setsysvolume2, changesysvolume2 and mutesysvolume commands, the default sound device in control panel ("preferred device") is used.
* New find options in win command: active, foreground, desktop

20/05/2006 1.83

* Fixed bug with parameter variables: parameter dialog-box appear more than once.
* New find option in Win command: alltopnodesktop

18/02/2006 1.82

* New win actions: postmsg and sendmsg.
* New command: closeprocess
* NirCmd now returns a non-zero value on error.

19/11/2005 1.81

* New command: emptybin - Empty the Recycle Bin.
* New optional parameter in setdisplay command: refresh rate.
* rashangup command without parameter - disconnect all active connections.

24/09/2005 1.80

* New commands: exec2, cmdwait.
* New options in clipboard command.
* Volume commands (setsysvolume, changesysvolume, setsysvolume2, changesysvolume2, mutesysvolume) now allows you to change the volume of non-default sound card.

07/07/2005 1.70

* New win actions: activate, hideshow, +style, -style, +exstyle, -exstyle
* New commands: movecursor, setcursor.
* New command: setfilefoldertime - allows you to change the date/time of folders, under Windows 2000/XP only.

10/06/2005 1.62

* New actions in win command: focus, enable, disable

26/05/2005 1.61

* new command: sysrefresh - make a general system refresh after modifying your system settings in the Registry.

07/05/2005 1.60

* New paramsfile command: Allows you to execute a command multiple times by loading the parameters from a text file.
* New actions in win command: move, center, settext.
* New 'child' action in win command: Allows you to move/hide child windows (For example: the start button in the system tray)
* New clipboard command: Allows you to put a string in the clipboard, and clear the clipboard.
* New gac command: Allows you to install assemblies in Global Assembly Cache.

28/12/2004 1.56

* New variable: ~$clipboard$ - paste the text that you copied to the clipboard into the command-line.
* Parameter variables: ~$param.ParamName$ - Display an input window for typing the text that you want insert into the command-line.

07/12/2004 1.55 Added RegEdit command.
18/11/2004 1.54

* On reg commands (regsetval, regdelval, regdelkey), you can now also use the following abbreviated key name: HKCU for HKEY_CURRENT_USER, HKLM for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, HKCR for HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, HKU for HKEY_USERS, HKCC for HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG.
* redraw action for win command.

03/11/2004 1.53 Fixed 'monitor off' problem in XP SP2.
09/10/2004 1.52 rasapi32.dll is now loaded only when using the dial commands (rasdial, rasdialdlg, rashangup). In previous versions, NirCmd was statically linked to rasapi32.dll, and that caused problems in old NT systems.
29/09/2004 1.51 Variable names are now enclosed with '$' char instead of '%' char.
I made this change because the '%' char causes problems when running NirCmd from cmd/bat file. using the '%' char for variable names is still supported for backward compatibility.
22/09/2004 1.50

* New commands: cmdshortcut, regsvr, mutesysvolume, changesysvolume, changesysvolume2, setsysvolume2.
* New actions in win command: trans, setsize, settopmost, ititle.
* New variables: folder.nircmd, nir.exefile
* nircmdc.exe - console version of NirCmd.
* Changed name - from NirComLime to NirCmd.

05/05/2004 1.40

* New commands: wait, setvolume, setsysvolume, execmd, exec.
* New commands for executing NirCmd on remote machines: remote and multiremote.
* Folder and system variables.
* New option in setfiletime command - set the file time to the current time (now parameter)
* New parameter in shortcut command - hot key.

01/03/2004 1.30

* New commands: qboxcom, beep, stdbeep, cdrom, urlshortcut, monitor, screensaver, standby, and hibernate.
* Fixed the bug with ~x string sequences.

08/01/2004 1.20

* New commands: setdialuplogon, script
* Special string sequences (~q, ~t, ~n and so on) to allow you to embed quotes and new line characters into the parameters of any command.

19/11/2003 1.11 New options in shortcut command
10/10/2003 1.10 New commands: killprocess, service, memdump, win, lockws.
09/09/2003 1.00 First release.

License
This utility is released as freeware. You are allowed to freely distribute this utility via floppy disk, CD-ROM, Internet, or in any other way, as long as you don't charge anything for this. If you distribute this utility, you must include all files in the distribution package, without any modification !

View NirCmd Full Help File
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/nircmd2.html#using
Download NirCmd
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/nircmd.zip

 

WinRAR 3.70
May 29, 2007 - 9:02 AM - by Digital Dave
Come and get it...

WinRAR is a 32-bit Windows version of the RAR archiver - a powerful tool which allows you to create, manage and control archive files.

majorgeeks.com
http://www.majorgeeks.com/WinRAR_d524.html

 

REALTEK 10/100M Fast Ethernet Driver for Windows 663
May 29, 2007 - 6:13 AM - by Digital Dave
Updated...

Drivers for Realtek 10/100/1000 network cards for all operating systems up to XP.

majorgeeks.com


REALTEK 10/100M Fast Ethernet Driver for Windows 663
Author: Realtek
Date: 2007-05-28
Size: 4.47 Mb
License: Freeware
Requires: 98/ME/NT4/2000/XP/2003


Drivers for Realtek 10/100/1000 network cards for all operating systems up to XP.

link for download
http://www.majorgeeks.com/REALTEK_10100M_Fast_Ethernet_Driver_for_Windows_d4957.html

 

File-sharing sites are being subverted for web attacks

# NewScientist.com news service
# Mason Inman

Peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks, which let users trade movies, music and software online, are increasingly being used to trick PCs into attacking other machines, experts say.

Computer scientists have previously shown how P2P networks can be subverted so that several connected PCs gang up to attack a single machine, flooding it with enough traffic to make it crash. This can work even if the target is not part of the P2P network itself.

Now, security experts are warning that P2P networks are increasingly being used to do just this. "Until January of this year we had never seen a peer-to-peer network subverted and used for an attack," says Darren Rennick of internet security company Prolexic in an advisory released recently. "We now see them constantly being subverted."

A large number of computers can easily overwhelm the servers of even large companies with data, in a so-called "distributed denial of service" (DDoS) attack. In the past, such attacks have been used by criminals to extort money from large firms.

In May 2007, DDoS attacks were used to take down web servers belonging to banks, government agencies, and newspapers across Estonia, in coordinated, and apparently politically-motivated, strikes.
Database poisoning

However, mounting a DDoS attack normally involves exploiting software bugs to break into systems, often using a computer virus, and creating an army of remotely controlled machines, or a "botnet".

Early in 2006, Keith Ross and Naoum Naoumov at the Polytechnic University, in Brooklyn, New York, demonstrated that P2P networks could be used to launch an attack without hijacking any PCs, in a published study of the eDonkey P2P network.

"In all file-sharing systems, you need a database to locate where these files are," Ross says. "The trick is to poison the database, to put bogus entries in that say that a very popular file is located at some target address that you want to attack."

Thousands of computers will then start contacting the target computer requesting, for example, the latest Britney Spears song or episodes of The Office.

A more recent study shows that BitTorrent, one of the most popular file-sharing networks, can be misused the same way. BitTorrent splits files up for sharing, which dramatically increases download speeds and also has a more centralised database than networks such as eDonkey. But Athina Markopoulou and colleagues at the University of California in Irvine, US show that it can still be used to mount a DDoS attack.
Client hacking

They created modified versions of BitTorrent files, and their own "tracker" a computer, which stores the databases that peers use to find one another on the network. Then, using 25 bogus files, they were able to trick more than 50,000 computers into cooperating within a few hours. "We needed to do some hacking in the BitTorrent code," says Karim El Defrawy, a member of Markopoulou's group. "But anyone with some small programming experience could do this."

Bram Cohen, creator of BitTorrent, points out that there are far simpler ways to launch similar attacks: "Anyone with a popular website can put lots of tags for hidden versions of an image on somebody else's website, have some JavaScript get those images to reload once every few seconds, and completely denial of service a medium-size or even large website."

However, other experts maintain that the popularity of P2P networks makes the issue important. "As P2P networks become more successful, this will become more of a problem," says Sanjay Rao of Purdue University, US, who has also studied the issue. "I think it's going to have the potential to be much worse than the botnet problem."

"One reason for the shift in strategy, is that these attacks are harder to defend and track down than traditional botnet-based DDoS," adds Richard Miller, of UK internet monitoring firm Netcraft. "They represent a new attack vector, and it will take a while before the internet security community is widely aware of the new technique, and how best to defend against it."
http://www.newscientisttech.com/article.ns?id=dn11949&feedId=online-news_rss20

 

iTunes DRM-free Day today?

p2pnet.net news:- Is today the day? Can we expect an announcement from Steve Jobs, that iTunes will now be touting non-DRM downloads supplied by Big 4 music cartel member EMI?

Whenever the downloads eventually arrived, they may be DRM-free, but they'll be far from free free, coming in at a whopping $1.30 each.

Current iTunes tracks, fully loaded with DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) consumer control software, aren't exactly cheap either. They're a dollar a go, or even more, depending on where you live.

Apple and EMI said a "significant portion" of EMI's catalogue of DRM-free music would be sold through iTunes, and the implementation was to have been this month.

But May is almost over.

EMI has just been bought by a private European group. Did the acquisition upset the Apple download cart?

But, "Like an an old-style burlesque stripper waving fans in front of her body, only to retreat behind a curtain at the crucial moment," maybe Apple is merely, "teasing Macolytes with the supposed impending arrival of DRM-free iTunes product," p2pnet suggested on Monday.

And it looks like tomorrow will be DRM Day or, rather, DRM-free day.

"Apple released iTunes 7.2 updated in the Mac OS X Software Update tonight, which offers support for "iTunes Plus", Apple's new DRM-free $1.29 offerings announced in April," states MacRumors, going on:

Despite the software update, the Apple iTunes Store itself does not show any DRM-Free music currently available for purchase. The DRM-Free launch will likely occur later this morning (Wed, May 30th).

From the iTunes Help, it appears you will be able to upgrade your existing songs to the iTunes Plus (DRM Free) version:

The iTunes Store also offers songs without DRM protection, from participating record labels. These DRM-free songs, called "iTunes Plus," have no usage restrictions and feature higher-quality encoding.

The first time you buy an iTunes Plus song, you specify whether to make all future purchases iTunes Plus versions (when available). You can change this setting by accessing your account information on the iTunes Store.

If you already have iTunes Store purchases that are now available as iTunes Plus downloads, you may upgrade your existing purchases. To do so, visit the iTunes Store and follow the onscreen instructions.

Based on the text strings in the iTunes resources, it appears that upgraded iTunes Plus music replaces the original purchases in your library. The replaced files can be moved to the Trash or to your Desktop optionally.

But when you get right down to brass tacks, it won't really matter much when iTunes starts supporting DRM-free downloads.

In the real world of online music, things will remain as they've always been: music lovers will continue to download from affordable independent services such as AllofMP3.com, from sites set up by musicians themselves, and always, of course from the free p2p networks.

Because whatever the Big 4 may hope, p2p file sharing isn't going away and people with any sense will continue to ignore the corporate supplied and backed services, of which, realistically speaking, there's only one, and that's iTunes.

And ironically, iTunes isn't even a genuine service. It's the online front end for Apple iPods, paid for by the punters themselves at a dollar a pop.

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Also See:
significant portion - EMI unlikely to change DRM plans, May 25, 2007
just been bought - EMI sold for $4.7 billion, May 21, 2007
p2pnet - Apple still coy on DRM-free iTunes, May 28, 2007
MacRumors - Apple Releases iTunes 7.2, Launches iTunes Plus (DRM Free), May 30, 2007
real world - 1 billion songs a DAY shared online, March 8, 2007
http://p2pnet.net/story/12375

 

Meet the Rat-Fink-o-Fone

p2pnet.net news:- Hollywood pirate sniffers Lucky and Flo are going to have to move over because Regal Entertainment Group figures it's come up with a sure fire way to ease the dogs into retirement.

It's the Rat-Fink-o-Fone, a handy little gadget with four buttons which'll allow disgruntled patrons to grass on anyone who's doing something they don't like.

When it comes to putative pirates, all they'll have to do is press button three, and sit back.

Officially called the Regal Guest Response System, the FinkFone, for short, is the work of the Regal Entertainment Group, owner of America's largest theatre circuit, and some 114 locations are now utilizing it, the company boasts.

It's a, "hand-held pager with four buttons," it explains. "Each button alerts local management of a different problem such as: sound, picture, piracy or other disturbance. When the patron pushes a button, a message goes to a pager worn by a manager which tells them the nature of the concern, and in which auditorium.

Needless to say, only carefully selected patrons get to use the FinkFone. They're all Regal Crown Club members who've accumulated credits at the box office and concession stand to earn free popcorn, soft drinks, movies and now, the FinkFone, says Regal, adding:

"For their participation in the Guest Response System, Regal Crown Club members receive extra credits toward earning these great rewards."

FinkFones can be found at the following fine theaters, so watch it:

Albany, NY Miami, FL
CROSSGATES STADIUM 18 KENDALL VILLAGE STADIUM 16
MAGNOLIA PLACE STADIUM 16
Amarillo, TX SAWGRASS STADIUM 23
AMARILLO STAR STADIUM 14 SOUTH BEACH STADIUM 18


Atlanta, GA Minneapolis, MN
ATLANTIC STATION STADIUM 16 BROOKLYN CENTER STADIUM 20
HOLLYWOOD STADIUM 24 @ NORTH I-85
MALL OF GEORGIA STADIUM 20 + IMAX Nashville, TN
HOLLYWOOD STADIUM 27
Augusta, GA GREEN HILLS STADIUM 16
AUGUSTA EXCHANGE STADIUM 20 OPRY MILLS STADIUM 20 + IMAX

Austin, TX New York City, NY
METROPOLITAN STADIUM 14 BATTERY PARK STADIUM 11
SHEEPSHEAD BAY STADIUM 14

Baltimore, MD STATEN ISLAND STADIUM 16
HUNT VALLEY STADIUM 12 COURT STREET STADIUM 12
KAUFMAN ASTORIA STADIUM 14
Baton Rouge, LA COMMERCE CENTER STADIUM 18
CITIPLACE STADIUM 11 NEW ROC CITY STADIUM 18 + IMAX

Bend, OR Norfolk, VA
OLD MILL STADIUM 16 MACARTHUR CENTER STADIUM 18

Boise, ID Orlando, FL
BOISE STADIUM 21 + IMAX THE LOOP STADIUM 16
OVIEDO MARKETPLACE STADIUM 22
Buffalo, NY WINTER PARK VILLAGE STADIUM 20
ELMWOOD CENTER STADIUM 16 WATERFORD LAKES STADIUM 20


Charleston, SC. Philadelphia, PA
CHARLES TOWNE SQUARE STADIUM 18 BRANDYWINE TOWN CENTER STADIUM 16
DOWNINGTON STADIUM 16
Charlotte, NC HAMILTON COMMONS STADIUM 14
STONECREST AT PIPER GLEN STADIUM 22 PEOPLES PLAZA CINEMA STADIUM 17
PLYMOUTH MEETING 10
Cleveland, OH RIVERVIEW PLAZA STADIUM 17
MIDDLEBURG TOWN SQUARE STADIUM 16
SEVERANCE TOWN CENTER STADIUM 14 Portland, OR
CASCADE STADIUM 16
Dallas, TX BRIDGEPORT VILLAGE STADIUM 18
KEYSTONE PARK STADIUM 16 + IMAX
LLOYD CENTER 10

Dayton, OH LLOYD MALL 8
FAIRFIELD COMMONS STADIUM 20 DIVISION STREET STADIUM 13

Denver, CO Raleigh, NC
COLORADO CENTER STADIUM 9 BRIER CREEK STADIUM 14
DENVER PAVILIONS STADIUM 15 NORTH HILLS STADIUM 14
MEADOWS STADIUM 12
COLORADO MILLS STADIUM 16 Richmond, VA
VIRGINIA CENTER STADIUM 20
Fairbanks, AK SHORTPUMP STADIUM 14
GOLDSTREAM STADIUM 16
Sacramento, CA

Fresno, CA NATOMAS MARKETPLACE STADIUM 16
FRESNO STADIUM 21 + IMAX EL DORADO HILLS STADIUM 14
MODESTO STADIUM 10
Ft Myers, FL
BELLTOWER STADIUM 20 San Antonio, TX
HOLLYWOOD STADIUM 20 - NAPLES NORTHWOODS STADIUM 14
CIELO VISTA STADIUM 18
Greenville, SC LIVE OAK STADIUM 18
HOLLYWOOD STADIUM 20 ALAMO QUARRY STADIUM 16

Harrisburg, PA San Diego, CA
MANOR STADIUM 16 MIRA MESA STADIUM 18 + IMAX


Hartford, CT San Francisco, CA
BRASS MILL STADIUM 12 DEER VALLEY STADIUM 16
HACIENDA CROSSINGS STADIUM 20
Honolulu, HI + IMAX
DOLE CANNERY STADIUM 18 EMERY BAY STADIUM 10
JACK LONDON STADIUM 9
Houston, TX
HOUSTON MARQ*E STADIUM 23 + IMAX Seattle, WA
EVERETT MALL STADIUM 16
Jackson, MS PARKWAY PLAZA STADIUM 12
NORTH PARK STADIUM 14 AUBURN STADIUM 17
PARKWAY PLACE STADIUM 10 LAKEWOOD STADIUM 15
MARTIN VILLAGE STADIUM 16

Knoxville, TN MERIDIAN STADIUM 16
PINNACLE STADIUM 18
Shreveport, LA
Las Vegas, NV LOUISIANA BOARDWALK STADIUM 14
RED ROCK STADIUM 16
BOULDER STATION STADIUM 11 St Louis, MO
SUNSET STATION STADIUM 13 ST LOUIS MILLS STADIUM 18
VILLAGE SQUARE STADIUM 18
Tampa, FL
Lexington, KY HOLLYWOOD STADIUM 20 - SARASOTA
HAMBURG PAVILION STADIUM 16 CITRUS PARK STADIUM 20

Los Angeles, CA Washington, D.C

ONTARIO PALACE STADIUM 22 + IMAX GALLERY PLACE STADIUM 14
SOUTH GATE STADIUM 20 BALLSTON COMMON STADIUM 12
IRVINE SPECTRUM STADIUM 20 + IMAX FREDERICKSBURG 15
LONG BEACH STADIUM 26 POTOMAC YARD STADIUM 16
AVENUES STADIUM 13 ROCKVILLE CENTER STADIUM 13
CAMARILLO PALACE 12 BOWIE STADIUM 14
VALENCIA STADIUM 12 WESTVIEW STADIUM 16
PARKWAY PLAZA STADIUM 18
TEMECULA STADIUM 15 West Palm Beach, FL
ANAHEIM HILLS 14 ROYAL PALM BEACH STADIUM 18

Slashdot Slashdot it!

Also See:
Regal Entertainment Group - Regal Guest Response System Offered in 114 Theatres, May 29, 2007
http://p2pnet.net/story/12389

 

User data in iTunes DRM-free tracks

Apple is now selling DRM-free EMI downloads, but it's charging a whacking great $1.30 and for each one.

And as TUAW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog) quickly noted, although the hardcore DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) consumer control software is gone, Apple still sneakily has your account information, that's to say your full name and account email, hidden in the tracks.

Ars Technica's Ken Fisher picked up on the story which was in turn noticed by at least one mainstream media page, the BBC, which correctly observes it won't take long for some canny hacker to write an application that'll strip out the user data.

But why should it be necessary?

Apple has tried to blame DRM on Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG, the members of the Big 4 music cartel. But it's been one of the most blatant, not to say most criticised, users of digital restrictions managementvia an application called, ironically, FairPlay.

Says Ars Technica:

Apple embeds your account information in all songs sold on the store, not just DRM-free songs. Previously it wasn't much of a big deal, since no one could imagine users sharing encrypted, DRMed content. But now that DRM-free music from Apple is on the loose, the hidden data is more significant since it could It also wonders what Apple would do with the data.

The mere presence of the data in a file found on a share is not an unassailable indicator of copyright infringement, says Fisher, adding:

"That said, it would be trivial for iTunes to report back to Apple, indicating that 'Joe User' has M4As on this hard drive belonging to 'Jane Userette,' or even 'two other users.' This is not to say that Apple is going to get into the copyright enforcement business. What Apple and indeed the record labels want to watch closely is: will one user buy music for his five close friends? The entertainment industry is obsessed with the idea of 'casual piracy,' or the occasional sharing of content between friends. I wouldn't be surprised if some data was being analyzed in aggregate, although Apple's current privacy policy does not appear to allow for this. As with the dust-up over the mini-store, Apple should clarify what this embedded data is used for."

Apple, "has yet to comment on what it plans to do with the information embedded in the music files," says the Beeb.

Slashdot Slashdot it!

Also See:
DRM-free - iTunes DRM-free downloads, May 31, 2007
TUAW - TUAW Tip: Don't Torrent That Song..., May 30, 2007
Ars Technica - Apple hides account info in DRM-free music, too, May 30, 2007
BBC - Anger over DRM-free iTunes tracks, June 1, 2007

Read the article on Afterdawn

 

Worst and best contracts

Which baseball players are overpaid and underpaid? Yahoo! Sports releases its annual report


Deal or no deal
By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports
May 30, 2007

Jeff Passan
Yahoo! Sports

Just to get the semantics out of the way: No baseball player is truly underpaid when compared to nurses, teachers and others who better our lives for peanuts.

So, please, take the following compilations – Major League Baseball's All-Overpaid and All-Underpaid teams – in the proper context of evaluating players against the market and their peers.

There is a slight change, too, from last year's All-Underpaid team: It seems rather unfair to list young players whose salaries are automatically low because they have yet to hit arbitration. It's obvious that Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder and shortstop J.J. Hardy, first and second in the National League in home runs, are bargains at $415,000 and $400,000, respectively.

Yet they don't represent the best contracts out there because Milwaukee, in essence, didn't have to negotiate them. The following deals, on the other hand, took hours upon hours to conceive.

ADVERTISEMENT
Time well spent in the case of the eight players, one designated hitter and nine pitchers on the All-Underpaid team, who make a combined $47.65 million.

Too much money spent – $178.17 million, to be exact – on the following 18 players.

All-Overpaid

C: Jason Kendall, Oakland, $13.43 million – Might as well start with the worst contract in all of baseball. How Kendall parlayed 55 home runs and decent peripherals into a six-year, $60 million deal from Pittsburgh before the 2002 season is mystifying. Even though the Pirates are paying $5.5 million of Kendall's salary, Oakland is shoveling nearly $8 million toward a .182 hitter with two extra-base hits (both doubles) in 165 at-bats.

1B: Carlos Delgado, New York Mets, $14.5 million – Yes, he's heating up. Two home runs Saturday and Tuesday give him seven this season. And yet even with Delgado's surge, his slugging percentage is under .400 and his on-base percentage hovering around .300. This could just as easily have been Seattle's Richie Sexson, who is hitting .199, getting on base less than 30 percent of the time and making $15.5 million.

2B: Craig Biggio, Houston, $5.15 million – His march to 3,000 hits has turned into a waterless crawl across the Gobi. Biggio is hitting .207 in May, including one hit in his last 16 at-bats. In the Baseball Prospectus metric Fielding Runs Above Average, which measures players defensively against their peers, Biggio is minus-5, among the worst at his position in the game. Biggio was a great player. Biggio will be a Hall of Famer. Right now, Biggio isn't worth much at all.

SS: Julio Lugo, Boston, $8.25 million – To bat No. 1 in the powerful Red Sox lineup – the one that ranks third in the major leagues in scoring – and have only 26 runs through 48 games is embarrassing. Lugo can run (15 stolen bases) and field (though not as well as the man he replaced, Alex Gonzalez), but his inability to get on base has prevented the Red Sox from dominating even more than they already have.

3B: Scott Rolen, St. Louis, $12.31 million – Take away Rolen's 5-for-6 game April 22 and he's hitting .207 with one home run and 16 RBIs. A horrible skid at the end of April bled into May, and Rolen really hasn't recovered, as his .665 OPS (on-base-plus slugging) ranks 152nd of 179 players that qualify.

OF: Garret Anderson, Los Angeles Angels, $11.6 million – Years of wear and tear have rendered Anderson punchless. Never one to draw a walk, Anderson has done just that this year: taken a single walk among 95 at-bats, as large a sign as any of his strain to hit. He hasn't done that, either, with only one home run. The saddest part: All of his at-bats this year have come from the Angels' cleanup spot.

OF: Bobby Abreu, New York Yankees, $15 million – Finally, the Abreu envisioned by Tampa Bay when it traded him for Kevin Stocker shows up. In nearly 200 at-bats, Abreu has eight extra-base hits. After eight consecutive seasons drawing 100-plus walks, he'll be lucky if he gets to 75 this year. To put it succinctly: Abreu's Value Over Replacement Player is minus-4.2, which means that a complete scrub would have been of more value to the Yankees thus far.

OF: J.D. Drew, Boston, $14.4 million – And to think, the Red Sox are on the hook for four more years of this. Drew's batting average has vacillated between awful and abysmal, he left any semblance of power back in Los Angeles and, if not for the Red Sox's dominance, he'd be hearing boos all the way from Maine.

DH: Shea Hillenbrand, Los Angeles Angels, $6 million – Complete and utter dead weight, Hillenbrand hasn't hit, is embarrassing in the field and seems contractually obligated not to take a walk. There are higher-paid designated hitters performing poorly, but no one is as bad as Hillenbrand.

SP: Carl Pavano, New York Yankees, $10 million – Captain Carl earned stewardship of this illustrious bunch by winning a total of five games over the life of his four-year, $39.5 million deal. He'll soon undergo Tommy John surgery, which will keep him out until at least the middle of next season and allow him to attend his induction into the Bad Contract Hall of Fame, where he'll be joined by Darren Dreifort and Chan Ho Park.

SP: Barry Zito, San Francisco, $10 million – Next year it's $14.5 million. Then three years at $18.5 million. And then $19 million. And finally $20 million. We might as well save a seat, because 30 walks and 32 strikeouts in 61 1/3 innings does not portend good things.

SP: Matt Clement, Boston, $9.5 million – Like Pavano, only he pitched for a year and a half. Most notable for having been tagged with the nickname "HazMatt." About as likely to wear a Red Sox uniform again as Ted Williams.

SP: Jeff Weaver, Seattle, $8.33 million – Welcome back! Weaver is the lone returnee from last year's team. Somehow he hoodwinked the Mariners into paying him the same salary the Angels wasted last year before Weaver somehow turned into a postseason savior for St. Louis. Well, the carriage is a pumpkin again, and Weaver is 0-6 with a 14.32 earned-run average and on the disabled list for the first time in his nine-year career.

SP: Mike Hampton, Atlanta, $14.5 million – Quite a year for Hampton. After missing 2006 recovering from Tommy John surgery, he hurt his oblique during spring training. Then, during a rehabilitation session, he tore the flexor tendon in his left elbow and will miss the rest of this year. Added bonus: His salary jumps to $15 million next year, and the Braves will have to spend another $6 million in '09 to buy him out of a $20 million option. Mr. Hampton, we'll keep your seat warm, too.

RP: Armando Benitez, Florida, $9.7 million – Benitez blew a game last week. He gave up two runs in a 5-3 loss. Afterward, he said: "I'm doing my job." Just to repeat, he makes $9.7 million.

RP: Danys Baez, Baltimore $5.67 million – Part of the Orioles' effort to rebuild their bullpen, Baez has been relegated to mop-up duty after giving up runs in six of his last seven outings. With an 0-4 record and 6.35 ERA, Baez looks more like a Baltimore reliever, circa '06.

RP: B.J. Ryan, Toronto, $7 million – Ryan was a bargain. Then he blew out his left elbow. Now he's not.

RP: Scott Eyre, Chicago Cubs, $3.83 million – What is worse: Eyre allowing 41 baserunners in 16 1/3 innings this season or Cubs manager Lou Piniella trotting him again and again only to see him fail?

All-Underpaid

C: Mike Redmond, Minnesota, $950,000 – Filling in for the injured Joe Mauer, Redmond has hit well (a major-league-leading .412 with two strikes) and been excellent behind the plate (catching 47 percent of attempted stolen bases). When Mauer does return, Redmond will resume his part-time duties as catcher and DH, looking to hit over .300 for the third consecutive year and seventh time in 10 seasons.

1B: Carlos Peña, Tampa Bay, $800,000 – Few remember that Peña hit 27 home runs with Detroit in 2004. He lost his job midway through the next season to Chris Shelton and got only 33 at-bats last year with the Red Sox. An afterthought headed into the spring, Peña is tied for sixth in the American League with 10 home runs and is behind only Jack Cust and Alex Rodriguez in at-bats per home run.

2B: Placido Polanco, Detroit, $4.6 million – Among players with at least 175 plate appearances, Polanco's eight strikeouts are the fewest. The corollary is his alarmingly low walk rate, though when you're hitting .328, its consequences are not quite as drastic. Perhaps the most amazing number is Polanco's batting average when faced with an 0-2 count: .405.

SS: Jose Reyes, New York Mets, $2.88 million – OK, so maybe this is cheating a little. The Mets locked the 23-year-old Reyes up through all three of his arbitration years, plus his first free-agent season, at a closeout price of $23.25 million. (And they've got an $11 million option for 2011, too.) For that they get the most exciting player in the game, one who leads baseball with 28 stolen bases, has smacked 23 extra-base hits and sparkles in the field to boot.

3B: David Wright, New York Mets, $1.25 million – For these two deals alone Mets general manager Omar Minaya deserves a contract extension. Wright is actually still a pre-arbitration player, though he forfeited that for a six-year, $55 million that starts him off at a pittance this year. Following a miserable April, Wright has hammered eight home runs, slugged .615 and stolen seven bases in May. And he's just 24.

OF: Grady Sizemore, Cleveland, $916,667 – Same scenario for Sizemore, who snagged a six-year deal before he had two full years in the major leagues. Though his numbers tapered off in May, Sizemore still has a .400 on-base percentage, eight home runs and 16 stolen bases in Cleveland's leadoff spot. Eventually, he'll drop down to No. 3 in the lineup, and his RBIs will catch up to – if not exceed – his runs scored.

OF: Matt Holliday, Colorado, $4.4 million – There might not be a better pure hitter than the 27-year-old Holliday, who leads the major leagues with 71 hits and is third in the National League with a .341 batting average. He's third in RBIs, fourth in slugging percentage, fourth in OPS and seemingly impervious to the humidor.

OF: Aaron Rowand, Philadelphia, $4.35 million – Healthy again, Rowand is nearly duplicating the numbers of his career year in 2004. Already, in half as many plate appearances, Rowand has matched his 18 walks from last season. And with his .325 batting average and superlative defense in center field, he's making himself plenty of money as free agency looms following this year.

DH: Sammy Sosa, Texas, $500,000 – Uncle. There's been so much noise from people looking for Sammy to get some credit that it sounds more like Sousa than Sosa. He may be fake. He may be disingenuous. But the man is a bargain. Even if his on-base percentage stinks, Sosa's run production – 12 doubles, 10 home runs and 39 RBIs – makes up for it.

SP: Jake Peavy, San Diego, $4.75 million – Peavy would be a bargain at three times his salary. His 1.47 ERA is a quarter-run better than the next-best starter, his 85 strikeouts are third in the major leagues and his opponents' OPS is an unfathomable .476.

SP: Chris Young, San Diego, $750,000 – Perhaps the best trade of the decade brought Young, outfielder Terrmel Sledge and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez – who would have been just as good a choice as Carlos Peña – to the Padres for Akinori Otsuka and Adam Eaton. The 6-foot-10 Young, who spent his college career playing basketball at Princeton, is only getting better: Opponents are hitting just .214 against him.

SP: Tim Hudson and John Smoltz, Atlanta, $8.5 million and $8 million – Take your pick. Hudson's ERA is 2.79, Smoltz's 2.83. Hudson has allowed 84 baserunners in 77 1/3 innings. Smoltz, at 40, is averaging nearly eight strikeouts per nine innings. Both are cut-rate for established All-Stars.

SP: John Lackey, Los Angeles Angels, $5.3 million – The big kid who won Game 7 of the World Series at 23 years old has grown into the Angels' 28-year-old ace. He leads the AL with eight wins, ranks third with a 2.36 ERA and strikes out three batters for every one he walks.

SP: Dan Haren, Oakland, $2.25 million – The best pitcher in the AL this season, and it's not even close. His 1.70 ERA is a half-run better than the next best, teammate Chad Gaudin, who would have been the next starter on this team with a $400,000 salary. Haren has allowed just 49 hits in 74 1/3 innings, and his 10 quality starts (out of 11 total) are tied with Peavy and Smoltz for the most in baseball.

RP: Takashi Saito, Los Angeles Dodgers, $1 million – Welcome back! Unlike with Weaver, it's a privilege to join this team for the second consecutive season. After making $500,000 last season, striking out 107 in 78 1/3 innings and taking over the Dodgers' closer job, Saito has been even better this year: 22 innings, two walks, 26 strikeouts, a 1.64 ERA and 15 for 15 in save opportunities.

RP: Al Reyes, Tampa Bay, $750,000 – A scrap-heap pickup – he was signed to a minor-league deal the same day as Gary Glover and Jason Grabowski – Reyes won a job in the Devil Rays' bullpen and quickly proved himself their most competent reliever. Now, with bullpen help needed all over the game, Tampa Bay will have a nice trading chip come July, so long as Reyes can continue keeping hitters to a .141 batting average and striking out more than one an inning.

RP: J.J. Putz, Seattle, $2.7 million – So much for those possible arm troubles during spring training. Putz has allowed just 14 baserunners in 21 2/3 innings, struck out 20 and hasn't blown a save in 12 chances, the punctuation mark on a bullpen that features the underrated George Sherrill, Eric O'Flaherty and rookie Brandon Morrow.

RP: Ryan Franklin, St. Louis, $1 million – Franklin's career had spiraled after a positive steroid test when something happened on the way to the gutter. He has walked two batters in 19 2/3 innings, limited hitters to a .186 batting average, posted a 0.92 ERA and become so indispensable as a setup man that Cardinals manager Tony La Russa declined to move Franklin – for almost his entire career a starter – into the rotation despite an open spot.

Jeff Passan is a national baseball writer for Yahoo! Sports. Send Jeff a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-contracts052907&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

 

HERES ARE THE JERKS THAT BEEN SCREWING USE,IF THOSE MEMBER'S OF Congress TAKES MONEY FROM THE RIAA;;;;;;THAT MEANS THEY ARE OWNED BY THE RIAA

I SAY VOTE THEM OUT OF CONGRESS


Congress Members Who Took RIAA Cash
Posted by kdawson on Saturday June 02, @02:02PM
from the et-tu-barack-et-hillary dept.
Music Politics
palewook writes "The Consumerist posted a story containing the contact information of 50 United States Representatives & Senators who accepted RIAA money during their last election campaign. Seems like a good time to let a few people know how you feel about RIAA shills."

Contact Information For 50 Politicians Who Take Campaign Money From The RIAA 39,542 Views

rippedwashington.jpgWhen you voted the RIAA the worst company in America you gave us an assignment. But how can we improve the customer service of a recording industry trade group? It's not an easy task. Couldn't you have voted for Home Depot? U-Haul? Anyway...

One of the ways the RIAA operates is by donating money to politicians who then enact favorable legislation on their behalf. Don't let the optimist in you believe that this doesn't work. It does.

But wait, aren't these representatives supposed to work for you? Sure. That's why we've compiled a list of 50 congresspeople who took campaign contributions from the RIAA in the last election cycle. We've linked their contact information so that you, as their constituents, can inform them that they're taking money from the "Worst Company in America," and that's going to cost them your vote.

If your congressperson isn't on the list, try writing Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, both of whom are running for President and have national interest.

Don't be afraid to tell your representatives how you feel. How else are they going to know? Good luck.

(Photo: stopnlook)
Congressperson Receiving Contributions From The RIAA
Amount
Contact Information
Dist 19-FL WEXLER, ROBERT DEM
$9,000 Click Here
Dist 21-TX SMITH, LAMAR REP
$7,500 Click Here
Senate-UT HATCH, ORRIN G REP
$6,000 Click Here
Senate-PA SPECTER, ARLEN REP
$5,000 Click Here
Senate-AK STEVENS, THEODORE F REP
$5,000 Click Here
Senate-NE NELSON, E BENJAMIN DEM
$5,000 Click Here
Senate-CA FEINSTEIN, DIANNE DEM
$4,000 Click Here
Dist 45-CA BONO, MARY REP
$4,000 Click Here
Senate-FL NELSON, BILL DEM
$4,500 Click Here
Dist 08-FL KELLER, RICHARD A REP
$4,054 Click Here
Dist 07-NJ FERGUSON, MIKE REP
$4,000 Click Here
Dist 28-CA BERMAN, HOWARD L DEM
$3,500 Click Here
Dist 29-CA SCHIFF, ADAM DEM
$3,000 Click Here
Dist 30-CA WAXMAN, HENRY A. DEM
$3,000 Click Here
Dist 07-MO BLUNT, ROY REP
$3,100 Click Here
Dist 06-TN GORDON, BARTON JENNINGS DEM
$3,000 Click Here
Dist 06-VA GOODLATTE, ROBERT W. REP
$3,500 Click Here
Senate-IL OBAMA, BARACK DEM
$2,000 Click Here
Dist 14-IL HASTERT, DENNIS J. REP
$2,000 Click Here
Dist 07-MA MARKEY, EDWARD J MR. DEM
$2,000 Click Here
Dist 05-MD HOYER, STENY HAMILTON DEM
$2,000 Click Here
Dist 14-MI CONYERS, JOHN JR. DEM
$2,000 Click Here
Dist 03-MS PICKERING, CHARLES W REP
$2,000 Click Here
Senate-NY CLINTON, HILLARY RODHAM DEM
$2,000 Click Here
Senate-TN CORKER, ROBERT P JR REP
$2,000 Click Here
Dist 07-TN BLACKBURN, MARSHA REP
$2,000 Click Here
Dist 06-TX BARTON, JOE LINUS REP
$2,000 Click Here
Senate-AL SHELBY, RICHARD C REP
$1,000 senator@shelby.senate.gov Click Here
Senate- AR
PRYOR, MARK LUNSFORD DEM
$1,000 Click Here
Dist 10- CA
TAUSCHER, ELLEN O DEM
$1,000 Click Here
Dist 22- CA
MCCARTHY, KEVIN
REP
$1,000 Click Here
Dist 49-CA ISSA, DARRELL EDWARD REP
$1,000 Click Here
Dist 14-FL MACK, CONNIE REP
$1,500 Click Here
Dist 05-IL EMANUEL, RAHM DEM
$1,000 Click Here
Senate-LA VITTER, DAVID REP
$1,000 Click Here
Dist 06-MI UPTON, FREDERICK STEPHEN REP
$1,000 Click Here
Senate-MS LOTT, TRENT REP
$1,000 Click Here
Dist 06-NC COBLE, JOHN HOWARD REP
$1,000 howard.coble@mail.house.gov Click Here
Dist 09-NC MYRICK, SUE REP
$1,000 Click Here
Dist 02-NE TERRY, LEE REP
$1,811 Click Here
Dist 07-NY CROWLEY, JOSEPH DEM
$1,000 write2joecrowley@mail.house.gov Click Here
Dist 10-NY TOWNS, EDOLPHUS DEM
$1,500 Click Here
Dist 28-NY SLAUGHTER, LOUISE M DEM
$1,000 Click Here
Dist 05-OH GILLMOR, PAUL E REP
$1,000 Click Here
Dist 01-OK SULLIVAN, JOHN REP
$1,000 Click Here
Dist 02-OR WALDEN, GREGORY PAUL REP
$1,000 Click Here
Dist 01-WA INSLEE, JAY R DEM
$1,000 Click Here
Senate-SD THUNE, JOHN REP
$1,000 Click Here
Dist 05-TN COOPER, JAMES H. S. DEM
$1,500

you have to click on the contack Information for each member of Congress to get the Contact Information

http://consumerist.com/consumer/wor...-take-campaign-money-from-the-riaa-264638.php

PUT HTTP:// IN FRONT

consumerist.com/consumer/worst-company-in-america/contact-information-for-50-politicians-who-take-campaign-money-from-the-riaa-264638.php

 

Money talks

Money talks

p2pnet.net news:- The Consumerist, whose readers recently voted the RIAA the Worst Company in America, has another interesting post, this time observing the RIAAWarner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG's RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) wouldn't get very far without the active and enthusiastic help and support of various (and many) politicians.

"But wait, aren't these representatives supposed to work for you?" - it wonders in a question also asked by many people in many places at many times.

"Do you believe some politicians are actually, or in effect, being paid by the labels to represent their interests?" - and, "If so, is that acceptable?" - p2pnet enquired of Jim Griffin, at the time ceo of Cherry Lane Digital and who's now also a member of the EFF's (Electronic Frontier Foundation) advisory board, a long time ago.

Griffin responded:

Of course it is actually happening and of course it is acceptable. Our United States Supreme Court is clear and I agree with them: Money is speech.

What can you do if you disagree with the labels? There is more money on the side of customers and technology than on the side of media, and history reflects the imbalance that runs counter to your suggestion that record labels' interests are overly represented in Washington or Brussels or other law making capitols."

Collectively, 'consumers' do indeed have the money and the power to compel the labels, studios and software companies to dance to their tune, and that's the way would be if consumers were in any way organised. However, that isn't the case, although thanks to the growing popularity of the Net, which gives people everywhere, the ability to communicate instantly with each other, without the interference of the corporations, the picture is rapidly changing, to the extreme alarm and consternation of said corporations.

But as things presently stand, unlike the labels, ordinary people singly or en masse don't have teams of expert PR hacks behind them, or highly placed, highly paid, spinmeisters - call them lobbyists - whose sole purpose in life is to pressure politicians in the halls of power, and behind closed doors, with self-interest points of view, day in, day out.

The same applies to the small, independent technology companies. It's a sad reality that breakthroughs likely to benefit consumers at the expense of the entertainment cartels are greeted with shock and horror by the corporations. Instead of trying to the enlist innovators and creators to help expand the envelopes of technology and knowledge, the industries all too often sue the embryo companies, acquire the technology and re-offer it in emasculated form..

Don't get me wrong: Griffin is one of the most experienced, brightest and most articulate people working on the music scene, his views are, to a very large extent, representative, and I have tremendous respect for him. But ..........

Back to the The Consumerist post, it's compiled a list of 50 congresspeople, "who took campaign contributions from the RIAA in the last election cycle" and has also linked their contact information, "so that you, as their constituents, can inform them that they're taking money from the 'Worst Company in America,' and that's going to cost them your vote."

Good job, guys.

Money speaks. Loudly.

Ever since it went online in 2002, p2pnet has been highlighting the financial interests of many US politicians who seem to have a marked and unhealthy interest in entertainment cartel affairs. What do they have to do with p2pnet which is, after all, only a small Canadian site?

Politicians representing CanAmerica, as it's rapidly becoming, bow without shame to interests represented south of the border, and as I say here in my purely personal opinion, "Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG, on the record label side of the fence, and principal Hollywood studios Time Warner, Viacom, Fox, Sony, NBC Universal and Disney, with the Bush administration in lock-step, have totally overpowered Canada's weak-kneed, weak-minded political leaders. It's not merely embarrassing, it's an international disgrace."

So what happens in America ultimately has a profound impact on events not only in Canada, but in other so-called democracies around the world.

Here, we expand on five politicians (upper right) featured by The Consumerist list, thanks to the excellent OpenSecrets (OS) run by the Center for Responsive Politics to track money in politics, and its effect on elections and public policy.

In order of appearance:

Lamar Smith, Republican.
TC
$7,500 Click here

OS - Campaign Finance Profile, 2002 TV/Movies/Music $24,812
OS - Campaign Finance Profile, 2004 ditto $66,583
OS - Campaign Finance Profile, 2006 ditto $65,900


Orrin 'Terminator' Hatch, Republican
TC
$6,000 Click here

OS - Campaign Finance Profile, 2002 TV/Movies/Music $175,322
OS - Campaign Finance Profile, 2004 ditto $183,428
OS - Campaign Finance Profile, 2006 ditto $140,894


Dianne Feinstein, Democract
TC
$4,000, Click here

OS - Campaign Finance Profile, 2002 TV/Movies/Music $242,066
OS - Campaign Finance Profile, 2004 ditto $294,816
OS - Campaign Finance Profile, 2006 ditto $284,844


Hollywood Howard Berman, Democrat
TC
$3,500 Click here

OS - Campaign Finance Profile, 2002 TV/Movies/Music $222,791
OS - Campaign Finance Profile, 2004 ditto $144,000
OS - Campaign Finance Profile, 2006 ditto $180,550


John Howard Coble, Republican
TC|
$1,000 Click here

OS - Campaign Finance Profile, 2002 TV/Movies/Music $38,483
OS - Campaign Finance Profile, 2004 ditto $24,250
OS - Campaign Finance Profile, 2006 ditto $19,000
http://p2pnet.net/story/12406