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...

3 arrested for posting manga

p2p news / p2pnet: A cyber cafe owner in Tokyo and two others have become the first people in Japan to be charged with copyright infringement for posting manga comics without permission.

The men were arrested after the "cyberpatrol" unit of Fukuoka Prefectural police found the images posted on 464.jp in October, says the Japan Times, going on:

"The three are suspected of scanning comic books and storing the data in a computer server in the same building as the Ota Ward cafe so they could be viewed on the Internet.

"Police said the three have owned up to the allegations."

The Web site offered an apparent apology Tuesday, saying it 'caused inconvenience because this site has not made any copyright contracts'."

The cafe owner and his two partners were planning to shift to a paid membership and had about 1,000 people already signed up, the story adds.

Also See:
Japan Times - Three arrested for posting comic books on Web, February 15, 2006

(Friday 17th February 2006)
http://p2pnet.net/story/7957

 

DMCA axes sites discussing Mac OS for PCs


By Tom Krazit
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: February 17, 2006, 11:17 AM PST


Apple Computer appears to have invoked the Digital Millenium Copyright Act to stop the dissemination of methods allowing Mac OS X to run on chips from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices.

The chatter at The OSx86 Project was stifled Friday after it was served with a notice under the DMCA, according to a posting on the site.

"We're sorry to report that despite our best efforts, the OSx86 Project has been served with a DMCA violation notice. The forum will be unavailable while we evaluate its contents to remove any violations present. We thank you for your patience in this matter," the posting read.

Another Web site that hosts discussions related to getting Mac OS onto chips with the x86 instruction set, Win2osx.net, was also down Friday. Earlier this week, Win2osx.net's discussion forums contained a posting from a hacker known as "Maxxuss," who made a patch available on his own Web site that would allow programming-savvy PC users to put a recent version of Mac OS on their x86 systems.

Apple has said that it does not authorize the use of Mac OS on any x86 PC other than the ones that it has developed internally using Intel's chips. The company used a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) to tie Mac OS to the systems it distributed to developers after announcing its switch to Intel's chips last year, but hackers have found ways to circumvent that protection, which is illegal under the DMCA.

go here to read it all
http://news.com.com/2100-1016_3-6040983.html?part=rss&tag=6040983&subj=news

 

Ashampoo releases version 6 with Blu-Ray disc spanning
Posted by Dan Bell on 17 February 2006 - 22:15 - Source: Ashampoo



Oldenburg, February 17th, 2006

Ashampoo GmbH & Co. KG released the new "Ashampoo Burning Studio 6, v. 6.00

Burner software too complicated? Get power, simplicity and file backup too!

The new Ashampoo Burning Studio 6 keeps all the advantages of its predecessor and adds multi-disc file backup, an integrated audio CD ripper and further improved support for the exciting new Blu-Ray format with capacities of up to 25 gigabytes per layer.

Ashampoo Burning Studio 6 is still totally simple and intuitive to use. We listened to your feedback, added the new functions you asked for and made a long list of corrections and changes. The result is a better, more powerful and more efficient CD, DVD and Blu-Ray burning application than ever before.

What's new:

* Multi-disc file backup and restore on CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs
* Create compressed backup archives with powerful password protection
* Split archives automatically across multiple CDs, DVDs or Blu-Ray discs
* Restore archive contents to their original locations
* Integrated Audio CD ripper - store your audio tracks as WMA or WAV files
* New option for setting the number of copies you want to burn (available for all disc formats)
* Discs can now be verified immediately without being ejected first (if the drive supports this feature)
* Numerous other small improvements that make the program easier to use and more effective

What's cool:

* Burn files and folders on data CDs/DVDs/Blu-ray discs
* Burn Audio CDs from WAV, MP3, FLAC, WMA and Ogg Vorbis files
* Burn MP3-CDs from your MP3 files
* Burn Video DVD, Video CD (VCD) or Super Video CD (S-VCD)
* Create and burn CD/DVD/Blu-ray disc images
* Burn speed and other options can all be set automatically
* Make copies from audio, video or data discs easily
* Interactive troubleshooting assistant for solving hardware and media problems
* Save project files so that you can burn the same discs again later
* Erase CD-RWs / DVD+RWs / DVD-RWs/ DVD-RAM/ BD-REs
* Integrated support for over 1,700 CD, DVD and Blu-ray burners

Ashampoo Burning Studio 6 in a nutshell:

Name: Ashampoo Burning Studio 6
Version: V.6.00
Author: ashampoo GmbH & Co. KG
Software: Shareware
Platform: Win 98, Me, 2000 and XP
Price: 49.99 $
Size: 8.540 KB,
Language: English, German, French, Spanish

Homepage: http://www.ashampoo.com/
Product Page: http://www.ashampoo.com/products/0710/
Download: http://www.ashampoo.com/dl/0710/ashampoo_burningstudio6_se.exe

 

Lite-On IT to roll out 18x DVD burner - BenQ on holdPosted by Dan Bell on 17 February 2006 - 22:36 - Source: DigiTimes

DigiTimes is reporting that Lite-On is planning third quarter volume production of 18x speedy burners. Of course, Plextor has announced such a drive already, the PX-760A 18x DVD burner (DVD+/-R/RW CD-R/RW) but we can always welcome more manufacturers to join in on the speed escalation. Too bad BenQ has not made a similar announcement.

Plextor announced that it will introduce the world’s first 18x DVD+/-R burner by the end of this month. The company said the product will be shipped to distributors in North and South America this April, with a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of US$119. Current prices for 16x DVD burners range from US$50-70.

Michael Gong, general manager for Lite-On IT's Optical Disc Drive Business Unit, said the company will volume produce and ship 18x DVD burners in the third quarter of this year to accommodate needs in the market, before BLU-ray disc drives are ready to ship.

However, with prices of 16x DVD burners continuing to fall, Lite-On IT is looking to avoid furthering a price war though its launch of an 18x DVD burner, Gong said.

The article went on to say that BenQ is not planning to enter the 18x arena due to a fear of potential quality problems. They feel the discs are spinning a tad t quickly in order to achieve this kind of speed. However, industry sources say that both Pioneer and Sony may also launch 18x models.
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/13082

 

Toshiba to boost HD-DVD; concedes players will need tweaking
Posted by Dan Bell on 17 February 2006 - 16:05 - Source: Yahoo!

Hypnosis4U2NV used our news submit to tell us "Why choose a format that isn't fully ready to hit the market? If these early players need firmware updates after they roll out, whose to say that they wont need to have the hardware upgraded down the road, thus rendering them useless? I've been around CD Freaks long enough to know that sometimes firmware does not fix the mechanical limitations of hardware.."

Toshiba American Consumer Products on Thursday announced an ambitious marketing push in support of HD-DVD but conceded that some of the high-definition optical disc format"s interactive features won"t be available in the two first-generation players slated to hit stores next month without a "firmware upgrade."

Meanwhile, sources close to the rival Blu-ray Disc camp say an agreement has been reached on an interim license for the AACS copy-protection system both formats will use, removing one of the final obstacles that had been standing in the way of a launch.

We already heard that Toshiba will launch HD-DVD players for around $500 dollars US in March. Unfortunately, at least at the time of that particular announcement, they made the decision to limit output to 720p or 1080i and said forget about 1080p in this generation of products. Now, in this article we also can read that Warner Home Video, Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment and Universal Studios Home Entertainment have plans to provide software beginning March 28.
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/13080

 

Have you seen this PS3? Sony tells, not shows, at Taipei Game Show

2/17/2006 1:15:20 PM, by Ken "Caesar" Fisher

The Taipei Game Show is on, and so is Sony's microphone. The company is talking about the PlayStation 3, commenting on shipping times and goals for the company. But what's equally as interesting is what they're not doing: showing a working PlayStation 3.

With a launch date presumably sometime in the next 10 months, Sony still isn't showing the PlayStation 3 in action. You may recall that the PS3 was missing in action during CES, too. Some six weeks later, there are still no public gaming kiosks, no units isolated behind thick glass playing demos. No, the company is still showing the power of the PS3 with pre-rendered videos. But don't let that fool you into believing that the console may still be facing serious challenges. Managing director of Sony Computer Entertainment Asia Tetsuhiko Yasuda told reporters that the PlayStation 3 will ship this year. You just have to take his word for it.

"We want to be completely prepared when we bring PlayStation 3 to the marketplace," said Tetsuhiko Yasuda. "Our No. 1 competition is not other companies but counterfeiters. We want to work with governments to stop this."

Tetsuhiko Yasuda also said that the company expects to sell more than 100 million units, but this is a safe bet given that both the PS2 and the original PlayStation both passed this mark. Of course, if the PlayStation 3 debuts at a price north of $399, all bets are off. And 100 million units or not, some observers believe that the real battle won't be over total units sold, but over who can best monetize their gaming community.

The Xbox 360 has seen strong initial uptake in the Xbox Live department, where they have a significant lead on Sony's forthcoming HUB service. Microsoft also has the advantage of being on their second generation of media center interoperability options, which we expect to see improve considerably over the next few years. Microsoft's current model envisages a Media Center PC in the home which is then connected to up to five Xbox 360s for the purposes of streaming audio and video throughout the house. Via Xbox Live and Media Center, the company hopes to offer two ways to encourage users to purchase content online, as well.

While few are putting their cash down on a horse called Microsoft, a 100 million unit success for Sony won't be as sweet if the console sits mostly by its lonesome. Microsoft's plan to make the Xbox 360 into a kind of entertainment hub is more developed and mature than Sony's fledgling plans, but it lacks the one thing that the PS3 can boast: support for a next-generation optical disc format (namely, Blu-ray).

Just what was on display at the Taipei Game Show? The same three PS3 boxes we've come to know and love: the silver, white, and black shell design (all of which are reportedly empty), and the boomerang-style controller was on display, too. The Taipei Game Show was really the last chance for Sony to pull a spring launch surprise out of its hat. While no analysts were expecting such a thing given the lack of fanfare at CES, rumors among the die-hard Sony fans have persisted.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060217-6207.html

 

Bluetooth worm targets Mac OS X



By Joris Evers
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: February 17, 2006, 1:08 PM PST
Tell us what you think about this storyTalkBack E-mail this story to a friendE-mail View this story formatted for printingPrint

Another day, another Mac OS X pest?

Just a day after experts warned of what is believed to be the first Trojan in the wild to target Apple Computer's Mac OS X, alerts are being published on a new worm that exploits an 8-month-old vulnerability in the operating system.

The new Inqtana worm spreads through a security flaw in Apple's Bluetooth software, antivirus vendors Symantec and F-Secure said on Friday. Apple provided a fix for the flaw last June with security update 2005-2006.

The worm attempts to use Bluetooth to propagate. Once it infects a computer it searches for other Bluetooth-enabled devices and sends itself to those it finds, Symantec said.

Inqtana is a "proof-of-concept" worm, according to Symantec and F-Secure, meaning it's an example of attack code, but itself likely won't affect many users, if any at all. Inqtana is not believed to have actually attacked Mac users. Furthermore, it uses a Bluetooth component that is locked to a specific address and expires next week, according to F-Secure.

"It is quite unlikely that Inqtana would be any kind of threat," F-Secure said on its Web log.

However, two examples of malicious software to target Mac OS X in two days may be the start of a trend, Vincent Weafer, senior director at Symantec Security Response, said in a statement.

"We have speculated that attackers would turn their attention to other platforms, and two back-to-back examples of malicious code targeting Macintosh OS X this week illustrates this emerging trend," he said. "While this particular worm is not fully functional, the source code could be easily modified by a future attacker to do damage."

The new worm follows the Leap Trojan that was discovered Thursday. Symantec says it believes the two pests were developed on a parallel time line and that Inqtana was not created in response to Leap.

Symantec recommends that Mac OS X users keep antivirus and firewall software, as well as operating systems, up-to-date. Apple has a safety guide on its Web site.

An Apple representative did not have an immediate comment.
http://news.com.com/2100-7349_3-6041091.html?part=rss&tag=6041091&subj=news

 

Microsoft: Upgraded Motherboard = New Windows Licence?
Before everyone freaks out about this, this is only for OEM systems from what I understand.

Now, all of you who own a Dell, HP, or some other system... well, you can all freak out now.

To avoid this build your own system and get a copy off the shelf. Then all you have to do is call them up and get a new key.

Microsoft recently made a change to the licence agreement saying that a new motherboard is equal to a new computer, hence you need to purchase a new Windows licence.

Here is what Microsoft has to say:
_________________________________________________________________


Microsoft: Upgraded Motherboard = New Windows Licence

Microsoft recently made a change to the licence agreement saying that a new motherboard is equal to a new computer, hence you need to purchase a new Windows licence.

Here is what Microsoft has to say:

“An upgrade of the motherboard is considered to result in a “new personal computer” to which Microsoft® OEM operating system software cannot be transferred from another computer. If the motherboard is upgraded or replaced for reasons other than a defect, then a new computer has been created and the license of new operating system software is required.”

The reason Microsoft gave for this term is that “Microsoft needed to have one base component “left standing” that would still define that original PC. Since the motherboard contains the CPU and is the “heart and soul” of the PC, when the motherboard is replaced (for reasons other than defect) a new PC is essentially created.”

Microsoft sent a memo to its OEM partners asking them to enforce this new policy, every time they upgrade a computer for a client.


http://www.aviransplace.com/index.p...5/microsoft-upgraded-motherboard-new-licence/

 

i ame ready now to post a site to tell the time any where in the world..
have fun with it and pass it on to all..

click here
http://www.timeticker.com/main.htm


if ye live in the states just put ye zip code for the weather
click here
http://www.space.com/php/weatherbug/

 

Microsoft to blame for battery drain

Vole puts paw up

By INQUIRER staff: Friday 17 February 2006, 10:15
A PROBLEM with drivers for Windows XP notebooks is down to Microsoft, not Intel, it has emerged.

See Intel Core Duo battery life drained by USB devices.

The probbo, originally discovered by Tom's Hardware, has been known about for a fair old while but Microsoft only bothered to tell manufacturers, not us poor punters, according to news.com.

That site said that the Vole published a knowledge base piece in July last year but it was only provided to a select few. Now Microsoft has fessed up and told news.com it was going to bung out a fix which might mean a BIOS update.

Intel, a firm which often gets blamed for things it's not guilty of, is working on its own fix. In reality, as the world+dog knows, if Intel was writing the operating system we'd have a whole heap less bother than we currently do.

_________________________________________________________________

Microsoft driver flaw saps battery strength


By Tom Krazit
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: February 16, 2006, 12:27 PM PST
Tell us what you think about this storyTalkBack E-mail this story to a friendE-mail View this story formatted for printingPrint

Microsoft has confirmed the existence of a flaw in its USB 2.0 drivers for Windows XP Service Pack 2 that can cause a notebook to consume power at a faster-than-expected rate when using a peripheral device.

The issue, first uncovered by Tom's Hardware two weeks ago, appears to affect certain Intel-based notebooks running Windows XP Service Pack 2.

When a peripheral device was connected to a USB 2.0 port, the notebook's battery life plunged at a greater rate than would normally be expected from the use of a peripheral such as a mouse or storage key. When details of the flaw were first published, Intel denied that its processors or chipsets were the responsible for the issue. And Microsoft refused to confirm to CNET News.com until yesterday that the software company was responsible for the battery performance problem.

Microsoft published a Knowledge Base article on the subject in July 2005 but made that information available only to PC vendors and partners, a company representative said in a statement. The software maker is not releasing the article to the public, but industry sources confirmed that a posting on Slashdot is a copy of the original article.

In that article, Microsoft outlined a problem with its USB 2.0 drivers that prevents a mobile processor from entering advanced sleep states designed to minimize power consumption. According to Tom's Hardware's testing, the effect was even more pronounced on Intel's new Core Duo processors, which are capable of entering a deeper sleep state than older Pentium M chips.

Other tests by reviewers such as Anandtech found that the problem affected notebooks with a variety of Intel processors. It was not clear whether the issue also affected notebooks with Advanced Micro Devices' Turion or Athlon 64 processors.

In the private Knowledge Base article, Microsoft outlined a fix that involved modifying the registry key for USB 2.0. However, since then, the company has realized that this is an impractical fix for most users and is working on a new fix that could involve a BIOS update patch, a company representative said in a statement.

The severity of the problem depends on how USB 2.0 has been implemented in a notebook--which encompasses a wide variety of factors, such as the operating system, processor, chipset, USB 2.0 device, and the software and drivers attached to all those components, an Intel representative said. Intel is also working on a fix for the problem that would not be dependent on a software download, such as a tweak to future processors, the representative said.

Notebook users who experience the problem should contact the manufacturer of the notebook for further assistance. Some notebook manufacters have modified the registry keys as outlined in the Knowledge Base article, but this solution does not always work as intended outside of lab testing, the Microsoft representative said.
http://news.com.com/Microsoft+drive...trength/2100-1012_3-6040586.html?tag=nefd.top

 

Download a year's Bollywood films in 90 minutes

Bap re bap!

By INQUIRER staff: Thursday 16 February 2006, 14:44
A WEEK LONG experiment to run an international scientific computing grid under working conditions has resulted in sustained transfer rates of a gigabyte per second.

That's what the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid collaboration (WLCG) announced at the Computing for High Energy and Nuclear Physics 2006 conference in Mumbai.

Tony Doyle, leader of the UK particle physics grid, said that corresponds to transferring a DVD worth of scientific data every five seconds. "At these rates it would take 25 days to transfer the nearly 400,000 films listed at IMDB.com and only an hour and a half to transfer the 1,000 flms produced each year by Mumbai-based Bollywood."

The data was shifted from CERN in Switzerland to 12 other computer centres, with the UK end being the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire.

RAL works with sites at UK universisties to form GridPP, the UK particle physics grid, consisting of over 4,000 CPUs and 250 terabytes of storage. µ

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=29754

 

New Trojans plunder bank accountsBy Joris Evers
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: February 17, 2006, 3:59 PM PST
Tell us what you think about this storyTalkBack E-mail this story to a friendE-mail View this story formatted for printingPrint

SAN JOSE, Calif.--Cybercriminals are surfing into online banks with you to steal your money.

Password-stealing Trojan horses used to be all the rage. The software would nestle itself on a PC after opening a bad e-mail attachment or visiting a malicious Web site. But in response to the increased adoption of stronger authentication, cybercriminals are changing their tactics, according to Alex Shipp, a senior antivirus technologist at MessageLabs.

"We have recently seen a move away from stealing user name and passwords," Shipp said during a panel discussion at the RSA Conference 2006 here on Thursday. The new "bank-stealing Trojans" wait until the victim has actually logged in to their bank. "It then just transfers the money out."

"All of the authentication, little keys you have to have in your hand, biometrical things, it doesn't matter. The bad guy just waits until you're there and then takes the money out," Shipp said.

This new type of Trojan is on the rise and is currently No. 3 on the list of most common threats, according to Shipp. The most-seen threat today is remote control code used to maintain networks of zombie PCs, or botnets, he said. Second are phishing scams, which seek to dupe computer users into giving up personal information, Shipp said.

The bank-stealing Trojans are programmed to work with specific online banking Web sites, Shipp said. "I come from Britain; we only have four banks," he said. "The bad guys are adding more and more banks every day."

The malicious software typically arrives in an e-mail with an apparently innocent Web link, for example, to an online greeting card. "If you click on it, you will download an executable that installs itself into your browser and then just waits until you go to your bank site," Shipp said.

The increasingly morphing attacks are a challenge to keep up with, said Jeanette Jarvis, senior security systems product manager at Boeing, also on the panel. "The social engineering tactics that are being utilized nowadays are making it extremely difficult for employees to tell what is good and what is bad," she said.

Since 2002, Boeing has seen an 11,000 percent increase in the amount of malicious software stopped at its gateways, Jarvis said. Phishing in particular is a tremendous problem, she said. "There is no silver bullet. As soon as we create one tactic to stop them, they come up with a new way."

While in the past virus writers and hackers were looking mostly for notoriety, today most of the attacks are driven by money. "Unprotected or under-protected computers are the new currency of the Internet for organized crime," Joseph Telafici, director of operations at McAfee AVERT, said in a presentation on Friday.

And cybercriminals have found that stealing online is safer for them than in the brick-and-mortar world. "If you tried to rob a bank and failed, you got arrested or shot. Online criminals have it much easier," Telafici said.

The industry needs to find a solution to the threats, or risk further erosion of trust in the Internet, said David Perry, the global director of education at antivirus company Trend Micro. He struck a similar chord as executives of Symantec and VeriSign did earlier this week at the RSA Conference.

"The main thing we've lost is not the money; it is not the credit ratings. The main thing we've lost is trust," Perry said. "Do you trust e-mail enough that if you get e-mail from a bank, you open it?"

"It is going to get worse before it gets better. If we've lost trust in e-mail as a business continuity device, we're losing trust in the Web as a business continuity device," Perry said.
http://news.com.com/New+Trojans+plunder+bank+accounts/2100-7349_3-6041173.html?tag=nefd.top

 

Blu-ray & HD DVD get the go-ahead with AACS agreement
Posted by Seán Byrne on 18 February 2006 - 01:33 - Source: Video Business Online

After worries about Blu-ray and HD DVD being delayed due to the AACS final specs failing to reach an agreement, the negotiators have managed to reach agreement on Wednesday on an interim license for the AACS copy protection system after working very intensely on this. As a result, Blu-ray and HD DVD equipment manufacturers and disc replicators can now obtain the private encryption keys in order to use on discs and their players. Otherwise, HD DVD would have missed their late-March planned launch, not to mention a similar issue for the Blu-ray's planned launch in May.

Toshiba, who is behind HD DVD has unveiled its plans for a 40-city retail and media tour on Feb. 22 to show off their new disc format in an aim to get more consumers interested in this coming format and boost early sales. After this, HD DVD titles are expected to arrive on March 28th from Warner home Video.

Even though the encryption system behind AACS was quickly settled, the disagreements were about how AACS-compliant players should handle its video outputs, the implementation of the "managed-copy" requirement and whether region coding should be enforced, like with existing DVD players. While Microsoft is strongly backing mandatory managed-copy support, the studios still fear that this could result in a useful feature for piracy if not carefully controlled. Finally, this interim agreement does not resolve all issues covering managed-copy, relies on the fact that no recording capabilities will be offered in the first generation of players and that the interim rules states that content owners “shall not authorize the making of a Managed Copy ... prior to signing the applicable Final Agreement.”

Blu-ray hardware makers Samsung and Pioneer plan to start shipping players in May, a date that also would be in peril if an agreement wasn’t reached soon.

Negotiators worked feverishly over the past several days to hammer out enough agreement to let both sides’ launch plans go forward, after efforts to reach a final agreement broke down last Friday without a deal.

On Wednesday, HD DVD’s principal developer, Toshiba Corp., unveiled plans for a 40-city retail and media tour to showcase the new format and build momentum for the launch.

The tour kicks off Feb. 22 in New York and Paramus, N.J., followed by stops in Boston; Chicago; San Francisco; Washington, DC and Los Angeles, among other cities.

The first HD DVD titles are slated to arrive March 28 from Warner Home Video.

The full article can be read here.

While AACS' encryption system has been settled, it is a pity to see so much fuss being put into the video-output restrictions on the players and especially when it comes to the PC. For example, if AACS complaint players need to restrict component output to standard definition when viewing AACS protected discs, this would upset a lot of consumers who forked out on a HDTV without DVI-input or one with DVI that is not HDCP compliant. In my opinion, they should just enable full 720p/1080i definition output over component, especially since by the time equipment capable of capturing HDTV over component video becomes widespread, chances are that pirates will be using a HD camcorder (or some other other HD camera) to illegally re-capture the image if it means this is the only way to copy a disc.

Put it this way, as it is quite ackward and risk to go about illegally using a camcorder to film a cinema showing and pirates already do this, there is no reason to believe that a pirate will not be bothered with setting up a HD camcorder in front of a HDTV display once HD camcorders become more widespread (unless these feature some sort of watermark recognition, etc.) In fact, if CSS was still not broken today, chances are that there would still be as much piracy online from re-recordings using any loophole a pirate gets hold of, even if it meant pointing a camcorder in front of a TV or PC monitor.

Feel free to discuss about Blu-ray and HD DVD on our Satellite, HD-TV, Blu-ray and HD-DVD Forum.
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/13083

 

quote

My desktop OS: WindowsXP SP2
I've been looking at the «My desktop OS» -articles, and found that I'll have to be the one writing one for Windows XP.

To be honest, Window XP is very close to being usable on the desktop. I say very close, because it's not so out of the box. There is a few issues, however and many of them arises when you need to reinstall. You do need to reinstall Windows from time to time - it's just a fact of life!

Disclaimer: I only link to applications that can be downloaded free of charge in this article. They do have licences though, so read them when installing!
Installing it.
Driver problems
This is an annoying problem. I've got a Dell 600, and I warn you! Do not loose the driver CD. You're lost without it!
Dell buys parts from many places and create a CD for reinstalling them when you need to reinstall the PC. Without the CD, you have to use another machine or another operating system to download the files from Internet. Any Linux-live-cd will do the trick, if you don't have another PC handy, or you could use BartPE, that is capable of booting Windows from a CD, but might be a tad difficult to set up.
Save the files to a USB memory stick. Windows XP have good support for that kind of devices.
Beware! There are licensing issues with creating a BartPE CD, so be sure to read all licensing information before you do it.

Even if you do have the driver CD, do not point to it from device manager, installing the drivers (as you normally would). The installer on the CD is the way to get it done as easily as possible. It installs an Icon on your Windows menu that you use to install the drivers. You will be asked to reboot repeatedly during the install process.


Security
Windows isn't secure in any way out of the box, not even XP SP2, so running Windows Update early after setup and then often afterwards is important. There is rumors that their next OS, Vista is going to be quite secure, but for some reason I don't trust Microsoft when they're saying things like that - they don't have the best merits. You need the following (I also put in a link to my selection of the application in question):

* Antivirus
Microsoft Windows is targeted for viruses of two main reasons:
1. There are a lot of Windows PC's out there.
2. Windows is not very secure, hence easy to write aggresive viruses for.
There's a lot of antivirus applications out there, but my choice is Avast.
* Firewall
Even if Windows XP comes with a built inn firewall, it's not very usable. It'll keep you safe until you get a good one installed, but I woulden't trust it in daily use. I use Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall.
* Spyware/malware/trojan
I don't use any spesific application for that. I am careful what I run on my machine, and every week or so I visit Trend Micro's online scanner to get my machine scanned.
* Web browser
Microsoft Internet Explorer has a history of so many security holes that I am a tad afraid to use it. I therfore use FireFox and like the modularity (with any plugin/extension you might need) and the interface that uses little space, leaving much to actually show the page. Opera is good too, but a tad thick for me (meaning a lot of features and it uses a tad to much space for itself, leaving less to show the actual page).
* Mail application
Outlook Express is notorious for being unsafe and that it has a few to many functions, leaving the program open for attack against the system. For that I use Thunderbird. As with browsers, there is a lot of them out there - most of them good and all of them more secure than Outlook Express, but this is my choice.

Usability apps.
Windows is not an have never been very usable out of the box. There is a lot of helper applications, but they are crude and limited, like notepad, that do not support plugins, color coding (also called syntax highlighting), or huge files. There is also no support for PDF printing/exporting and the PrintScreen doesn't work well, either. The version of Java that comes with Windows also need imidiate upgrade to something usable.
Here is my selection to make the machine usable:

* JRE
You need a java runtime environment. Java is made by Sun Microsystems and you can find it for Windows XP here.
* Print screen enhancer
Windwows' print screen function leaves a lot to be desired. You will need a print screen enhancer. I fetch mine at PrimoPDF, a very usable PDF-printer.
* Editor
Notepad is not all that good. I also prefer color coding, since I program from time to time. Therfore I use Crimson Editor. While not perfect, it supports color coding and opening/saving files via FTP - a feature I absolutly want if possible.
* Recording CD ISO-s
Now, Windows XP is capable of writing to a CD from a folder. Using Windows Media Player, you can burn CD-s from mp3 and vice versa. But there is no way to record or burn an ISO (mirror of a CD in one file). I solve that by installing ISO Recorder v 2. It works as a extension to the OS itself.
* For tweaking
It's difficult to tweak Windows XP. You can find a lot by seartching the net, but it's not easy accessible. There exist applications to fix this (as Microsofts TweakUI, that's not too good, if you ask me). I use X Setup. X Setup handles much more than TweakUI and it supports plugins, making it even more usable.



Productivity apps.
As I've allready said, you cannot be very productive with a bare Windows install - never could be. While the system itself is quite usable, after doing all mentioned above, it still doesn't have any productivity apps, and I think you need an Office suite, ability to burn CDs (at least) and the codecs needed to watch most movies. You also need an application to handle images. I mean, that's a minimum! There is no word processor or any office applications other than Wordpad that's actually quite usable if all you'll ever write are some letters, and you never recieve any documents from others. If you do, you'll have to install readers for the files you need to read. You can find usable readers at Microsofts site. Worpad does not support tables an a lot of other stuff you might need, like columns.

* Codecs
You will have to install the application that came with the DVD-player to get the DVD-codec. The others you can find at Doom9.net. You'll need: DivX, XviD and the AC3Filter. With those installed you should be able to see most films available.
* CD burning application
With the extensions mentioned above, you should not need a CD-burner app. But most computers nowadays also have a DVD burner. To address that problem I use DeepBurner. This one also comes as a portable app - able to run from a USB stick.
* Office suite
Well one do need one. Spread sheets, formatted text documents and last but not least, the ability to read documents sendt to you. Here I'd recomend Microsoft Office, but for two reasons: It's too damned expensive and it is starting to get so feature rich that it has become both slow and confusing (I am here talking of version 2003 and later). But as I said, you need one. I must admit I have Microsoft Office Pro 2003 installed for work purposes, but I don't like it. - I also have OpenOffice installed and use that when I can.
* Web browser
Microsoft Internet Explorer is not as safe in use as I'd like. It has a few features that makes life easier - also for the malware/spyware -writers. FireFox that I use, isn't 100% safe, nor is any other browsers, but they are a lot safer and quick to patch securiy holes and an automatic update function tells you when a patch is released.
* Image manipulation application
A lot of people, working with graphics are unable to live without this or that program, with Adobe Photoshop in a clear lead. I, myself do a bit of graphical work from time to time and I am quite content with the Windows port of the Gimp.


Now, that's it, really! You do now have a fully usable computer at the cost of nothing but the computer itself and the Windows licence!
It's a lot of work, and it takes time, but afterwards you've got a OK desktop PC.

Using it.
Using Windows XP can at times be a strange experience. Since it is target for so many viruses and such, a lot of the programs as well as Windows itself has automatic update features. That is a good thing, since they get any security holes patched. But it can be quite annoying. Each of the updates work independently. And you will often have to reboot after the update.
Now, I know it makes my computer safer, but do I really have to reboot my computer every other day - even if I'm writing an important document at the time?

Windows have a quite usable security profile, with normal users unable to break the system beyond their own files. The problem is however, that a lot of programs written for Windows are old, updated applications from way back when security wasn't much of an issue. They need write access to parts of the harddisks that a normal user cannot access. The applications do not tell the operator which files it is and as a result, it's close to impossible to run a Windows computer if you are not an administrator of the system. You are usually not even able to run Windows Update as a regular user, not to mention the other updaters!
Being an administrator at all times is only possible if you know what you are doing. Still, even inexperienced Windows users allmost allways run as Administrator.

Applications runs smoothly, but the OS itself seem to lag from time to time - or maybe it's the desktop app, explorer? I upgraded from 512MB to 1280MB RAM, thinking it was a memory problem, but no. It still happens - not that often, so a RAM update helped, but the lag's still there from time to time.

Conclusion
Windows XP can be a good operating system for the desktop, provided the user is properly trained. If not, the machine tends to get filled with keyloggers, viruses, malware and spyware. The removal of such is sometimes not trivial.

With a reasonably well trained operator, Windows XP is a safe, inexpensive (if not free like some Linuxdistros) operating system. With an untrained user, it is a trap for viruses and malware.

Other OSes
I dual boot with Linux, Ubuntu Linux. I used 45 minutes to install it, all in all. And it's safer to run than Windows - it's way easier to run as normal user, since you can use 'sudo' to do administrative tasks. viruses hardly exist for Linux, and malware/keyloggers and such won't run! They're all written for Windows.

I've written two articles about my Ubuntu experiences. There I also explain how I got MP3s and a lot of other stuff to work in Ubuntu without any hazzle. If you want to have look, you can find them here:

* Ubuntu day one.
* Ubuntu day 16.
http://nalle.no/index.php?page=blog2006-02-17-16-40-20

 

Sony spyware boss 'promoted'

p2p news / p2pnet: Following Sony BMG's SunnComm/First 4r Internet spyware DRM disaster, ex-Sony BMG ceo Andy Lack has been moved to a position where he can't do any more damage.

He's been 'promoted' [read fired]. He's now the new chairman of the BMG board with the ex-chairman, Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, taking his place as ceo.

"The swap, announced Friday and effective immediately, follows months of criticism of Lack's tenure as CEO, including investor discontent over spiraling fees paid to artists and a scandal over copy protection software in Sony CDs," says the Associated Press.

Schmidt-Holtz was BMG's chief executive from 2001 until the merger in mid-2004 and has been chairman of the merged company's board since then, says the story, adding:

"He will relocate to New York and will take up oversight of Sony BMG's theatrical film business."

There's no news as to whether or not Lack's presence at Mashboxx, Sony's oft promised by as yet unseen answer to p2p, has been, or will be, similarly curtailed.

Ex-Sony Music boss Robert Summer currently runs iMesh, with Lack hovering in the background.

Also See:
Associated Press - Sony BMG names new CEO to replace Lack, February 13, 2006

(Saturday 18th February 2006)
http://p2pnet.net/story/7960

 

The lion sleeps tonight

p2p news / p2pnet: In 1932 Solomon Linda wrote a song he called Mbube. In the 60s, it showed up in the music charts as Wimoweh and re-gained popularity when it turned up again as The Lion Sleeps Tonight in Walt Disney's The Lion King.

Mbube, as it was originally named, has earned millions in royalties but, when Linda died in 1962, he was penniless and his impoverished family received only about $38,500.

Relatives, including Solomon's three daughters and grandson who lived in Soweto, have been trying to get money out of Disney for years and now, "Lawyers acting for the family of Zulu migrant worker Solomon Linda, the song's original composer, say Abilene Music - which administered its copyright in the United States - had agreed to settle the dispute for an undisclosed sum," says Billboard.

The amount is confidential, "but it's been described as an amount which is suitable for the family's needs and includes both back payments for royalties as well as future payments," it has lawyer Herman Blignaut saying.

"The outline of Solomon Linda’s story is instantly familiar," says SA Music, "poor boy comes to the big city, creates a work of art that makes him famous, but dies in absolute poverty while his work lives on, generating money for the clever men who control the copyright. Linda was never cheated or defrauded. Nor was he singled out for exploitation because he was black under apartheid, although that was certainly a factor.

"He was simply the victim of a system where those with knowledge of copyright law and access to copyright lawyers often wind up controlling the destiny of those who don’t."

Does that look familiar?

Also See:
earned millions - African family sues Disney, July 4, 2004
Billboard - US Firm Pays S. African Heirs Of 'Lion' Composer, February 17, 2006
SA Music - Groundbreaking SA lawsuit sends a message to the world’s cultural power-brokers, February 18, 2006

(Saturday 18th February 2006)
http://p2pnet.net/story/7961

 

MPAA's plans for Canada

p2p news / p2pnet: With China nicely under control, MPAA boss Dan 'Jedi' Glickman is turning his jaundiced eye on Canada.

Or as Backstage sums it up, "Canadian broadcasters and independent producers were urged Thursday to find an equitable way to share and monetize rights for emerging digital content or risk being crushed under the heel of U.S. media giants.

"Richard Stursberg, executive vp English television at the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., told the Canadian Film and Television Production Assn. conference here that U.S. networks increasingly delivering digital content directly to the Internet, cell phones and iPods threatened to 'disintermediate' Canadian private broadcasters whose business model has traditionally depended on renting and airing popular U.S. network series to drive their ratings and advertising revenue."

Then, "On a different tack on the future of content delivery and distribution," he "urged" Canada to introduce anti-camcording laws similar to those which exist in the US. There, kids with camcorders can be jailed.

"I am, frankly, alarmed at the trend I am seeing in Canada," he told delegates.

It's not illegal in Canada, "to camcord in domestic cinemas," says Backstage. "At present, exhibitors can only request the names and addresses of camcorders they catch, and have the police evict them for trespassing."

But for Glickman, who's on warm and intimate terms with the people who keep China firmly in line with Hollywood dictates, Canada is small potatoes and already, "he's working with MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) representatives in Canada, and provincial and federal politicians, to bring in anti-camcording laws similar to what has worked in New York state, for example".

Also See:
nicely under control - No China worries for Hollywood, February 16, 2006
Backstage - Canadian Corp. Urges Rights Initiative February 17, 2006

(Saturday 18th February 2006)
http://p2pnet.net/story/7963

 

Fight Goliath fund nears $10,000





p2p news / p2pnet: We've moved this to the top because we don't want anyone to forget the Organized Music cartel, Vivendi Universal, Warner Music, EMI and Sony BMG, will stoop to anything to turn you into good little cash cows again.

And that includes terrorizing children.

Patti Santangelo is at the front end of the movement to expose the Big Four in full sight of the public eye so they can be seen for what they really are – savage, venal corporations without soul and without a shred of concern for their customers - the people who keep them fat and obscenely rich.

The Fight Goliath campaign was started to make sure Patti Santangelo and her lawyer, Jordan Glass, are able to keep up with the Big Four with their bottomless pockets and endless streams of high-priced lawyers.

It's us against them – us, with Patti in the lead.

The Fight Goliath fund is getting close to the $10,000 mark - $9,519.75 as I write this - and that's terrific, but we'll need a constant influx of $ until this is over. So please keep the donations coming.

Show Vivendi Universal, Warner Music, EMI and Sony BMG that they depend on us and not the other way around ...br>

Go here to see how much has been contributed so far.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It's been a while since our last post on the Patti Santangelo Fight Goliath campaign, but that doesn't mean nothing is happening.

Patti was ill for a time (she's fine now) and Jordan Glass, her new attorney, has been marshalling his resources and, "putting every spare moment he has into our case," says Patti.

"Think of it as a 747 on the runway, powering up," says Glass. "Patti and I started together in the middle of things and there's much to do in terms of getting up to speed."

A New York discovery hearing was held before Judge Mark D. Fox today with another slated for February 17, although that may be moved.

"The importance of the discovery procedure makes it a bit difficult to share what's going on until it's been presented presented to the judge," Patti tells p2pnet. "But I hope that after this hearing, we'll be able to give you a complete breakdown of all that has happened thus far.

"And there will be a lot more to come."

This part of the case is, "primarily procedural and investigative," explains Glass. "The part people see - the trial - is a few months away and is based upon the foundation we lay now. The discovery phase is when cases are 'built' - when they're really' won or lost. The trial is when all the preparatory work is presented. If Patti doesn't build her case now, there will be nothing meaningful to present at trial."

What exactly is discovery? Here's how it works, he says:

Discovery, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, starting primarily with Rule 26: Discovery is a procedural tool for disclosing information, created with a public policy behind it. "Trial by surprise" is frowned upon, so the theory is that by both sides having all the information likely to be presented at trial (and even some information that can not be presented at trial), the obviousness of the result - or the risk to both sides - might persuade the parties to forge a settlement. When a settlement can be made, it saves everyone involved time, money, judicial resources (tax dollars), allows the parties to have certainty in their dealings, enables them to move on with the business of their lives instead of being mired in litigation, etc.

Both sides in civil litigation MUST "show their hands" (documents and other information) to each other prior to trial, with certain exceptions: some material is deemed privileged (such as the communications between attorney and client or the lawyer's strategy of the presentation); some material is deemed irrelevant or outside the scope of the litigation, and the reasons vary from "fishing" for information relevant only to other cases to trying to uncover personal embarrassing information to paint a negative picture of one party or the other; some information is deemed unreliable (such as certain types of hearsay), and so while the material might be "discoverable," it might not be presentable at trial (not everything can be presented at trial for additional reasons not presented here).

Discovery tools include: interrogatories (demands for written answers to questions); demands for the production and inspection of documents and other items (such as computers, audio tapes, video tapes, electronic information, such as e-mails, etc. - "documents" is a very broad term that includes most physical items (from entire buildings to particle samples) as well as electronic communications); demands for admissions (used to narrow the issues to be argued at trial); depositions of the parties -- and of non-parties - to the action; the exchange of expert's reports; and more.

Putting this material together invariably costs a huge amount, which is where the bulk of the money being raised in the Fight Goloiath campaign will go --- NOT on lawyers' fees.

Meanwhile, as of tomorrow, Fight Goliath will have an official New York campaign War Room which Patti and Glass will use to carry the battle forward. He's already started contacting other defendants' attorneys about pooling informational resources in a way that's not been done so far - "at least that's what they are reporting to me," says Glass. "It should help in establishing some pressure in the other direction."

Donations have started flowing in to the new snail-mail address (see below) and so far, $125 has come in from supporters in the US and Canada, and PayPal contributions have also arrived from Europe.

The money goes straight into escrow and Patti personally approves all outgoings and expenses.

Although the Fight Goliath battle centres in the US, the Big Four record labels are also attacking their customers around the world and what happens in the Santangelo case will have powerful and lasting international repercussions.

For anyone who's new to this, the Big Four - Warner Music, Vivendi Universal, EMI and Sony BMG - are trying to blame downturns in sales created by bad business practices, out-dated sales and marketing models, inept management and other factors such as unpopular, over-priced, formulaic 'product,' competition from games, and so on, on counterfeiters and p2p file shares, collectively mis-characterized as 'pirates'.

Some 60 million Americans have shared music with each other online, but the labels' RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) has so far only managed to victimize some18,000 - including children - as it attempts to use them as a means of bludgeoning online music lovers en masse into becoming consumers, using the mainstream media as its principal PR agents in a massive PR blitz.

Through their RIAA, the labels accuse file sharers of being thieves, although nothing has been stolen and no money has changed hands. It also says its sue 'em all campaign has significantly reduced the numnber of people using the p2p networks, although the exact opposite is true and in fact, the bizarre campaign is doing far more to publicize the opportunities offered by the networks than to stop people from using them.

Not one of the 18,000 former record label customers pilloried to date has ever been before a judge or a jury, or has been found guilty of anything. A few - some 3,500 - have bought the RIAA off through extortionate out-of-court settlements but Patti, a New York mother with five children, refused to admit to doing something she didn't do and instead became the first to take the labels on in open court.

The Fight Goliath campaign was organized to cover her legal expenses.

Patti started out with a big-name New York law firm, but is now represented by Glass, who runs a one-man practice without huge corporate office expenses to worry about.

As I write this, p2pnet readers have donated a total of USD $7,986.28 and, "The ability to continue the action at all is possible only because of the joint commitment of p2pnet readers and Patti's fortitude," says Glass.

Patti? ""I have to thank all of the p2pnet readers who've contributed to the Fight Goliath Campaign," she says, also pointing out their support buoys her and gives her strength.

But more - a lot more - will be needed. Use the donate button, or the snail-mail address below it, to make a contribution. Help Patti, an ordinary mother with guts and dermination, but no financial resources, take on the greedy multi-billion-dollar Big Four record labels.

And if you're thinking, Why should I bother? - bear this in mind. When Patti wins, you win.

If you'd rather mail your donation in -----

Patti Santangelo
C/O PO Box 274
Hartsdale
New York 10530-0274

Spread the word. Blog, post, use IM, emails, ICR, whatever. Contact your local tv / radio station / newspaper. Can you get something on slashdot? Can you get the Fight Goliath campaign on Digg or anywhere else?

Below is a list of the sites now carrying donation buttons, and under that are background links.

Cheers! And all the best. And thanks .....

* http://p2pnet.net $2908.13
* http://jasonrohrer.n3.net $2428.48
* http://www.fightgoliath.org $1317.76
* http://boingboing.net $1149.48
* http://www.downhillbattle.org $377.09
* http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com $329.78
* http://www.p2pforum.it $165.41
* http://boycott-riaa.com $139.47
* http://www.p2pjihad.org/ $79.69
* http://virtualturntable.fourstones.net $72.22
* http://www.p2pnet.net $61.86
* http://www.bl0g.co.uk/ $47.75
* http://psx00.com $45.10
* http://www.azoz.com $42.79
* http://www.bizzarscripts.com $33.68
* http://www.yourmercifulgod.co.uk/ $28.89
* http://theangrywoodchuck.blogspot.com/ $24.04
* http://www.swissreporter.ch $21.49
* http://psg.com/ $19.12
* http://www.boycott-riaa.com $19.12
* http://www.tomb-of-nil.com $19.12
* http://www.xanga.com/badxmaru $19.12
* http://johngray.blogspot.com $19.12
* http://www.pod2peer.blogspot.com/ $18.92
* http://www.suprnova.org $18.92
* http://www.livejournal.com/users/obscure411 $14.45
* http://blog.andrlik.org $14.26 http://www.annabet.com $14.11
* http://www.peteyp.com $9.60
* http://http://www.myspace.com/brizmo $9.41
* http://www.quiglag.com $9.41
* http://www.xnlb.com/ $5.65
* http://www.soundnet.co.uk/ $4.50
* http://bandnet.org/ $4.13
* http://www.pdmedia.org $2.61
* http://www.timcormier.com $2.31
* http://studentsoftwarepkg.tripod.com $1.64
* http://scattermall.com $0.67


Mother of 5 takes on Big Music - p2pnet Q&A with lawyer Ray Beckerman, August 28, 2005
RIAA victim talks to p2pnet - p2pnet Q&A with Patti Santangelo, September 4, 2005
The 'We're Not Taking Any More' club - Patti isn't the only who's who's had enough, September 17, 2005
Wanted: p2p tech experts - Santangelo's lawyers aren't impressed by RIAA 'evidence,' October 24, 2005
RIAA mass lawsuits 'improper' - Beckerman believes the RIAA oversteps the mark with mass subpoenas, November 21, 2005
1st RIAA trial: victim to defend herself - First news that Santangelo is on her own, December 6, 2005
Teens next RIAA victims - Just before Christmas, the Big Four decide Patti's children might also make targets, December 23, 2005
Santangelo picks up steam - Forced to acknowledge the saga, the mainstream media finally pick it up, December 28, 2005
Tech expert hacks at RIAA evidence - Zi Mei sets out to debunk RIAA 'technical' evidence, December 29, 2005
Patti Santangelo fights Goliath: II - Patti says, 'Thanks for the support,' December 17, 2005
Patti Santangelo campaign launch! - It's the last day of 2005 and the Fight Goliath campaign officially goes up, December 31, 2005
Sceptical about Patti Santangelo? - p2pnet columnist Alex H has a few thoughts for doubters, January 8, 2006
Patti Santangelo's new lawyer - Jordan Glass enters the fray, February 6, 2006

(Saturday 18th February 2006)
http://p2pnet.net/story/7964

 

Amazon to launch music service with own proprietary players
Posted by Seán Byrne on 19 February 2006 - 01:16 - Source: internetnews.com

The online leading book store, Amazon has plans to take on the iPod and iTunes by launching their own Amazon branded portable music players and subscription based music service in the near future, likely as near as the summer. Even though iTunes accounts for 83% of the music download market, Amazon's own 55 million potential client base and brand recognition may help it create some serious competition. One thing iTunes still lacks is subscription based services, which Amazon hopes will help them succeed. They are already discussing projects with some top global music companies about their planned service.

Unlike Napster, Yahoo, Microsoft and other providers that rely on WMA-DRM compatible 3rd party players to play music purchased from their services, Amazon plans will use Apple's approach by using their own proprietary DRM technology in their players such that their players will only work with its music service and vice versa. This also means that consumers will know what can play their music and obviously what music can be put on an Amazon branded player.

Unfortunately, if Amazon's music service and players turn out very successful, they could end up killing off independent music services, since their music will not play on an Amazon's proprietary player. For the consumers, this means one more online store to take into account when purchasing a music player, since like the Apple iPod and Sony's Walkman series, none will play each other's music.

Online marketer Amazon (Quote, Chart) hopes to expand its vast portfolio of services beyond books, apparel, music CDs, videos and almost everything else under the consumer sun into the digital music business.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Amazon is discussing projects with some of the top global music companies, with the goal of offering Amazon-branded music players and a music download subscription service.

The service could be available as early as this summer, barring any unexpected difficulties in negotiations with key music distributors, including Vivendi Universal SA's Universal Music Group; Sony BMG and Bertelsmann AG; Warner Music Group; and EMI Group, according to the report.

In a way, it is nice to see the major online book store preparing to enter the digital music market as a potentially good competitor to iTunes, however their plans to launch a player that is only compatible with its service is clearly showing just how bad DRM is being abused when it comes to locking in consumers. For example, imagine if each retail music store decided to start selling their own non-standard CDs that can only be played with their own store brand’s players and vice versa, well this is exactly what DRM is doing and just one of the major problems DRM is causing to the digital music download market.

Feel free to discuss about digital music services on our Music Download, Peer to Peer (P2P) & Legal Issues.
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/13087