Microsoft is banning 360 firmware modders
After several months of silence it was more or less accepted that Microsoft wasn’t going to do anything about the firmware hacks that allow Xbox 360s to play backups. Rather surprising, considering the ‘inventor’ of the hack confirmed in March already that the mods are easily detectable, and the reports that piracy is running rampant [...]
Digital Freedom Campaign Begins, Claims Right to Download Movies, Music
Technology companies took aim at the film and recording industries yesterday for their efforts to restrict how consumers use movie and music downloads.
The Digital Freedom Campaign plans to teach lawmakers, policy-makers and consumers the value of new digital technologies.
“The Digital Freedom Campaign is a way for all of us who are trying to preserve [consumer] [...]
Copying own CDs ’should be legal’
A think-tank has called for outdated copyright laws to be rewritten to take account of new ways people listen to music, watch films and read books.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is calling for a “private right to copy”.
It would decriminalise millions of Britons who break the law each year by copying their CDs [...]
EMI Music CEO says the CD is ‘dead’
EMI Music Chairman and Chief Executive Alain Levy Friday told an audience at the London Business School that the CD is dead, saying music companies will no longer be able to sell CDs without offering “value-added” material.
“The CD as it is right now is dead,” Levy said, adding that 60% of consumers put CDs into [...]
Firefox Nation; Unpimp your browser; (24 million DL update in 24hrs)
Apparently, people loves them some Firefox. Within 24 hours of the official launch on Tuesday, there were over 2 million people using Firefox 2, and we were seeing a peak rate of more than 30 downloads per second from our website.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the things that make Firefox popular. It’s obviously more [...]
Court says neutral party must examine hard drive in file-sharing case
It has been a busy couple of months in the world of music file-sharing litigation. The latest comes to us courtesy of Sony BMG, which is the lead plaintiff in the case of Sony BMG et al v. Arellanes. Sony was dealt a setback by the court yesterday, as Judge Richard Schell ruled that the [...]
YouTube Takes Down Comedy Central Clips Based on DMCA Claims
I received a couple of emails from YouTube this afternoon (see below) notifying me that a third party (probably attorneys for Comedy Central) had made a DMCA request to take down Colbert Report and Daily Show clips. If you visit YouTube, all Daily Show, Colbert Report and South Park clips now show “This video has [...]
Warning issued to LimeWire users (by Denver police)
Denver law-enforcement officials are alerting people who use file-sharing software, particularly LimeWire, to be on the alert for a computer security breach that could put their personal data into the wrong hands.
During an identity theft investigation that led to a local apartment, Denver police found personal and financial information from about 75 individual and business [...]
Encrypted Usenet Access Announced by Giganews
Giganews, Inc, the world’s leading premium Usenet service provider, announced today a major advancement in encrypted Usenet access. Giganews has developed an extremely efficient Usenet encryption service by utilizing SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption on Giganews’ own proprietary Usenet platform. Giganews’ deployment of encrypted Usenet access comes in response to customer feedback, increased encryption support [...]
Does YouTube Really Have Legal Problems?
When Google bought YouTube, the conventional wisdom—expressed in op-eds, newspaper articles, and scary editorial cartoons—was that they’d also bought themselves a whole heap of copyright trouble. The New York Times used the phrase “litigation-laden landmine.” Part-time copyright theorist Mark Cuban warned that YouTube would face the same copyright fate as Napster.
There’s only one problem with [...]
