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

BitTorrent is DOOMED!

p2pnet.net news view:- The self-acclaimed guru of IPTV, Mark Cuban claims P2P and, more specifically, BitTorrent, is doomed. Apparently, “conflicting clients”, lack of knowledge, limited Internet plans, and “bandwidth premiums” are going to be jointly responsible.

Here’s Cuban’s argument: he believes from the business standpoint, BitTorrent and other peer-to-peer technologies are great. They save massive amounts of bandwidth and help efficiently distribute large media files, possibly even speeding up transfers. We agree with everything up ’til here.

But now he goes on to say although content creators can profit from BitTorrent, users are getting screwed. Why? Here are his reasons.

# Conflicting Clients
# End Users don’t understand how P2P works
# The P2P model of seeding is a HUGE problem for those […] with bandwidth constraints or per bit or per minute costs
# There is a misconception that there is bandwidth savings for the end user

On conflicting clients he says, “When multiple clients are installed on a PC, not only does that create confusion among users, its a ‘last installed, first in charge’ approach. That approach and lack of respect for other clients will lead to user configuration problems.”

Okay, Number One, if you’re referring to file associations, ie, the most recently installed app is associated with the file type, then this “problem” is not limited to BitTorrent clients. Everything from graphic editors (Photoshop, Gimp) to music management applications (iTunes, WinAmp) do this.

Secondly, if this causes confusion among users, then how do millions of people manage to get their music into iTunes and sync it to their iPods without accidentally having their mp3s added to the Windows Media Player library? This “lack of respect” isn’t so much about BitTorrent client developers trying to steal users from their competitors, as it is about how operating systems function today.

Onto Point Two. “End Users dont understand how P2P works, and once they do, they get concerned about giving up bandwidth.”

I hear BitTorrent transfers make up about one third of all traffic on the Internet these days. It seems likely that end users do, in fact, understand how P2P works. And unless their other online activities are hindered by BitTorrent or P2P, I don’t see users really having a problem with the uploads.

Most don’t even bother uploading once their file has been download, and since the majority of users download torrents from public trackers, they aren’t forced to either.

Cuban’s third point, “The P2P model of seeding is a HUGE problem for those using wireless broadband with bandwidth constraints or per bit or per minute costs. People are going to wake up and find that they owe Verizon, Sprint, whoever a lot more than they ever thought possible because they installed a client on their Laptops. That could lead to these networks blocking the protocol.”

This actually makes sense. The real problem here is miscommunication. In developing countries such as India, ISPs milk customers for money by charging them for every MB downloaded, and in some cases, for every minute spent online.

Some ISPs (Sify, for one) even lie about unlimited plans and have per-day limits (eg. 200 MB), which, if exceeded, cause the number of days the plan is valid for (usually a month) to be reduced every time the download limit is excedded. Someone I know actually ran up a bill of several hundred dollars because he thought he was on an unlimited plan, whereas in reality his ISP hadn’t processed his request to change plans. But as BitTorrent and P2P grow in popularity, users are quickly starting to demand ‘unlimited’ plans.

If you look at the trend, ISPs are more likely to cash in on the P2P phenomenon and offer unlimited plans for a premium than start blocking protocols. And although per-bit and per-minute plans are widespread in developing countries, I don’t know how much of a problem they are to European, Australian and North American users.

Cuban’s last point is, “There is a misconception that there is bandwidth savings for the end user. If you want to download a 1gb size file, 1gb of data will be delivered to your PC. There is no savings of bandwidth on the client side. In fact, the client is charged a bandwidth premium because after they have received the entire file, they are asked to particpate in the peering by delivering parts of the file to other users.”

Guess what? The end user doesn’t care if he’s uploading bits while downloading. Unlike hosting providers, users incur no cost from constantly uploading data. It doesn’t matter, as long as they can go about their other activities. And unless they're on a per-bit or per-minute plan, no “bandwidth premiums” are going to be charged. Also, no one is asking the user to “participate in the peering” (or simply, seed) once the download is complete. That is only a requirement of select private trackers.

When it comes to utilising BitTorrent in business, as part of a content store, I think Cuban’s looking at it the wrong way.

When the various BitTorrent stores (BitTorrent.com, Zudeo.com) are up and running, content creators are not going to be getting a free ride. Users are not going to pay the same price they do at conventional stores such as the iTunes Store and Amazon Unbox. Why should they? They’re acting as servers for content creators and are distributing content for no charge at all. But since money isn’t being deducted from their bank accounts, and seeding a torrent is not really affecting their web browsing, users are okay with uploading.

Keep in mind, this business model will only work if the rates at BitTorrent-powered content stores are significantly lower than conventional ones. In other words, users aren’t just going to let themselves be ripped off. If they feel they’re getting a raw deal, they’ll head straight to “illegal” torrent sites like The Pirate Bay and Isohunt. In fact, that’s what users are doing right now!

I’m open to the possibility that I’m dead wrong. I don’t know, maybe Cuban is right. Maybe BitTorrent is in fact doomed, and the video streaming technologies he pioneered with Broadcast.com in the 90s will make a major comeback.

I mean, who uses BitTorrent these days? Just a bunch of pirates, soon to be exiled to metal platform in the middle of the North Sea. Right? Right.

What do you think? Are the days of P2P over? Is the the balkanisation of BitTorrent imminent?

Torrentfreak - The Netherlands
http://p2pnet.net/story/11111?PHPSESSID=cf9ca994970c0b422f4ad938b344480c

 

Seeing the light on DRM

p2pnet.net news special:- While much of the northern hemisphere has been experiencing heretofore unseen spring-like weather conditions in January, disrupting the hibernation and mating habits of many of the world's animals, a group of snakes and other cold blooded, skin-shedding reptiles and amphibians have gathered in the warm sunshine of southern France for the 41st annual MIDEM conference of, "nearly 10,000 international music (labels, publishers, artist managers and many more), digital and mobile professionals gather to do business".

Besides the usual back-slapping, self-congratulatory butt kissing on how well the industry is doing - and they are doing well despite a reported decline in CD sales (Digital music sales soar 80 percent in 2006 ) - there's an unexpected and welcome turn of events, that of the major players finally starting to see the light on DRM and file-sharing: DRM is bad, very bad. Files-sharing is good, very good. DRM inhibits sales, industry growth and artistic endeavours, while file-sharing promotes artists for free, jump-starts careers, and increases sales of CDs. The market dictates what works, not the marketers.

At least one of the four major labels is expected to begin sales of unrestricted MP3s this year, something the major players had previously vowed they'd never do, capitulating to the demands of the customer "which has destroyed their monopoly over the worldwide distribution of music in the past decade and allowed file-sharing to take its place". Independent labels and artists are way ahead of the majors in this respect, having listened to consumers and been offering their works in this way for years, often for free, and have reaped the benefits the majors have denied existed.

"Free is the new paid," said Kenneth Parks, chief operating officer of Brilliant Technologies, a company based in New York and Melbourne that is developing a service called Qtrax, which will provide free music - legally - to Internet users.

"We could release our products without digital-rights management restrictions on them in the way that consumers want and still make a lot of money," Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association, said at Midem. "And I think we'll be hearing more and more about that."

But Mitch Bainwol, chairman of the Recording Industry Association of America, says, "We're for interoperability, and there's nothing intrinsic to DRM that prevents interoperability."

Tell that to Apple, which has dominated online music purchases for years, incorporating their own brand of DRM into every download, which can then only be played on an iPod. Apple, which sells works by RIAA artists, doesn't seem to share Bainwol's 'enthusiasm' for interoperability.

That could change sooner than Steve Jobs might like, especially if French lawmakers have their way. In recent years, France has been in the forefront of protecting consumers' rights, including forming a commission to oversee measures to force interoperability, stifling DRM, and protecting file-sharers from illegal prying eyes.

Italy has also declared that file-sharing is not illegal, stating downloading computer files containing films, music or software isn't a crime if not done for profit. The top criminal court's ruling throws out convictions of two former students who had set up a p2p network in 1994, and undoubtedly will pave the way for more quashed convictions and the refusal of courts to hear file-sharing cases brought by the cartels.

Economists such as Jacques Attali, a French author and music aficionado, understand that the market decides what restrictions it will accept, and what it won't. Attali predicts the current business models employed by the cartels will be discarded and all recorded music will be free in the next several decades, reflecting the old radio model: free online music supported by advertising.

"A lot of people will still make money out of it," he said during an interview at Midem.

Ad-supported, DRM-free file-sharing and download services are now being seriously considered by the major cartel members.

With companies such as EMI offering free streaming music on Baidu.com in China; VirginMega and FNAC selling DRM-free tracks from indie labels; Yahoo! continuing their 'experiments' in offering DRM-free tracks from selected artists; and, Amazon.com planning a DRM-free download service, the industry has finally smelled the coffee and opened their eyes and ears to what file-sharers and consumers have been saying and demanding for years.

"It will happen between next year and five years from now, but it is more likely to be in one to two years," said Rob Glaser, chief executive of RealNetworks. "DRM-free purchases is an idea in ascendance and whose time has come."

And, DRM is a "pain in the neck" for consumers, says Julian Ulrich, general manager of VirginMega.

As the winter of 2006-2007 has been a mild one, in most of the world the mildest in recorded history, it would seem the music industry has got the jump on famed groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, coming out of hibernation several weeks early and declaring an end to the icy chill of DRM Winters and the start of free, unrestricted entertainment and information Springs and Summers.

Free file-sharing networks will never go away, but perhaps the cartels are finally admitting that you can't sue their customers into buying 'product', and that DRM was a bad idea, poorly conceived and implemented, largely despised by consumers and retailers, and that the physical and virtual marketplace can support all types of content distribution, and still earn them a pretty penny.

http://p2pnet.net/story/11120?PHPSESSID=7fb1ec3ea9fffb4a20969293d4c5be8e

 

DRM, Vista and your rights
[ Tuesday, 23 January 2007, michuk ]

In the US, France and a few other countries it is already forbidden to play legally purchased music or videos using GNU/Linux media players. Sounds like sci-fi? Unfortunately not. And it won’t end up on multimedia only. Welcome to the the new era of DRM!

Author: Borys Musielak

In this article I would like to explain the problem of Digital Rights (or restrictions) Management, especially in the version promoted by Microsoft with the new Windows Vista release. Not everyone is familiar with the dangers of the new “standard” for the whole computer industry. Yes, the whole industry — because it goes way beyond the software produced by the giant from Redmond and its affiliates.
DRM, Trusted Computing — what kind of animal is that?

Quoting Wikipedia:

Digital Rights Management (generally abbreviated to DRM) is an umbrella term that refers to any of several technologies used by publishers or copyright owners to control access to and usage of digital data or hardware, and to restrictions associated with a specific instance of a digital work or device. The term is often confused with copy protection and technical protection measures; these two terms refer to technologies that control or restrict the use and access of digital content on electronic devices with such technologies installed, acting as components of a DRM design.

A similar (but a bit more specialized) term to DRM is Trusted Computing. The term is intentionally misleading. It does not try to improve the security of the user, but rather wants to ensure that the user can be “trusted”. Obviously it’s not about the trust, it’s about the money. The companies that deliver content (specially multimedia, but it’s not restricted to media only) to the client want to be able to control the way it is used. For example, they want the content to be displayed on approved media only, banning all the “illegal” applications (illegal does not mean that it violates the law, but rather the agreement between the client and the company that sells the media). More on Trusted Computing can be found (as always) in Wikipedia.

So, what’s wrong with the practice? Why shouldn’t the companies be able to control their content? The idea of DRM has two aspects that are important (and may be dangerous) for computer users. First aspect is technological, the second is ethical. We are going to cover both.

In a nutshell, the technological aspect is that DRM implies that the software, or even worse — hardware — should be manufactured not for the highest stability and performance, but rather for the best copyright protection possible. This means, that we — the users — are supposed to pay more money for a product that is defective (does not allow certain functionality for non-technical reasons) and provides an inferior performance.

Ethical aspect is even more dangerous. In the world of DRM, it turns that we cannot do whatever we want with the legally purchased products (like software, music, videos or text documents). What we can and what we cannot do is decided the provider, not by ourselves. For example, a DRM-protected product can be disabled at any time by the producer if he believes that we violate the terms of the agreement. This means that your collection of “protected” music can be rendered useless (e.g. by decreasing the quality or even deleting the content) in a matter of seconds, without your approval. It that some horrible vision of a sick and evil overlord? Nope. This is an upcoming, terrifying era of DRM.
DRM by example

So, what does DRM look like? Can we see it or is it hidden? Actually, quite a lot of famous companies have already decided that DRM is the way to go. Below we present only a short list of the most popular formats that are affected (tainted) by the “rights protection”:

* DVD — the disk itself does not contain any hardware DRM, but a lot of providers decided to use the restrictions recommended by the DVD CCA organization, such as CSS (content scrambling by using encryption mechanisms) or RPC (region codes).
* HD DVD — the new standard that will probably replace DVDs has been unfortunately tainted by DRM since its creation. The main restriction used is AACS, a modern version of CSS.
* AAC — audio file format invented and promoted by Apple and its iTunes Music Store. In the version with FairPlay (sic!) protection system, it contains DRM-type restrictions (encrypting) aimed at making it impossible for competitive portable players to support this format (AAC works flawlessly only on Apple products like iTunes player or iPod and a few other players approved by Apple)
* Windows Media — each of the media formats of the Windows Media pack (WMV, WMA, WMP or ASF) has been tainted by some kind of DRM, usually meaning that the content is symmetrically encrypted and if the keys are not accessible, the user can watch/listen to only the scrambled version of the content (very low quality).


What is interesting and not widely known, DRM is not restricted to media only. It can be used to secure any other “digital goods”, especially the software. The idea to restrict access to proprietary software using hardware DRM technology is getting more and more popular around major software vendors, like Microsoft and Apple. If this gets implemented, the software producer will be able to, for example, block the use certain programs if they recognize it harmful or illegal. This could mean blocking programs of competitors if they violate the company’s internal rules (e.g. enable the user to play encrypted DVDs or AAC files, even though it is not illegal to do it in the user’s country). Blocking Peer2Peer clients, like eMule or Gnutella (nevermind if used legally or not) could be another option. And there are many more options available, provided that DRM is publicly accepted…
The price of DRM, or… what says Gutmann

Peter Gutmann in his recent publication analyzed the cost of Windows Vista Content Protection with emphasis on the actual cash to be spent for the computer user if these recommendations are implemented by the hardware vendors. The article is interesting, but long and very technical, so I decided to summarize the main points here. If you prefer to read the original article, we strongly recommend you doing so. Otherwise, you can read our short summary, so that you know what we are talking about.

So, what will happen if the Microsoft vision comes true?

* If you have recently bought a high-end sound card you may be surprised, since in Windows Vista you won’t be able to play any “protected content” due to the incompatibility of interfaces (S/PDIF).
* Significant loss of quality of the audio may be common due to the need to test every bit of streaming media for the use of “protected content”
* The idea of open-source drivers will be abandoned since the whole DRM thing is based on the fact that the content decrypting takes place in a “black box” and only a few selected corporations may have a look at it. Security through obscurity, that’s what it’s called. Open source stands in complete opposition to this concept.
* Removing any standards from the hardware world is one of the Microsoft goals. According to the Microsoft theory, each device will need to communicate with the operating system in a unique way in order for DRM work as required. This will enforce the incompatibility of the devices, killing the existing interface standards.
* Denial of Service attacks will be a common place. The new era of DoS attacks will be more harmful than ever before. This is connected with the tilt bits introduced in Windows Vista. The malicious code will be able to use the DRM restrictions in any suitable way and the detection of this activity will be almost impossible if not illegal (sic!) thanks to the infamous DMCA act that prohibits the use of any reverse engineering techniques used to either understand or break DRM.
* The stability of the devices will be decreased due to the fact that the devices will not only have to do their job but also “protect” (who? obviously not the user…) against the illegal use of the audio and video streams. This “protection” requires a lot of additional processing power and of course a lot of programmers man days. Who’s gonna pay for that? Of course us — the customers.
* Issuing the specification by Microsoft seems to be the first case in the history when the software producer dictates the hardware producers how their hardware should be designed and work. Seems dangerous, especially when we all realize the intentions of Microsoft.

The conclusions are rather sad. If the major hardware vendors like Intel, NVidia and ATI take these recommendations seriously and implement them in their products, it may occur that the client will not only get an inferior product (defective by design), but will also have to pay the extra cost of implementing DRM restrictions (the vendors won’t be probably willing to spend the extra costs for something that does not give them any profits).

Update: there has already been a Microsoft response to the Gutmann’s paper: Windows Vista Content Protection - Twenty Questions (and Answers). The advocacy is however very poor. The Lead Program Manager for Video (Dave Marsh) confirmed most of the Gutmann’s conclusions, but presented them as “inevitable” and “providing additional functionality”. The OSNews readers seem to agree that Marsh’s response was basically the act of admitting the guilt

What we have covered so far are only the technical costs of DRM/Trusted Computing in the form proposed by the Redmond giant. The ethical costs of the “innovation” are even more interesting… or rather depressing. Read on.
DRM and freedom, or what says Richard Stallman and FSF

According to Stallman,

DRM is an example of a malicious feature - a feature designed to hurt the user of the software, and therefore, it’s something for which there can never be toleration.

Stallman is not the only person respected in the IT world who believes that DRM is pure evil. Another known DRM-fighter is John Walker, the author of the famous article “Digital imprimatur: How big brother and big media can put the Internet genie back in the bottle”. Walker compares the Digital imprimatur with DRM in the Internet and computing in general.

In Windows Vista it has been decided that the most restrictive version of DRM ever known will be implemented. If the Redmond dreams come true and the large hardware producers also decide to implement the DRM bits in their chipsets, it may lead to the situation in which we — the users, practically won’t be able to decide about our own software of legally purchased media. And this is actually only the beginning of what we can expect if a massive consumer protest against DRM does not begin. In the near future it may turn out that we will not be able to run any programs that violates one of the absurd software patents in the US or any kind of so-called intellectual property (just as if the ideas could have an owner!). And almost everything will be patented or “owner” in some way by that time.

I have a science-fiction vision of the IT underground, where the only hardware not tainted with DRM is made in China and using it is illegal in most of the “civilized” countries. And the only software that allows users to do anything they want with it is (also illegal) the GNU software, developed in basements by so-called “IT terrorists” — Linux kernel hackers, former Novell and Red Hat employees and sponsored by the Bin Laden of the IT — Mark Shuttleworth. Sounds ridiculous? Well, hopefully so. But I don’t think Microsoft and Apple would be protesting when this ridiculous and insane vision comes true…
What is it all about and how can you protect yourself?

So, where is this all heading to? It seems that, for Microsoft, controlling the desktop software market is not enough anymore. Now they try take control of the hardware market as well. Currently only by “recommending” their solutions to external hardware companies. But in the future, if the current pro-DRM lobbying proves successful, it may happen that Microsoft and other big software companies will be dictating how the hardware is designed. And all this — of course in their argumentation — only for securing the end user and protecting the intellectual property of the artists and programmers. This situation is rather paranoid. The hypothetical pact between the software vendors, hardware vendors and the content providers (RIAA, MPAA) could slow down the innovation in the entire IT industry for many years. This would be also one of the first times in the history where certain new technology is introduced not based on the customers’ demands, but rather on the need of large and influential companies. The customers (those aware of their rights) cannot be satisfied by this kind of agreement by no means.

So, how can you protect yourself from this “pact of evil”?

1. First of all — ignore the hardware and software using DRM techniques to restrict the rights of the user. Do not purchase music, movies and other content secured by DRM mechanisms. Instead, use alternative services recommended by the Defective By Design campaign — these are the tools and services DRM-free.
2. Secondly — talk, talk and once again, talk — make your family, friends, co-workers aware of the dangers connected with the use of DRM in the products. This is the best way to educate people what DRM really is and why they should care. Nobody wants to be restricted. When people become aware of the restrictions, they will not buy the products that restrict them. Simple enough


Breaking the DRM — it’s… easy

OK, and what if we have already legally purchased some content (like multimedia or text document) secured by some kind of DRM? Do not worry. Most of them has been broken a long time ago. For example, in order to play an CSS-encrypted DVD under GNU/Linux, you can use almost any player like VLC, MPlayer or Xine with libdvdcss2 enabled (this is a non-licenced library used to decrypt DVDs encrypted with CSS). If you posses music in AAC format (e.g. purchased at iTunes), you can easily convert them to a friendly format using JHymn without losing quality. The story repeats with each and every new introduced DRM technology, like encrypted PDFs, Windows Media, or recently HD-DVD (see the muslix64 post on BackupDVD) and BluRay.

Breaking the DRM restrictions is hard but always possible, due to the fact that all DRM mechanisms need to use symmetric encryption in order to work. This kind of encryption requires the keys to be hidden either in the hardware or software — in both ways it’s possible to access them by the hacker, analyze and find the way to decrypt the data streams. If you are interested in the details of DRM hacking, read the lecture of Cory Doctorow for Microsoft Research about the nonsense of DRM.
OK, but is it legal?

We know that we can break almost any DRM restriction using easily available open source software. But what about the legal part? Is it legal to do this at home? Well, this depends… Depends on where you live actually. For instance, if you have the misfortune of being located in the United States or France, you are prohibited by law to play your legally purchased music or films (sic!) that are secured by DRM if you don’t buy an approved operating system (like MS Windows or MacOS) with an approved media player (like PowerDVD or iTunes). In the US this has been enforced by the DMCA act. In France, a similar act called DADVSI.

Fortunately, in most other countries, it is still completely legal to use free software to break any DRM restrictions, like DeCSS to play your DVDs. What we, as the free software supporters, need to do is to constantly watch the law-makers in our own countries so that they do not try to introduce similar restrictions as in France or US. In Poland, for instance, a protest led by one of the big pro-Linux portals and thousands of computer users made the leading party to abandon the project to introduce a DMCA-like law in Poland. Free-software supporters in other countries, like the United Kingdom go even further and try to completely ban the use of DRM in the British law system.

Of course, breaking the restrictions is fighting the results, not the causes. The real problem is the pure fact that DRM exists and is widely accepted by the (unaware) majority. If the computer users do not unite and protest against including DRM in more and more products, nobody will, and the DRM will become our every-day experience which we will need to fight just like viruses or malware. This year may be the one in which the major decision will be made both by the industry (whether or not to apply DRM in the products) and by the customers (whether or not accept DRM as is). If we miss this fight, we may have to accept what we get. I don’t think we can afford missing it. Do you?

Original article with all links http://polishlinux.org/gnu/drm-vista-and-your-rights/

 

Microsoft announces extended support for XP poop home

1/24/2007 12:03:26 PM, by Jeremy Reimer

Today, as Microsoft prepares for the consumer release of Windows Vista, the Redmond-based software company quietly announced that they are adding additional support for Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE). With this announcement, XP and XP MCE will be covered by five years of Mainstream Support (ending in April 2009) and five more years of Extended Support. This move matches the support timeline that had previously been offered for Windows XP Professional.

According to Microsoft's software support policy, "Mainstream" support includes paid, per-incident support, security updates, non-security related hotfixes, no-charge incident support, warranty claims, design changes, and feature requests (it's pretty unlikely that these will be honored for XP at this point, but it's in there), and access to information about the product through the Microsoft Knowledge Base and other online support areas. The "Extended" support phase drops non-security hotfixes, no-charge incident support, warranty claims, and feature requests.

Continuing support for older operating systems and applications in this way is not a new thing for Microsoft: the company officially supported Windows 98 until June 2006, extending their initial extended support deadline from January 2004 after receiving numerous requests from users.

Despite this history of extending support for older products, Microsoft—like any software company—is sometimes accused of threatening to remove support in order to convince people to purchase new versions of their products. While it is true that Microsoft wants to promote its new offerings as vigorously as possible, especially Windows Vista, its history of extending support periods shows that Microsoft isn't in the business of forcing customers into upgrades by yanking the carpet out from under them.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070124-8691.html

 

Apple DRM illegal in Norway: Ombudsman
Fairplay not playing fair
By OUT-LAW.COM → More by this author
Published Wednesday 24th January 2007 16:56 GMT
Research Library - All papers free to download

Apple's digital rights management lock on its iPod device and iTunes software is illegal, the Consumer Ombudsman in Norway has ruled. The blow follows the news that Germany and France are joining Norway's action against Apple.

The Norwegian Consumer Council, Forbrukerradet, lodged a complaint with the Ombudsman on behalf of Norwegian consumers claiming that the Fairplay DRM system acted against the interests of consumers. It said the fact the technology stopped songs bought from iTunes being played on any player other than an iPod broke the law in Norway.

The Ombudsman has now agreed, according to Torgeir Waterhouse, senior advisor at the Consumer Council.

"It doesn't get any clearer than this. Fairplay is an illegal lock-in technology whose main purpose is to lock the consumers to the total package provided by Apple by blocking interoperability," Waterhouse told OUT-LAW.COM. "For all practical purposes this means that iTunes Music Store is trying to kill off one the most important building blocks in a well functioning digital society, interoperability, in order to boost its own profits."

Waterhouse said the Ombudsman has written to Apple to say it believes that Apple's Fairplay system is illegal. "iTunes Music Store must remove its illegal lock-in technology or appear in court," he said. "As of right now we're heading for a big breakthrough that will hopefully pave the way for consumers everywhere to regain control of music they legally purchase."

The Consumer Council believes Apple has only three options: it can license Fairplay to any manufacturer that wants iTunes songs to play on its machines; it can co-develop an open standard with other companies; or it can abandon DRM altogether.

The Ombudsman has also backed the Consumer Council's claim that the DRM technology is not simply a copy protection scheme. The Council had argued that in restricting consumers' use of music so heavily the technology broke contract law in Norway.

"The Ombudsman has confirmed our claim that the DRM must be considered part of the contract terms and not a copy protection scheme only," said Waterhouse. "This means that under the Norwegian Marketing Control Act the DRM must provide balanced and fair rights to the consumer when they purchase music form iTunes Music Store and similar download services."

"Apple is aware of the concerns we've heard from several agencies in Europe and we're looking forward to resolving these issues as quickly as possible," Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr told AP news agency earlier this week. "Apple hopes that European governments will encourage a competitive environment that lets innovation thrive, protects intellectual property and allows consumers to decide which products are successful."



OUT-LAW.COM is part of international law firm Pinsent Masons.
Related links

Apple 'unmovable' on iPod lock-in
Apple requests secrecy in bid to keep iTunes legal in Scandinavia
Norway, Sweden, Denmark may fine Apple over iTunes
Related stories

RIAA talks flat fees, and how they turned the French (21 January 2007)
Apple to license FairPlay DRM? (17 January 2007)
Security, privacy and DRM: My wishes for 2007 (13 January 2007)
Apple iTunes Music Store sells 2bn songs (9 January 2007)
Sonos adds Windows Media DRM to multi-room music system (8 January 2007)
Apple fixes first-gen iPod Shuffle DRM playback glitch? (27 December 2006)
With a blanket license, will CDs get cheaper? (12 December 2006)
iTunes sales 'collapsing' (11 December 2006)
DVD Jon opens Apple DRM for profit and pleasure (2 October 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/24/apple_drm_illegal_in_norway/

 

BSA spying on BitTorrent

p2pnet.net News:- BitTorrent traffic is being monitored. But not by the RIAA, says Nick Haywood on Hexus.

"We know that this isn't new to some of our USA readers," he says, going on, "The difference here is that we have had a report that a user of UK ISP Pipex has been contacted over downloading 'unlicensed copies of copyrighted computer programs'. Hmmm.

ISPs are not, however, the culprits. Doing the dirty is the BSA (Business Software Alliance) which, "watches all traffic and it sees what IPs are contributing or downloading from various sites," says the story.

"It will then do a look-up and follow a route of action, starting with an email to the ISP who have a legal obligation to pass on the email associated with the the IP connection. If, however, the ISPs don't contact the customer then they will be held liable for contributory infringement."

Now, "it's clear that the BSA are getting serious and will be clamping down on folks who continue to download in volume from flagged peer-to-peer networks," warns Haywood, going on that an email from the BSA to tincludes the IP, the Protocol, the Asset being downloaded, the EXACT file name and the DNS address of the connection (and date/time stamp, too).

He quotes the Pipex 'rectify within seven days or else' missive to its customer:

We have received a complaint regarding an allegation of Copyright Infringement.

We were supplied an IP address of the system that was sharing the alleged copyrighted material, which we traced to your PIPEX ADSL account.

As I am sure you are aware, this breaches our Acceptable Use Policy, (http://www.pipex.net/legal/aup/ ) and many copyright laws, namely the Berne Convention.

"Will we see the RIAA-style snoop attack flowing forward?" - wonders Hexus.

Stay tuned.
http://p2pnet.net/story/11115?PHPSESSID=a0289aee173a41765b3f6cbcf

 

Everybody is invited to test this beta:

http://sandbox.slysoft.com/SetupAnyDVD6112.exe

The "Saw III (R1)" issue has not been addressed, I am waiting for my original disc to arrive.
From customer reports:
You can copy "Saw III (R1)" full disc with CloneDVD2 when deselecting the "bogus" titles.
You can copy "Saw III (R1)" movie with CloneDVD2 when deselecting with or without menus.

If you want to use another compression program, use CloneDVD2 to rip to harddisk (select DVD-DL as output size, so CloneDVD will not compress).

6.1.1.2 2007 01 24
- New: Added support for new versions of the SONY Arccos protection
to the option to remove "Protection based on unreadable Sectors"
- New: Added workaround for some drives (e.g. TSSTCORP DVD-ROM
SH-D162C) where disc insertion was not always correctly detected
by AnyDVD and decryption would not work.
- New: Added UDF 2.5 support to the UDF parser.
- New: AnyDVD status window shows larger volume names
- New: Recognizes HD-DVD video discs and correctly displays
HD-DVD volume names
- Fix: Removing Sony Arccos at the end of a title did sometimes
caused a "Navigation Pack error" or could cause the title to
disappear completely in elby CloneDVD.
- Fix: Short titles with read errors (Arccos) at the end of the file
were not handled correctly (e.g., special features in "Mirrormask",
Germany)
- Fix: Bug introduced in 6.1.0.7, disc recognition did not work
correctly
- Fix: Bug introduced in 6.1.0.7, driver could switch into safe mode
without reason
- Some minor fixes and improvements
__________________
James

SlySoft products

 

I'm still waiting for anydvd to send me that new update, do scared to downlaod the beta version, some people had trouble with it, anyway clone and anydvd cant do saw3, hope anydvd sends the update soon.

 

i installed the beta,and had no problems with it on xp-poop or windows 2000...
and i never seen a report of any problems with any of the betas 6011 and 6112..

 

yeah there was a couple of reports on the saw3 thread with the beta version, though mostly didnt have a problem, just be my luck I could be one of the few and not be able to fix it, so I'm a gonna wait I guess.

 

Microsoft SQL forgot about Vista ..... IBM didn't

With Microsoft Vista released and Redmond pushing much publicity around their new OS, one would think interoperability with other new Microsoft applications would be tested. WRONG. Vista is unable to run Microsoft's latest version of SQL. The software company has been widely known for a "rip and replace" strategy because of the lack of backwards capability. Now they have to rely on older technology to work with newer technology. If Microsoft is serious about competing with IBM and Oracle in the database space, you would think some level of interoperability test with Vista would of been on the radar. WRONG. One would also think that Microsoft would be provide the first database application for Vista. WRONG. Not to my surprise, IBM has already released DB2 9 Express-C that is Vista capatable.

I hope everyone has a happy holiday, even the Microsoft developers now working hard to save face on Vista and SQL

http://www-03.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/InsideLotus?entry=microsoft_sql_forgot_about_vista

... it's possible that Microsoft is out of ideas, and Apple is out of ideas from which Microsoft can borrow.

Microsoft couldn't get the promised database-centric file system to work, so it was left out of the new OS [Vista]. This sort of file system goes back to the 1970s and was used in the Pick OS and other systems. Yet Microsoft, with all its resources, can't make it work.

While Microsoft, because of its sheer size, is no more doomed than IBM ever was, it's never going to be a leader again, if the Vista saga is any indication. What we are witnessing now is nothing more than upgrades and maintenance[Bold added].

The company still makes its money from two product lines (OS licenses and Microsoft Office) and seems less than sincere when it ventures into other markets. When it does have a winner, such as the Xbox 360, it can't bring itself to stomp on the gas pedal. Despite having billions in the bank, the company is still risk-averse.


Once Vista emerges and the OS scene is reset for another two or three years, there will be an opportunity for something new to become the rage. It may finally give the slowly growing Linux a chance to capture the desktop and change the way we spend our money. Everyone would love to get off Microsoft's expensive treadmill. Opportunity is knocking. Will anyone answer?

 

Dear all,

DVDFab products 3.0.6.5 Beta is out (01/25/2007):

DVDFab Platinum 3.0.6.5 Beta:
http://www.dvdfab.com/DVDFabPlatinum3065Beta.exe

DVDFab Gold 3.0.6.5 Beta:
http://www.dvdfab.com/DVDFabGold3065Beta.exe

DVDFab Decrypter 3.0.6.5 Beta:
http://www.dvdfab.com/DVDFabDecrypter3065Beta.exe

What's New:

3.0.6.5 Beta (01/25/2007):

- New: Improved copy protection removal engine.
- New: Configure profile automatically for "DVD to Mobile".
- New: "Set as Default" to save the customized profile.
- Fix: A problem when selecting IDX/SUB subtitle for "DVD to Mobile".

Best Regards,
Fengtao
__________________
DVDFab - The ultimate DVD copying/converting/burning software!
DVD Region+CSS Free - Watch and copy any region code CSS-encrypted DVD on any DVD drive!
DVDIdle - Extend lifetime of your DVD drive!
http://www.dvdidle.com/

 

GOOD MORNING TO YE ALL....HAVE A DONUT AND COFFEE ON ME

 

Thursday January 25, 2007
Dell Offering Systems With No OS

Dell is now offering complete line of systems that ship without an OS installed. Good news for all you alternative OS folks out there, you can finally can get a Dell system without having to pay for an OS you aren’t going to use.

Dell's new open-source n Series desktop solution provides customers with a DimensionTM E520, E521 or C521 desktop without an installed or included Microsoft® operating system. With the n Series desktop, customers have the flexibility to install an alternative operating system (such as a version of Linux® ), and help reduce the price of this system.

GO HERE TO SEE THE COMPUTERS
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/e510_nseries?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs



Dimension n Series E520
Pentium® D Processor 820 with Dual CoreTechnology(2.80GHz,800FSB)
FreeDOS™ included in the box, ready to install
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs
Free Upgrade! 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache

Dimension n Series E521
AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+
FreeDOS™ included in the box, ready to install
512MB Single Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz - 1DIMM
Free Upgrade! 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache

Dimension n Series C521
AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+
FreeDOS™ included in the box, ready to install
512MB Single Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz - 1DIMM
Free Upgrade! 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
Starting at
$899
$749
After $150 Off Instantly!
Offer Details

Starting at
$624

Starting at
$624

 

Oh yea I feel better...

In addition, it appears that Windows Vista, the new operating system Microsoft will launch next week, is vulnerable to the attack.

Originally dubbed the "Storm worm" because one of the subject heads used by its e-mail touted Europe's recent severe weather, the Trojan's author is now spreading it using subjects such as "Love birds" and "Touched by Love," said Finnish anti-virus vendor F-Secure. The Trojan, meanwhile, piggybacks on the spam as an executable file with names ranging from "postcard.exe" to "Flash Postcard.exe," more changes from the original wave as the attack mutates.




Storm' Trojan Hits 1.6 Million PCs; Vista May Be Vulnerable

Jan 25,2007 by Alex
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In addition, it appears that Windows Vista, the new operating system Microsoft will launch next week, is vulnerable to the attack.

Originally dubbed the "Storm worm" because one of the subject heads used by its e-mail touted Europe's recent severe weather, the Trojan's author is now spreading it using subjects such as "Love birds" and "Touched by Love," said Finnish anti-virus vendor F-Secure. The Trojan, meanwhile, piggybacks on the spam as an executable file with names ranging from "postcard.exe" to "Flash Postcard.exe," more changes from the original wave as the attack mutates.

The first several spam blasts of the Trojan -- which was named "Peacomm" by Symantec -- came with current event subject heads, including ones claiming to include video of a Chinese missile attack or proof that Saddam Hussein lives, and bore attached files such as "video.exe."

"Peacomm has, not surprisingly, evolved. The attachments have new filenames, some files [dropped onto the PC] have changed, and the subject lines of the spam are also changing," noted Amado Hidalgo, a researcher with Symantec's security response group, in an entry on the team's blog.

By Symantec's reckoning, Peacomm is the most serious Internet threat in 20 months. Monday, it raised the alert level to "3" in its 1 through 5 scale; the last time the Cupertino, Calif., security software developer tagged a threat as "3" was for Sober.o in May 2005.

So far, Symantec has received 1.6 million detection reports from its sensor system. "This means Peacomm has hit 1.6 million systems in the past seven days," a company spokesman said in an e-mail. An accurate number of infected machines is not yet known.

The most recent variants of the Trojan include rootkit cloaking technologies to hide it from security software, said both F-Secure and Symantec. The latter, however, pointed out that flawed rootkit code voids some of the Trojan maker's plans. "The rootkit service can be stopped by running a simple command: net stop wincom32. All files, registry keys, and ports will appear again," said Hidalgo. A personal firewall also offers some protection from the rootkit, as it will warn you that the Windows process "services.exe" is trying to access the Internet using ports 4000 or 7871.

Peacomm's turn to rootkits brought out comparisons to Rustock, a year-old family of Trojan horses that has become a model of sorts for hackers. Rustock, as Symantec warned in December 2006, relies on rootkit technology, but adds an ability to quickly change form as another evasion tactic.

"It's similar to Rustock," acknowledges Dave Cole, director of Symantec's security response team, "but [Peacomm is] not nearly as technically sophisticated."

As with most large-scale Trojan attacks, the goal seems to be to acquire a large botnet, or collection of compromised PCs, that can be used to send traditional scam spams or for later identity mining.

Symantec's researchers said that PCs hijacked by Peacomm send "tons and tons of penny stock spam" in a typical pump 'n' dump scheme. "During our tests we saw an infected machine sending a burst of almost 1,800 emails in a five-minute period and then it just stopped," said Hidalgo. "We are speculating that the task of sending the junk e-mail is then passed on to another member of the botnet."

Windows 2000 and Windows XP are vulnerable to all the Peacomm variations, but Windows Server 2003 is not; the Trojan's creator specifically excluded that edition of Windows from the code. Symantec's Hidalgo took a guess why. "We presume the malware writers didn't have time to test it on this operating system."

Microsoft's soon-to-release-to-consumers Vista, however, does appear at risk, added Symantec Tuesday. "It appears most if not all variants could execute on Vista," the spokesman said. "The only way the Trojan would be unsuccessful is if somehow Vista is able to detect/prohibit the e-mail. This seems unlikely."

Anti-virus companies have updated their signature databases with fingerprints that identify and then delete (or quarantine) the Trojan as it arrives. Other defensive advice includes filtering traffic on UDP ports 4000 and 7871, update anti-spam products, and configure mail gateways to strip out all executable attachments.

http://www.it-networks.org/?news=220

 

Your kidding me...Vista cannot be vulnerable...Bill said it would be perfect...Bill said it would change the world...Look here is a picture from the news conference...

 

XP gets a new lease on life
Posted by Ed Bott @ 3:07 pm, One of the favorite topics of conspiracy-minded readers is the notion that Microsoft is about to shut down support for Windows XP, forcing hapless users to buy Windows Vista. Back in September, in Vista Mythbusters #3, I reprinted the relevant dates from Microsoft's support lifecycle and pointed out that users of XP Home edition could expect support until at least April, 2011, with XP Professional getting support through April, 2014.

In that post, I noted, "And of course there’s always the possibility that Microsoft could extend support for XP as they did for Windows 98."

And that's exactly what Microsoft did today. From the press release:

Today, Microsoft is announcing the addition of an Extended Support phase for the Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Media Center Edition operating systems, providing consumers with an additional phase of support.

With the addition of Extended Support, the support life cycle for Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Media Center Edition will include a total of five years of Mainstream Support (until April 2009) and five years of Extended Support, matching the support policy provided for Windows XP Professional.

Bottom line: If you want to stick with Windows XP, you can choose to do so for more than seven additional years, with security updates available during that entire period.

With luck, Windows XP Service Pack 3 will be out before then.

 

Norway Outlaws iTunes
Posted by CowboyNeal on Thursday January 25, @09:37PM
from the run-out-of-town dept.
Media (Apple) Music
haddieman notes that while many people are getting more and more annoyed at DRM, Norway actually did something about it. The PC World article explains: "Good intentions, questionable execution. European legislators have been giving DRM considerable attention for a while, but Norway has actually gone so far as to declare that Apple's iTunes store is illegal under Norwegian law. The crux of the issue is that the Fairplay DRM that is at the heart of the iTunes/iPod universe doesn't work with anything else, meaning that if you want access to the cast iTunes library, you have to buy an iPod."

Norway Outlaws iTunes
ipod.jpgGood intentions, questionable execution. European legislators have been giving DRM considerable attention for a while, but Norway has actually gone so far as to declare that Apple's iTunes store is illegal under Norwegian law.

The crux of the issue is that the Fairplay DRM that is at the heart of the iTunes/iPod universe doesn't work with anything else, meaning that if you want access to the cast iTunes library, you have to buy an iPod. That didn't sit well with the Norwegian Consumer Council, the body that kicked the whole thing off by filing a complaint with Norway's consumer ombudsman. France and Germany have also joined in on the action. (See our earlier reports on Norway and France's ongoing debates here, here and here.)

Now, I'm not much for DRM (though I'll admit that Fairplay is comparatively liberal) and I resent theoretically having to buy an iPod in order to listen to iTunes downloads away from the computer. But as it happens millions of people don't seem to care. They have an iPod, they have iTunes, they get their music, and they're happy because the whole thing does what they want.

My use of the word "theoretically" seems to apply here. As far as I can tell, this entire case came about because of the theoretical problem of a closed system; but I wonder, how many Norwegian (or French or German) consumers were clamoring for Apple to open up iTunes?

I guess we'll find out soon enough. Apple has until October 1 to open up Fairplay to other companies, or face fines and the threat of iTunes being closed down in Norway. Since the first option is about as likely as Satan skating to work, Apple's only choice in the long run -- assuming endless legal wrangling fails -- will be to close iTunes in Norway, and possibly other European countries. I wonder how many consumers would go for that?
http://blogs.pcworld.com/digitalworld/archives/2007/01/norway_outlaws.html

 

How much have you paid for your DVD player?
In the gadget era, this news will make many people happy. According to an article published at thisislondon, Asda (which is part of the American Wal-mart empire) is to offer a DVD player for only £9 (about €14 or $18).

It is appealing to have gadgets at a so low price, but how is it possible? The answer is really simple: the product is manufactured at a factory in China, where wages and other business costs are a fraction of those in the rest of world.

In the era of global warming and pollution, however, this news will not make people so happy. In fact, as reported in the original article, the development of a so cheap stuff could create the tendency to throw away and replace a gadget very often. And what happens to all just trown away gadgets? Is there not already enough trash in the world?
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/How-much-have-you-paid-for-your-DVD-player.html

 

p2pnet: NOT for sale : )

p2pnet.net News:- p2pnet's problems have been resolved, I'm please to say : ) I'll be moving to a new host, I'll have technical back-up, and over the next few weeks the site will be re-jigged to look like something close to the rough below. As you can see, I'm keeping it near to the original design. It isn't pretty, but it's easy to navigate.



The three profiles at the top will feature women and men (and kids : ) who've made, or are making, an impact. They'll stay up for two or three days, or longer, and be replaced by new ones, as and when.

Under the three profile pix there's a bar. Readers will be able to click on individual category headings placed inside it to go to the individual sections.

And half the spaces in the columns on the left and right will be devoted to free public service advertisements.

No, there will not be ads which totally obscure what you're trying to read when you accidentally pass the mouse pointer over them, ads that float around on the page, or any other kinds of pain-in-the-ass ads, such as those 'welcome' pages you have to click to get past so you can get to where you want to go.

As things stand, all of the stories go into one large archive. But under the new layout, there'll be separate sections, each one of which will open up separate advertising possibilities. Main story headlines and teasers will first show up on the index page, but the actual posts will go into sections of their own with Open Source, Hardware, Software, Indie p2p, Paid p2p archives, and so on. The headlines will be pushed off the main page as new ones are added.

I'm still trying to decide whether or not to have forums, but even if I do, there'll still be comment posts with people adding signed or anonymous comments under individual posts. But maybe I can come up with a better way to display them.

The 'most important' story at the top will change whenever it needs to, and there'll be around 20 (10 left, 10 right) current story links under it.

Also, the newsletter comprising headlines and links, and nothing else, will re-appear.

Up until now, I've been devoting all my time to the site. But starting next month I'll also be writing news stories for payment. If things work the way I expect them to, there'll be very little, if any, reduction in the number of p2pnet posts.

Also, I plan to introduce micro-payments under which you'll be able to click an icon under each story and contribute 5 or 10 cents to the author. BUT this'll be purely voluntary. If you don't want to, you won't have to. This way, contributors will be paid for their work. I have no way of knowing how effective it'll be, but I'm convinced micro-payments will be a way for creators, including musicians, to earn money.

The idea is to attract new writers as well as to support p2pnet. But it's an experiment and we'll have to see if it works.

I also have a few other plans such as classified ads, product reviews, and a p2pnet Speakers' Corner where readers will be able to post videos of themselves commenting on whatever they want to comment on : )

These changes, and others, I've had in mind for at least two years but haven't been able to implement.

Should be interesting. heh

For sale

On the 'for sale' effort, it pulled some weird and wonderful ideas and I was amazed I was expected to take some of them seriously : ) But of the practicable ones, and there were quite a few, I was offered straight buy-outs with no further input from me, buys where I'd work under someone's supervision, and deals where p2pnet and I would be rolled into another site with no $ involved.

Under the arrangement I decided on, I'll be working with a guy who has sites of his own and the technical know-how and people to back them up. This means I'll be able to concentrate on content, and that's fine with me. My new partner is presently up to his eye-balls in work of his own and doesn't want to be named just yet. But there's good reason and I'll let you know who he is in the fairly near future. For now, it's enough to say he's also a musician.

So thanks to everyone for their good wishes, support under comments and by email, and suggestions. It was pretty humbling, although it's not an experience I'd care to go through again : )

Cheers! And thanks. And all the best ....
Jon
http://p2pnet.net/story/11104?PHPSESSID=663cd8e862a4c4b82c745ec9e440d86a