VERY,VERY HOT READS, I Would Read The News In This Thread This Thead Is To post Any Thing Ye Want About The News,,NEWS WAS MOVED,READ MY FIRST POS...

Alaska senator calls for porn rating system

1/24/2006 10:24:41 AM, by Eric Bangeman

Ratings systems work fairly well, when people pay attention to them and follow the guidelines. People don't take their preschoolers to see R-rated movies like Silence of the Lambs, and you don't buy "Adults Only" videogame titles like Leisure Suit Larry for an eighth-grade graduation present. There comes a point, however, where ratings become pointless. Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) has arrived at such a point with his suggestion that porn sites receive ratings.

I thought it was a joke when I first saw the headline myself, and the punchlines are obvious: "this site is rated A for..." Unfortunately, Sen. Stevens isn't joking. During a committee hearing on the Child Online Protection Act last week, he put the adult entertainment industry on notice that if it didn't come up with a rating system, Congress would do one for them.

As asinine as rating adult content sounds (adults-only means no kids, right?), there is apparently a method behind the madness. The vision is that a rating system will somehow magically turn into a better content filter, enabling parents, schools, and other concerned parties to more easily keep children from looking at smut on the 'Net. So if all porn sites are forced to carry an "XXX" rating, and filtering software is tweaked to detect the ratings, it could conceivably work to block those US-based sites that are forced to use ratings.

There's always a catch, and in this case, it's the same issue faced by every other piece of legislation that tries to legislate the Internet. The online world is no respecter of political boundaries. Even if adult sites located in the US comply with a government-mandated ratings system, ratings-based filters wouldn't do a lick of good when faced with European and Asian porn sites.

The ever-popular ideas of .xxx domains for porn and .kids for child-friendly content was raised as well. ICANN signed off on a new .xxx top-level domain last summer, but then backed down late last year in the face of concerns from some parties that it would just end up resulting in "more opportunities to distribute smut on the Internet."

Keeping racy and violent videogames along with porn away from the eyes of children is a popular theme with politicians these days. What other explanation is there for the continued advocacy and passage of laws that have no chance of passing constitutional muster? Ratings are useful as a guideline as to what kind of content a game or movie contains. They're not meant to function as some kind of a technological barrier separating children from inappropriate content. And they shouldn't—that's the parents' job.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060124-6035.html

 

Apple called out on iPhoto's RSS incompatibility

1/23/2006 5:44:13 PM, by Peter Pollack

Back in the dark days of the Internet, a war raged on over who would control the prepubescent HTML. Some folks pressed for a text-based approach, others advocated following the open-standards-based World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and Netscape tried to institute its own set of standards using the "embrace and extend" philosophy of adding its own extensions to W3C HTML.

Netscape understood that open standards work only as far as an extremely dominant market force will carry them. In other words, if a browser has enough market muscle (as Netscape Navigator did in the mid-'90s), web page designers will build their pages to look good in that browser and marginalize everything else. Old-timers will recall that thousands of web pages once sported "Netscape Enhanced" logos, contained messages saying something like "This page doesn't look right? Download Netscape now!," or simply failed to load with other browsers.

This is an old idea, and at a minimum dates back to the growth days of the phone company, when all audio equipment had to play ball with AT&T or die. The pattern was later repeated by Microsoft when it released Internet Explorer, and for a while, conscientious designers had three sets of HTML "standards" to worry about—W3C, Netscape extensions, and IE extensions. As the web grew more complex, scripting languages, databases, and active pages became commonplace, and it simply became too complex to try to cover every base. W3C finally caught up with the desires of web designers and open standards have finally started to make a comeback.

Did somebody mention RSS? Just because the browser world has stabilized somewhat is no reason to think that developers have stopped trying to control the Internet with proprietary standards. Now that everyone and their cat has a blog, RSS is the Hot New Thing® and the next item up for bids in the Price is Right. This time, our latest culprit is not everyone's favorite Evil Empire, but Apple.

Apple recently unveiled iPhoto 6, which contains a new feature called Photocasting. Essentially, Photocasting is a way to publish and share photos in the same way that a blog shares words (or Flickr shares photos). All well and good—different product, similar goal. But note the following tidbit from the Apple web site:

...if Aunt Sophia doesn't have iPhoto or she has a computer that runs Windows, she can still subscribe to your Photocasts via any RSS-compatible browser or RSS reader.

Turns out, this claim of RSS compatibility isn't entirely true. In user tests, Photocasts have been demonstrated to work nicely in Safari, but result in error in Firefox and Opera. Similarly, some dedicated RSS clients can display Photocasts, while others can't. What's going on? Software developer Mark Pilgrim has called Apple out on the software and its RSS compatibility.

...the "photocasting" feature centers around a single undocumented extension element in a namespace that doesn't need to be declared. iPhoto 6 doesn't understand the first thing about HTTP, the first thing about XML, or the first thing about RSS. It ignores features of HTTP that Netscape 4 supported in 1996, and mis-implements features of XML that Microsoft got right in 1997. It ignores 95% of RSS and Atom and gets most of the remaining 5% wrong.

That's fairly strong stuff, but don't take his word for it. Dave Winer, one of the creators of RSS, has also noted iPhoto's incompatibilities.

It's pretty bad. There are lots of errors, the date formats are wrong, there are elements that are not in RSS that aren't in a namespace.

Engadget quoted Jobs as saying they were using "industry standard" RSS. Even if we used terminology like that (we don't, there's no standards body for RSS) one company can't on its own say it's standard, esp when it has so many mistakes in it. It's a fairly damaging lie. Yeah, companies lie, I know - but then sometimes bloggers have to say they're lying.

Errors aside, there is evidence that Apple's feed contains a Javascript application which determines whether your client can support their format. If it can't, you get an error message. That's unusual behavior for standards-compliant software. We are left to wonder where Apple is headed with this. Since RSS has no real standards body to oversee it, Apple might be innocently aimed in the wrong direction in a simple case of bad planning and sloppy programming. On the other hand, they may be gambling that Photocasting will become popular enough over the next couple of years to force their version of it (and RSS) on everyone else. Now that the enmity between Atom and RSS has quieted somewhat, it will be interesting to see if we are up for another standards battle. I suppose when iPhoto 7 comes out in a year or so, we'll find out if the incompatibilities have been eliminated as bugs or enhanced as features.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060123-6033.html

 

Firefox 2.0 - What you can expect.
Hmmm... sounds pretty good. So... where is it?

From a development point of view, the idea of Firefox 2 is to deliver significant user experience enhancements on top of a relatively stable rendering engine as significant retooling is done on the main development trunk for what will become Firefox 3, and deliver them in a timely fashion. By being deliberately cautious with our goals for the rendering engine, we hope to avoid long cycles of shake and bake that delayed Firefox 1.5 (which had more substantial Gecko changes than user interface changes).

- Mozillazine.org


Racing Towards 2

It's going to be an exciting year. Not since the run up to Firefox 1.0 have I been so excited about the content of a release. Firefox 2 is going to be great.

I've updated the Firefox 2 Roadmap Page on mozilla.org with some more detail about how we're going to get there, based on Chris Beard's blog about Mozilla Product Strategy. I'll summarize briefly here, and call out some of the important work that's getting done right now.

Firstly, Firefox 2 is based off the same Gecko branch that shipped Firefox 1.5, so they should be compatible from a web developer's point of view. APIs might be added, but none should be changed.

From a development point of view, the idea of Firefox 2 is to deliver significant user experience enhancements on top of a relatively stable rendering engine as significant retooling is done on the main development trunk for what will become Firefox 3, and deliver them in a timely fashion. By being deliberately cautious with our goals for the rendering engine, we hope to avoid long cycles of shake and bake that delayed Firefox 1.5 (which had more substantial Gecko changes than user interface changes).
Key Engineering Objective: Deliver an enhanced product mid-year 2006.

In order to ship a Firefox 2 around the middle of the year, we must be solidly feature complete by the end of Q1.

So, without further ado, some of the most important features from the planning brainstorming page:
New Bookmarks and History

Improve the browser's Bookmarks and History systems to improve their effectiveness as renavigation aids while at the same time improving the back end for speed and extensibility.
Tabbed Browsing Enhancements

Make tabs behave more like windows in the operating system environment, making them behave more as users would expect.
Improved Basic Content Type Handling

For things like RSS/Atom feeds, mail links etc. Improve discovery and handling user interfaces.
Web Search

Improve the discoverability and adaptability of the search UI within Firefox.
Bug Fixing

Bug fixing at all levels where risk is low and yield high, e.g. the blank tab download bug, platform stability, etc.

Some additional things we would like to look at in the Firefox 2 timeframe include:
Visual Uplift

A freshen of the visual design of Firefox while maintaining high levels of system integration.
Inline Spell Check

The rise of applications like web mail, blogging etc highlight the weaknesses of HTML's textarea widget. We should at the very least offer people the ability to spell check their submissions.
Exit Survey

We'd like to know why people leave Firefox. A survey on uninstall would help us find ways to make the software better in future versions.
UI Consolidation and Simplification

Consolidate and simplify user interface in the browser window tying together features in meaningful ways where possible.

There are many other ideas floating around, this is just a brief snapshot of some of the high priority items on our plates. If we get this done, we'll be satisfied!
http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/ben/archives/009607.html

 

Invention: The moody media player

* 18:09 24 January 2006
* NewScientist.com news service
* Barry Fox

For over 30 years, Barry Fox has trawled the world's weird and wonderful patent applications each week, digging out the most exciting, intriguing and even terrifying new ideas. His column, Invention, is exclusively online. Scroll down for a roundup of previous Invention articles.
The mood player

Walt Disney would surely be pleased with some of the new ideas being patented by Disney's Californian headquarters.

Alongside digital downloads for fast food restaurants, the company has devised a media player that selects songs based on its owner's latest mood.

The device has wrist sensors that measure body temperature, perspiration and pulse rate. It uses these measurements to build a profile of what music or video the owner plays when they are hot, cold, dry or sweaty, and when their pulse is racing or slow.

The device then comes up with suggestion to fit each and every profile, either using songs or videos in its library or downloading something new that should be suitable.

If the owner rejects the player's selection it learns and refines the profile. So, over time the player should get better and better at matching body measurements with the owner's moods.

The patent suggests that the device could display animated cartoons when the owner is particularly happy. Walt would surely be proud.

Read the mood player patent here.

Radiation error detector

Most conventional radiation detectors use a Geiger-Muller vacuum tube to sense radioactivity, making them bulky, fragile and power hungry.

Now, thanks to some lateral thinking from inventor Robert Minemier of Arizona, US, a compact microchip and single AA battery could soon perform the same job for a fraction of the price.

Minemier's invention exploits that fact that integrated circuits are very sensitive to radiation, which can cause them to malfunction. Modern circuits can cram millions of transistors onto a silicon chip the size of a fingernail.

But each transistor is sensitive to a direct hit from a neutron or alpha radiation particle, which will cause its "logic state" to flip from "0" to "1", or vice versa. Normally this would cause a circuit to malfunction, but for Minemier's device it provides the ideal radiation alert.

The new detector will use one integrated circuit shielded from radiation and another that is exposed. The device then feeds a signal through both circuits and compares the number of errors that appear in the unprotected unit.

Detectors with a digital display could be small enough for emergency workers to wear as a badge, according to the patent filing.

Read the radiation error detector patent here.

In-flight early warning

Researchers at the Applied Physics Lab at John Hopkins University in Maryland, US, have been looking for ways to make a plane automatically send out an emergency signal in the advent of hijacking. There may be little physics in their solution, but it's a clever use of simple technology.

All crew members would wear a hidden, passive radio transponder containing a unique identifying code. Radio devices designed to communicate with the transponders would then be hidden around the aircraft - in seats the rest area and the toilets - and would be programmed to recognise normal crew movements during a flight.

If hijackers should commandeer the plane and forced the crew out of their routine, the radio devices will to detect the telltale change and silently transmit a distress beacon.

Read the in-flight early warning patent here.

Read previous Invention columns:

Cellphone distress beacon, the spy-diver killer, preventing in-flight interference, the inkjet-printer pen, sonic watermarks, the McDownload, Hot-air plane, Landmine arrows, Soldiers obeying odours, Coffee beer, wall-beating bugging, Eyeball electronics, phone jolts, Personal crash alarm, Talking tooth, Shark shocker, Midnight call-foiler, Burning bullets, A music lover's dream, Magic wand for gamers, The phantom car, Phone-bomb hijacking, Shocking airport scans, Old tyres to printer ink and Eye-tracking displays.
Printable version Email to a friend RSS Feed
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8629&feedId=online-news_rss10

 

i cant wait... i love f/f

 

'Zombie master' pleads guilty to PC hijacking

* 16:38 24 January 2006
* NewScientist.com news service
* Will Knight

In a landmark court case, a US man has pleaded guilty to hijacking more than 400,000 computers and using them to attack commercial websites and bombard internet users with spam email and pop-up ads.

On Monday, Jeanson Ancheta admitted hacking into computers and installing software enabling him to control them remotely. Prosecutors have accused him of creating a massive army of "zombie" computers, or "bots", which he used to launch attacks against websites and to send out huge quantities of spam email.

To increase the size of his network of infected computers, Ancheta programmed his zombie machines to automatically scan the internet for further vulnerable machines.

The size of the zombie network controlled by Ancheta highlights the scale of the problem faced by websites subjected to so-called distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, which are designed to block legitimate traffic.

These attacks are often linked to attempts to extort money. Gambling sites, and others that rely on uptime (uninterrupted site-availability) for revenue are a particular target.

It is possible to counter a DDoS attack, says Mike Prettlejohn, of UK internet monitoring company Netcraft, by ignoring packets of data sent from unknown machines, or by filtering out packets that are not normally received. However, both techniques may result in blocking some legitimate web users. "That's just part-and-parcel of the strategy," Prettlejohn told New Scientist. "If a site is successfully DDoS-ed, then no one can get to it at all."
Military networks

Ancheta has also admitted to causing pop-up advertising to appear on infected machines, in return for payment from advertisers. He has confessed to being paid $3000 in return for providing access to networks within his zombie network, selling networks of 10,000 machines on 30 different occasions.

Prettlejohn adds that creating zombie machines is becoming increasingly complex for hackers as software companies like Microsoft have improved their software maintenance policies. But he warns that hackers are also focusing on new techniques for spreading viruses and other forms of malicious code, such as malicious instant messaging programs.

Ancheta is accused of infecting computers at the Weapons Division of the US Naval Air Warfare Center in California and others used by the Defense Information Systems Agency in Virginia. In federal court in Los Angeles, he pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the US Computer Fraud Abuse Act and anti-spam laws, and to causing damage to US military computers.

In a deal with prosecutors, Ancheta agreed to plead guilty in return for a shorter sentence of between six and eight years in prison. He will appear before a US district judge for sentencing on 1 May. In addition to paying restitution to the US government, Ancheta has agreed to forfeit his ill-gotten gains, which include $60,000 dollars in cash, a BMW luxury car, and assorted computer equipment.
Printable version Email to a friend RSS Feed

 

Could the video iPod spur DMCA change?
Posted by Dan Bell on 24 January 2006 - 17:12 - Source: C|Net

DamnedIfIknow used our news submit to tell us about a little commentary over at C|Net that speaks to present DMCA or Digital Millennium Copyright Act law and how it conflicts with todays society and the products available to it. Specifically, a part of this legislation effectively trumps our Fair Use Rights by allowing content providers to not only add controls to stop us from copying our purchased content but also to make it illegal to "circumvent" the controls. Don't believe me? Ask 321 Studios, they were drummed out of business for trying to provide a product enabling DVD backups, because it was bundled with software that removes Content Scrambling System protection (CSS).

This may have been fine and dandy way back when, but now, people want to use their products they purchase in new ways. You can't exactly stuff a DVD in the side of an iPod so how the heck can we easily grab content for our devices? We can't, unless we want to set drumming our fingers and capture it as it plays, then encode it etc., etc. Or pay for a third party to do it for us.

What the author is wondering here is, can a hardware device or lifestyle become so popular, that it can produce the pressure required to change the law? Can need trump greed?

Apple Computer"s video iPod may not be the first portable movie player, but it is by far the best. The one serious flaw in this svelte little device is how difficult it is to load with video. Apple"s otherwise handy iTunes application flatly refuses to transfer a legally purchased DVD to the iPod. Don"t blame Apple for this glaring oversight. You can thank our esteemed public servants in Congress.

In 1998, politicians bowed to pressure from the entertainment industry and voted overwhelmingly for the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Part of that law made it a federal offense to sell or distribute software that can rip DVDs. In other words, believe it or not, Apple CEO Steve Jobs would be guilty of a federal felony if iTunes transferred DVDs to an iPod as easily as it can music from a CD.

"Our best hope for getting amendments to the DMCA is for more regular consumers to feel the pinch of the DMCA," says Fred von Lohmann, an attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Earlier legal tussles over the DMCA were more arcane and didn"t cripple gadgets prized by millions of Americans. (About 14 million iPods, including the Shuffle, Nano and video versions, were sold in the last quarter of 2005.)

You can check out the entire commentary by following this link. I for one never did understand how it was legal to add these copyright controls to begin with, considering the Fair Use law that came first. We need to get active now, as it seems that corporations are seeing the handwriting on the wall and have put together a new set of controls for the next gen format that uses the blue laser - "Managed Copy". Managed Copy does allow for consumers to stream content among other things, but they also added the wonderful concept of charging us for the right to do so. Think they wont try? Guess again! All that is needed is for the public to abandon the DVD player and CSS and make the move to high definition blue laser discs. Right now, there is too big a base of inexpensive DVD players to introduce a new copy controls scheme...but it's coming.
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/12990



Federal courts cause 321 Studios to shut down
Posted by Dan Bell on 03 August 2004 - 00:10 - Source: 321 Studios

disctracker used our news submit to tell us that 321 is throwing in the towel. The maker of several CD and DVD copy programs, they say that the legal system has made it impossible to continue.

Thank you for visiting 321 Studios. 321 Studios regrets to inform you that it has ceased business operations including, but not limited to, the sale, support and promotion of our products.

Despite 321 Studios’ best efforts to remain in business, injunctions entered against 321 Studios by three US Federal courts earlier this year has resulted in 321 Studios no longer being able to continue operating the business. If you are a 321 Studios customer looking for customer support, please visit our online Technical Support Knowledge Base and FAQ’s, prior to the 1st day of August, 2005, where you should be able to resolve most of your concerns. After this date, customer support will no longer be available.

You may visit the 321 Studios website for further information. Whether you like their software or not, we have to give Robert Moore and the 321Studios crew credit for using a good portion of the revenues from said programs, to fight for fair use.

Thanks guys, you put up a good fight against impossible odds.

 

Understanding Your Rights: The Public's Right of Fair Use

By Robin D. Gross

What does the "fair use privilege" mean?
Several important limitations to the author's exclusive rights exist under copyright law to encourage citizens to fully and openly exchange and build upon information to increase the public's knowledge. The most important limitation to the author's exclusive rights is the public's right to exercise a "fair use privilege" regarding copyrighted works. Fair use refers to an individual's right to use copyrighted material in a reasonable manner without the consent of copyright owner. In Sony v. Universal City Studios; the U.S. Supreme Court stated, "any individual may reproduce a copyrighted work for a 'fair use;' the copyright owner does not possess the exclusive right to such a use." The fair use privilege was originally a judicially created doctrine, but has subsequently been codified by the copyright statute.

Why does the public have a "fair use" right to use copyrighted material without the copyright holder's permission?
At the doctrine's core is a fundamental belief that not all copying should be banned, particularly in socially important endeavors. The Supreme Court explained, "the fair use doctrine exists because copyright law extends limited proprietary rights to copyright owners only to the extent necessary to ensure dissemination to the public."

Copyright law serves as a regulatory scheme designed to balance the competing rights of creators to exploit their work, entrepreneurs to receive a return on their investment, and the public's interest in gaining access to works. The fair use doctrine and other public rights are designed to further the ultimate goal of disseminating knowledge to the public. In developing an information infrastructure that serves the public interest and encourages the open flow of information, it is essential to continue to balance the competing interests and preserve the public's fair use rights in an electronic environment as it has in more traditional formats.

How do I know if my use of copyrighted material would be considered a fair use?
Whether a particular use of a copyrighted work will be considered a fair use not subject to copyright depends upon the particular facts and circumstances involved. The biggest problem with the right is often trying to determine whether it applies to a specific action. This is because the law on fair use is murky and no real definition has ever emerged.

There is no "bright line" test that can tell if a particular use would be considered "fair," but the Copyright Act lists particular activities generally considered fair (this list is not to be construed as exclusive or limiting in any way). Some examples of uses listed in the statute that would generally be considered a fair use to copy copyrighted material include: Criticism, comment, parody, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, research, or personal use such as time or format shifting.

What are the factors to balance to determine if a use is fair?
The copyright statute lists four factors to balance together on a case-by-case basis to determine if a particular use would be considered fair. The law's language does not preclude consideration of other factors however. The factors to consider include:

0. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes -- Courts are more likely to find fair use where the use is for noncommercial purposes.

1. The nature of the copyrighted work -- A particular use is more likely to be fair where the copied work is factual rather than creative.

2. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole -- A court will balance this factor toward a finding of fair use where the amount taken is small or insignificant in proportion to the overall work.

3. The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work -- If the court finds the newly created work is not a substitute product for the copyrighted work, it will be more likely to weigh this factor in favor of fair use.

Due to the difficulty in determining exactly when the fair use privilege would allow you to exercise one of the rights otherwise reserved for the copyright holder (and the penalties for guessing incorrectly can be extremely costly, even including jail time), it is wise to consult experienced counsel as well as to review previous judicial opinions where courts have analyzed whether a particular use would qualify as fair.

Do I have the right to make a copy of my CD for my own personal use?
Yes. The fair use doctrine allows an individual to make a copy of their lawfully obtained copyrighted work for their own personal use. Allowing people to make a copy of copyrighted music for their personal use provides for enhanced consumer convenience through legitimate and lawful copying. It can also enlarge the exploitable market for the rights holders. The fair use privilege's personal use right is what allows an individual to make a backup copy of their computer software as an essential defense against future media failure.

Personal use also permits music fans to make "mix tapes" or compilations of their favorite songs from their own personal music collection or the radio for their own personal enjoyment in a more convenient format, or "format shifting." Another example of acceptable personal use copying of a copyrighted work is "time-shifting," or the recording of a copyrighted program to enjoy at a later and more convenient time.

As new media present new ways for people to enjoy music, the public's fair use rights accompany them into the electronic frontier. Now, music fans have the right and ability to copy their own music collection onto their own computer storage device and create customized play lists for their own personal use and enjoyment of their music.

It is important to note that while consumers have the right to listen to their own music collection for their own personal use, they do not have the right, however, to make their music collections available to others by uploading them onto the Internet for public downloading.

** To learn more about copyright law's fair use privilege, check out Stanford University's Copyright and Fair Use Web Page at: http://fairuse.stanford.edu/

http://www.eff.org/cafe/gross1.html

 

Netflix to support both HD-DVD and Blu-ray movies
Posted by Dan Bell on 25 January 2006 - 00:33 - Source: PR NewsWire

The following text is a complete press release, unmodified by CD Freaks. If you don't want to view these kind of news posting you can disable them in your preferences page once logged in. Please send your press releases to news@cdfreaks.com

Online DVD Rental Leader Embraces 'Next Wave of Consumer Excitement'

LOS GATOS, Calif., Jan. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Netflix Inc.
(Nasdaq: NFLX), the world's largest online movie rental service, today
announced it will carry the first movies available in HD DVD when the new
high-definition format launches in late March, according to plans recently
outlined by several major movie studios, and said it will similarly offer
titles in the Blu-ray format when that product launches, expected to be later
this year.

"High-definition DVD is the next wave of excitement in home entertainment
and we'll be there at its inception," said Netflix Chairman and CEO Reed
Hastings. "With far sharper images, better sound and more features, we expecthigh-def will greatly enhance DVD's consumer appeal and extend its popularity over the next decade or more."

With Toshiba's new high-def DVD player now available to be ordered for
March delivery at several leading online and big-box retailers, a number of
Hollywood studios have announced plans to launch both new and catalog titles on HD DVD beginning late that month. Warner Home Video said at the recent Consumer Electronics Show that it will introduce 24 titles in HD DVD on March 28. Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment and The Weinstein Company made similar announcements.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment,
Lionsgate and Paramount also said at the Consumer Electronics Show that they have each selected between 10 and 20 titles to launch concurrent with the debut of Blu-ray hardware later this year.

Netflix said it will make the high-def DVD titles available at launch as a way of supporting the next-generation DVD format and signaling its belief that while initial adoption may be limited the market will eventually migrate to high-definition.

"For those subscribers who have an immediate interest in renting movies in
high-def, we're committed to making the full range of titles available at
Netflix the moment they're introduced," said Mr. Hastings.

About Netflix

Netflix is the world's largest online movie rental service, providing more
than three million subscribers access to over 55,000 DVD titles. Under the
company's most popular program, for $17.99 a month, Netflix subscribers rent
as many DVDs as they want and keep them as long as they want, with three
movies out at a time. There are no due dates, no late fees and no shipping
fees. DVDs are delivered for free by the USPS from regional shipping centers
located throughout the United States. Netflix can reach more than 90 percent of its subscribers with generally one business-day delivery. Netflix offers personalized movie recommendations to its members and has more than 1 billion movie ratings. Netflix also allows members to share and recommend movies to one another through its Friends(SM) feature. For more information, visit http://www.netflix.com.

SOURCE Netflix, Inc.
Web Site: http://www.netflix.com
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/12993

 

InterVideo H.264 Codec and NVIDIA accelerate high-definition decoding
Posted by Dan Bell on 24 January 2006 - 04:20 - Source: Business Wire

The following text is a complete press release, unmodified by CD Freaks. If you don't want to view these kind of news posting you can disable them in your preferences page once logged in. Please send your press releases to news@cdfreaks.com

January 23, 2006 08:00 AM US Eastern Timezone
InterVideo H.264 Codec Combines With NVIDIA Hardware to Accelerate High-Definition Decoding

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 23, 2006--InterVideo(R), Inc. (NASDAQ:IVII), an industry leader in DVD, MPEG and high-definition (HD) multimedia software technology, announced today that its H.264 Codec now supports the new NVIDIA PureVideo(TM) H.264 decode acceleration available on GeForce(TM) 6 and 7 Series graphics processors from NVIDIA(R) Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA).

H.264 is the digital video codec specified for the Blu-ray (BD) and High-definition DVD (HD DVD) formats. The H.264 specification, which is also known as the Advanced Video Codec (AVC) specification or MPEG 4-Part 10, delivers two to three times the compression efficiency of solutions such as the MPEG-2 standard, which is used in DVD video. H.264 also delivers high-definition video with six times the resolution of standard definition DVDs.

InterVideo's H.264 codec technology leverages highly advanced algorithms to deliver superior quality and performance on today's personal computers. One of the key new features is the ability to divide the decoding tasks among several hardware cores and hardware threads on both the CPU and the GPU. Using traditional single thread decoding techniques, H.264 with high definition would not be feasible on today's personal computers because much of the overall processing power is unused. InterVideo's H.264 codec partitions the decoding tasks through algorithm and data decomposition into multiple threads to use all the processing power of the dual core and hyper threading technologies from Intel(R) and AMD(R) CPUs, as well as the GPU acceleration from NVIDIA graphics hardware.

The GeForce 6 and 7 Series graphics processors feature NVIDIA PureVideo(TM) technology, a combination of hardware and software that brings home theater quality video to the personal computer and provides hardware acceleration for H.264 encoded movies, providing a smooth frame-rate and image quality unachievable with CPUs alone. A perfect partner to InterVideo's advanced H.264 codec along with the NVIDIA ForceWare(TM) software suite and Unified Driver Architecture (UDA), the GeForce 6 and 7 Series deliver industry-renowned compatibility and reliability for an enhanced user experience.

"InterVideo's H.264 technology is the ideal complement for our GeForce 6 & 7 processors," said Scott Vouri, general manager, multimedia products at NVIDIA. "Combined, they will set the pace for OEMs and ODMs in the evolution of next-generation consumer electronics and PCs."

"NVIDIA has been a driving force in the delivery of the latest advancements in audio and video through its digital media processing technology," said Steve Ro, president and CEO of InterVideo. "With NVIDIA's hardware acceleration and deinterlacing capabilities, the InterVideo H.264 codec can deliver a whole new level of picture clarity."

Availability

NVIDIA ForceWare drivers featuring the NVIDIA PureVideo H.264 decode acceleration will be available in Q1'06. For more information on NVIDIA products, visit http://www.nvidia.com.

InterVideo's H.264 codec, applications, sample application code and documentation are available for licensing to OEMs, system integrators and other third parties. Licensing and customer support information on InterVideo's codec technology can be obtained by calling InterVideo at 510-651-0888 or visiting InterVideo's Web site, www.intervideo.com.

About NVIDIA

NVIDIA Corporation is the worldwide leader in programmable graphics processor technologies. The Company creates innovative, industry-changing products for computing, consumer electronics, and mobile devices. NVIDIA is headquartered in Santa Clara, California and has offices throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas. For more information, visit www.nvidia.com.

About InterVideo, Inc.

InterVideo is a leading provider of DVD software. InterVideo has developed a technology platform from which it has created a broad suite of integrated multimedia software products that allow users to capture, edit, author, burn, distribute, and play digital video. InterVideo's software is bundled with products sold by the majority of the leading PC OEMs. The company is headquartered in Fremont, CA with regional offices in Europe, Taiwan, China and Japan. For more information, contact InterVideo at 510-651-0888 or visit the company's Web site at www.intervideo.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Except for the historical statements contained herein, the foregoing release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding InterVideo H.264 codec. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially due to several factors, including but not limited to the ability to forecast customer behavior and recognize or respond to emerging trends, changing preferences or competitive factors, the market acceptance of our new products and product enhancements, the resolution of any notices of claims regarding alleged infringement of third parties' intellectual property rights, the ability to maintain or expand our relationship with PC OEMs and other risks and uncertainties. Please consult the various reports and documents filed by InterVideo with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to InterVideo's Form 10-Q for other risk factors that could cause actual results to differ. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and InterVideo disclaims any responsibility to update or revise any forward-looking statement provided in this news release.

InterVideo and WinDVD are registered trademarks of InterVideo, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/12989

 

BBC p2p file sharing farce

p2p news / p2pnet: "Some of the top executives in the music industry have answered your questions about digital music," says the BBC.

"The BBC News website asked for your queries and gripes about the way new technology is being used - and the eight sharpest, most frequent and most important questions were put to the virtual panel," it says today.

The piece is seriously unbalanced and wholly one-sided. Even the claim that file sharers "steal" when in fact, no one has taken anything from anyone else, let alone the labels, and no one has been deprived of anything they used to own, is allowed by.

Predictably, the 'panel' didn't feature anyone from the real world of online music - only heavily and obviously vested corporate interests, including Napster, the want-to-be-born-again p2p application which seems once more close to death.

Were the folks running Apple's iTunes asked to participate, one wonders? And if not why not since it's the only corporate service supplied by the Big Four record label cartel EMI, Vivendi Universal, Warner Music and Sony BMG, which can be said to be even breaking even?

Meanwhile, the questions asked were:

Q1. Will download prices come down?
Q2. Should iPod users be punished?
Q3. Why buy on the net?
Q4. Downloads aren't flexible
Q5. What's the point of DRM?
Q6. Will downloads last?
Q7. How can teenagers be persuaded?
Q8. Have you ever "stolen" music?

'Answering' were:

John Kennedy, chairman and chief executive of the Big Four's IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry)
Peter Jamieson, executive chairman of the Big Four's BPI (British Phonographic Industry)
Steve Knott, managing director of HMV UK & Ireland
Brad Duea, president of Napster

Head over to the Beeb site for all the answers. For now, below, mainly for your entertainment and amusement, are the responses to questions 1, 5, 7 and 8.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4641054.stm


If you're drinking something and you're one of those people who snort liquids through their nose when you're laughing hard, go no further.

Will the price of tracks or albums be reduced with the more cost-effective digital distribution method? You don't have to manufacture the CD, package it, send it to the distributor/wholesaler, and finally the shops. Rowan Smith, Exmouth

Kennedy: I think digital is already fantastic value - a track for less than a pound is a great deal for the music fan.

Digital is a great way to enjoy music, but most of the costs of the physical world remain.

It's a common misconception that the costs involved in making a record equates to the cost of the packaging. The majority of costs incurred by our record companies are for making and marketing the music itself - and these remain the same regardless of how it's delivered. Artists, composers and all those involved in recording and marketing a track all still need to get paid. Same as when you pay £8 for a cinema ticket, you're not paying the price of the paper the cinema ticket is printed on.

Jamieson: The costs you lose in manufacturing, packaging and distribution are insignificant in comparison to the major costs in bringing an album to market - namely A&R, business affairs, recording, touring support, radio & TV plugging, marketing, promotion, taxes and all the other business overheads.

There are also new digital costs such as aggregators, the creation, storage and delivery of metadata, payments to credit card companies and additional online marketing and website costs. That said, at around 85p, downloads are still considerably cheaper than CD singles and fantastic value for money.

Knott: Pricing - whether for physical or digital product - to a large extent depends on the wholesale price charged by record companies and distributors to retailers.

While the cost of manufacturing the CD is not that great, this represents only a smaller portion of the overall costs of releasing an album - the main cost of a CD is the investment of the record labels in their artists, recording, marketing and distribution. Hence, even when a song or album is being sold as a download, and thus incurring fewer production overheads, the label still needs to make a reasonable return.

Duea: First, you are correct that with digital distribution the labels have eliminated some of their previous costs associated with physical distribution. However, the labels have incurred some new costs. For example, the costs of encoding the tracks in the various bit rates in which they distribute the songs. Less obvious, however, are the costs the labels have incurred with regard to clearing the online rights for various artists and albums.

Second, in addition to the actual costs associated with the content, Napster also incurs bandwidth costs, storage and other hardware costs, customer service costs, marketing costs and other related costs.

Given that every single digital rights management (DRM)-protected song on the music download networks is still very easily found on any file-sharing network, what has DRM achieved other than alienating legitimate, legal, paying customers? Andrew Livingston, London

Kennedy: Without DRM, the explosion in the availability of music via digital channels would not have been possible. The purpose of DRM is not to alienate music fans, it is actually to improve your access to music.

There are now at least 10 ways in which you can legally enjoy music - the list includes: ringtone, master ringtone, phone download, phone stream, a-la-carte download, disc, subscription, online stream, UMD music for PlayStation, kiosk and video.

Without DRM, these options simply wouldn't be possible.

Jamieson: DRM is the technology which makes all kinds of exciting new ways of listening to music possible. Certainly portable music subscription services like HMV Digital and Napster To Go wouldn't exist without it.

Knott: I'm not sure that's entirely the case, Andrew, and please remember that a lot of illegal content found on file-sharing networks may feature inferior audio or contain viruses. Either way, I still think that it's right for content owners to protect copyright and manage the distribution of any revenues owed via DRM.

I agree that it may not always be perfect, and can understand frustrations among 'legitimate, legal, paying customers', but there is a need to have a system in place to manage this whole process.

Duea: At Napster, while our goal is to make any DRM invisible to the user. The DRM allows us to keep track of what songs are listened to so we can compensate the artists for their work and make sure they keep putting out great music.

While we are trying to make sure Napster music works with as many devices as possible, others - like Apple - do not licence their DRM and are instead electing to create a hardware trap for consumers. Also, the restrictions associated with DRM technologies are sometimes the result of restrictions required by the labels.

Most people in my age group (15) still download all of their music illegally. What action would you take to try to persuade this particular group to buy music? Cole Beler, Bruton, England

Kennedy: To me, if you steal music you can't be a real music fan.

Think of it this way - apart from potentially landing you a hefty fine, illegal downloading hurts all those whose job it is to create, develop and record music, and who depend on it for their livelihood. How would you feel if you were in a band struggling to break through and no-one paid for your first album? How would you feel when no-one was able to invest in your second album? And as a music fan, how do you think that'll impact on the variety of new, fresh music that you get to listen to?

The music industry has been working with different organisations to produce guides and online materials to explain to young people why illegal downloading is wrong - see www.pro-music.org/guide, www.childnet-int.org/music and www.pro-music.org.

Jamieson: Music doesn't come for free, and there's no reason why the artist who's spent hours toiling in the studio, or the record label that's invested millions in the music, shouldn't be paid for their efforts. File-sharing might not feel like walking out of a shop with a CD under your coat, but it's the digital equivalent of shoplifting. The fact is that unauthorised file-sharing is illegal. If you do it, you run the risk of legal action.

Knott: Everyone knows about Apple iTunes and, to a lesser extent, Napster, Wippit etc. But last year, both HMV and Virgin launched their own digital services, including the added-option benefit of 'subscription' elements - so the choice is much greater and expanding all the time. The market for digital music is becoming increasingly more competitive as demand grows, so it's likely downloaders can expect greater range, including exclusive content, keen pricing and other incentives. In such a context, there are very few reasons why people should not purchase downloads from legal sites.

The music industry is throwing itself wholeheartedly into the prosecution of people it perceives as "stealing" music. Can of the panel place their hands on their hearts and insist, honestly, that they never taped a song off the radio, or from a mate, in their youths? Simon Hayes Budgen, Milton Keynes, UK

Kennedy: You simply aren't comparing an apple with an apple.

When you use an unauthorised file-sharing service you are effectively acting as a 'mass distributor' as whenever you're online, every other user around the world has the ability to access your hard drive and take what's on it. Not quite the same as making a compilation for your girlfriend on Valentine's Day...

As it happens, I never did copy music off the radio - I was lucky enough to have a great record collection thanks to my brothers and sisters.

Jamieson: There is a misconception that p2p file-sharing is somehow similar to home taping, but there is a world of difference between recording the Top 40 onto a C90 and distributing perfect digital copies of songs over the internet to millions of people - and that's exactly what file-sharing is.

I've certainly never risked a legal bill for thousands of pounds by distributing my music collection to millions over the internet - to do so is to rip off artists and everyone involved in making music.

Knott: I'm sure many, if not all, of us have taped a song from the radio or burnt a CD. But that's fine - and it's not an issue when people make small numbers of copies for their own use. It's those people who abuse the process by engaging in serial downloading and particularly 'uploading', where they are giving away thousands of tracks that are not theirs to give, that are effectively cheating on everybody else, including other music fans, who possibly have to pay more for their legally acquired music as a result.

Duea: Simon, for years I have made compilations - initially vinyl to cassette and now purely digital. Compilations allow me to create my own personalised playlists for all sorts of events. Also, I used to listen to radio and jump to my stereo to record a hot new song.

Today, technology has made this issue a bit more complex and has turned the recording industry on its head. To address the file-sharing issue, we have been working hard to provide a "carrot" - attempting to attract people from file-sharing networks by providing a better experience.

(Thanks, Michael ; )

Also See:
once more - Is Napster on its death bed?, January 20, 2006
BBC News - Digital music: Industry answers, January 24, 2006

(Wednesday 25th January 2006)
http://p2pnet.net/story/7725


Digital music: Industry answers
Some of the top executives in the music industry have answered your questions about digital music.

The BBC News website asked for your queries and gripes about the way new technology is being used - and the eight sharpest, most frequent and most important questions were put to the virtual panel.

Click on each question to read the answers.

Q1. Will download prices come down?

Q3. Why buy on the net?

Q5. What's the point of DRM?

Q7. How can teenagers be persuaded?

Q2. Should iPod users be punished?

Q4. Downloads aren't flexible

Q6. Will downloads last?

Q8. Have you ever "stolen" music?

The music panel comprises:

* John Kennedy, chairman and chief executive of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the trade body representing record labels worldwide, which has been instrumental in the global fight against piracy.

* Peter Jamieson, executive chairman of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), which represents the UK music industry and has been leading the anti-piracy campaign in Britain.

* Steve Knott, managing director of HMV UK & Ireland, a leading high street chain that has recently opened its own online download store.

* Brad Duea, president of Napster, once the scourge of the music industry and now one of the largest legal music download retailers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4641054.stm

 

Oxford bows to Big Music

p2p news / p2pnet: p2pnet editor Jon Newton contributes regularly to TechNewsWorld.

Here's his latest column >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Oxford University on Pirate-Whacking Campaign
By Jon Newton - TechNewsWorld

In the United States, the Big Four music labels now routinely blackmail colleges and universities into peddling product via the likes of Napster and iTunes, with school staff working as unpaid public relations and marketing teams.

EMI, Vivendi Universal, Warner Music and Sony BMG wield the threat of lawsuits against students attending schools that fail to comply and no one sees anything remarkable in this -- least of all, state officials, administrators or parents.

Now, Oxford, one of Britain's most prestigious universities, has apparently joined the club by promoting iTunes on campus. Christ Church, one of its most famous colleges, admits it will act as a Big Four anti-P2P cop, with the cartel's British Phonographic Industry darkly "monitoring" the situation in the background.

Shining a Searchlight

More than 75 [Oxford] students were "detected illegally downloading copyright material in the past two years," according to an article in the campus newspaper, The Oxford Student.

"Alan Gay, deputy director of Oxford University Computing Services (OUCS), told The Oxford Student media corporations have already notified the university on 16 occasions this academic year that students have been illegally sharing files such as MP3s and videos. Sixty were detected in the previous year," reads the piece.

"These 'cease and desist' requests are legal notices designed to force the university to stop its members using file-sharing software to exchange copyright material. Gay said: 'You get the impression that there's a big searchlight going round, and sometimes it focuses on us, and sometimes we go for a while without anything happening.'"

More Monitoring

The level of "monitoring and action by film and music companies" has increased, and Oxford apparently has imposed an official ban on the use of peer-to-peer software, charging colleges around 60 British pounds, or US$106, each time a complaint is received.

Oxford colleges pass this fine onto the student in question and reportedly often impose an additional charge. Christ Church was the first college to officially to warn students of the "consequences of file sharing," The Oxford Student says.

Students could face an additional penalty of 50 pounds, or around $89, if caught "illicitly downloading copyrighted material," warns an e-mail sent last week by the Oxford college St. Edmund Hall, otherwise known as "Teddy Hall."

"The illegal downloading of music, films, etc., via file-sharing software is strictly prohibited by the University and College," reads the e-mail, which claims that the dean, Dr. Alistair Borthwick, believes it is only a matter of time before the copyright infringements result in a court case. The e-mail also lets students know that Christ Church will begin a program to "actively scan all Internet Get Linux or Windows Managed Hosting Services with Industry Leading Fanatical Support. traffic within the college."

Students have been warned that if the college detects any use of file-sharing software, other than Apple's iTunes, offenders will have Internet access revoked.

Differing Approaches

ITunes is not, of course, P2P file-sharing software. It's a purpose-designed, hard-core sales-cum-iPod promotional application loaded with digital rights management technology to specifically prevent sharing.

Oxford's Magdalen College, while also following basic OUCS rules, takes a more relaxed approach to file sharing, according to the Oxford Student piece. The college does not issue additional fines, but it does expect undergraduates to pay the OUCS charge -- 50 pounds ($89) plus Value Added Tax, or VAT -- if a copyright infringement is detected. Keble College's IT department said students would face fines of 100 pounds ($178) to cover administration costs.

The number of notices Oxford receives is surprising, says Matt Phillips, Communications Manager for the British Phonographic Industry. "We know the majority of file sharing within institutions like universities occurs across networks rather than through peer-to-peer ... so we tend to limit our monitoring to communicating with heads of IT and alerting them to the dangers of illegal downloads," he notes.

The labels' previous campaigns at Oxford have not been successful.

In 2002, during an Oxford Union Debate, then Recording Industry Association of America Latest News about Recording Industry Association of America spin-doctor-in-chief Hilary Rosen tried to carry the proposition, "This House believes that the free music mentality is a threat to the future of music."

She failed miserably, the final vote being 72 for and 256 against. So far, at least, free music continues to survive at Oxford.

(Wednesday 25th January 2006)
http://p2pnet.net/story/7722


75 Oxford students caught downloading illegally

By James Asfa George Gabriel

More than 75 Oxford students were detected illegally downloading copyright material in the past two years. Alan Gay, deputy director of Oxford University Computing Services (OUCS), told The Oxford Student media corporations have already notified the university on 16 occasions this academic year that students have been illegally sharing files such as MP3s and videos. Sixty were detected in the previous year.

These ‘cease and desist’ requests are legal notices designed to force the university to stop its members using file sharing software to exchange copyright material. Mr Gay said: “You get the impression that there’s a big searchlight going round, and sometimes it focuses on us, and sometimes we go for a while without anything happening.

“The number of orders served does seem to have increased in recent years… but the level of monitoring and action by film and music companies has increased.” The university has an official ban on the use of peer-to-peer software, and charges colleges around £60 each time a complaint is received. Colleges pass this fine onto the student in question, often imposing an additional charge.

The Oxford Student reported last term how Christ Church became the first college officially to warn students of the consequences of file sharing. Last week Teddy Hall circulated an email to students warning them they would face “a further penalty of £50,” if caught illicitly downloading copyright material. “The illegal downloading of music, films, etc. via file-sharing software is strictly prohibited by the University and College,” read the email, which claimed the dean, Dr Alistair Borthwick, “believes that it is only a matter of time before the copyright infringements result in a court case”. Christ Church has announced that it will actively scan all internet traffic within the college.

Students have been told that if the college detects any use of file-sharing software, other than Apple’s iTunes, offenders will have internet access revoked. Magdalen, while also following basic OUCS rules, apparently takes a more relaxed approach to file sharing. The Junior Censor said that “we do not issue fines, but we expect undergraduates to carry the costs which OUCS charge (£50 plus VAT) if a copyright infringement is incurred.

Keble’s IT department said students would face fines of £100 to cover administration costs. Matt Phillips, Communications Manager of the British Phonographic Industry, said he was surprised at the number of notices Oxford received. “We know the majority of file sharing within institutions like universities occurs across networks rather than through peer-to-peer... so we tend to limit our monitoring to communicating with heads of IT, and alerting them to the dangers of illegal downloads,” he said.

19th Jan 2006
http://www.oxfordstudent.com/ht2006wk1/news/75_oxford_students_caught_downloading_illegally

 

Sam Bulte: gone, but not forgotten

p2p news / p2pnet: The Bulte story is generating considerable media attention today (Canadian Press, Globeandmail.com, IT Business) as the "bloggers influence the election" angle is an attractive one. This obviously continues the theme from last week when Macleans, Toronto Star, National Post, and Globe and Mail all discussed the same issue (as did Rob Hyndman in an excellent post). While the blogger issue should be highlighted, we should not lose sight of the substance behind the Bulte story.

Examining the role of blogs is unquestionably interesting and important. It is difficult to quantify, but I'm fairly confident that the online community had a real impact in Parkdale High-Park (although I again hasten to add that without a strong candidate running against Bulte this definitely would not have happened). The voting shift was fairly significant given that this was a rematch of the 2004 election and no other Toronto riding in similar circumstances experienced quite as dramatic a move toward the NDP. This suggests that some new - potentially the copyright issue - played a role.

Moreover, from a distance it appeared that the copyright questions had an impact on Bulte's effectiveness on the campaign trail. When she first faced the issue, she focused on transparency and characterized my claims as "egregious." I have the sense that it went downhill from there as she soon jumped to the infamous "pro-user zealot" remark, the claim that it wasn't a fundraiser, the threat to sue, and then finally last night strangely responding to her defeat by stating that she "had no thoughts", she didn't care about a minority government, and that "according to everybody, I did nothing."

I should also note that the way the story spread through the blogosphere - with high traffic blogs and sites such as BoingBoing, Larry Lessig, and Bourque; local blogs such as the Accordion Guy and Ross Radar; law blogs such as Rob Hyndman and Copyright Watch; political blogs such as Progressive Bloggers; industry blogs such as Quill and Quire; mainstream media blogs such as Dan Cook (Globe and Mail), Antonia Zerbisias (Toronto Star), Colby Cosh (Macleans), and the CBC's Election Blog; online news sites such as p2pnet.net and ZDNet; along with dozens of other blogs and chat boards tells us a lot about how stories propagate online. Further, the distribution of video, audio, parodies, bumper stickers, and a petition are all a fascinating part of the Internet story.

But they are not the most important part of the story. More important than the story about blogs, is the substantive lessons to be learned from the past three weeks. Building on a copyrightwatch post that mines the same theme, I offer three:

First, the recent events send a clear message that Canadians want copyright policy (and indeed all policy making) to be both fair and to be seen to be fair. That means accounting for all stakeholders and removing the lobbyist influence from the equation. My article on the role of the lobby groups in the copyright process attracted considerable interest as many people expressed surprise at just how badly the system is broken. It was this message that resonated with many people in the riding who may know little about copyright policy, but can identify a perceived conflict of interest when they see one. Going forward, all parties must work to clean up copyright.

Second, among the most important voices in the debate came from artists such as Matthew Good, Steven Page, and Neil Leyton. As groups such as CRIA were rightly identified as lobbyists who represent predominantly foreign interests, Canadian artists and Canadian interests began to speak up. If (or more likely when) a new copyright bill comes to committee, it will be incumbent on Canada's politicians to hear not only from the lobby groups, but also from the creators and users, many of whom are singing a much different tune from the lobbyists.

Third, this could have been about any issue, but it wasn't. It was about copyright. Copyright is often described as a fringe issue, yet to millions of Canadians it has an enormous impact on their daily lives, affecting education, culture, creativity, the use of personal property, privacy, and security. Labeling those concerned with these issues as pro-user zealots or claiming that this is merely about music downloading is to miss a much bigger story and to fail to connect with a segment of the population.

Six thousand votes, the shift in Parkdale-High Park, may not sound like much, but last night it would have been enough to alter the outcome of 123 ridings across Canada.

Politicians should keep that in mind when the copyright issue once again takes centre stage.

Michael Geist
[Geist is the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa. He can be reached by email at mgeist[at]uottawa.ca and is on-line at www.michaelgeist.ca.]

(Wednesday 25th January 2006)
http://p2pnet.net/story/7723

 

You Don't Know Jack About Firefox!
The folks over at Shell City pointed me in the direction of this terrific FAQ/semi-book.

Get a cup of coffee folks, this ones going to take a while.

The title contains over 290 pages of Firefox tips, tricks and hacks, providing invaluable pointers to help you customize the browser to your specfic preferences.

It starts with some of the better-known tweaks, such as search customizations and favourites, password, and history management. But later chapters challenge even the most hardened Firefox devotee, revealing the inner workings of Web developer extensions, RSS feed subscripton, and the little-known about:config interface.

go here to read it all
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/firefox-secrets

 

If Martha Stewart Were a Geek ...
How-To Make Magazine

By Steven Levy
Newsweek
Jan. 30, 2006 issue - OK, you've all got DVD players now. But before pondering the next step—Blu-ray? HD DVD? Downloaded movies?—give a thought to that old VHS player in the garage. The flashing "12:00" still pops up when you plug it in, doesn't it? Isn't the machine good for something?

Well, if you were among the 70,000-or-so readers of Make magazine, you would have an answer. A new life awaits your wheezing videocassette recorder ... as a time-release cat-food dispenser. After only a weekend of work—two fun-filled days involving an old meat grinder, parts from a broken lawn mower and serious surgery on something called the video head drum assembly—you will have a Rube Goldberg-esque contraption that dispenses Tabby's kibble while you're away at the Burning Man festival.

Dale Dougherty, Make's editor and publisher, has no idea how many people actually followed his magazine's instructions to build this contraption. But he does know that a substantial audience is hungry for literature that provides a how-to approach to projects that merge a high-tech constructionist sensibility with a penchant for junkyard (or eBay) scavenging. At one year old, the magazine has four times the subscribers he'd estimated for that milestone. It joins a bookshelf's worth of recent tomes directed at people who interpret "don't try this at home" as the exact opposite. Furthermore, the Internet has spawned countless interest groups engaged in like enterprises. One, called Dorkbot, generates monthly gatherings in more than 30 cities worldwide for "people doing strange things with electricity."

All this is evidence of a growing movement of people eager to tinker with high-tech gadgets and Dumpster detritus—and, I suspect, an even bigger population harboring fantasies about modding their espresso machines, building their own printed circuit boards and engaging in the brave new world of kite aerial photography. We've already seen the popularity of house porn (shelter magazines and "Extreme Home Makeover"), car porn (auto mags and "Pimp My Ride") and food porn ("Iron Chef"). Now we've got geek DIY (do it yourself) porn. Just as would-be Emerils pore over lushly illustrated cookbooks with recipes involving hard-to-find morels and complicated instructions for roux, Tom Swift wanna-bes are devouring Make and reading books like William Gurstelle's "Backyard Ballistics," which has sold more than 160,000 copies.

Gurstelle, an engineer from Minnesota who makes his own medieval-style catapults, readily admits that not everyone who reads his books winds up building tennis-ball mortars, fire kites and horse trebuchets. But both he and Dougherty make a case that whether you're a builder or a dreamer, the Maker Ethic is empowering. Its lesson is that in a world where we are overwhelmed by stuff, we should aggressively assert control over the gadgets around us, even if it means voiding the warranty and occasionally frying a finger. Also, we should view extreme Makers as role models. Gurstelle's latest book, "Adventures From the Technology Underground," profiles amateurs who build flamethrowers, rockets and humongous Tesla coils. (My favorite quote: "Pumpkin-hurling devices do not fit well in the municipal zoning code.")

What's more, as we spend more time with our computers, the primal side of us yearns for the visceral kick of hands-on experience. Killing a thousand aliens in some pixilated corner of cyberspace can never duplicate the satisfying phoomph that comes from shooting a potato out of a homemade PVC-pipe cannon.

That's why I see a big future in geek DIY lit. And that's why I'm not throwing out that vintage videocassette player in my basement. One day, if I ever get a cat, a soldering iron and a spare weekend, I might just build the "Programmabowl VCR." Meanwhile, I'll read all about it.

© 2006 Newsweek, Inc.

 

Life Without a Blackberry? Users Shudder to Think

By Ellen Wulfhorst, Reuters

NEW YORK (Jan. 25) - Life without a "Blackberry?" Hard-core users of the wireless portable e-mail devices are shuddering to think about a possible future without the gadgets they love, hate and aren't sure they can live without.

The chance of a Blackberry-less future loomed more vividly this week when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a major patent infringement ruling against maker Research In Motion Ltd.

Now, a federal judge could issue an injunction to block RIM's U.S. business. Many observers, however, suspect RIM may develop alternative technology or perhaps pay what some say could be as much as a billion dollars to settle with patent-holding company NTP Inc.

"I'm addicted. They should pay the billion dollars and get it over with," Blackberry user and insurance company executive Jim Long said outside his Manhattan office on Monday.

So pervasive is the Blackberry culture, with some 3.65 million customers, that the device is nicknamed the "Crackberry" for its addictive allure. And it's blamed for woes ranging from rudeness to injury to obsession.

"It consumes me. I shouldn't be looking at it on weekends, but I do," said Wall Street trader Ryan McDonald. "My wife tells me to put it down all the time."

Of course, like many addicts, plenty of Blackberry fanatics are in denial. "I'm not addicted," growled one man who refused to look up from typing on his Blackberry as he crossed a Manhattan intersection. "I don't want to be that guy."

Complaints about Blackberry users have seeped into etiquette columns, where the high-minded gripe that terse messages on Blackberry's miniature keyboards mean grammar, capitalization and full sentences are a thing of the past.

Celebrities complain about each others' Blackberry use. In Tuesday's New York Post, Vogue editor Andre Leon Talley complained his friends supermodel Naomi Campbell and singer Mariah Carey are compulsive Blackberry users.

Some people complain of "Blackberry thumb," prompting the American Society of Hand Therapists to warn that users of small electronic gadgets can develop repetitive stress injuries. A few high-end spas offer special Blackberry massages, complete with scented balms, warm towels and hot tea.

"Your thumb cramps up," said an executive for a beverage company, standing in an office lobby, who did not want her name publicly associated with the affliction.

The legal battle over Blackberry goes back to 2002 when NTP successfully sued RIM for using its patents.

While wireless e-mail users could use other gadgets like Palm Inc.'s Treo, some users say they favor Blackberry's technology. RIM itself has argued that an "exceptional public interest" is at stake in keeping its business functioning.

In a recent study of 1,700 e-mail users in Europe and the Middle East, 75 percent said they think it is addictive. One in five qualified as 'dependent' -- people who check their e-mail compulsively and panic when they can't, according to research by Symantec Corp., a Cupertino, Calif.-based software company.

"I see my friends who are addicted," said Phillip Saperia, who runs a trade association of non-profit mental health groups. "They don't read anymore, they don't reflect."

Standing outside a Wall Street building, Kevin Delahanty said he uses his Blackberry about 100 times a day.

"Is that addiction? I would deny it," he said.

Of course, he added, life without Blackberry may not be so bad. "I'd go back to my old life, talk to people in an intelligent way," Delahanty said.


01/24/06

 

How to undervolt your laptop for longer, cooler performance
Posted Jan 24th 2006 8:00AM by Evan Blass
Filed under: Laptops



Most of the PC hacks that you come across are usually in the realm of overclocking or case modding, so it's nice to find an easily-implemented, software-based performance tweak once in awhile that delivers some real results. Well NordicHardware has an article that describes just such a procedure, where Fredrik Andersson steps you through the process of undervolting your laptop. Although as Andresson points out, the terminology is not an accurate reflection of the adjustment being performed, undervolting refers to stepping down the voltage that your CPU requires by several fractions of a volt. The end result of the tweaks that NH guides you through is up to ten minutes more running time and several degrees less heat dispersion, all without affecting the notebook's performance. As with all of the helpful hints that we pass along, this modification is done at your own risk (i.e. don't come crying to us if you break your lappie).

 

Yeah, I just was down the basement retrieving my old VCR, boy is my cat gonna get a treat

 

Police raid German MPAA

p2p news / p2pnet: The German Federation Against Copyright Theft (GVU), the German version of the Hollywood-owned MPAA, seems to have been following the example of its Swedish counterpart by planting evidence to facilitate police raids on alleged copyright infringers.

At the GVU's instigation, police raided alleged release groups in Germany, Austria, Holland, Poland and the Czech Republic.

However, "The German anti-piracy association GVU, amongst others, the anti-piracy arm of the International Motion Picture Association (MPA), was itself subject to a large-scale raid on FTP-Servers used for distributing Movies in the Warez-Scene," says Julian Finn on zeiTspuk, quoting Heise.

"Two independent sources gave heise.de information, that the GVU had been giving the admin of a 'warez'-site money and hardware to get the IP-adresses and other logged information," states the post, going on:

"According to the article, even illegal copies themselves were provided."

The GVU confirmed police "had been in the Hamburg-Office" to "to verify the information that was provided in order to stage the raids," says zeiTspuk.

In 2005, Hollywood anti-p2p organization Svenska Antipiratbyrån (APB) was found to have bribed an informer, supplied servers and uploaded copyrighted materials in a bid to shaft the country's largest ISP, Bahnhof. Police acting for APB ultimately raided Bahnhof's Stockholm offices.

The APB site was hacked uncovering various items, including many self-congratulatory emails involving MPAA stalwarts John Malcolm, Dean Garfield and the APB's Henrik Pontén.

Among other fulsome expressions of gratitude for the Stockholm raid, " Henrik, this is truly phenomenal," said Garfield. " We are all very proud of you. I am sure you are a bit unpopular with the pirate community in Sweden right now. Great work."

"It's not terribly difficult to be the first one at the scene of an emergency to perform the heroics if you caused the emergency in the first place," observes a Reader's Write to an earlier post.

(Thanks, Julian)

Also See:
alleged release groups - Europe release groups raided, January 24, 2006
zeispuk.de - Raid on GVU, January 24, 2006
bribed an informer - Big Music's Bahnhof Bust, March 22, 2005
self-congratulatory - Swedish anti-p2p site hacked: more, March 15, 2005

(Wednesday 25th January 2006)
http://p2pnet.net/story/7726