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Music

Submission + - Independent music, Apple, and the RIAA (theflashbulb.net)

Submitted by
regular_gonzalez
regular_gonzalez writes: "Indie electronic artist Benn Jordan's unique take on piracy, iTunes, and the RIAA as someone both in the industry but an outsider to the RIAA.

How can they sue you for $750 for downloading a digital song that's sold to retailers for less than $0.70? I have yet to hear the answer to that question. So naturally, I think to myself: "Hey! I own a record label! How can I get involved in this profit party?". Oh, RIAA is a private club. Small businesses don't seem to be allowed. So does this mean that if I sign with a major label I'll get my fair share of these lawsuits battling the theft of my material? Nope. Artists are only compensated for post-recoup sales. 0% of this lawsuit money is trickled down to the artist. So basically, if you're not one of these companies, you can't win.
He goes on to explain why iTunes isn't the answer and about possible solutions for indie artists and labels."

Feed Gateway's 14-inch 295 series tablet PC spied (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

Note to Gateway: don't pass along secretive information about unannounced tablets (even to students) unless you don't mind it getting out. That being said, it seems like a new 295 series of tablet PCs could be hitting the education market (and beyond) real soon, as the device was candidly spotted in numerous education order forms. Dubbed the E-295M by the University of South Dakota, the convertible apparently comes stocked with a 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a 60GB 5400RPM hard drive, modular DVD burner, seven-in-one multicard reader, a PC Card slot, FireWire, a trio of USB 2.0 connectors, and Intel's GMA x3100 integrated graphics. You'll be staring at a 14-inch WXGA display and fiddling with the included stylus while ignoring lecturers, and the gigabit Ethernet and 802.11b/g WiFi should keep you well connected to the things that matter most. Of course, pricing details for the general public are likely to change, but those headed to USD can place their order for $1,699.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Music

Submission + - Hudge foils RIAA bid to get student names

Submitted by
newtley
newtley writes: "The RIAA was demanding the identities of University of New Mexico students, but Magistrate Judge Lorenzo F. Garcia refused to cooperate, denying the RIAA's ex parte motion, reports Recording Industry vs The People. "I'm very gratified to see that there are judges out there who can see through the RIAA smokescreen, and who will apply the American principles of justice to deny the RIAA's fascistic interpretation of the law," says the site's Ray Beckerman, one of the first lawyers to start seriously defending RIAA victims. "Judge Garcia also notes that there is 'no reasonable way' to ensure that prospective defendants are made aware of the lawsuits and requests for disclosure — which is exactly how the RIAA wants it," says Ars Technica. "He wants to ensure that the John Does are notified and 'are given a reasonable opportunity to intervene in order to stop the disclosure of sensitive information'.""
The Courts

Submission + - Judge puts brakes on RIAA John Doe lawsuit (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Moondoggie
Moondoggie writes: A federal judge in New Mexico has denied the RIAA's ex parte application for discovery in a John Doe lawsuit targeting 16 University of New Mexico students. The judge noted that 'there is "no reasonable way" to ensure that prospective defendants are made aware of the lawsuits and requests for disclosure — which is exactly how the RIAA wants it. He wants to ensure that the John Does are notified and "are given a reasonable opportunity to intervene in order to stop the disclosure of sensitive information." Accordingly, the judge has ordered the record labels and the University of New Mexico to work out an "appropriate process" to ensure that individual Does will be informed that a subpoena has been issued. More importantly, those targeted will be able to respond to such requests to protect their own interests.' Similar rulings in other cases could make the discovery process much more expensive and tedious for the RIAA.
Patents

Submission + - Five Things Every Software Developer Should Know (saperlaw.com)

Submitted by BBrown
BBrown writes: Saper Law Offices, the same Chicago law firm that has been mentioned here twice before for their successes against the RIAA, has posted a blog article on the legal issues surrounding software development. The article, titled "Five Things Every Software Developer Should Know", gives a concise but informative legal tutorial on patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. Definitely a must-read for anybody involved in a small or personal business doing software development.
Privacy

Submission + - How to Stop Pirates: Ask Nicely

Submitted by BillGatesLoveChild
BillGatesLoveChild writes: When Trey Harrison found his music lighting software 'Salvation' had been pirated, he was taken aback. Being an Independent Software Developer, there wasn't much he could do. So he contacted the Warez Group and asked them nicely. They wrote back and said sorry, that they at least hoped more people got to see it and that in accordance with his wishes, they wouldn't release it again.

But what of the Anti-Piracy tool "Armadillo Software Passport" that was supposed to have protected Trey's Software? Unlike the Pirates who responded straight away, Trey says he never heard a peep back from Armadillo. Seems the Pirates have better "customer support" than the Anti-piracy agents!

Of course, "Ask Nicely" may not work for the RIAA who as Orson Scott Card's famous essay pointed out have perhaps irreversible ill-will due to their history of ripping off artists and consumers and buying off Congressmen. But for smaller companies and independents, perhaps it's worth a try? There's even hope for the industry heavies. Mark Ishikawa of Anti-P2P Company BayTSP says 85% of people he sends a gentle warning on behalf of the MPAA "do not come back, with no headlines and no public relations blowups."

Could a softly-softly approach work better for IP owners that heavy-handed threats and lawyers?
Music

IFPI Threatens UK Academic For Linking To Article 182

Posted by kdawson from the we're-gonna-tell-on-you dept.
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "Apparently the RIAA is getting sensitive about counterclaims. When a British blog author linked to a recent article about a defendant's counterclaims for extortion and conspiracy by the RIAA in a Florida case, UMG v. Del Cid, a record company executive who sits on the board of the RIAA's UK counterpart, the IFPI, threatened the author if he did not take his link down."
Privacy

Judge Orders TorrentSpy to Turn Over RAM 726

Posted by Zonk from the i-do-not-think-that-word-means-what-you-think-it-means dept.
virgil_disgr4ce writes "In an impressive example of the gap of understanding between legal officials and technology, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian 'found that a computer server's RAM, or random-access memory, is a tangible document that can be stored and must be turned over in a lawsuit.' ZDNet, among others, reports on the ruling and its potential for invasion of privacy."
The Courts

Submission + - No anonymity for Colorado P2P defendants (internetcases.com)

Submitted by
Pablo Saga
Pablo Saga writes: "From Internet Cases: Finding that the RIAA and other record companies might not get access to precious data including the names, addresses and MAC address of unknown defendants in a new file sharing case, a federal court in Colorado has allowed the service of a special subpoena on Qwest so that the defendants can be tracked down. Colorado file sharers beware!"

Feed Irish High Court Orders ISPs To Turn Over Names Of File Sharing Account Holders (techdirt.com)

From feed by techdirtfeed
eoinmonty writes in to let us know that the Irish High Court has ruled that ISPs in Ireland need to hand over the information on 23 people that IRMA, the Irish equivalent of the RIAA, is accusing of copyright infringement via unauthorized file sharing. This isn't all that surprising, given similar rulings in other countries, but as some people are already noting, the same questions should still be raised. Just because IRMA has IP addresses is hardly evidence that infringement definitely took place, and even if infringement did take place, an IP address simply identifies the account holder, not who might have been using that connection at the time the alleged infringement took place. Somehow, though, we doubt that this will stop the recording industry from moving ahead with lawsuits.
Music

Submission + - Internet Radio royalties absurdly high (idobi.com)

Submitted by idobi
idobi writes: If there's any doubt that the RIAA's royalty for internet radio is insanely high, applying the rates to a single terrestrial station shows that it would collect $1.4 billion from that station alone. If soundexchange were able to collect royalties from a single internet radio station the size of KROQ in Los Angeles, it would be equivalent to 12% of the $11.51 billion in US music sales in 2006.
User Journal

Journal Journal: I'll Not Weep for Any ISP

Journal by aarmenaa

With the news that Time Warner is now packet shaping it's network, I figured this might be a timely time to examine some of the motivations behind such a move. Obviously, they're looking to throttle P2P usage to something the network can handle. They're not the first, and they won't be the last ISP to try to put bit torrent under with a stupid piece of hardware that delays sending packets. I still think that packet shapers in general are about the stupidest damn idea I've ever heard of. I
Software

Submission + - Encrypted & Private File-Sharing Thrives in Eu (gigatribe.com)

Submitted by
johnarama
johnarama writes: "We've seen lots written about file-sharing apps such as Kazaa and eMule, and even more about the sue-happy RIAA lawyers trying to make up for declining CD sales by collecting fines from unsuspecting downloaders. What we haven't read much about, however, is the new trend of encrypted file-sharing, which keeps all file-transfers out of the radar and lets downloaders exchange with each other without having to look over their shoulder! One such product, GigaTribe ( http://www.gigatribe.com/ ), quietly introduced in the US last December, and already adopted by over 400,000 registered users, lets users exchange files with each other within small, private communities of friends. The advantage of this sort of file sharing is that users know each other and are less likely to download infected or mislabeled files. The disadvantage of course, is the smaller selection of files to choose from. Such private and encrypted file sharing has grown quite common in Europe, and may be the next big thing in the US unless players like Kazaa and eMule can figure out a way to hide those generous users who are inviting the world to copy their music collections."
Enlightenment

Submission + - RIAA After Innocent Woman's 10yr old

Submitted by
cyberscan
cyberscan writes: "http://p2pnet.net/story/11878 The hate that has been generated against the Recording Industry of America by the Recording Industry of America seems to be well-earned. As part of its attack on Tanya Andersen, 43, a disabled mother living off medical benefits, it is trying to depose her 10 years old daughter, who was by the way, 7 at the time of the alleged infringement. I guess that since her mother has the audacity to deny the charges, the RIAA decides to go after her kid. The readers' comments says it all."

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