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

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I know hollywood has issue with reality but brain washing kids against diffrances is starting to get insane....

 

Free Window Registry Repair 1.2
Author: RegSofts.com
Date: 2007-05-12
Size: 766 Kb
License: Freeware


Almost all Windows users gradually experience the downfall in their PC's performance. Much of it can be attributed to Windows Registry Errors. By using Free Window Registry Repair regularly and repairing your registry, your system should not only be more stable but it will also help Windows run faster. For your convenience it automatically backs up any repairs made so that you always can restore Windows registry to the original state.

Key Featurs:
• Repair invalid registry entries that are a common cause of Windows crashes and error messages
• Increase system speed and stability
• Set a variety of Registry cleaning preferences
• Improves system performance
• The automatic creation of Windows Registry backups, with the option to restore them.
• A simple, user-friendly interface
• 100% Spyware FREE, NOT contain any Spyware, Adware or Viruses.


DOWNLOAD HERE
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download5461.html

 

Pirate Bay hacked, database stolen
Posted by l33tdawg on Saturday,
Source: The Pirate Bay


Apparently someone hacked into The Pirate bay using an exploit in their blog software and have stolen their entire user database. Thankfully the data is encrypted, but TPB are still urging users to change their credentials. From the site:


Hi, we have some sad news, but don't be alarmed...

Some people (and yes, we know who) found a security hole on our web site (in fact, actually in this blog).

They have got a copy of the user database. That is, your username and passwords. But, the passwords are stored encrypted, so it's not a big deal, but it's still very sad that it's out there. All e-mails are for instance encrypted as well, they will most likely not be able to decrypt them either (they are _very_ encrypted).

We encourage all our users to change passwords as soon as possible - and if you have the same password on the bay as other places, you should update them as well.

link
http://thepiratebay.org/blog/68

 

please go to this link and read all about the problem
http://blogs.technet.com/wsus/archive/2007/04/28/update-on.aspx

Microsoft Automatic Updates Fix not Working
Windows XP systems still lock up during patch updates, even after users deploy Microsoft's fix.
Gregg Keizer, Computerworld
Saturday, May 12, 2007 8:00 AM PDT

Windows XP systems are still locking up during patch update attempts -- even after users deployed the fix suggested by Microsoft Corp.

Symptoms of the long-running problem -- which the Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) team dubbed the "svchost/msi issue" -- include 100 percent CPU usage by svchost.exe and its multiple processes during Automatic Updates scanning, update downloads and sometimes even if AU is simply enabled on a machine.

"Of course, the computer is virtually unusable" when that happens, said a user identified as Foxy-Perth on the Windows Update support forum.

Every month at patch time, Microsoft's support boards fill with complaints from users. It was no different this week. "I have 6 (and counting) computers having issues with SVCHOST process running at near 100 percent CPU utilization," said TKovacs on Wednesday, one day after Microsoft unveiled seven security updates. "Disabling Automatic Updates resolves the issue. [What] did Microsoft just release?"

A hotfix, updated just Thursday, is available on the Microsoft support site. The patch will be pushed out via Microsoft's usual update services, including Windows Update and Microsoft Update, late this month or in early June, said a developer on the WSUS blog. However, the fix can be downloaded and installed manually on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 systems.

Users will also need to download and install the new stand-alone WSUS 3.0 client -- even those who don't rely on the enterprise-centric WSUS for updates -- to completely patch the problem. "It's important to keep in mind that the new WSUS client is only a partial solution and clients must have both KB927891 and the new 3.0 client installed for a full solution," the WSUS team blog read.

The new client and the WSUS update to Version 3.0 will be available to WSUS on May 22. Like the hotfix, the client can also be downloaded manually and installed now. Instructions and a link to the download have been posted to the MSDN (Microsoft Developers Network) site.

Thursday and Friday, however, users poured out their frustration on the WSUS blog after installing the hotfix and updating the WSUS client. "I installed both WindowsXP-KB927891-v3-x86 and WindowsUpdateAgent30-x86 on Windows XP SP2 boxes configured to get updates from a WSUS 2.0 server. The problem still exists," said Summit Tuladhar in a comment to the blog.

"Doesn't appear that the fixes address the issue I experience on multiple machines," said ltpolaris.

"This is clearly a very serious worldwide issue," said Alan O'Riordan. "I will advise the disabling of the Automatic Updates until a clear resolution is found."

"I doubt you'd call what you've cobbed [sic] together a 'fix.' Thanks for nothing," said another user simply labeled jaded_admin. "We are seriously considering a pilot with SLED [SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop] or Ubuntu and OpenOffice now. Your poor workmanship is driving your customers right into the arms of the open-source community."
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,131770-c,xp/article.html

 

Multimedia-oriented Ubuntu Studio arrives

Ubuntu Studio 7.04, a Ubuntu Linux variant aimed at audio, video, and graphic enthusiasts, was released on May 10 by its U.S.-based project team. The distribution, based on a 2.6.20 kernel and the GNOME desktop, includes a collection of open-source applications that assist with multimedia creation.

"Think DeMuDi but expanded," the team said on the project's website. "Our goal is to improve the quality of multimedia creation tools within Ubuntu and provide a single disk install."

"With this release ... we offer a feature that is somewhat reminiscent of Ubuntu Server," the team said. "On installation, you can choose between the Audio, Graphics or Video tasks and choose also to install a number of plugins, which for this release is mainly aimed at audio production. We have endeavoured to keep as many of our packages in the standard Ubuntu repositories as possible," the project team said.

The Audio version, the team said in the release announcement, provides a different kernel from that used with the Video and Graphics versions, "which has low latency to enable easy JACK work."

"For Gutsy (the next Ubuntu version), we will be providing a fully real-time enabled setup. We have built upon the usability and support of Ubuntu as a foundation, and are certain that this was a wise choice, for we have access to a wide range of packages in the repository, and a stable base system," the team said.

For the video task, the team chose the GStreamer-based PiTiVi, "as our central NLE. PiTiVi is written in Ubuntu’s favorite scripting language, Python, and the GStreamer back-end enables it to use all the GStreamer-compatible codecs that are installed, and thus taking advantage of Feisty’s Easy Codec Installation," the team said.

"It also uses our favorite widget set, GTK+, and thus keeps with the theme and flow of the Ubuntu Studio desktop, and tries also to stay usable in any environment, in keeping with Ubuntu Studio’s aim that media production should be simple and accessible," the team added.

Key features, according to the team, include:

* GIMP 2.2.13 graphics editor
* Pidgin (formerly GAIM) 2.0.0beta6 instant messenger
* OpenOffice.org 2.2.0 office suite
* Postfix 2.3.8 mail agent
* X.org 7.2 window manager
* Python 2.5.1rc1 programming platform
* HTTPD 2.2.4 Web server

Read the rest of the release announcement
http://blog.joejaxx.org/?p=7

and visit the project's home page to learn more about Ubuntu Studio.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuStudio


You can download Ubuntu Studio 7.04 for i386 machines here
http://mir.zyrianes.net/ubuntustudio/7.04/ubuntustudio-7.04-alternate-i386.iso

(direct link to the 868MB DVD ISO image). You also can use BitTorrent.
http://ubuntustudio.org/ww2/themes/ubuntustudio/files/UbuntuStudio_7.04.torrent

http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS7380291045.html

 

Reminder: Monday is Wiretap the Internet Day

Tap

May 14th is the official deadline for cable modem companies, DSL providers, broadband over powerline, satellite internet companies and some universities to finish wiring up their networks with FBI-friendly surveillance gear, to comply with the FCC's expanded interpretation of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act.

Congress passed CALEA in 1994 to help FBI eavesdroppers deal with digital telecom technology. The law required phone companies to make their networks easier to wiretap. The results: on mobile phone networks, where CALEA tech has 100% penetration, it's credited with boosting the number of court-approved wiretaps a carrier can handle simultaneously, and greatly shortening the time it takes to get a wiretap going. Cops can now start listening in less than a day.

Now that speed and efficiency is coming to internet surveillance. While CALEA is all about phones, the Justice Department began lobbying the FCC in 2002 to reinterpret the law as applying to the internet as well. The commission obliged, and last June a divided federal appeals court upheld the expansion 2-1. (The dissenting judge called the FCC's position "gobbledygook." But he was outnumbered.)

So, if you're a broadband provider (separately, some VOIP companies are covered too) … Hurry! The deadline has already passed to file an FCC form 445 (.pdf), certifying that you're on schedule, or explaining why you're not. You can also find the 68-page official industry spec for internet surveillance here. It'll cost you $164.00 to download, but then you'll know exactly what format to use when delivering customer packets to federal or local law enforcement, including "e-mail, instant messaging records, web-browsing information and other information sent or received through a user's broadband connection, including on-line banking activity."

There are also third party brokers who will handle all this for you for a fee.

It's worth noting that the new requirements don't alter the legal standards for law enforcement to win court orders for internet wiretaps. Fans of CALEA expansion argue that it therefore won't increase the number of Americans under surveillance.

That's wrong, of course. Making surveillance easier and faster gives law enforcement agencies of all stripes more reason to eschew old-fashioned police work in favor of spying. The telephone CALEA compliance deadline was in 2002, and since then the amount of court-ordered surveillance has nearly doubled from 2,586 applications granted that year, to 4,015 orders in 2006.
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/05/reminder_monday.html

 

DVD neXt COPY V2.7.3.5 - 05/12/07

* Some Minor Fixes in Software Usage
* Fixed Preview Bug
* Optimized neXt Tech™

http://www.dvdnextcopy.com/setup/DVDneXtCOPY_V2_7_3_5.exe

there is no transcoder in this program it uses a SteamCompressor

The StreamCompressor is all part of the DVD neXt COPY KVME
(Kinetic Vector Motion Encoder) witch is our dynamic compression
engine. It is designed with the future in mind and is newer technology
then the traditional encoders and transcoders that are now getting outdated.
Our engine is unique as it analyzes and recompresses streams in 1 step and
produces superior quality copies witch no other software is capable of.
DVD neXt COPY is the only DVD copying software on the market to use
such technology.

 

There is an AnyDVD 6.1.4.5 beta
it should fix a problem with "The Matrix" HD DVD (untested, we don't habe the disc yet).

Here is the link, if you want the "latest & greatest":

http://sandbox.slysoft.com/beta/SetupAnyDVD6145.exe


CloneDVD 2.9.0.6 beta
Here it is:
http://sandbox.slysoft.com/beta/SetupCloneDVD2906.exe

Changes:
http://sandbox.slysoft.com/beta/clonedvd_changes.txt

Version 2.9.0.6: 2007 05 12
- New: Files created can always be compressed using DVD Shrink
or Nero Recode (CloneDVD2 can be used as a preprocessor to
deselect unwanted titles or streams)
- Change: Workaround for registration problem on Windows Vista
- Change: ElbyCDIO updated to increase compatibility with Vista

Have fun testing!

 

SCREEN VIDEO CAPTURE..........

Freez Screen Video Capture is a tool to record screen activities and sounds as standard AVI video files.....(free).....GO THERE!

Key Features:

* Start, pause, stop screen recording with user-defined hotkeys.
* Record screen activities into Standard or Compressed AVI video files.
* Record any region of the screen.
* Record Screen in any screen color depth.
* Supports sound recording from microphone, videotape, Internet, etc.
* Select the video encoder for your screen recording output AVI file.
* Adjustable screen capture framerate, output AVI video quality.
* Set the sound recording format and compressed audio format.
* Can record Actual Cursor on the screen.
* User-friendly interface, easy to use.
* Free to use and register.


Freez Screen Video Capture is a screen-capture & screen-recording tool to record screen activities and sounds into standard AVI video files. You can record any part of the screen's activities and the cursor's movements, using a microphone to narrate your screen recordings. You can choose the output video's compressor (such as Microsoft Video 1, MPEG-4, DivX...), quality, framerate, audio format (such as PCM, ADPCM, MP3, OGG...), and volumn. You can also start, pause, and stop screen recording with hotkeys.

Use Freez Screen Video Capture to create screen demos, training videos, animated tutorials, animated presentations etc. Enjoy it!

[Download Freez Screen Video Capture]
http://www.smallvideosoft.com/download.php
http://www.smallvideosoft.com/screen-video-capture/

 

RIAA ramps up anti-student PR

p2pnet.net news:- The Big 4 organised music corporate propaganda machine has accelerated into high gear, spewing out a new wave of misinformation press releases making capital out of students who've become victims of the student element of the sue 'em all campaign.

"At first, Sarah Barg thought the e-mail was a scam. Some group called the Recording Industry Association of America [RIAA] was accusing the University of Nebraska-Lincoln sophomore of illegally downloading 381 songs using the school's computer network and a program called Ares," says Associated Press in a wire story being carried by major newspapers across the US.

It goes on, "The letter said she might be sued but offered her the chance to settle out of court.

"Barg couldn't imagine anyone expected her to pay $3,000 - $7.87 per song - for some 1980s ballads and Spice Girls tunes she downloaded for laughs in her dorm room. Besides, the 20-year-old had friends who had downloaded thousands of songs without repercussion."

Says the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Putting a price on art isn't easy. But $750 for one copy of Duran Duran's "Girls on Film" might be a bit much.

Downloaded files of Christina Aguilera's "What a Girl Wants" and 10 other tunes cost Sisouda Soysouvanh of Seattle $8,250. The Dolencs of Sammamish were hit for $7,500 after being accused of stealing music.

After big wins against online music-sharing networks, recording industry leaders are now turning their copyright infringement fight toward individual residents.

Relying on deep pockets and prying into personal computers for evidence, the companies compel people to pay thousands in fines without ever presenting a case at trial.

The chances of any one person, student or otherwise, being snagged by the RIAA are akin to them winning big on the lottery or being struck by lightning. But using the mainstream media as unpaid cartel disseminators, the Big 4 labels are convincing the public at large there's a very real danger of landing in court for sharing files, a practice the labels claim is ruining them.

Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG have been going after men women and even young children since 2003, subpoenaing around 20,000 people. Then, this year, they escalated their anti-P2P campaign, adding students into the mix and introducing an 'incriminate yourself' web site.

"Everett resident Mark Roy thought the letter accusing him of lifting MC Hammer's 'U Can't Touch This,' along with other songs, was a joke," the Seattle Post-Intelligencer goes on.

"The letter emphasized the statutory maximum fine - $30,000 per illegal file, though the companies usually ask for much less in court. On average last year, Western Washington residents sued by the record companies paid $4,924 for their illegally obtained playlists.

"Recording industry representatives say the corporations are only exercising their legal right to protect against theft. But the industry threats have drawn complaints that the companies are using the expense and complexity of the federal court system to bully people."

The RIAA is swamping schools with threatening letters, using school staffs and legal departments to carry the message: co-operate or be sued.

"Barg is still angry about her letter from the recording industry group, which she calls bullying," says the AP piece. "Technically, I'm guilty," it has her saying. "I just think it's ridiculous, the way they're going about it. We have to find a way to adjust our legal policy to take into account this new technology, and so far, they're not doing a very good job."

"Litigation was not our first choice," the Seattle Post-Intelligencer quotes RIAA spokeswoman Jenni Engebretsen (upper right) as saying. "But what we found several years ago was that education alone was not enough."

In 2003, the RIAA insinuated Napster, the corporate version of the original P2P file sharing application, into Penn State University. The idea was students would use it to download corporate product, turning away from the independent online sites and free P2P networks. But that didn't happen, subpoenas and threats notwithstanding, so now the RIAA has upped the ante, launching the so-called settlement site and sending out a barrage of PR pieces.

RIAA spokespeople such as Engebretsen try to claim the lawsuits and threats are nothing but attempts by the big four labels to educate students.

However, far from educating anyone, the threats have introduced a significant impediment to the educational processes at America's senior schools. Instead of concerning themselves about their studies, students are worrying about whether or not they'll be the next to somehow have to find thousands of dollars to keep the labels off their backs.

University of Nebraska, Lincoln, spokeswoman Kelly Bartling said no one wants students to have to worry about how to pay tuition because of an expensive settlement: "It is a hugely expensive lesson," states the AP story.

It also says UNL freshman Andrew Johnson paid the RIAA $3,000, but Johnson, "doesn't think the threats from the recording industry group are going to solve the problem. Friends who know he got in trouble still share music online.

"People are still going to do it until they get caught, and they can't catch everyone," he says.

And even Sherman admits the lawsuits aren't working.

"We know that some audiences - particularly campus music downloaders - can sometimes be impervious to even the most compelling educational messages [threats] or legal alternatives [other threats]," he says.

Slashdot Slashdot it!

Also See:
Associated Press - Help Key: The Essential Guide to Piracy, May 14, 2007
Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Downloaders face the music as record industry sues, May 14, 2007|
incriminate yourself - RIAA college settlement plan, February 28, 2007

http://p2pnet.net/story/12221

 

48 days to go, cough, cough

p2pnet.net news:- Britain is scheduled to go smoke-free in 48 days. But almost 50% of the population apparently doesn't know it.

In a survey of 1,700 people, carried out for the Department of Health, found over 90% did know a ban was coming in, says the BBC, going on:

"The ban will bring England in line with the rest of the UK and ban smoking in all enclosed public places. The survey also found more than two thirds of people said the legislation would not affect how often they went to the pub, while 15% said they would go more often and only 7% less often."

The government has launched as multimillion-pound TV campaign to highlight the smoking ban that comes into force in on July 1, and there's even a web site called Smoke Free England dedicated to the event.

"Research commissioned by the Department of Health shows that 45% of people are unaware of the date the anti-smoking legislation comes into force, while many are unclear about the scope of the restrictions," says MediaGuardian.co.uk

Slashdot Slashdot it!

Also See:
BBC - 'Half' unaware of smoke ban date, May 12, 2007
MediaGuardian.co.uk - Smoking ban campaign launches, May 14, 2007
http://p2pnet.net/story/12212

 

I just made it, yes I'm a smoker, going to the UK June 5th coming back June 28th, just beat it, hahahah!

 

i'm replying to your thread a while back about used CD sales in FL. LOL i know in internets time this was like 20,000+ yrs ago. What the RIAA/MPAA is clearing trying to do is make people either unwilling to sell their used CDs/movies for fear of being a criminal. Or create a database so the people who do sell them risk being on the M.A.F.I.A. hitlist. They also make shops that accept used CDs pay a very high price to be in the business. The overall affect of the FL law? Discourage the sale & supply of all used CDs. So only new CDs will make sense; no shop will want to be selling used anymore. Along with their attack on file sharing in general, they have a good strategy.
My strategy is NOT to buy their god d**n garbage, and if I do share music it's among close friends on a closed tracker. In this age of RIAA/MPAA Nazi-ism, its best to protect your ass(ets). Don't buy their stuff in the first place.

 

May 15, 2007 2:00 AM PDT
Gonzales proposes new crime: "Attempted" copyright infringement
Posted by Declan McCullagh

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is pressing the U.S. Congress to enact a sweeping intellectual property bill that would increase criminal penalties for copyright infringement, including "attempts" to commit piracy.

"To meet the global challenges of IP crime, our criminal laws must be kept updated," Gonzales said during a speech before the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington on Monday.

The Bush administration is throwing its support behind a proposal called the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2007, which is likely to receive the enthusiastic support of the movie and music industries and would represent the most dramatic rewrite of copyright law since a 2005 measure dealing with pre-release piracy.

Here's our podcast on the topic.

The IPPA would, for instance:

* Criminalize "attempting" to infringe copyright. Federal law currently punishes not-for-profit copyright infringement with between 1 and 10 years in prison, but there has to be actual infringement that takes place. The IPPA would eliminate that requirement. (The Justice Department's summary of the legislation says: "It is a general tenet of the criminal law that those who attempt to commit a crime but do not complete it are as morally culpable as those who succeed in doing so.")

* Create a new crime of life imprisonment for using pirated software. Anyone using counterfeit products who "recklessly causes or attempts to cause death" can be imprisoned for life. During a conference call, Justice Department officials gave the example of a hospital using pirated software instead of paying for it.

* Permit more wiretaps for piracy investigations. Wiretaps would be authorized for investigations of Americans who are "attempting" to infringe copyrights.

* Allow computers to be seized more readily. Specifically, property such as a PC "intended to be used in any manner" to commit a copyright crime would be subject to forfeiture, including civil asset forfeiture. Civil asset forfeiture has become popular among police agencies in drug cases as a way to gain additional revenue, and is problematic and controversial.

* Increase penalties for violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's anti-circumvention regulations. Currently criminal violations are currently punished by jail times of up to 10 years and fines of up to $1 million. The IPPA would add forfeiture penalties too.

* Add penalties for "intended" copyright crimes. Currently certain copyright crimes require someone to commit the "distribution, including by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of at least 10 copies" valued at over $2,500. The IPPA would insert a new prohibition: actions that were "intended to consist of" distribution.

* Require Homeland Security to alert the Recording Industry Association of America. That would happen when compact discs with "unauthorized fixations of the sounds or sounds and images of a live musical performance" are attempted to be imported. Neither the Motion Picture Association of America nor the Business Software Alliance (nor any other copyright holder such as photographers, playwrights, or news organizations, for that matter) would qualify for this kind of special treatment.

A representative of the Motion Picture Association of America told us: "We appreciate the department's commitment to intellectual property protection and look forward to working with both the department and Congress as the process moves ahead."

What's still unclear is the kind of reception this legislation might encounter on Capitol Hill. Gonzales may not be terribly popular, but Democrats do tend to be more closely aligned with Hollywood and the recording industry than the GOP. (A few years ago, Republicans even savaged fellow conservatives for allying themselves too closely with copyright holders.)

A spokeswoman for Rep. Howard Berman, the California Democrat who heads the House Judiciary subcommittee that focuses on intellectual property, said the congressman is reviewing proposals from the attorney general and from others. The aide said the Hollywood politician plans to introduce his own intellectual property enforcement bill later this year but said his office is not prepared to discuss any details yet.

One key Republican was less guarded. "We are reviewing (the attorney general's) proposal. Any plan to stop IP theft will benefit the economy and the American worker," said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, who's the top Republican on the House Judiciary committee. "I applaud the attorney general for recognizing the need to protect intellectual property."

Still, it's too early to tell what might happen. A similar copyright bill that Smith, the RIAA, and the Software and Information Industry Association announced with fanfare last April never went anywhere.

News.com's Anne Broache contributed to this report
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9719339-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

 

Microsoft open-source royalty demands

p2pnet.net news view:- A few media outlets (Computerworld, Fortune) are reporting about Microsoft's latest claims from Microsoft that various FLOSS projects infringe their software patents, and that FLOSS distributors should be paying royalties. While likely the best summary of why this is a non-event is the article on GrokLaw, I wanted to post a few talking points for those who want to think about this.

* like the SCO alleged "copyright" case, Microsoft is not disclosing the patents that these FLOSS projects are allegedly infringing. (See: ShowUsTheCode.com)

* When someone is alleged to infringe a patent there are always three options: license the patents, innovate around the patent, or go to court to have the patent invalidated.

* Software being defined as FLOSS means you've all the rights granted in the license without additional permission or payment. It's not possible for the use of software to be royalty bearing and yet the software is FLOSS. Negotiating a Royalty-Free patent license (Offered by many companies, including IBM which is acknowledged to have the largest number of patents granted to any single company), innovating around the patent or invalidating a patent are the only options available to FLOSS projects.

* Depending on what study you trust, and whether you only include "novelty" tests (invalidating based on prior art), somewhere between 60% and 95% of software patents currently granted by the USPTO are poor quality. Poor quality patents are those that would be invalidated by a court for not passing adequate scrutiny under the useful, novel and unobvious tests. Many Microsoft patents have already been invalidated, once they've been disclosed to the alleged infringer. (See: Microsoft FAT Patent)

* Microsoft has yet to disclose what country these patents were allegedly granted in. We can assume the United States as they're commonly acknowledged as being the jurisdiction with the worst patent quality problem, and thus would have the most inflated number of alleged software patents. As the US Supreme Court also recently ruled, software vendors can't be held liable for infringements that may or may not happen outside the country, so would need to deal with the fact that most jurisdictions do not grants as many software patents as the USPTO does.

* The US Supreme Court recently made a ruling that clarified a new test for "unobviousness" which will likely cause an even higher number of software patents to be invalidated (See: Jim Rapoza on recent US Patent Rulings, A person of ordinary skill not an automaton)

* Given the massive number of low quality patents, it's likely that all software of any complexity infringes software patents. This means while it's likely that FLOSS projects infringe currently granted software patents held by Microsoft, it is equally likely that Microsoft infringes currently granted software patents held by FLOSS distributing companies. In fact, Microsoft has been found guilty in courts of software patent infringement more than any other company.

* Unlike copyright where infringement involves knowledge of the original, it's possible, and quite likely, for patents to be infringed by someone who has no prior knowledge of the patent at all. In fact, most software authors avoid reading patents to avoid being tainted by them.

* Software being patentable at all is highly controversial, with most software authors and economists believing they're harmful to software innovation (Wikipedia entry for "Software patent", Software Freedom Law Center Files Brief against software patents, Research on Innovation papers, US Federal Trade Commission 2003 patent report (PDF))

* Opposition to information/mental process patents (software patents, business model patents) isn't opposition to the patent system as a whole. Different subject matter exists in entirely different economic contexts, and most of the people who oppose software patents believe that patents for hardware or chemical compositions (drugs) are appropriate.

* Most parliaments have never debated the merits of the issue and decided that software should be patentable. In the United States it was a specialized patent court that allowed software patents, while in Canada is was CIPO in their Manual of Patent Office Practises (politically interpreting US court rulings and applying to the Canadian context). In Europe article 52 of the European Patent Convention denies patentability for "programs for computers", and yet special interests like the patent office and patent lawyers have been abusing loopholes to grant software patents.

See also: European FFII: Frequently Asked Questions about software patents, Public Patent Foundation

Russell McOrmond - p2pnet contributing editor
[McOrmond is an independent author (software and non-software) who uses modern business models and licensing (Free/Libre and Open Source Software, Creative Commons). He's also the CLUE policy coordinator.]

====================

Said a p2pnet reader in yesterday's post on the subject:

This whole idea of patenting software is totally insane. Thousands of software application routines were published in books long before Microsoft came onto the scene with MSDOS. In fact, before the Apple-II came around, many of us were developing software for the CP/M operating system (S100 ring a bell ?). When the Apple-II came around, a company called Microsoft developed the Z80 Softcard which allowed Apples to run the CP/M operating system.

A few years later, when IBM was looking for an operating system, Microsoft was picked after Bill Gates purchased an operating system from another company. MSDOS was so close to the likeness of CP/M that it made it easy to transition over to IBM. When multi-tasking applications were introduced, each task was considered to be operating within its own task "window". Interesting that Microsoft claims ownership to many software applications that were produced by other companies.

If Microsoft does indeed sue for software patent infringement, I believe many of their patents will be disqualified due to "prior art" or for "obviousness" reasons.

I also feel Microsoft let us down when it introduced the infamous "lock down" OS called Vista. Terminating the availability of XP simply put the "icing on the cake".

Goodbye Microsoft.
Slashdot Slashdot it!

Also See:
yesterday's - Microsoft versus GPLv3, May 14, 2007
http://p2pnet.net/story/12228

 

Miami holds top spot on rude driver list



By SARAH LARIMER, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 49 minutes ago

MIAMI - For the second straight year, rude Miami drivers have earned the city the title of worst road rage in a survey released Tuesday.
ADVERTISEMENT

Miami motorists said they saw other drivers slam on their brakes, run red lights and talk on cell phones, according to AutoVantage, a Connecticut-based automobile membership club offering travel services and roadside assistance.

Other cities near the top of the rude drivers list were New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

South Miami resident Erik Pinto told The Associated Press he's probably seen every bad driving habit on Miami's roads.

"You don't want to know what I've seen," Pinto said. "I've seen everything. I'm from L.A., and we don't see the crazy drivers that you see here."

Portland, Ore., drivers were the least likely of the cities to see other motorists tailgating on the roadways, and St. Louis motorists were the least likely to swear at another driver, the survey found.

Minneapolis-St. Paul was rated the most courteous city in 2006 but slipped to the middle of the list this year.

The most frequent cause of road rage cited in the survey was impatient motorists. Drivers also cited poor driving in fast lanes and driving while stressed, frustrated or angry.

"The best piece of advice is to take a deep breath. Slow down, be aware and be careful," AutoVantage spokesman Todd Smith said, adding the aim of the survey is to increase driver safety across the nation.

More than 2,500 drivers who regularly commute in 25 major metropolitan areas were asked to rate road rage and rude driving in telephone surveys between January and March. The survey was conducted by Prince Market Research has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

The list, ranked from those reporting the most incidents of road rage to the fewest:

1. Miami

2. New York

3. Boston

4. Los Angeles

5. Washington, D.C.

6. Phoenix

7. Chicago

8. Sacramento, Calif.

9. Philadelphia

10. San Francisco

11. Houston

12. Atlanta

13. Detroit

14. Minneapolis-St. Paul

15. Baltimore

16. Tampa, Fla.

17. San Diego

18. Cincinnati

19. Cleveland

20. Denver

21. Dallas-Ft. Worth

22. St. Louis

23. Seattle-Tacoma

24. Pittsburgh

25. Portland, Ore.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070515/ap_on_re_us/road_rage

 

Attempted copyright violation'

p2pnet.net news:- Self-described US Top Cop Alberto Gonzales is ramping up his efforts to work for, and on behalf of, the entertainment industry.

He's even calling for a brand new 'crime' - attempted copyright violation [read infringement].

"The Justice Department is pledging to get even tougher on copyright violators and other intellectual property thieves, saying it has already boosted convictions and lengthened prison sentences,' says Broadcasting & Cable.

Attorney general says the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2007 would, "hit criminals in their wallets" by boosting restitution and ensuring all ill-gotten gains are forfeited, as well as any property used to commit the crimes.

The RICO (Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organisation) Act does much the same.

No one would deny it's wrong to misappropriate intellectual property or to infringe on copyright. However, one could very well ask if either act deserves the kind of attention they're getting from the Bush administration which, with the music and movie cartels clearly visible in the wings, has raised copyright offences to the level of serious crime.

"TV and film piracy has been a big issue in the conversion to digital, with Justice pledging to boost the number of attorneys trained to prosecute intellectual property (IP) crimes and to encourage more international cooperation in investigations," says the story, which also has Universal chairman Bob Wright claiming the issue is critical to be global economy.

"These crimes, as we all know, also have a direct impact on our economy, costing victims millions of dollars and, if left unchecked, diminishing entrepreneurship," Gonzales said in announcing the bill.

According to Gonzales, some 230 specially trained federal prosecutors are presently handling IP cases.

CNET News says the new act would:

* Criminalize "attempting" to infringe copyright
* Create a new crime of life imprisonment for using pirated software
* Permit more wiretaps for piracy investigations
* Allow computers to be seized more readily
* Increase penalties for violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's anticircumvention regulations
* Require Homeland Security to alert the Recording Industry Association of America when, "CDs with "unauthorized fixations of the sounds, or sounds and images, of a live musical performance" are attempted to be imported.

Neither the Motion Picture Association of America nor the Business Software Alliance (nor any other copyright holder, such as photographers, playwrights or news organizations, for that matter) would qualify for this kind of special treatment, the story emphasises, adding:

"Still, it's too early to tell what might happen. A similar copyright bill that [Lamar] Smith, the RIAA and the Software and Information Industry Association announced with fanfare last April never went anywhere."

[Note: We borrowed the pic in the upper right from Buddy Stone's Flickr page.]

Slashdot Slashdot it!

Also See:
Broadcasting & Cable - Gonzales Pledges To Get Tougher On Content Pirates, May 14, 2007
CNET News - Gonzales proposes new crime: 'Attempted' copyright infringement, May 15, 2007
Attempted copyright violation'
http://p2pnet.net/story/12235

 

Heavy multivitamin use may be linked to advanced prostate cancer
The embargo has been lifted at the request of the submitting PIO.

While regular multivitamin use is not linked with early or localized prostate cancer, taking too many multivitamins may be associated with an increased risk for advanced or fatal prostate cancers, according to a study in the May 16 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Millions of Americans take multivitamins because of a belief in their potential health benefits, even though there is limited scientific evidence that they prevent chronic disease. Researchers have wondered what impact multivitamin use might have on cancer risk.

Karla Lawson, Ph.D., of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., and colleagues followed 295,344 men enrolled in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study to determine the association between multivitamin use and prostate cancer risk. After five years of follow-up, 10,241 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer, including 8,765 with localized cancers and 1,476 with advanced cancers.

The researchers found no association between multivitamin use and the risk of localized prostate cancer. But they did find an increased risk of advanced and fatal prostate cancer among men who used multivitamins more than seven times a week, compared with men who did not use multivitamins. The association was strongest in men with a family history of prostate cancer and men who also took selenium, beta-carotene, or zinc supplements.

“Because multivitamin supplements consist of a combination of several vitamins and men using high levels of multivitamins were also more likely to take a variety of individual supplements, we were unable to identify or quantify individual components responsible for the associations that we observed,” the authors write.

In an accompanying editorial, Goran Bjelakovic, M.D., of the University of Nis in Serbia, and Christian Gluud, M.D., of Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, discuss the positive and negative health effects of antioxidant supplements. “Lawson [and colleagues] add to the growing evidence that questions the beneficial value of antioxidant vitamin pills in generally well-nourished populations and underscore the possibility that antioxidant supplements could have unintended consequences for our health,” the authors write.
###
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-05/jotn-mu051007.php

 

Attorney General's copyright plan draws criticism
Posted by Anne Broache

Proposed expansions to criminal copyright law put forth by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Monday aren't exactly getting rave reviews from some inside-the-Beltway groups.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association on Tuesday blasted the sweeping proposal as "outlandish" and argued it would undermine the legitimacy of the nation's intellectual property laws.

"Will office workers be wiretapped for lingering too long near the photocopier?" CCIA president and CEO Ed Black asked in a statement. "Will music fans be sent to prison if they fail to secure their digital devices to the satisfaction of the record companies?"

The Bush administration proposal calls for elevating criminal penalties for copyright infringement, including "attempts" to commit piracy, in a number of ways. The draft legislation would also authorize wiretaps for investigations of Americans who are "attempting" to infringe copyrights, a tactic now reserved for probes of murder and other federal felonies.

Gigi Sohn, president of the Washington D.C.-based advocacy group Public Knowledge, called the proposal's penalties "out of touch with reality" and the overall approach "full of bad ideas."

The most vocal advocates for antipiracy policy, however, continued to keep their views under wraps. Representatives for the Recording Industry Association of America and the Business Software Association both said Tuesday that they was still reviewing the documents internally and could not comment.
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9719591-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

 

this RIAA lawsuit crap: i still don't understand why kids want to d/L all this Hollywood-produced music. A few artists are good but most of them are just so-so. I guess they never heard of electronic/dance music? A majority of the electronica out there is by indie artists. You aren't going to be sued if you d/l their stuff. I wonder if Aguilera & Spice Girls know their fans are being sued for d/l music??