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Social Networks

Submission + - Where does a geek find a social life? 10

Submitted by
JustShootMe
JustShootMe writes: "So I have a question for my fellow slashdotters, and yes, I realize I am throwing myself into the lion's den covered with tasty meat flavored sauce. I have never been a very social person, preferring to throw myself into technology, therefore I've been spectacularly unsuccessful in developing any meaningful interpersonal relationships. Lately I have begun to feel that this situation is not tenable, and I would like to fix it. But I really don't know how and haven't the faintest idea where to start. I know that I am in the minority and there are many different kinds of slashdot readers, most of whom have vastly more experience in this realm than I do. So, fellow slashdotters, please tell me. How, and more importantly, where, do you meet fellow geeks, preferably including some of the opposite gender, in meatspace?"

Comment Re:Can they do anything else (Score 2, Interesting) 793

by MadHakish (#28383003) Attached to: In Round 2, Jammie Thomas Jury Awards RIAA $1,920,000
It's civil court, by definition there is no jail as jail is a punishment for criminal acts in criminal courts. As previously stated they could slap her with contempt, but it's unclear whether they could hold her in contempt for reviolating.. Aren't they simply subject to being sued again in civil court??

Comment Can they do anything else (Score 2, Interesting) 793

by MadHakish (#28382077) Attached to: In Round 2, Jammie Thomas Jury Awards RIAA $1,920,000
Now that they've virtually guaranteed her bankruptcy, how else could they possibly punish her? Couldn't she just go on a sharing spree and drum up attention about it? Seems that once you ruin a person, they have no more motivation to do what you want as you've already leveled the most extreme punishment.
The Courts

In Round 2, Jammie Thomas Jury Awards RIAA $1,920,000 793

Posted by timothy from the there-go-some-hearts-and-minds dept.
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "Well the price went up from $9250 per song file to $80,000 per song file, as the jury awarded the RIAA statutory damages of $1,920,000.00 for infringement of 24 MP3s, in Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset. In this trial, although the defendant had an expert witness of her own, she never called him to testify, and her attorneys never challenged the technical evidence offered by the RIAA's MediaSentry and Doug Jacobson. Also, neither the special verdict form nor the jury instructions spelled out what the elements of a 'distribution' are, or what needed to be established by the plaintiffs in order to recover statutory — as opposed to actual — damages. No doubt there will now have to be a third trial, and no doubt the unreasonableness of the verdict will lend support to those arguing that the RIAA's statutory damages theory is unconstitutional." Update: 06/19 01:39 GMT by T : Lots more detail at Ars Technica, too.

Comment What more could they do now? (Score 1) 1

by MadHakish (#28381709) Attached to: Jammie Thomas hit with $1.92 million verdict
They've already financially ruined her life, what's to stop her from going out and continuing to download/share and advertise that fact as a big fuck you to the RIAA? NewYorkCountryLawyer, What say you about civil court damages for repeat offenders? - she can't go to jail right? What else could they possibly do if she went ballistic w/ sharing? They'll obviously never get their money.
The Internet

Submission + - Minn Jury Awards $1.92 Mil to RIAA in Jammie Case (msn.com) 1

Submitted by suraj.sun
suraj.sun writes: MINNEAPOLIS — A federal jury in Minneapolis has ruled a Minnesota woman violated several music copyrights in the nation's only file-sharing case to go to trial.

The jury found that Jammie Thomas-Rasset "committed willful violation" of the copyrights on 24 songs. The jury awarded the recording companies $1.92 million, or $80,000 per song.

It was a retrial for Thomas-Rasset, who was also found in 2007 to have illegally shared music files. The new trial was ordered after the judge in the case decided he had erred in jury instructions.
Story continues below advertisement | your ad here

The second outcome was worse for Thomas-Rasset. In the first trial, the jury awarded recording companies just $222,000.

An attorney for the recording industry, Tim Reynolds, said the "greater weight of the evidence" showed that Jammie Thomas-Rasset was responsible for the illegal file-sharing that took place on her computer. He asked the jury to hold her accountable to deter others from a practice he said has significantly harmed the people who bring music to everyone.

Defense attorney Joe Sibley said the music companies failed to prove allegations that Thomas-Rasset gave away songs by Gloria Estefan, Sheryl Crow, Green Day, Journey and others.

MSNBC : http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31432024/ns/business-local_business/
Music

Submission + - Jammie Thomas hit with $1.92 million verdict (arstechnica.com) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: After less than five hours of deliberations, a federal jury has found Jammie Thomas liable for copyright infringement and awarded the record labels $1.92 million in damages. She was determined to have infringed the record labels' copyrights willfully, which led to the award of $80,000 per song; otherwise it would have been capped at $30,000 per song.
Announcements

Submission + - Yugma "winding down" operations 1

Submitted by
MadHakish
MadHakish writes: "According to this PRWeb announcement, Yugma Inc. the multi-platform Java based web conferencing service, is shutting it's doors according to it's CEO Lingaraj Mishra. FTA "Mishra writes: "On May 26, 2009, the remaining members of the Board of Directors convened and determined that it is advisable to wind down the business affairs of the company." After outlining the reasons for the decision, he concludes, "Consequently, at this time, and with a heavy heart, I regret to inform you that we will be winding down (...)."" A quick look at http://www.webconferencing-test.com/en/webconference_home.html indeed no longer shows Yugma listed in their rankings. R.I.P. Yugma"
Microsoft

Submission + - Skype Blames Microsoft Windows Update for Network (gizmodo.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: After recovering from a major crash this weekend Skype is now pointing fingers, saying that "the disruption was triggered by a massive restart of our users' computers across the globe within a very short timeframe as they re-booted after receiving a routine set of patches through Windows Update." Their official statement sounds like the BBC announcing the Nazi invasion of Poland.

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