Comment: Re:I'm amazed (Score 5, Funny) 245
Of course, he made it available by singing loudly while looking for change/food, thereby causing it to be classified as a public performance for profit...
Britain's RIAA wants to charge for loud music
Submitted
by
JaffaKREE
JaffaKREE writes ""Here you were, thinking the execs in the music industry couldn't get any more offensively idiotic, when some Brits come along and set a new standard for hubris. Yes, the UK-based Performing Rights Society — the Brit equivalent of ASCAP or BMI — wants to make listening to music loud enough for anyone else to hear an offense punishable by hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines."
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/oh-come-on/british-performing-rights-society-wants-to-outlaw-making-hearable-308873.php"
Comcast Blocking Torrent Uploads->
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Cryophallion
Cryophallion writes "Comcast has begun the process of starting the tiered internet. They are now blocking all bittorrent uploads (whether they are legal or not). There is a petition in the article, and we can only hope someone at corporate headquarters is actually listening. Now that oen company has done it, are others going to be next?"
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
Sony posts worst quarterly loss in four years
Submitted
by
hughperkins
hughperkins writes "IHT reports Sony posts worst quarterly loss in four years.
"The company reported a loss of ¥67.6 billion, or $562 million, in the three months that ended on March 31 as a weak performance for the PlayStation 3 offset a turnaround in other divisions like consumer electronics and movies.
"Sony is in the second year of a turnaround effort led by its first foreign chief executive, Howard Stringer, a Welsh-born American, who has closed factories, cut jobs and canceled unprofitable products like Aibo, the robot dog.
"The new game console showcases some of Sony's newest and most expensive technologies, including its high-speed Cell microprocessor and Blu-ray next-generation DVD. Stringer has been counting on PlayStation 3 to become a global hit to help restore the company's reputation as an innovator and keep ahead of cheaper Chinese rivals. "But since its introduction in November in the United States and Japan, PlayStation 3 has quickly fallen behind its two rivals, the Wii, by Nintendo, and the Xbox 360, by Microsoft. According to NPD Group, a market research company based in New York, Sony sold 501,000 PlayStation 3 consoles in the United States from January to March, compared with 1.03 million for the Wii and 721,000 for the Xbox 360. "This performance is a big setback for Sony, whose previous game console, the PlayStation 2, held a 70 percent of the global market. PlayStation 3 has suffered from repeated production delays and is more expensive than Wii or Xbox 360. Last month, Ken Kutaragi, the father of the PlayStation series and once a rising star at Sony, announced that he would step down in June as chief executive of the game division.""
"The company reported a loss of ¥67.6 billion, or $562 million, in the three months that ended on March 31 as a weak performance for the PlayStation 3 offset a turnaround in other divisions like consumer electronics and movies.
"Sony is in the second year of a turnaround effort led by its first foreign chief executive, Howard Stringer, a Welsh-born American, who has closed factories, cut jobs and canceled unprofitable products like Aibo, the robot dog.
"The new game console showcases some of Sony's newest and most expensive technologies, including its high-speed Cell microprocessor and Blu-ray next-generation DVD. Stringer has been counting on PlayStation 3 to become a global hit to help restore the company's reputation as an innovator and keep ahead of cheaper Chinese rivals. "But since its introduction in November in the United States and Japan, PlayStation 3 has quickly fallen behind its two rivals, the Wii, by Nintendo, and the Xbox 360, by Microsoft. According to NPD Group, a market research company based in New York, Sony sold 501,000 PlayStation 3 consoles in the United States from January to March, compared with 1.03 million for the Wii and 721,000 for the Xbox 360. "This performance is a big setback for Sony, whose previous game console, the PlayStation 2, held a 70 percent of the global market. PlayStation 3 has suffered from repeated production delays and is more expensive than Wii or Xbox 360. Last month, Ken Kutaragi, the father of the PlayStation series and once a rising star at Sony, announced that he would step down in June as chief executive of the game division.""
Comcast Corks the Port
Submitted
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JPawlak
JPawlak writes ""Keith" from Comcast just informed me that Comcast is unable to reopen port 25 once they block it. When asked why it was impossible to reopen the port, he said that Comcast had received many complaints about spam and is gradually blocking port 25 for everyone on the Comcast network. All users are required to go through port 587 for the Comcast mail servers, but are left connectionless for mail servers that still use port 25. Although there are no public documents stating this company policy, he kindly told me that it is in an internal document.
Do you think Comcast should be able to block ports that they deem necessary and not unblock it for those that need it, or provide a reduced bill for the reduced functionality?"
Do you think Comcast should be able to block ports that they deem necessary and not unblock it for those that need it, or provide a reduced bill for the reduced functionality?"
KISS singer: "Illegal downloading is robbing&#
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psymastr
psymastr writes "KISS founder, guitarist and singer Paul Stanley gave an interview to Australia's Herald Sun in which he calls illegal music downloading a "tragedy."
"Downloading is one of the tragedies of the 21st century [...] Under the guise of technology and fancy jargon, people have legalised stealing. [...] you can't share what you don't own. [...] Sharing something with one person is one thing, sharing with tens of thousands of people is a crime. It's robbery."
"I don't owe anyone any justification for wanting to get paid. For anybody else to decide when I have enough money is bollocks.""
"Downloading is one of the tragedies of the 21st century [...] Under the guise of technology and fancy jargon, people have legalised stealing. [...] you can't share what you don't own. [...] Sharing something with one person is one thing, sharing with tens of thousands of people is a crime. It's robbery."
"I don't owe anyone any justification for wanting to get paid. For anybody else to decide when I have enough money is bollocks.""
Beware of Photo Printing at Walmart Canada
Submitted
by
dpolak
dpolak writes "I recently discovered that if you use Walmart's Canadian digital photo services you release all rights to your photos. Under their terms of service:
You grant to Wal*Mart Canada Corp. a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, unrestricted, world-wide right and license to access, use, copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, display, perform, communicate to the public, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, and otherwise use such Materials (in whole or in part) in connection with the Site and/or the Products, using any form, media or technology now known or later developed, without providing compensation to you or any other person, without any liability to you or any other person, and free from any obligation of confidence or other duties on the part of Wal*Mart, its affiliates and their respective licensees; Uploaders beware!"
You grant to Wal*Mart Canada Corp. a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, unrestricted, world-wide right and license to access, use, copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, display, perform, communicate to the public, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, and otherwise use such Materials (in whole or in part) in connection with the Site and/or the Products, using any form, media or technology now known or later developed, without providing compensation to you or any other person, without any liability to you or any other person, and free from any obligation of confidence or other duties on the part of Wal*Mart, its affiliates and their respective licensees; Uploaders beware!"
RIAA Balks at Complying with Order for Documents
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NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "When the RIAA was ordered to turn over its attorneys billing records to the defendant's lawyer in Capitol v. Foster, there was a lot of speculation that they would never comply with the order. As it turns out they have indeed balked at compliance with the order, saying that they are preparing a motion for protective order seeking confidentiality (something they could have asked for, but didn't ask for, in their opposition papers to the initial motion). Not having any of that, Ms. Foster's lawyer has now made a motion to compel their compliance with the Court's March 15th order."
Jack Thompson Responds to Take Two Suit 131
Posted
by
Zonk
from the nothing-good-can-come-from-this dept.
from the nothing-good-can-come-from-this dept.
interactive_civilian writes "Jack Thompson has personally replied to ArsTechnica regarding their coverage of the lawsuit from TakeTwo. Really, it's best for Jack to speak for himself: 'I have been praying, literally, that Take-Two and its lawyers would do something so stupid, so arrogant, so dumb, even dumber than what they have to date done, that such a misstep would enable me to destroy Take-Two. With the filing of this SLAPP lawsuit last week, my prayers are finally answered. This lawsuit, filed in US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, is, without a doubt, the single dumbest thing I have ever seen any lawyers do in my thirty years of practicing law--while in continuous good standing to do so with The Florida Bar, I might add, the shock radio and video game industry's efforts notwithstanding.'"
Jack Thompson responds to Take Two
Submitted
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njkid1
njkid1 writes "In a follow-up to the blog we posted on Friday regarding Take Two's lawsuit against Jack Thompson, it appears that the Florida lawyer has struck back with a response all his own. In the blog, you'll find his full response, as well as my personal take on what he's saying...that is, if we can figure it out.Here's the response, unedited for your reading pleasure...
http://www.gamedailyxl.com/2007/03/18/jack-thompso n-responds-to-take-two-hoo-boy?&ncid=AOLGAM0005000 00000019"