Microsoft faces class-action suit over WGA tool
Microsoft Corp. is facing a class-action lawsuit over a tool that gathers data on a user’s computer in an effort to detect bootlegged copies of its Windows operating system.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Monday, concerns Microsoft’s Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA), an antipiracy tool the company introduced in July 2005. The [...]
Sony launches the PS3 … website
Europeans get dibs at the official Playstation 3 website access it as well and read up, but luckily we can on all the gooey, sugary news Sony can top us off with. What we can check out on the site consists mostly of exciting pictures of the console, controllers, the usual specs, and other content. [...]
Arab Hackers Shut Down Israeli Web Sites
Pro-Palestinian hackers shut down hundreds of Israeli Web sites as Israeli troops invaded southern Gaza after the abduction of an Israeli soldier, an Israeli newspaper reported Thursday.
The Jerusalem Post said about 700 Web sites were shut down early Wednesday morning in the campaign.
Their home pages were replaced by the message, “Hacked by Team-Evil Arab hackers [...]
Two men sentenced to prison on ‘warez’ charges
Two U.S. men have been sentenced to prison terms for their participation in online software piracy, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced late Wednesday.
David Chen Pui, 27, of Fountain Valley, California, was sentenced to 12 months in prison for distributing pirated works from his own and other Web sites, and David Lee Pruett, 35, [...]
In Mexico, Internet music piracy rising with broadband connections
On Genova Street in downtown Mexico City, illegally copied CDs of music by top U.S. artists sell for 20 pesos, just under $2 a piece, in tiny booths between tables overflowing with batteries, stuffed animals and cheap knockoff sunglasses. That’s about one-tenth the price in nearby stores.
Music is even cheaper a few hundred yards away, [...]
Net neutrality divides bureaucrats, too
Net neutrality continues to wrangle members of the House and Senate as lawmakers debate the pros and cons of the U.S. Telecom Act. They’re not alone in being divided, though, as government officials too made clear their opposing views in speaking at the Wireless Communications Association conference.
Howard Waltzman, chief counsel of Telecommunications and the Internet [...]
Bono Asked to Aid Copy-Protection Fight
He’s bent the ear of world leaders on social causes. He’s a Nobel Peace Prize nominee. He’s a rock star. But could the lead singer of U2 also become a front man for a grass-roots campaign seeking to change how the music industry does business?
The Free Software Foundation hopes so.
The Boston-based advocacy group launched an [...]
Audio flags could conflict with fair use
New radio technologies have music industry and radio officials at odds over fair use of audio and video digital transmissions.
The implementation of audio and video flags to block unauthorized distribution and replication could be one solution, experts testified Tuesday before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. However, opponents of the flags say they [...]
iPod Satellite May Be in Cards Afterall
Almost two years ago there were rumors circulating that the next iPod on the horizon might add satellite radio capabilities on-the-go. The rumors, and god knows there are many of them, were sparked by meetings between Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin and Steve Jobs. Apple passed on a iPod Satellite – a device that would have [...]
Cellphone talkers as bad as drunk drivers: study
People who talk on cellphones while driving, even using “hands-free” devices, are as impaired as drunk drivers, researchers said on Thursday.
“If legislators really want to address driver distraction, then they should consider outlawing cell phone use while driving,” said Frank Drews, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Utah who worked on the [...]
