Ah, days of yore. Going back to Wolfenstein 3D it's not the lack of strafing that startles me... but the inability to look up or down. It's quite unsettling going back there after today's First Person freedom. Edit: Now that I think about it, there was no *jump* either. Spacebar was the "use" key. How sad that a developer didn't get to record a grunting noise as players bunny hopped their way through the Third Reich.

The problem is not that the ISP's would fail to tell us, but rather if they decide to deny a service, users rarely have an alternative. Most markets only have one broadband provider in the home to chose from.

I strongly disagree. Again, this was entirely passive, and you could do this too, within the law. The researchers took a domain name and analyzed the information they received. As previous posters pointed out, they did not manipulate the servers in any way, which gets them into hot water under the Federal Wire and Cybercrime laws.

The closest penalty or issue I can conceive is a minor privacy issue, as we've seen before the dangers of sending sensitive email to the wrong recipient. However given the nature of the info, I doubt there's much of a claim. Courts don't grant criminal activity major privacy protection.

The DOJ has a website dedicated to computer/internet laws, which may give you a clearer picture on what's actually a crime and what's not: http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/cclaws.html . I think a much richer issue here is whether a "bot" can be considered stolen, and if the original owner loses any legal rights over it as a result.

I think any developer would have some trouble with that statement. Should iTunes log your purchase history regardless of password? Certainly. Should you be able to obtain things you don't have the access codes to? You can't do it for any other site I can think of.

If you get the password situation straightened out (reset, etc) I reckon you won't have as much trouble re-obtaining the songs.

The beauty of the Internet is that you can be anyone. You shouldn't be annoyed when you have to prove you're you!

I wish there was a way to mod you even higher.

It's easy to condemn a lawyer for the clients he or she represents. I recall not long ago when Deval Patrick ran for Governor of Massachusetts, his opponents advertised how Patrick (as a defense attorney) represented several murderers. The ABA responded by noting John Adams provided representation for the British Soldiers involved in the "Boston Massacre" when no one else would. Our legal system is far from perfect... but one of its ideals is that all parties should receive representation so that the law is the ultimate arbiter.

This is not to say the RIAA is an underprivileged party, but I imagine when a big, powerful client came to Mr. Perrelli's firm, the partners assigned their best lawyers to the case. That speaks well of the candidate.

It's easy to judge a lawyer by the clients they represent, but one gets a far more accurate picture of an attorney by their zealous advocacy and the causes which they devote themselves to pro bono. I'd like to hear more about that, if anyone has more information.