1154461
submission
langelgjm writes:
The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. Justice Department has hired Sanford Litvack, an outside litigator, to possibly bring an antitrust lawsuit against Google, perhaps for its proposed deal with Yahoo, or for its dominant presence in the online search arena. Other advertisers have been complaining about Google's hegemony, and are arguing that the Yahoo deal could lead to higher prices and more limited opportunities for advertisers.
This move by the Justice Department is unusual; in the past, outside litigators were brought in for the Microsoft antitrust case, and to block WorldCom's buyout of Sprint.
1152231
submission
langelgjm writes:
The New York Times reports that RealNetworks will begin selling RealDVD today, a software program designed to make copying DVDs a trivial task for the average user. Unlike free alternatives, which generally require some technical knowledge and make it difficult to copy an entire DVD with extras, etc., RealDVD claims to be able to copy the entire DVD, menus and all.
While sure to raise the ire of Hollywood, the program does have significant limitations: the DVDs it makes will only be playable on the computer where they were created; or, users can pay $20 per computer to play the DVDs on up to five additional computers.
785397
submission
langelgjm writes:
Ever find yourself scrambling for the TV remote to mute those insanely loud commercials? I know I do. Sometimes it seems like they're twice the volume of the actual program. Now, however, the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act, introduced in both the House and Senate last month, aims to make those noisy commercials a thing of the past. The bill seeks to "require the Federal Communications Commission to prescribe a standard to preclude commercials from being broadcast at louder volumes than the program material they accompany," and goes on to give details. Check it out, and if you like it, call and ask your Senator or Representative to cosponsor it today.
551866
submission
langelgjm writes:
Following the lead of the major music labels, the two largest publishers in the US, Random House and Penguin Group, have announced that they will no longer include DRM on their audio books, opting instead for the unprotected MP3 format. In addition to concerns that DRM allows distributors of audio books such as Apple too much control, Madeline McIntosh, senior VP at Random House Audio Group, had this to say: "Our feeling is that D.R.M. is not actually doing anything to prevent piracy."
528372
submission
langelgjm writes:
In a move sure to raise the hackles of privacy advocates everywhere, the New York Times reports that three UK ISPs have entered into talks with an advertising firm, Phorm, to deliver targeted advertising to their customers. According to the article, "The three Internet providers have agreed to give Phorm access to customers' browsing records, letting it track a Web user's every move." But according to Phorm's website, "Our technology doesn't store any personally identifiable information or IP addresses and we don't retain information on user browsing behaviour. So we never know — and can't record — who's browsing, or where they've browsed." Together, the three ISPs involved constitute a massive portion of the UK's ISP market. Will customers be willing to trust their browsing records to Phorm, even if they are anonymized as is claimed?
472706
submission
langelgjm writes:
The New York Times reports that Sun Microsystems will purchase MySQL for $800 million, plus an additional $200 million in options. Sun sees the deal as an investment in the "software as a service" future of the industry. From the article: "The old proprietary model of running closed software models is coming to a close. Customers have opted for free software to give them choice and avoid lock-in."
343361
submission
langelgjm writes:
When people talk about the failing business model of the traditional record company, they often only offer vague suggestions as to how things would work otherwise. But a concrete example of a music scene that thrives on piracy is to be found in Brazil, in the form of tecnobrega. From the article: 'While piracy is the bane of many musicians trying to control the sale of their songs, tecnobrega artists see counterfeiters as key to their success. "Piracy is the way to get established and get your name out. There's no way to stop it, so we're using it to our advantage," explains Gabi Amarantos... Ronaldo Lemos, a law professor at Brazil's respected Getulio Vargas Foundation, an elite Rio de Janeiro think tank and research center, says tecnobrega and other movements like it represent a new business model for the digital era, where music is transformed from a good to a service.'
325181
submission
langelgjm writes:
As I was doing some Googling today, I noticed a message at the bottom of the search results page that I had never seen before: "In response to a complaint we received under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we have removed 1 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may read the DMCA complaint that caused the removal(s) at ChillingEffects.org." Interestingly, my search query matched none of queries specified in the DMCA complaint — in fact, I wasn't even looking for software. How long has Google been trimming its search results like this? Are they also trimming results for non-US searchers, to whom the DMCA doesn't apply?