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Music

Submission + - The RIAA's worst nightmare or just some wannabes?

nagora writes: The BBC is reporting that next week's UK music chart may have the first sign of the end of the recording industry as we know it. From this week (7th Jan, 2006), all downloaded music sales are counted in the official UK chart, not just tracks which have had a physical media release. Now, a group of unsigned kids is poised to enter the top 40 without any old-world recording, distribution, or production deals. Koopa have their own web site, and of course their own My Space home.

But they're not acting on principle; band member Joe Murphy says "If someone comes along and gives us an offer, we'll talk to them." before continuing on to add the words the recording industry has been having nightmares about since the introduction of the mp3 format: "If we can get enough exposure and get in the top 40 by the end of the week, do we necessarily need a large label? Probably nowadays, no you don't." Is this finally the crack in the dam we've all been waiting for to wash away the entrenched monopolies of 20th century music production? Or just a sell-out waiting to happen?
XBox (Games)

Guitar Hero II For 360 Extra Tracks, Hands On 66

The upcoming release of Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360 has fans of the unique rhythm game very much excited. Ars Technica's Opposable Thumbs blog has a look at the additional songs that are to be included with the release. They also point out that downloadable tracks will be available right away at launch, with more slated for later this year. For some hands on impressions of the new version of this old favorite, Chris Kohler over at Game|Life can help us out: "I'll just stick with this version of GHII when it ships in March. It'll contain ten new songs, five of which were announced today (below) and two of which will have to be unlocked. But the real draw is the possibility of downloadable songs later. They're coming, but they haven't been announced yet. I've always said that this is the kind of microtransaction I wholeheartedly support. Well, depending on how much the tracks cost, I mean. As long as they're still microtransactions and not macrotransactions, Activision and I are good."
Portables

OLPC Available to the Public Early 2008 192

Zoxed writes "The BBC is reporting that the OLPC will be available to the public early next year on a buy-2-get-1 basis through eBay. With its cheap price, fully open spec. and full/open hardware support for Linux, expandability, 2W rating and LinuxBIOS booting it sounds like an embedded-Linux hackers favorite new toy."
Games

Slamdance Festival Loses More Entrants 62

In yet more displays of solidarity with the creator of Super Columbine Massacre RPG, additional Slamdance finalists have withdrawn. The incredibly creative Toblo, as well as the titles Once Upon a Time and Everyday Shooter have taken themselves out of consideration in protest of the Columbine game's removal from the competition. Only eight of the original 14 finalists are still in the competition, with several of those having gotten together to write a letter of protest to the contest's organizers. Danny Leddonne, creator of the Columbine title, has spoken with Ars Technica and Next Gen in recent days, and touches on both his controversial title and the hoopla that now surrounds it. Update: 01/10 20:21 GMT by Z : It doesn't end. Slamdance has now lost a sponsor over this.
Censorship

Submission + - Chinese court issues a summons on German blogger

gaellerman writes: "Chinese authorities can threaten international bloggers? You wouldn't think so? Well, here's some news. German newsmagazin Der Spiegel had a report on last october 19th about MAN, a German bus maker, sueing the Chinese company Zonda for copying their design of a luxury coach. In his autoregional blog Berlin based Ron Aron Hillmann quoted parts of the Spiegel report. As his sole personal contribution he changed Spiegel's introductory phrase "Chinese racketeers are shamelessly copying international name brand products" to "This example shows how fast and ruthless Chinese are when it comes to copying." Now Zhongwei Bus (Zonda is their daughter company) filed a lawsuit against Hillmann in Yancheng, China, served through a German court (including a German translation). Hillmann is summoned to pull back his libels and to appear at the trial in Yangcheng on july 17th. His attorney says there's no way to just ignore the case because then Hillmann would get sentenced in absentia — and ordered to pay damages etc which the Chinese authorities would collect through their German counterparts. Apparently there do exist respective international treaties, at least between China and Germany. Spiegel has a detailed story (in German) on the Hillmann case."
Security

Flaw Found in Apple Bug-Fix Tool 168

eldavojohn writes "The Month of Apple Bugs (MOAB) is well under way with a startling bug released Monday. From the description: 'Application Enhancer (APE) is affected by a local privilege escalation vulnerability which allows local users to gain root privileges.' APE is the same software used to deploy fixes during 'The Month of Apple Fixes' (MOAF). I know it's confusing but MOAB came first and MOAF was a developer's answer to the bugs — after all, the purpose of posting bugs is to have them identified, confirmed and eradicated. The article talks about potential remote root access by an intruder. Note that this is third party software that all of the bugs seem to be stemming from. I guess Apple has made a fairly secure system but they can't expect all third party developers to follow the same rigorous standards."
Patents

Submission + - Ruling Gives an Edge to Challengers of Patents

Slagged writes: A recent supreme court ruling is being reported by a number of media outlets.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/10/washington/10sco tus.html?ref=business
The Supreme Court opened the door Tuesday to a category of patent lawsuits that a lower court had barred, issuing a decision that will probably shift power in the courtroom from bigger patent-owning companies to smaller start-up companies that rely on obtaining licenses for patented technology.

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=116833693033 3
The Court, by an 8-1 vote, reinstated a lawsuit by MedImmune challenging a Genentech patent related to Synagis, a popular drug for treatment of respiratory disease in children. The opinion in MedImmune v. Genentech, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, says patent licensees no longer have to breach the license in order to have standing to challenge the patent that they dispute. Patent lawyers say the ruling could lead to a flurry of challenges to existing patents.
Media (Apple)

How Apple Kept the iPhone Secret 539

An anonymous reader writes "Bogus prototypes, bullying the press, stifling pillow talk — all to keep iPhone under wraps. Fortune's Peter Lewis goes inside one of the year's biggest tech launches. One of the most astonishing things about the new Apple iPhone, introduced yesterday by Steve Jobs at the annual Macworld trade show, is how Apple managed to keep it a secret for nearly two-and-a-half years of development while working with partners like Cingular, Yahoo and Google."
Caldera

Submission + - SCO wants to amend claims to IBM case again.

UnknowingFool writes: "SCO filed a motion to allow it to change its claims against IBM. Again. A brief recap: In December 2005, SCO was supposed to finally list all claims against IBM. This was the Final Disclosure. In May 2006, SCO filed its experts reports to the court which discussed subjects beyond those in the Final Disclosure. Naturally, IBM objected and wanted to remove certain allegations. Judge Wells ruled from the bench and granted IBM's motion: SCO's experts cannot discuss subjects which were not in the Final Disclosure. Now, SCO wants to amend the December 2005 Final Disclosure to include other allegations."
Data Storage

Submission + - Good-bye Blu-ray? Leading Porn House Picks HD DVD

An anonymous reader writes: Many attribute the demise of Betamax to the fact that VHS had more porn titles. Will the same occur with Blu-ray? One of the most highly regarded adult video producers, Digital Playground, just switched loyalties from Blu-ray to HD DVD. Now, practically the whole genre is subscribing to the format. Does this spell the end for Blu-ray?
Nintendo

Submission + - Wii sell-out success will continue

jtorry writes: "Leading high street retailer HMV remains highly optimistic about the future of Wii, despite predicted figures suggesting it could come third in the next-gen console race. The company believes the Wii's flying start at retail will continue for a long time to come, as the innovative console has captured the imagination of both hardcore and casual gamers since its launch last year.

Speaking exclusively to Pro-G, HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo said: "We feel Wii has already made a really strong impression, not just with core gamers but with the wider audience too, and we don't see why this won't continue in the future."

He was responding to predictions made by a research company which suggested that by 2010 Nintendo's global next-gen market share could dip to 20%, far behind Xbox 360 (34%) and expected leader PlayStation 3 (46%).

Castaldo added: "We don't dispute that PlayStation 3 won't be the market leader overall, but its delayed launch until March in Europe has given the Wii a great head start here and hopefully it will keep building on this momentum. There just needs to be the levels of stock to meet the huge demand for the console.

http://www.pro-g.co.uk/news/10-01-2007-4453.html"
Portables

First Look At Final OLPC Design 224

blackbearnh writes "At the Consumer Electronics Show on Monday, AMD hosted a presentation of the final Industrial Prototype (Beta 1) of the One Laptop Per Child XO Laptop. Linux Today has extensive reporting, including new photos and details about power consumption, networking, and the logistics of distributing and servicing what will be the largest rollout of any computing platform in history: 5 million units in the first year. This will represent nearly a 10% increase in the total worldwide laptop production for 2007."
Nintendo

Submission + - Nintendo to sell 100 million DS games in one year

jtorry writes: "Bloomberg reports that Nintendo has today raised its sales forecast for the Nintendo DS this financial year (ends March 31) by 15%. The platform holder now expects sales of the dual screen handheld to reach 23 million units, with software sales up 22% to 100 million units.

Wii software sales have also received a revised forecast, with a rise of four million from 17 million to the new estimate of 21 million. Nintendo's six million target for Wii console sales remains unchanged.

"Nintendo is going like gangbusters, and the Wii consoles are selling like hotcakes...They have momentum, and I think you can expect them to surpass earnings estimates for the next year or two," said Edwin Merner, president of Atlantis Investment Research Corp. in Tokyo. "They are bringing a lot of software into the market and that is where they are going to make the money, not on the consoles."

According to recently published figures, The Nintendo DS was the most popular gaming device in Japan in 2006, selling an impressive 7.53 million units. Sony's rival, the PSP, managed only 1.95 million sales. Software sales in Japan were also dominated by the Nintendo DS, with eight of the ten best selling games in 2006 belonging to Nintendo's handheld.

http://www.pro-g.co.uk/news/10-01-2007-4452.html"
Technology (Apple)

Submission + - Apple's "iTV" launched as Apple TV

deadmantyping writes: At the MacWorld expo Apple revealed its set-top box, the Apple TV. It had been rumored that the Apple TV would not be making an appearance at this MacWorld expo due to operating system quality concerns. From the article: "At its core, the Apple TV is a self-contained hardware solution for Apple's Front Row software that comes with all of the company's 2006-released Macs. The system is very intuitive and easy to use and the actual interface is gorgeous to look at as well, especially on a high-definition display."

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