French lawmakers approve ‘iTunes law’
French lawmakers gave final approval Friday to legislation that could force Apple Computer Inc. to make its iPod and iTunes Music Store compatible with rivals’ music players and online services.
Both the Senate and the National Assembly, France’s lower house, voted in favor of the copyright bill, which some analysts said could cause Apple Computer Inc. [...]
German experts want search engines to be monitored
German experts at a Berlin seminar this week argued that search engines need to be more regulated. They want companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! to exercise editorial control over their search results and filter out sites with x-rated content or that glorify aggression.
“Mechanisms have to be developed to deal with illegal content and [...]
Spanish revolt against blank media levy
Spanish activists have launched a web-based campaign to fight the recently-imposed levy on blank media which will “place a tax on blank CDs, DVDs and even flash memory sticks”, as we reported earlier today.
Todoscontraelcanon.es (all against the levy) is collecting signatures under a “Your Signature Counts” slogan, and vows to challenge the new Ley de [...]
RIAA partnership with i-Safe a dangerous step for Internet protection
The RIAA has just joined forces with non-profit agency i-Safe to create a program aimed at deterring intellectual property piracy among teenagers. As part of the agreement, i-Safe will help the RIAA create a “nationwide assembly experience on intellectual property” for both middle school and high school students.
Mitch Bainwol, chairman [...]
Two New Surveys Show Vexing Shifts In Music Consumption
Two new surveys show just how drastically listening habits are shifting and presenting new challenges for the music industry.
Ipod_33A new IPSOS poll reveals that 20% of Americans over age 12 own an mp3 player jumping to 54% when looking at teens only. Recent Consumer Electronics Association figures showed music devices accounting for 85% of all [...]
Research Weighs Mobile Music Downloading, Side-Loading
As over-the-air mobile downloading starts to take root, more numbers are surfacing on the trend. Already, Sprint has revealed a tally of two million OTA downloads since its service became available late last year. And UK-based 3 shifted more than one million OTA tracks in April alone. But how do those numbers compare to content [...]
‘Blue Pill’ Prototype Creates 100% Undetectable Malware
A security researcher with expertise in rootkits has built a working prototype of new technology that is capable of creating malware that remains “100 percent undetectable,” even on Windows Vista x64 systems.
Joanna Rutkowska, a stealth malware researcher at Singapore-based IT security firm COSEINC, says the new Blue Pill concept uses AMD’s SVM/Pacifica virtualization technology to [...]
Peer Impact Announces Major Studio Motion Pictures and Television Shows Now Available
Wurld Media, Inc. the creator of the legitimate peer-to-peer (p2p) service, Peer Impact, announced today that select movies and television titles from Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros. Entertainment are now available via digital download on their revolutionary entertainment network in the US market. This announcement follows Peer Impact’s previously announced agreement, with NBC Universal [...]
PS3 game cancelled because of development cost?
Take this for what it’s worth, but PS3 Land is reporting that Track7Games have cancelled PlayStation 3 development on their upcoming multi-platform game Theseis. The site claims that “the developer blames the problem on the exceptionally high cost of developing for PS3.” We have all heard the rumors of how hard it is to develop [...]
EU explores tighter broadband regulation
The European Commission unveiled plans Thursday that would force telecommunications providers to share broadband infrastructure with rivals and unify regulations in the sector.
Viviane Reding, the European Union commissioner in charge of the EU’s telecommunications policy, said the rules would encourage competition.
“We must open the markets when they are dominated by dominant players,” she told reporters. [...]
