RIAA: warning labels not necessary because most kids steal music.

In a New York Times article on proposed more descriptive "parental advisory" warnings, Hilary Rosen (CEO of the RIAA) stated that a new warning system was unnecessary because a large number of adolescents and teenagers no longer bought their music in stores. The article says that kids simply go to the Internet and download it, and that Hillary said most parents do not know how to access these sites. "There is no labeling on the Internet," Ms. Rosen said. "If anyone is going to express concern that's what it should be about."

So, if parents learn to use the internet, then they'll start labelling music better? Or, is she saying that you should trust 'music pirates' with your kids upbringing instead of the music publishers? Clever tactic - making music labelling a piracy issue.

The Washington Post is reporting that a new HIV-positive character will be introduced on Takalani Sesame, the South African version of Sesame Street. How HIV was contracted is still under discussion, but it likely involved either a cross-species blood transfusion, or transmission through childbirth (meaning that the new character is a Muppet-human hybrid). The show will have no discussion of unsafe Human/Muppet sexual practices or intravenous drug use, the two foremost means of transmission.

Commsdesign is reporting that Sirius Satellite Radio is petitioning the FCC for stricter emission requirements, which could cause serious problems with license-exempt services in the 2.45GHz band such as 802.11b and Bluetooth. Even though Sirius knew what the acceptable levels of pollution were in its band (2.320-2.345 GHz), they now want these lowered. Motorola's response indicates that vehicle ignition systems may be the biggest contributor of noise. Intersil (a maker of 802.11b chipsets) had an even more scathing response, blasting Sirius for a poor design (link margin only 6.7dB) and even claims that the new restrictions would be below the thermal noise floor. See also this netsumbler post and this 802.11b weblog.

EETimes is reporting that the licensing of MPEG-4 patents will be substantially different than the existing MPEG-2 licenses. The per-player fee will be substantially cheaper ($0.25 instead of $2.50), but a new "use fee" component of $0.02/hour will be charged to service providers. More on MPEG-4 in general at MacWeek; The MPEG-4 Industry Forum and MPEG LA are handling the licenses.

Submitted story:

A new Boeing 767-300ER was refitted to become China's presidental aircraft. What goes into a plane like this? Besides the bedroom, sitting room, bath with a shower, there a 48-inch television set, satellite communications, anti-missile defense systems and advanced avionics. And oh yeah, numerous high-tech listening devices. Wonder how those got in. The article at washingtonpost.com