Hentes - Slashdot User

Submission + - Romanian witches used Google to tell fortune (austriantimes.at)

Submitted by Hentes on Saturday May 05, 2012 @05:58PM

Hentes writes: The internet has made many things easier, but unfortunately this also includes crime: it seems that nowadays not even people wanting to know their future are safe from fraud. Two gipsy fortune tellers are being investigated, after the Romanian police uncovered that they have utilised some extraordinary help in their clairvoyant acts. The pair used information collected from internet search and social networks to gain the trust of their costumers, claiming that they could see their personal data through their crystal ball. In some cases, they also used high-tech surveillance techniques such as hidden cameras and phone tapping. But they didn't stop at merely spying on their victims: their most bizarre case involved a scuba diver dressed as a "Loch Ness monster".
The duo are suspected of fraud, illegal wiretapping, and also bribery of the prosecutor

Submission + - After strict laws reduce piracy, French music industry is still in decline (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Hentes on Monday April 02, 2012 @04:29PM

Hentes writes: France has one of the strictest anti-piracy law. After 17 months of operation, Hadopi released a report, claiming that illegal P2P downloads have been reduced significantly in the country: the studies they cite measured 43% and 66% decrease in copyright infringement. But that huge amount of "lost revenue" doesn't seem to show up in the French recording industry, as the overall recorded music market has decreased by 3.9% in 2011. Even more interesting is that digital music sales have skyrocketed in France. Could it be that it's not piracy killing the traditional recording industry but digital distribution?

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