“So you just downloaded an MP3 version of the latest Jennifer Lopez single from Gnutella or one of the other free file-sharing networks. You’re not feeling too guilty, and in any case, no one will ever know, right? Don’t count on it. Lopez’s recording label, Epic Records, is owned by Sony Music Entertainment, and Sony [...]

“Chances are, you’re a software scofflaw. The Business Software Alliance, a trade group that represents the major software makers, says that more than half of all Web users have downloaded software they have not paid for. In a study of 1,026 Web users released Wednesday, the group found that 57 percent of respondents never or [...]

“Things seemed to be going well for SACD at the 112th AES Convention, held May 10-13 in Munich. The official news, announced at a Sony-Philips press conference, was that one million consumer SACD players have been sold so far. One large Dutch audio retailer even reported to me that they now sold more SACD players [...]

“Mega Hurts: Clear Channel’s Big Radio Ways Are Getting a Lot of Static These Days” “…Radio used to be a simpler business. Back when, small companies — mom and pops, almost literally — dominated the field. There were a few big companies in the game, but until 1996 no single broadcaster could own more than [...]

Matthew Ruben over at MacOpinion offers up a highly educational commentary sparked by the release of “copy-protected” CDs that are forcing some computer users to make service calls after inserting these “audio” CDs into their CD-ROM drives. Some of you may already know all the facts explained in Ruben’s article, but most of you should [...]

Taken from download.com “Description Xolox is fast, user-friendly software that enables peer-to-peer file sharing on the Gnutella network. You can easily search for all media types including audio, video, images, documents and software from other users or from the Web. Find MP3 music, MPEG, DIVX, ASF, MOV & AVI movies, JPEG & GIF pictures and [...]

KaZaA 1.71 is available for download from www.kazaa.com This is the official ALTNET version release….my advise is to not use it.

According to Viant (research comp. tracking Internet piracy), estimate that around 1/2 million pirated movies are downloaded from various p2p/irc networks. Now according to Vaint this figure is up 20% from last year, claiming the boost in activity is from the summers hottest movies “Spider-Man” and “Star Wars: Episode II–Attack of the Clones”. Anyone who [...]

“An online survey conducted recently by a Microsoft partner indicates that the software giant is considering producing a kit that would let people use an Xbox video game console and a TV to access entertainment files stored on their PC…. ‘The Xbox Connection Kit is an add-on for your Xbox game system,’ according to literature [...]

“A broad coalition of civil liberties groups is urging the European Parliament to reject a proposal that would require European countries to retain detailed information on citizens’ phone and Internet use for policing purposes. The 626-member assembly is scheduled to vote Thursday on the Communications Data Protection Directive, which is part of a larger overhaul [...]

On the RIAA website there is news of the NET Act ‘No Electronic Theft law(well I’ve never heard of it) which means that sound recording infringements (including digitally) even if for no monetary or commercial gain can land you as much as 3 years in jail and/or $250,000 in fines, yes this act includes MP3 [...]

The recording industry from artists to major labels joined on Thursday in a rare show of unity to demand tougher laws barring what they called “payola“-like promotion of music played on the radio. They also called for a sweeping government review of radio industry consolidation. Deregulation of the radio business and rampant practices that skirt [...]

“Few people can claim to have shaped our lives but Toshiba’s Koji Hase is one of them. He’s the man who has driven the success of the DVD format, first as an advanced developer with Toshiba, and then as the chairman of the DVD Forum.” Click here for the full interview at SMH Australia. And [...]

The BSA (Business Software Alliance and the Motion Picture Association have drawn up a five point proposal to toughen up penalties for piracy in the European Union. Apparently software pirates in Europe are linked to organised crime and terrorism (yes somehow us pirates are partially responsible for Sept 11th). Read the article HERE

“The ability of attackers to rapidly gain control of vast numbers of Internet hosts poses an immense risk to the overall security of the Internet. Once subverted, these hosts can not only be used to launch massive denial of service floods, but also to steal or corrupt great quantities of sensitive information, and confuse and [...]

A Slashdot reader posted the following over the Memorial Day weekend: “LawMeme has an excellent response to William F. Adkinson’s critique of Larry Lessig’s ideas on copyright reform. What I found most interesting about the article though, was the link to this paper by Ernest Miller (of Yale’s Information Society Project) and Joan Feigenbaum (editor-in-chief [...]

The writer and director of “Repo Man” and punk classic “Sid And Nancy,” Alex Cox asks, “But who are the real pirates?” Quoting Cox, “The MPAA is a rich lobby group, with powerful allies in the World Trade Organisation and an international copyright regime which favours corporate profits over individual freedoms. But is the MPAA [...]

Is there spyware in URLBlaze? Looks that way, but it is “optional.” Don’t worry, the good guys at AdAware are looking out for you. Check out this post on the AdAware forums, and this one at URLBlaze.net.

Basically, Hollywood wants to insert watermarks into analog signals. If the analog signal tries to go through an ADC, the conversion process will stop. This could cause a lot of trouble. Read the full story here.

Eminem has threatened to beat up a few of his so called “fans”. The rapper said bluntly: “I think that sh*t is f*cking bulls*hit. Whoever put my shit on the Internet, I want to meet that motherf***er and beat the sh*t out of him, because I picture this scrawny little dickhead going ‘I got Eminem’s [...]