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

http://www.p2pnet.net/story/13448
German ‘release groups’ busted

p2pnet news | P2P:- ‘Tips’ from Hollywood-backed the German Society for the Prosecution of Copyright Violations (GVU) had 200 police officers taken away from their normal duties in a 10-state search for contraband.

Police said information on ‘release groups’ came from a Hürth informant, says Heise Online, going on:

“The necessary technical knowledge required for the investigation was provided by the GVU; the use of GVU employees in such cases is, however, a contentious issue. The district court in Kiel ruled that the independence of external experts must be ensured, for example, for searches performed due to alleged copyright infringements.”

Meanwhile, members behind the “release groups” were identified and some 60 PCs, 15 hard disks and approximately 2,000 CDs or DVDs were seized or confiscated, says the story, adding:

“None of the suspects, whose exact number the police have not revealed, have been arrested. Currently, the confiscated hard disks are being analysed.”

 

Demonoid Torrent Tracker Shut Down by CRIA
Posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday September 26, @09:40AM
from the well-thats-a-big-surprise-now-isn't-it dept.
The Internet
An anonymous reader writes "As of Tuesday, 25th September 2007, Demonoid is currently down, with no prior warnings from any moderators of the site. Both the main torrent page and the forum (fora) are no longer accessible. It is still possible to ping and trace the IP address of the site and it locates itself as in Canada. As of 6:45pm EST on 9-25-07, SSH and SMTP services are no longer active. Torrentfreak.com has since reported this is due to legal actions from the CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association) who ordered Demonoid's ISP to shut down the site."

Demonoid Shut Down by the CRIA?
Written by Ernesto on September 25, 2007

Demonoid.com, one of the most popular BitTorrent trackers has allegedly been taken offline by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). Both the tracker and the website have been unresponsive for nearly 24 hours now.

Demonoid Shut Down by the CRIAAs of now it is still unsure what exactly happened, but the popular Dutch news site nu.nl reports that the CRIA is responsible for the downtime.

TorrentFreak contacted some of the Demonoid administrators, but they are not sure what happened either. It is certainly possible that Demonoid’s Canadian ISP pulled the plug after being pressured by the CRIA. The ISP said before that they would take it down if they would receive complaints.

Right now, the Demonoid server is still pinging, but the ISP could have firewalled the everything after they received some serious legal threats. Deimos, the founder and the head admin of the site is unreachable and has not responded yet.

This is not the first time Demonoid suffers major downtime due to pressure from the anti-piracy lobby. Demonoid had to move its servers from The Netherlands to Canada in June after The Dutch anti-piracy outfit BREIN filed a subpoena against Demonoid’s ISP. BREIN had asked the ISP to take Demonoid offline and hand over the administrator’s personal details, but Demonoid relocated their servers before any harm was done.

Unfortunately, it now seems that Canada is not the “safe haven” as they expected it to be. It is likely that Demonoid has to relocate again, for the second time in three months.

Demonoid tracks over a million .torrent files and is the second largest BitTorrent tracker after The Pirate Bay. The shutdown of the site and tracker is a huge blow for the BitTorrent community that lost 2 of the most popular BitTorrent trackers (TorrentBox was taken offline for US users a few hours ago) within 24 hours.

More info soon!

Update: Still no response from Deimos, the CRIA or Demonoid’s ISP.

Update: The CRIA and Demonoid’s ISP refuse to comment to the allegations, they don’t confirm or deny anything.
http://torrentfreak.com/demonoid-shut-down-by-cria-070925/





http://www.p2pnet.net/story/13450
Demonoid down

p2pnet news | P2P:- The CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association of America), Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG’s RIAA clown (sorry, clone), is noted more for its failures, which are legion, than its successes, which are few.

However, it may have scored against BitTorrent tracker Demonoid.

Says Torrentfreak over in The Netherlands >>>

Demonoid.com, one of the most popular BitTorrent trackers has allegedly been taken offline by the CRIA.

Both the tracker and the website have been unresponsive for nearly 24 hours now.

As of now it is still unsure what exactly happened, but the popular Dutch news site nu.nl reports that the CRIA is responsible for the downtime.

TorrentFreak contacted some of the Demonoid administrators, but they are not sure what happened either. It is certainly possible that Demonoid’s Canadian ISP pulled the plug after being pressured by the CRIA. The ISP said before that they would take it down if they would receive complaints.

Right now, the Demonoid server is still pinging, but the ISP could have firewalled the everything after they received some serious legal threats. Deimos, the founder and the head admin of the site is unreachable and has not responded yet.

This isn’t the first time Demonoid suffers major downtime due to pressure from the anti-piracy lobby. Demonoid had to move its servers from The Netherlands to Canada in June after The Dutch anti-piracy outfit BREIN filed a subpoena against Demonoid’s ISP. BREIN had asked the ISP to take Demonoid offline and hand over the administrator’s personal details, but Demonoid relocated their servers before any harm was done.

Unfortunately, it now seems that Canada is not the ’safe haven’ as they expected it to be. It is likely that Demonoid has to relocate again, for the second time in three months.

Demonoid tracks over a million .torrent files and is the second largest BitTorrent tracker after The Pirate Bay. The shutdown of the site and tracker is a huge blow for the BitTorrent community that lost 2 of the most popular BitTorrent trackers (TorrentBox was taken offline for US users a few hours ago) within 24 hours.

Definitely stay tuned.

 

Gigabyte claims stitch-up over EMI tests
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/09/26/emi-music-brand-saga-continues
Blames shady competitors for excess radiation readings

By Nebojsa Novakovic: Wednesday, 26 September 2007, 6:03 PM

AFTER OUR NEWSDESK got hold of a leaked ETC file - which, frankly, isn't exactly a big deal for us who handle non-certified early testing samples every other day - a separate very detailed story, appeared at some place called Dailytech.

It was only a matter of hours before Gigabyte itself would respond.

Here's the firm's response, in its entirety:

"GIGABYTE Response to Inquirer September 25 article: GIGABYTE P35 Board Fails EMI Tests

All GIGABYTE motherboards undergo rigorous and thorough testing (including EMI testing) before being brought to market. Attached is GIGABYTE official certification for the GA-P35-DS3, where it clearly shows the GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3 passing all EMI requirements.

It seems a little strange that one of our top selling boards just so happened to have a negative report from the Taiwan ETC several months after the launch of the product. Any motherboard manufacturer or anyone else for that matter can pay to have EMI testing done from ETC. In this case, GIGABYTE has contacted ETC and they have confirmed to us that one of our competitors is actually the one who paid for the testing mentioned in the Inquirer article.

Not to impugn the integrity of the ETC, but any time you have research paid for by a competitor of the study's focus, it does beg the question of how accurate the "report" is. In all fairness, the fact that one of our competitor motherboard manufacturers paid for this report should have been mentioned in the article so readers can make up their own minds as to the accuracy. For example, as mentioned in the article, there is no information in the report about where the motherboard tested came from. Was this a sample purchased from a retail outlet? Were there any modifications made to the board before testing?

Clearly, this is a malicious act by a competitor to negatively impact GIGABYTE motherboard sales, and they have used the Inquirer to do so. Hopefully we can get a retraction or at the very least a clarification as the article has been picked up by several other websites and can have a serious negative impact on our motherboard sales."

Now, we're talking about ETC Electronic Testing Centre in Taiwan, one of well known institutions in this field. We did a check, which confirmed that MSI and Asus boards were also in the same test batch, supposedly passing all fine.

If it was a targeted paid effort to twist results by either MSI or Asus, the party in charge would, presumably, arrange with ETC to "fix" the results of both competitors, not just one of them. And, if the ETC did fix it, and leak it into the public domain - as with most things in Ole Taipei, we imagine a seedy karaoke bar with a drink too many next to a willowy local beauty or two - it would be the end of the road for them.

As a CE (or FCC, or UL) certificate means far more for a complete system box, rather than a board alone, there are many factors which can affect a board level test - for instance, if it sits in a good quality enclosure, the emission measurements would be superior to the same hardware in a lousy casing, not to mention open environment. The audio output, USB and Firewire connections also can play a part.

Then, as readers on various forums have also mentioned, you can reduce " spread spectrum" in the BIOS - it reduces the overclocking margin, but also dampens the noise somewhat. These things are usually done at the final system assembly point.

Truly complete EMI tests are always every expensive, both in money and time spent. And, after all, it is only done by humans with all their weaknesses, including the karaoke one above. This mainboard episode could be just a tip of the iceberg for many vendors, and one never knows what was, in haste or ignorance, pushed under the - hopefully non static - test lab carpet. So, it is advisable, if you care about a particular product a lot, to do a fair bit of testing on your own, based on the parameters that, in the end use, concern YOU most.

Feel free to compare the two studies of these boards: one by ETC and one supplied by Gigabyte from its affiliated test setup - the judgment is your own. µ

The original ETC pdf is here.
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/09/26/emi-music-brand-saga-continues

Gigabyte's test pdf is here.
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/09/26/emi-music-brand-saga-continues

 

Mainstream DRM Free Music Is Here - Today

by Matt Hartley on September 25, 2007 at 8:51 pm · Comments
Categorized by Talk / More Information

Well call me a monkey’s uncle, it looks like we now have the ability to listen to real, mainstream, non-”I’ve never heard of them” music in MP3 format, regardless of which OS you happen to run. Heck yes! It’s funny because even though Amazon is offering download software for Windows and OS X, it is not mandatory and you can in fact, listen to your MP3s in Linux immediately after purchasing them. DRM freedom never felt so good.

This is great timing as my wife, who has always been a happy Mac user (new one come soon as her other one died), needs to find a way to get some new tunes within the constraints of Linux Mint on her notebook, and would rather not find out that it is forcing her to use some lame software - Amazon nails it for her. Nearly everything she is listening to is listed, nearly. There is still some room for growth, but it is a great place to start for sure.

Not to be outdone, Apple is also releasing DRM free music - at a lesser sound quality. Bundle that with software we are not interested in using and you have two people who will not be buying anything from iTunes again. That and .89 cents a song is hard to pass up.
http://www.lockergnome.com/nexus/it/2007/09/25/mainstream-drm-free-music-is-here-today/

 

Introduction to Ubuntu 7.10 Beta

The Ubuntu developers are hurrying to bring you the absolute latest and greatest software that the open source and free software communities have to offer. This is the Ubuntu 7.10 beta release, which brings a host of excellent new features.

Note: This is still a beta release. Do not install it on production machines. The final stable version will be released in October 2007.
Upgrading from Ubuntu 7.04

If you are upgrading from Ubuntu 7.04, see https://help.ubuntu.com/community/GutsyUpgrades.
New features since Ubuntu 7.04
GNOME 2.20

Gutsy Gibbon Beta brings you the latest and greatest GNOME 2.20 with lots of new features and improvements.
Desktop 3D effects

Compiz Fusion is enabled by default and will bring 3D desktop visual effects that improve the usability and visual appeal of the system. Ubuntu 7.10 automatically detects whether the hardware is capable of running compiz; if not, it falls back to normal desktop. Additional effects can be enabled in "System/Preferences/Appearance" under the "Visual Effects" tab. There you can also disable the effects entirely.
Desktop search

The deskbar applet is now included in the default configuration. It allows quick access to your common actions, including opening web bookmarks and searches, sending messages to your contacts, and more.

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deskbar-search.png

The Tracker indexer has been added to the desktop, making it easier and faster to search for your documents, photos, music, videos, chat logs, and all other files. You can use Tracker in the search dialog, the file selector, nautilus, or the deskbar applet.
Fast user switching

It is now possible to easily switch between user sessions without the inconvenience of entering your username or password numerous times, a time-saver on computers shared by multiple users.

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fast-user-switch-applet.png

Firefox plugins in Ubuntu

Firefox now comes with an improved plugin finder wizard that allows users to search and install packaged plugins easily, bringing users a richer web-browsing experience with the integrated security support of the rest of the Ubuntu system:

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pfs3.png

In addition, users can now open the Ubuntu application installer with a list of packaged Firefox extensions available by clicking on a link in the Firefox Addons dialog:

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gai-xul-extensions.png

Dynamic screen configuration

Several drivers, including ones for ATI, nVidia, and Intel graphics chips now support the X Resize and Rotate Extension (xrandr). This enables dynamic monitor detection, and resizing and rotating of video output, for no-fuss support for projectors and external monitors.

If you have this hardware and used MergedFB / Xinerama previously, you may need to update your X configuration to use this new feature.
Graphical configuration tool for X

You can now configure what driver you want to use for your graphic card, change the default resolution for all users or change your monitor's refresh rate without having to turn to the terminal. A new GUI has been added making it easy to adjust your video and monitor settings. This tool can also set up dual screen capabilities for cards that use the Xinerama mode.

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displayconfig1.jpg

Fully automatic printer installation

Printers are now automatically configured by merely plugging them in and turning them on. Printer setup cannot get any easier!

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printer-auto-detection.png

Handling of non-free device drivers

Restricted-manager can now handle drivers which are free in themselves, but which require non-free firmware or other packages to operate. Only three clicks are needed to fetch and install firmware for wireless cards with Broadcom chipsets, and for a number of Winmodems commonly found in laptops, provided that you have an alternative Internet connection.

When restricted-manager detects hardware for which a restricted driver is available, a notification window pops up:

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r-m-newdrivers.png

NTFS writing

While previous Ubuntu releases only supported read access to Windows (NTFS) partitions, Gutsy Gibbon now fully supports reading and writing to them, by integrating the NTFS-3g project. This significantly eases file and document sharing with Windows.
Power consumption

Ubuntu includes the latest Linux kernel, featuring dynticks. It allows the processor to use less power and produce less heat. For laptops this means more battery life and burn-free laps and for desktops and media center PCs, a quieter, cooler environment.
AppArmor security framework

This easy-to-deploy kernel technology limits the resources an application is allowed to access and can be used to provide an added layer of protection against undiscovered security vulnerabilities in applications. Head to the AppArmor user guide to learn about this new security feature.
Additional installation profiles for Ubuntu Server

New pre-configured installation options have been added to the Ubuntu Server CD. Mail Server, File Server, Print Server, and Database Server options join existing LAMP and DNS options for pre-configured installations, easing the deployment of common server configurations.
Profile-based Authentication Configuration

Deploying authentication configuration has become a lot easier with the addition of auth-client-config. Files may be added to the profiles database, allowing for an administrator to set up a single profile for site-wide network authentication roll-outs. Find out more about AuthClientConfig.
Improved thin-client support

The speed of LTSP thin clients has been greatly improved through the use of compressed images, and LDM, the thin-client login manager included in Edubuntu, also now has support for autologin, multiple servers, and unencrypted graphics transport as an additional speed boost.
Download

Get it while it's hot. ISOs and torrents are available at:

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http://releases.ubuntu.com/releases/7.10 (Ubuntu)
http://releases.ubuntu.com/releases/kubuntu/7.10 (Kubuntu)
http://releases.ubuntu.com/releases/edubuntu/7.10 (Edubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/7.10/beta (Xubuntu)

Local mirrors are also available:
Europe

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http://se.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (Sweden)
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http://nl.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (The Netherlands)
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http://ftp.snt.utwente.nl/pub/linux/ubuntu-releases/7.10 (The Netherlands)
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http://ie.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (Ireland)
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http://it.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (Italy)
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http://gb.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (Great Britain)
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http://de.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (Germany)
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http://fr.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (France)

Asia/Pacific

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http://tw.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (Taiwan)

Africa

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http://za.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (South Africa)

North America

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http://ca.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (Canada)
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http://us.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (United States)

Caveats

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The desktop CD sometimes suffers kernel oopses in the "unionfs" driver, which manifests itself as random program crashes, the installation getting stuck, or similar. It usually helps to just reboot and restart the installation. (https://launchpad.net/bugs/144945)
*

If you have an nVidia or ATi graphics card, a Winmodem, or a Broadcom wireless network card, you will get a notification that a restricted driver is available for them at first boot. However, when trying to enable it, you will likely see an error "The software source for package ... is not enabled.". This is because Ubuntu did not yet fetch the package lists from the network server (which will happen automatically every day). As a workaround, either update the package lists immediately with System -> Administration -> Synaptic -> Reload and enable the driver again, or enable the driver in System -> Administration -> Restricted Drivers Manager at a later time. (https://launchpad.net/bugs/134918)
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Alternate and server installs may have an incorrect /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules that renames network interfaces away from the names used during the initial configuration. This will break DHCP servers and cause install-time network configuration settings to be ignored. As a workaround, delete the file with sudo rm /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules (in a Terminal window) and reboot the system. (https://launchpad.net/bugs/145382)
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In Edubuntu, the ssh key for the LTSP server is not generated until after the client chroot is built. As a result, thin clients will be unable to log in. As a workaround, run the commands sudo ltsp-update-sshkeys and sudo ltsp-update-image (in a Terminal window) after the first reboot. ( https://launchpad.net/bugs/145514)

Reporting Bugs & Testing

Gutsy Gibbon beta has bugs! Your comments, bug reports, patches and suggestions will help fix bugs and improve future releases. After reading the bug reporting guidelines, please report bugs to the Ubuntu bug tracking system.

If you want to help with bugs, the Bug Squad is always looking for help.

If you plan to do an installation of Gutsy Beta, be sure to head to the Testing page. With just a few minutes of your time, you can really help to improve Ubuntu. We have two different tests; one takes just a short time, and the other is more thorough.

We welcome feedback on the 3D effects to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/CompizFeedback. If you report bugs about them, please include the content of ~/.xsession-errors and the output of lspci -nn.
Participate in Ubuntu

If you would like to help shape Ubuntu, take a look at the list of ways you can participate at:

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http://www.ubuntu.com/community/participate/


LINK
http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/gutsybeta

 

http://www.p2pnet.net/story/13481
WIPO copyright book targets kids

p2pnet news | Freedom:- Remember the Captain Copyright scandal?

Access Copyright tried to foist an unfunny cartoon featuring the farcical Captain Copyright on Canadian children.

But the planned series was flammed out of existence before it properly got started, deleted by a huge flood of online outrage.

“While my first reaction to the site was that it is just silly, as I dug deeper, I now find it shameful,” said University of Ottawa Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law Dr Michael Geist at the time.

“These materials, targeting kids as young as six years old, misrepresent many issues and proposes classroom activities that are offensive.”

Now a similar scheme seems to be in hand, but this time it seems copyright holders are using the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as their foil, and kids around the world are the targets.

Aimed at nine to 14-year olds, it’s bulky 72-page book filled, as Ars Technica points out, with “colorful examples” of copyright law in action.

“The most surprising thing about the booklet” is that it, “devotes eight pages to coverage of the public domain and other limitations on copyright,” says the post, going on:

The booklet is called “Learn from the Past, Create the Future” and is designed to be used in school classrooms. It’s only available in English at the moment, but Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish versions are all coming. The book is peppered with amusing (*cough*) games for kids to play, including “Clear the Rights,” “Public Domain Detective,” and “Spot the Infringement.”

But why not?

With the active help and cooperation of local governments and school administrations, the corporate movie and music cartels are at it all the time, deluging schools around the world with spurious ‘educational’ materials designed to warp the minds of children.

“Unlike Captain Copyright and similar past efforts to educate kids, the WIPO document actually covers both sides of the equation,” says Ars Technica. “Public domain works get several pages of explanation, though the booklet rightly notes that finding something available for free on the Internet doesn’t mean it’s in the public domain,” says the post.

‘Several pages” out of 72? The book seems to me to be heavily weighted in favour of the copyright cartels and IMHO, any attempt at balance is little more than window dressing

For example, DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) is an impossible concept which is being abandoned by the corporate entertainment cartels, with EMI, and Vivendi Universal leading the way.

Anything which can be seen or heard can be copied by one means or another.

But the WIPO book presents DRM as a fait accompli - a done deed.

It states, flatly:

In order to protect their works from infringement, right holders are using the same tool that made their works so vulnerable in the first place - digital technologies. Their use of these technologies, which make copyright infringement more difficult and facilitate the management of rights, is known as Digital Rights Management (DRM).

DRM tools can be used to mark digital works with copyright information. They can also be used to control the way in which a work can be used. For example, DRM can limit the number of copies that can be made of a work, can prevent changes from being made to a work, and can limit the devices on which a work can be enjoyed.

In other words, DRM makes a mockery of fair use.

And, “According to international laws, it is illegal to remove, change (alter), or get around (circumvent) DRM protection of a work.”

That’ll be news to a lot of people.

The book also includes a section slugged COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT with the topic headings:

What is copyright infringement?
What is plagiarism?
What is piracy?
What is P2P file sharing?
Game: Defending Authors and Performers
What is Digital Rights Management?
How can works on the Internet be protected?

But just in case it seems to be getting a little, well, blatant, there’s also a ‘game’ called ‘Spot the Infringement’.

And under “Reasons why we should not upload/download illegal copies of works ” WIPO states:

1) Risk of computer viruses and hacking. Downloaded music files can contain viruses. In addition, P2P software can sometimes contain ’spyware which gathers information about the computer without the user’s knowledge or consent. The P2P software that allows the sharing of music files can also allow strangers to view other files in the computer which the user would not want them to see.

2) Risk of lawsuits. The Internet is not anonymous, it is possible to identify individuals who illegally upload and download copyright material on P2P networks. Since 2003, the music industry has demonstrated that it will sue illegal users, regardless of their age.

3) Reduced choice of music. Illegal P2P file sharing reduces purchases of legal CDs which means that recording studios have a harder time\ recovering their investment on artists. By making the investment on new talent a risky business, illegal P2P file sharing makes it harder for new authors and performers to sign production and distribution deals. Recording studios may also try to reduce the risk of not recovering their investment by producing only the average type of music that many people like, making it less likely for truly original and creative authors and performers to be signed up.

It also includes this:

Can you identify which of the following are legal and illegal actions?

1) Making a copy of your classmate’s CD for your MP3 player:
2) Giving a friend a CD you bought for her as a present:
3) Giving a classmate a copy of a CD you bought for yourself:
4) Swapping a CD on an unauthorized P2P network:
5) Selling a CD that you bought at a second-hand garage sale:
6) Uploading a song written, composed and performed by you on a free downloading site:
7) Sending an MP3 file with your favorite song by e-mail to a classmate

Answers? WIPO states categorically:

1) Making a copy of your classmate’s CD for your MP3 player is illegal.
2) Giving a friend a CD you bought for her as a present is legal according to the first-sale doctrine.
3) Giving a classmate a copy of a CD you bought for yourself is illegal.
4) Swapping a CD on an unauthorized P2P network is illegal.
5) Selling a CD that you bought at a second-hand garage sale is legal according to the first-sale doctrine.
6) Uploading a song written, composed and performed by you on a free downloading site is legal, because as the author, you can do whatever you want with the works you create.
7) Sending an MP3 file with your favorite song by e-mail to your 60 classmate is illegal.

And to teachers:

This publication can be used to supplement literature and arts curricula, especially when students are asked to create original works in these areas. The ‘Think about it’ sections can be a starting point for class discussions on the importance of the arts and copyright.

Teachers may also complement this publication with a class session covering more specific information on the applicable national copyright law. Such information can be found in WIPO’s CLEA database: http://www.wipo.int/clea/en/index.jsp

Students are encouraged to complete the Creation Activity to understand the effort and number of people involved in creating, producing, performing and distributing an original work.

Finally, teachers can use this publication to encourage their students to create more original works, recognize their rights on those works, and respect the rights of other creators.

This publication may be photocopied for classroom use as it appears, without any alteration.

Every one of the online sources is, of course, a hard-core, (bought-and-paid-for?) corporate entertainment industry-friendly web page.

Genuine information sites such as the Wikipedia, which provide un-spun, non-vested-interest, non-corporate information and points of view, are conspicuous by their total absence.

Finally, “For any comments, questions and requests please contact kids@wipo.int,” says the book.

kids@wipo? Must be a children’s site. But No - it jumps straight to:

NEW AT WIPO

* WIPO Assemblies Meet. The meeting of WIPO Assemblies from September 24 to October 3 will take stock of progress in the Organization’s work and discuss future policy directions. More…

* European Community Accedes to Key Industrial Designs Treaty .”The EC accession is a major step towards broadening the geographical scope of the international design registration system,” said WIPO Director General, Kamil Idris. More…

* Measuring the Economic Impact of IP Systems. WIPO’s Japan Office has published results of a major study of the economic impact of IP systems in six Asian countries. More…

As I’ve said before, thank God we home-school our daughter

 

http://www.p2pnet.net/story/13489
Demonoid controversy: update

p2pnet news | P2P:- The “demonoid downtime caused quite some controversy, especially after the popular Dutch news site nu.nl reported that the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) was responsible,” says Torrentfreak.

Was the CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association of America) indeed able to intimidate Demonoid’s ISP? - p2pnet wondered, going on:

… it may have scored against BitTorrent tracker Demonoid.

As we said at the time, ‘May have’ was the operative phrase and Torrentfreak’s Ernesto says he contacted the Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG RIAA clone, as well as Demonoid’s ISP, to confirm the story, “but they didn’t want to respond to these allegations”.

“In addition, we tried to get an official response from Deimos, the founder and the head admin of Demonoid, unfortunately without any result,” he says, adding:

The general consensus in the Demonoid IRC channel now is that the downtime is caused by hardware issues, and that the site will probably return within a few days.

Others still think that the Canadian ISP took Demonoid offline after they received legal threats (from the CRIA), but this is just speculation at this point. Demonoid’s ISP said earlier that it would not hesitate to pull the plug on Demonoid if they had to, however, this explanation is less plausible now because the trackers still run on the same IP. This indicates that the servers are still hosted by their Canadian ISP.

It is great to see that the second largest BitTorrent tracker is back in action. Thousands of torrents stopped responding when the tracker went down, frustrating over a million BitTorrent users. I guess it’s time to finish these torrents.

Stay tuned.

 

http://www.p2pnet.net/story/13487
The Net uncovers Myanmar secrets

p2pnet news | Freedom:- Inset in the bottom left corner of this photo is the, “brain of a young student who was beaten violently to death by soldiers of the junta found in the drain near No. (3) Tarmway high school,” says a post on Ko Htike’s prosaic collection.

He’s talking about the war being waged against the ordinary people of Myanmar by the ruling military regime, determined to maintain power in the face of ongoing demands for democratic reform.

“A military state since 1962, Burma’s ruling junta continues to clash with the National League for Democracy, and has detained the group’s elected leader the world’s only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi for nearly a dozen years now,” says the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), also stating it’s a:

” … land where 3,000 villages have been destroyed, 1,300 political prisoners are in jail, 70,000 child soldiers have been forcibly recruited, and over 500,000 people are internally displaced”.

US ambassador Jackie W. Sanders said Burmese military forces systematically rape women and girls, especially those of the Shan, Karen, Karenni, and other ethnic minorities, says AAAS.

Meanwhile, “To trick Mr.Gambari, UN envoy, the junta announces through their mouth-piece-media that there is a demonstration in Myitkyiinar,” says Ko Htike, going on:

Actually that demonstration is a fake one for the junta wants to prove that their soldiers are not terrorist and not shooting at people and it’s also the junta’s plan to hide the truth of their terrorist evidences. At the same time, in Rangoon, the riot police are hitting with iron bar to any group of people whether they are demonstrators or not. After hitting violently, they arrest the people who collapse.

The picture is grisly and it’s not what you’d expect to see in a mainstream media report.

But, posted on a blog, it drives home the terrible reality that people are being mained and killed in Myanmar and although the traditional media have been locked out and prevented from reporting, the Net continues to deliver, with satellite imagery as the newest adjunct.

Citizen reporters are helping to keep the world informed while dictatorships and repressive regimes strive to blanket entire populations, preventing negative reports from getting out and information they see as a threat from getting in.

‘Three bloody days’

Ko Htike’s posts are garnering international media attention, but the picture of the disembodied brain originally appeared in myanmarmuslim.net, as did the photo of troops chasing demonstrators which comprises the other part of the picture on the upper right.

The photograph here on the left showing troops brandishing rifles with fixed comes from the same source.

Today, streets in Rangoon and Mandalay are “relatively quiet” following, “three bloody days in which at least 10 protesters were gunned down, according to state-run media, and scores of monks and civilians were beaten and arrested by security forces,” says The Irrawaddy, based in Thailand and covering Myanmar and South-East Asia.

The magazine was shut down by hackers, says Reuters, but it’s back online today and states:

“[…] members of Burma’s opposition groups say as many as 200 people may have been killed in the standoff between monks, pro-democracy demonstrators and security forces. Many hundreds of people were seriously injured.

“Many corpses were taken to secret locations, according to opposition sources.

“In Rangoon, as many as 1,000 monks have been imprisoned since a boycott on alms from the military government and its supporters was declared on September 17, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners based on the Thai-Burmese border.

“The monks are being held in the notorious Insein Prison and the Government Technology Institute compound, located near the prison in north Rangoon, according to sources in Rangoon.”

‘Myanmar’s military junta has forbidden such images’

Ko Htike, 28, left Myanmar seven years ago to study in England, says CNN Asia, continuing:

He told CNN.com … that he has as many as 40 people in Myanmar sending him photos or calling him with information. They often take the photos from windows from their homes, he said.

Myanmar’s military junta has forbidden such images, and anyone who sends them is risking their lives.

“If they get caught, you will never know their future. Maybe just disappear or maybe life in prison or maybe dead,” he told CNN.

The Net is back online, Ko Htike posts, “but it is difficult to use proxy.”
‘One of nine fatalities’

Modern technology, “has become the generals’ worst enemy,” says the Los Angeles Times, going on:

There were only rusty phones, if you could get through [in 1988],” said Bertil Lintner, a Myanmar expert and author of several books on the country.

Graphic video also emerged of what appeared to be a soldier firing point-blank at veteran Japanese photojournalist Kenji Nagai, who was killed Thursday. Nagai was shown lying on the ground, his camera still held up in his hand, as a soldier pointed his rifle at him. Tokyo has demanded an explanation from the Myanmar government.

Nagai was one of nine fatalities that were acknowledged by state media during protests Thursday in Yangon against 45 years of autocratic and brutal military rule.

“Pictures and video footage relayed by citizen reporters have played a major role in fuelling international revulsion at the crackdown on mass protests against 45 years of military rule and deepening economic hardship,” admits Reuters, going on, “But the generals appear to be getting more sophisticated in cracking down on dissent too.

The story refers to the hack attack on The Irrawaddy.

Today, “Sources say a disinformation campaign consisting of counter-demonstrations organized by the Union Solidarity and Development Association, a junta-backed group, has forced people from Kyaukpadaung, Myingyan and Nyaung Oo to demonstrate in support of the junta crackdown,” it states.

Eye in the sky

The generals are under the mistaken impression they can control the and off-line media, but they can have no such belief about satellite imagery.

“A new analysis of high-resolution satellite images completed by the ]AAAS pinpoints evidence consistent with village destruction, forced relocations, and a growing military presence at 25 sites across eastern Burma where eyewitnesses have reported human rights violations,” says the association on its site, stating its research offers “clear physical evidence to corroborate on-the-ground accounts of specific instances of destruction”.

This is the first time satellite image analysis has been used to document human rights violations in Myanmar, it says.

In the wake of anti-government protests and the Burma junta’s violent response the last week in September, says AAAS researcher Lars Bromley.

Satellites have been deployed to collect new images from the country’s urban areas and as phone lines and Net service are cut off, “these images, if they come through, will be one of the few ways to understand the level of the military deployment in these cities,” he says.

Research is continuing, Bromley emphasized, but further study by other investigators would be ideal in order to rule out any possible alternate explanations for the removed or severely degraded villages.

Reporting organizations and other parties should also become involved in the image-analysis process, states Bromley.

SlashdotSlashdot it! Add to Technorati Favorites

Also See:
American Association for the Advancement of Science - Satellite Images Corroborate Eyewitness Accounts of Human Rights Abuses in Burma, , September 28, 2007
The Irrawaddy - Monks Sentenced to Six Years Imprisonment; Rangoon, Mandalay Locked Down by Troops, September 29, 2007
Reuters - Internet access restored briefly in Myanmar, September 29, 2007
CNN Asia - Internet cut in Myanmar, blogger presses on, September 28, 2007
Los Angeles Times - Myanmar tries to cut Internet, cell access, September 29, 2007

 

Microsoft told to abandon Vista

Give up and start over

By Egan Orion: Saturday, 29 September 2007, 12:30 PM

THE NATIVES are getting restless, a bog post at Cnet urging Microsoft to dump Vista reveals.

Accompanied by a picture of the Windows Vista Ultimate edition box labeled " The Microsoft albatross," writer Don Reisinger's piece entitled "Why Microsoft must abandon Vista to save itself" begins "While Vista was originally touted by Microsoft as the operating system savior we've all been waiting for, it has turned out to be one of the biggest blunders in technology."

After taking the Vole to task for the lack of value in Vista Ultimate, he goes on to build a case that Vista is a disaster and Microsoft should just dump it and start over. Disappointing sales, check. OEM PC sellers sticking with XP, check. Apple's Mac sales surging, check.

He writes "With each passing day, it's becoming blatantly clear that Microsoft released Vista too early and the company's continual mistakes and promises that can't be kept are further annoying the Windows faithful."

He discounts the widespread hope among Windows users that a Service Pack will fix Vista, asking "Will SP1 eliminate the ridiculous Microsoft licensing schemes? Will SP1 drop the price on the higher-end versions? Will SP1 eliminate the need for users to buy a new computer just to use the faulty OS?" He takes the view that, while a Service Pack might fix some of Vista's known bugs and flaws, history suggests it will likely introduce new ones.

Additional complaints he voices about Vista include its draconian DRM regime that prevents users from making backups of their legitimate media files and its ridiculously annoying user access controls. He adds that Vista is incredibly bloated and slow, saying "For almost a year, people have been adopting Vista and becoming incensed by how poorly it operates."

He thinks the Vole should dump Vista, or at least put it on the back shelf and go back to selling Windows XP while it tries to come up with another approach to this whole new OS thing. That's what is happening anyway, despite Microsoft's official policy, we observe.
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/09/28/microsoft-told-abandon-vista
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9785337-7.html?

 

World's Smallest Camcorder Fits Inside a Pack of Gum

Tue Sep 25, 2007 9:59PM EDT
http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/hughes/19402


Many camcorders have been billed as the world's smallest, but only one has been small enough to hide inside a pack of gum. The Red Ferret Journal says the Micro Camcorder is the smallest high-resolution, real time digital camcorder ever produced. The camera can record up to 33 hours of video at 15 frames per second via its internal pinhole camera. Hide it inside a pack of gum, and no one will never know you're secretly recording them.

According to its web site, the camstick includes a tiny Micro SD card that can hold 1GB of video and will record video for up to two hours on a single charge. Anything you record will be in 3GP format, which can be played on any PC using programs like RealPlayer or Quicktime. Judging by a video taken with the Micro Camcorder, the quality appears to be pretty decent for Web use. You can easily find other pocketcams marketed to the YouTube generation like the Aiptek DV 4500, Flip Video, and RCA EZ101 for under $200, but they all seem gigantic in comparison. Anyone with intentions to take voyeuristic shots won't mind paying the relatively low price of $195 for a novelty spy gadget.

It's amazing how easy it's become to spy on anyone. The type of technology available online is extremely sophisticated, and usually goes undetected. Judging by stories circulating on the Web, spy gadgets are a hot commodity among scorned lovers and voyeurs alike. I guess my concern is the way people use this type of technology, especially in a day and age when many don't know where to draw the line or don't understand privacy laws.

For example, one very disturbed man in London thought that because the paparazzi got away with taking photos of celebrities revealing their underwear climbing in and out of cars, it made it ok for him to take compromising shots of private citizens. The IT consultant fitted a miniature camera into one of his shoes, and another one into a shoulder bag in order to film up women's skirts. When police arrested him and searched his home, they found additional footage taken with hidden cameras placed inside women's toilets and showers. He admitted to the court his intentions were to sell the footage on the Internet for profit.

Unfortunately, this isn't an isolated case. Cyber-peeping has been around for some time now, and the miniaturization of technology is making it easier for peeping Toms to get away with taking such photos until they get caught, which can sometimes take years. Just like in the case of the Australian man who admitted to filming women for four years using a camera hidden in his shoe, and another one in his Walkman. This makes me really nervous about cameras that can be hidden inside a pack a gum.

Anyway, what do you think? Is it worth nearly $200 to fit a camera in a pack of gum?

 

Copyright lawyer tells universities to resist "copyright bullies"

By Nate Anderson | Published: September 28, 2007 - 12:55PM CT

Wendy Seltzer, the founder of the Chilling Effects Clearinghouse and a former EFF staff attorney, gave a talk yesterday at Cornell (RealPlayer required) on "Protecting the University from Copyright Bullies." The bullies in question are the RIAA, and the issue is the recording industry's current campaign of both litigation and political pressure. Should universities assist the music industry in identifying the "pirates," or should they do everything in their power to resist?

The title of Seltzer's talk gives the game away. She believes that the mission of the university is to promote academic freedom, research, the testing of boundaries, and the learning of personal responsibility by students and researchers. An open network facilitates such things; one that is filtered and used to watch the activities of its users does not, in her view, produced the sorts of effects that universities want.

The campus has become the latest battleground in the war on file-sharing. The RIAA has taken its fight to the halls of Congress, where it recently failed to secure some legislation that would have required colleges and universities to implement content filtering solutions on their networks and would direct the government to produce a list of the top 25 infringing schools. "Why Congress should be getting into the business of naming names and pointing fingers is beyond me," Seltzer said.

The idea was shot down, but the RIAA has also embarked on an aggressive plan to sue thousands of college students into submission this year, and that plan continues to move forward. Universities, including Cornell, now routinely receive "pre-litigation" letters from the RIAA that contain only an IP address. The group wants universities to pass these letters on to students. The letters offer students the possibility of a several thousand dollars settlement or the more expensive alternative of going to court. If the letters don't produce a response, the RIAA then files a "John Doe" lawsuit and obtains a subpoena to force the university to turn over the student information (some of these subpoenas were recently quashed on technical grounds). Once that happens, a specific lawsuit is filed against the student.

Seltzer hopes to encourage universities to start challenging these tactics, especially challenging the subpoenas on the ground that they pose an "undue burden" to the university. While cost is certainly one factor here, the "burden" that Seltzer is primarily talking about is the effect that complying with the subpoenas has on the university's mission.

In her view, it makes universities take a stand as an adversary of students, since they are forced to turn over personal information shared with them only for reasons of education. It also curtails the openness of the university's network.

One questioner asked whether the issue wasn't complicated by the fact that students also live at the university; that is, the users of the network aren't simply doing academic research, and massive copyright infringement is no doubt going on at most universities. Seltzer responded by pointing out that universities already deal with legal and law enforcement issues on a regular basis, and they generally do so without tracking or monitoring their students. For instance, underage drinking can be a problem on most campuses, but few or no schools install cameras or other devices to detect underage drinkers. Part of letting students grow up, she said, was taking a step back.

Normally, that would also mean letting students pay the penalty for their mistakes, but Selzer doesn't believe that it is fair for a few students to be singled out for such draconian penalties while nothing happens to the vast majority of their peers. In addition to the severity of the statutory penalties for copyright infringement, there are the well-known evidentiary problems of linking an IP address to an individual.

It's an interesting talk for those on both sides of the debate, but especially for those in university administration across the country who have to confront these issues on a daily basis.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/pos...universities-to-resist-copyright-bullies.html

 

Read B4UCopy: software industry targets students with antipiracy siteBy Jacqui Cheng | Published: September 28, 2007 - 12:03PM CT

Nearly everyone in the US is familiar with those cheesy MPAA ads sometimes shown in movie theaters: "You wouldn't steal a car. You wouldn't steal a handbag. You wouldn't steal a television. You wouldn't steal a DVD. Pirating downloaded films is stealing!" They are supposed to remind viewers that piracy is bad and deter them from going home to download a high-res copy of the movie they're about to watch. While it's unclear whether the MPAA's ad campaign has caused any significant reduction in piracy, software makers want to get in on the action anyway. The Business Software Alliance—which represents a number of well-known software companies like Microsoft, Apple, Cisco, Intel, Adobe, Symantec, McAfee, and others—has launched its own ad campaign this week, aimed toward college students, called B4UCopy. Get it? B4... yeah.
Related Stories

* BSA announces $1 million reward for piracy snitches

The BSA actually appears to have taken into consideration how college students think (on some level) when creating B4UCopy. Instead of putting a huge emphasis on how software piracy hurts the software industry, it only makes a slight mention of the losses they suffer due to piracy. Instead, the site puts a much larger focus on how students themselves might be hurt by piracy—how does it affect them? Students might be duped by getting defective or outdated software, burned by software that turns out to contain viruses or steal personal information, "bounced" by being locked out of their college or university networks, "booted" by eligible employers if they are caught pirating software, and busted with jail time or heavy fines, says the BSA.

Of course, no anti-piracy campaign would be complete without an educational video about the consequences of software piracy. The B4UCopy video contains observations from poor college kids on why they pirate, a testimonial from an emotion-ridden student who was arrested for piracy just before college graduation, and other testimonials from law enforcement and software makers.

"Many students say they don't realize they are doing anything wrong when they illegally download computer software or swap copyrighted digital files with their classmates," said BSA VP of public affairs Diane Smiroldo in a statement. "In reality, these students are stealing and breaking the law, which could have serious repercussions on their future."

The BSA says that, according to a recent survey of 1,052 college and university students, over half of students who say they have downloaded unlicensed software have experienced "negative consequences" after doing so. Some of those consequences include an increase in spyware and viruses (55 percent), hard drive crashes (20 percent), and file loss (18 percent).

The BSA claimed in 2006 that the software industry lost $34 billion due to piracy worldwide. We weren't alone in pointing out the problems with that figure, however, nothing that the method that the BSA and IDC used to calculate those numbers were based on the estimated retail value of pirated software. In order to accurately calculate losses, the organizations would have to guess at how much software is pirated, how much would have been purchased had it not been pirated, and what the relationship of legit sales to pirated installations is. Clearly, even the software industry isn't entirely sure how much is actually being lost to piracy.

Will the BSA's new campaign make a dent in software piracy among college students? It might, if it's able to emphasize some of the more immediate risks such as viruses and spyware. Anecdotally, I know several (perhaps not-so-bright) students whose PCs have been subject to virus takeovers so bad that they had to resort to reformatting their entire hard drives, thus losing everything on them. It was enough to scare a few of them straight, so the BSA might have some luck. Then again, being told about the consequences never quite drives the point home as hard as experiencing them firsthand.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/pos...ry-targets-students-with-antipiracy-site.html

 

ZIPEG.......... Zipeg opens ZIP, RAR, ARJ, LHA, 7z and many other types of archives. Zipeg helps to preview files and Jpeg photographs (.jpg, .png) before extracting them. Decompress, unzip, expand, extract or drag and drop exactly what you want to where you want. Runs on: Windows 2000, XP, 2003, MCE and Vista.....(free).....GO THERE!
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Zipeg is archive decompression utility for Windows™.

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http://www.zipeg.com/downloads/zipeg-setup.exe

 

FREE,CloneGenius 2008

Size: 35.06MB

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Release Date: 2007-09-29

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There is no such system that is immune from damage. Thus backup traditionally has been thought of an insurance policy. Today it´s also part of security and productivity plans. You will realize that having a mirror image of each PC can save hours of time maybe even days restoring a system should the PC hard disk drive fail. You will always need exact duplicates of their entire hard disk drive, including the primary boot partition where all system files and settings are stored-as well as data partitions in order to ensure they have a complete backup that can restore the drive to working order.

Under these conditions:

* Want to restore from a "clean", master image, which should be in full working order and should have been swept for viruses.
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* You may use disk cloning to upgrade to a new hard disk.
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CloneGenius provides advanced backup and recovery for your PC, protects your data by making a backup of your hard drive´s contents - without having to reinstall your Windows. CloneGenius is a comprehensive disk imaging solution for home and small office users, enhanced with Drive Image technology, suitable for both beginners and advanced users. From disk to disk, partition to partition Clone or Recover any format of data: MP3, Video, and Picture…

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CloneGenius is an advanced disaster recovery and backup solution for your PC. Wizards guide you through creating an exact copy - or backup image - of your hard drive. CloneGenius also makes it easy to copy everything from your hard drive to a new hard drive when you upgrade the hardware in your computer. CloneGenius supports shrink on restore for FAT, FAT32, and NTFS.

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http://www.clonegenius.com/downloads/clonegenius.iso

 

http://www.p2pnet.net/story/13492
Demonoid is back online

p2pnet news | P2P:- BitTorrent tracker Demonoid’s normal service has almost resumed.

I say ‘almost’ because p2pnet’s luxurious HQ is on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, and when we Canadians head over to the site, we see:

We received a letter from a lawyer represeting the CRIA, they were threatening with legal action and We need to start blocking Canadian traffic because of this. If you reside in Canada, that is the reason you are being redirected to this message. Thanks for your understanding, and sorry for any inconvenience.

Those who were slagging Torrentfreak’s Ernesto over in Holland owe him an apology.

He was one of, if not the, first to suggest Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG’s CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association of America) might have been behind Demonoid’s disappearance.

Meanwhile, if you’re Canadian, try using a proxy.

Is this triumph for the members of the Big 4 organised music cartel?

Nope. It’s just another negative they can add to their already huge pile. Eventually, it’ll topple over and that’ll be the end for them.

For us, it’ll be no more than a continuation of something which began when they started suing the people who keep them alive.

Meanwhile, is this the last of Demonoid’s problems?

Definitely stay tuned,

Cheers!

Jon Newton - p2pnet

 

Torrent Sites Blacklist North American Users

Citing increased pressure from piracy enforcers, operators call it quits

Within the last week, two popular BitTorrent sites began blocking users located in North America: Isohunt.com’s trackers now block users in the United States; and Demonoid.com blocks users located in Canada.

Starting last week, Canada-based Isohunt posted a notice on its front page, stating that it has disabled access from users in the U.S. to the BitTorrent trackers at Torrentbox.com and Podtropolis.com, which are operated by Isohunt. Isohunt elaborates, “This is due to the U.S.'s hostility towards P2P technologies, and we feel with our current lawsuit brought by the MPAA, we can no longer ensure your security and privacy in the U.S.” Isohunt, which only indexes the torrents posted at other trackers like The Pirate Bay or TorrentBox, then asked U.S.-based users to add and use other, unrestricted trackers in its search results.

Shortly afterwards, Demonoid.com – also based in Canada – went offline, and many speculated that the site had either been taken down by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA), or suffered major server failures.

With rumors flying, P2P news site ZeroPaid.com received an e-mail of indeterminate source which confirmed the server troubles, and that the site was indeed undergoing a rebuild. However, because the e-mail could not be verified, and Demonoid’s operator “Deimos” never officially commented on Demonoid’s status, ZeroPaid’s e-mail was not posted until today.

Regardless, Demonoid’s tracker was up by September 29, 2007. The website followed, resuming operations on September 30. Unfortunately, the return has a catch: due to interference from the CRIA, Canadian users are now blocked from Demonoid’s website and its trackers.

Instead users are now redirected to a web page with the following message: “We received a letter from a lawyer representing the CRIA, they were threatening with legal action and we need to start blocking Canadian traffic because of this. If you reside in Canada, [this] is the reason you are being redirected to this message. Thanks for your understanding, and sorry for any inconvenience.”

With the rising popularity of BitTorrent, piracy enforcers are giving the protocol increasing amounts of attention. Recent e-mail and source code leaked from MediaDefender indicate that the firm seems to devote the most attention to BitTorrent, which, according to a widely-quoted 2004 study, accounts for at least a third of all internet traffic.

While sites like Demonoid and Isohunt appear to have caved in to these pressures, others choose a defiant path and turn pressure into mockery: The Pirate Bay’s legal threats page posts dozens of takedown notices and their humorous replies, and MiiVi.org advertises itself as a “tribute to the fall of MediaDefender,” hosting an open tracker sponsored in part by The Pirate Bay, Suprnova, Mininova and others.
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=9103

 

How to Mask Your IP and Use Country Restricted Services

June 10, 2006 at 13:34 · Filed under Entertainment, Everything Else

If you want to watch ABC streaming TV episodes even if you don’t live in the US or see the Football Worldcup in the BBC Sport site, even if you don’t live in the UK - the next few steps will help you mask your IP by changing your default proxy to the correct country.

We always knew it was possible, but not that it’s this simple! This can probably help people who want to use different softwares and services online that are usually restricted to the locals and not only for just viewing the above online TV. This little IP and proxy tweak also makes your surfing much more secure and anonymous.

1. In IE -> Choose Tools -> Choose Internet Options -> Go to Connections (tab) -> Press LAN Settings (button) -> mark the “Use a proxy server for your LAN…” -> In the IP Address field, enter the IP (use 206.107.155.137 for US services, 62.171.219.179 for UK services) -> In the Port field, enter the port (US - 8080, UK - 80) -> Press OK (button) -> Press OK again (button).

2. For more IPs (proxy servers) from different countries, you can check out this site.
http://www.publicproxyservers.com/page1.html

3. If you’re having any problems, read the original, very detailed post here.
http://www.ghacks.net/2006/06/06/how-to-view-the-football-worldcup-online/#more-542
If you know any other good location based sites or great services that you thought were restricted to your country until now, please comment and share them with us.
http://6initiative.com/how-to-mask-your-ip-and-use-country-restricted-sites-2/

 

http://www.p2pnet.net/story/13496
The ‘grizzly’ side of iPhone

p2pnet news | Mobiles:- Apple boss Steve jobs has thrown down an irresistible gauntlet to hackers.

“Blackmarket versions of the new Apple iPhone could become worthless after the company revealed updated software to bar them from unauthorised networks,” says the Press Association, going on:

“Many of the phones have been bought in Britain and other European countries in advance of their official launch here. And in America websites offer computer code “cracks” to allow the phones to work with any service provider.”

Soon after the DRM-laden device hit the shelves, it was cracked and hacked.

Now, people who’d installed the latest iPhone software update had been complaining, “all the fun little programs they had been adding to their iPhones disappear - or, still worse, see their phones freeze up entirely,” says the New York Times, going on:

“Should they have known better?

“Since Monday, Apple officials have been warning iPhone owners that using unlocking software could cause the phone to become ‘permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed.’ But in many cases those warnings went unheeded.

“People who had unlocked their phones to use them with another carrier ran the greatest risk of, in techie terms, having them ‘bricked’ - rendered about as useful as a brick. Most of those who committed the lesser transgression of installing programs not authorized by Apple simply had those programs wiped out.”

The ‘grizzly’ side of Apple

“As great as this update was, it showed the grizzly side of Apple,” states Tanner Godarzi on iPhone Matters.

Does he mean ‘grisly’? Anyway, first, “we know the update bricked some iPhones and there is a mass colobaration [sic] going on to unbrick them but also 3rd party Apps were disabled,” he says, going on:

Let me play Devil’s advocate here, 3rd party Apps are a very sensitive area, I know some slowed my iPhone and messed a few things up. Oh and don’t forget every process runs as root so that opens a massive security hole. Unlocked iPhones on the other hand are losing Apple monthly revenue from AT&T for every iPhone on a different GSM network.

But there is a tremendous amount of irony here, Apple states modifications made by unlocking programs seriously disrupt the phone’s functions. The only way the iPhone’s functions are disrupted is that Apple chooses to make a massive deal about this and their inability to grasp a single concept: the people who are not on AT&T are on different networks for a reason.

And ….

These are people who are not going to switch networks regardless, it’d be easier to swap out different phones than succumb to a different cellular network. I’ve been on AT&T for 3 yeariPhone Matterss already, i’ve had no problems with them so far but if the iPhone had been released on Verizon I would never switch, ever, no matter how tempting it was. My experience with Verizon has been dreadful, horrible phones coupled with a signal as stable as a wooden shack in a typhoon.

It’d be better for Apple to make money from the initial sale of an iPhone owner who will unlock it than screw over someone who afterwards will never go near another Apple product. It’s an idiotic move on Apple’s part, sadly the idea that of vigorously keeping users trapped in dominates over attracting customers to a good product.

His final word?

Even though this update brought some pretty cool things like the iTunes Wi-FI Store and some minor enhancements, it did more harm than good. The breaking of 3rd party Apps and unlocks was done intentionally, not something that was in the way.

I’m going to have to rate this update a 2/5, it wasn’t enough to excite but it does show Apple’s dedication to adding on to the iPhone platform. This doesn’t exclude the fact that after the update, the iPhone is locked down, more so than ever.

But Macolytes will come back for more because after all, “the whole hacking dilemma is kinda good for us, since Apple will try to entice users into bricking their unlocked phones with new features us ‘honest’ users will get better updates more frequently.”

Hmmmmm

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Also See:
Press Association - `Pirate apple phones ‘wortheless’, September 30, 2007
cracked - iPhone unlocked: twice!, August 28, 2007
hacked - iPhone unlocked: thrice!, August 27, 2007
New York Times - Altered iPhones Freeze Up, September 29, 2007
iPhone Matters - Review: 1.1.1 Update For iPhone, October 1, 2007

 

http://www.p2pnet.net/story/13495
James Bond’s Miss Moneypenny dies

p2pnet news | Movies:- Canadian-born actress Lois Ruth Hooker is dead.

You knew her better as Lois Maxwell, the actress who starred as Miss Moneypenny in 14 James Bond movies.

She died from cancer in hospital Saturday night near her home in Perth, Australia, aged 80.

Moneypenny left Toronto in 1943 at the age of 16 to join the Canadian Army Show and, “When she finally returned to her native Toronto 19 years later, she was Lois Maxwell, film star of James Bond movies,” says the Toronto Star.

She once predicted her obituary would start with ‘Miss Moneypenny Dead,’ says the story, adding:

“Her role in 14 Bond films as secretary to M, Bond’s boss and head of the British secret service, was small but always memorable for its hint of sexual tension between herself and Agent 007.”

How did she wind up as Miss Moneypenny?

“She ended up in London, where she met Roger Moore at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, beginning what was to be a life-long friendship,” says Agency France-Presse, adding:

“She changed her name in Hollywood, won a Golden Globe award and worked with Ronald Reagan on “Bedtime For Bonzo.”

“When the first Bond movie came along, Maxwell was an experienced actor in need of an income after her husband, British television executive Peter Marriott, developed a heart problem.”

Maxwell told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2005, “I had a husband who was desperately ill, with two small children and no money, so I called producers I had worked with before and said ‘help me’,” says AFP.

She came from Kitchener, Ontario.

 

http://www.p2pnet.net/story/13493
Meet BBC America!

p2pnet news | TV:- Many US networks claim a worldwide reach, but, it’s mostly just talk compared to the resources of the BBC.

Heresy! And it springs from the lips of an American - CBS News veteran Rome Hartman!

Associated Press has him saying CNN comes closest with its international staffing, but “if you look at what CNN broadcasts to an American audience, the appetite for world news on a daily basis for the domestic network is really quite limited”.

Nonetheless, the Beeb still fell short, apparently, and to remedy that, Hartman was hired as executive producer of BBC World News America on BBC America.

BBC America!?!

It starts today and is available in about half of the Britain’s TV homes, says the story, with parts of the newscast will also being seen on PBS stations that regularly air Beeb news material.

“I came to the BBC, after 24 years as a producer for CBS News in the US, to launch a new nightly news programme presented from Washington DC by veteran BBC reporter Matt Frei and to air on BBC World, BBC America, and in the wee hours of the morning on News 24,” says Hartman in a BBC post.

Hartman was executive producer of the nightly CBS newscast and was, “instrumental in reconfiguring the CBS Evening News when anchor Katie Couric joined the network in September 2006,” says MediaWeek, adding:

“This spring, Hartman moved into an advisory role after CBS brought on former MSNBC president Rick Kaplan to helm the nightly newscast.

“The decision to replace Hartman came as Couric failed to deliver on the promise of her debut newscast, which delivered 13.6 million viewers. Shortly thereafter, CBS slid back into third place.”

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Also See:
Associated Press - BBC to premiere an American newscast, September 30, 2007
BBC - Confessions of a BBC rookie, September 24, 2007
MediaWeek - Hartman Joins BBC to Develop Newscast, June 11, 2007