Internet video now a bigger piece of network traffic than P2P?
A pair of recent studies suggests that for the first time in years, HTTP traffic consumes more network bandwidth than P2P file-sharing does, and that video sharing services are to blame.
It’s no secret that P2P users have long consumed the lions share of a given ISP network’s bandwidth but, with the rise in popularity [...]
Vista’s Fine Print Raises Red Flags
Vista, the latest version of Microsoft’s Windows operating system, makes its long awaited consumer debut tomorrow. The first major upgrade in five years, Vista incorporates a new, sleek look and features a wide array of new functionality such as better search tools and stronger security. The early reviews have tended to damn the [...]
Microsoft U.K. changes tactics with license dodgers
Microsoft Corp. will take a new approach toward midsize companies it suspects of using unlicensed software, sending a series of letters culminating in a threat of legal action from the Business Software Alliance (BSA), a company official said Monday.
By involving the BSA, which is an advocate for copyright and intellectual property issues, Microsoft is hoping [...]
Vista “upgrade” drops compliance checking, requires old OS to install
Microsoft’s quest to closely control the way Windows Vista can be used on PCs has taken a turn for the worse as new information indicates that the company is breaking tradition when it comes to Windows Vista upgrades. With Windows Vista, users will not be able to use upgrade keys to initiate completely new installations. [...]
Google to share YouTube revenues with users
Internet giant Google plans to share advertising revenues from YouTube with users of the video-sharing website.
The Financial Times (FT) quoted Chad Hurley — the co-founder of YouTube who sold the site to Google for 1.65 billion dollars (1.28 billion euros) last year — as saying it would introduce the system within months.
Hurley spoke to the [...]
Verizon rejected Apple iPhone deal
Verizon Wireless, the No 2 US cellphone carrier, passed on the chance to be the exclusive distributor of the iPhone almost two years ago, balking at Apple’s rich financial terms and other demands.
Among other things, Apple wanted a percentage of the monthly cellphone fees, say over how and where iPhones could be sold and control [...]
Ferret out fake BitTorrent trackers with Fake Finder
Tired of downloading a file on Torrentspy or other public BitTorrent tracker sites only to have it stop at 99% completed? Well, then Fenopy’s Fake Finder is the site for you.
For those that don’t like the hassle of private BitTorrent tracker sites, TorrentSpy, isoHunt, The Pirate Bay, BTJunkie, and Mininova are then no doubt [...]
Holland joins rebellion against Apple’s rules restricting iTunes music to iPods
The Dutch consumer protection agency became the latest in Europe on Thursday to pressure Apple Inc into changing restrictions that tie songs bought on iTunes to its market-leading iPod players.
Consumentenbond spokesman Ewald van Kouwen said his group had filed a formal complaint with the Dutch antitrust watchdog NMa asking for an investigation into what he [...]
Record Labels: Licensing File Sharing Isn’t So Crazy After All
Nearly three years ago, EFF published a paper advocating voluntary collective licensing for P2P, a system that would get artists paid and allow fans to keep sharing music however they like for a flat fee. It seems the major record labels may finally be coming around to this sensible solution:
“This year, [...]
TV battles peer-to-peer pirates
Movie and music piracy has been common place for years, but now the pirates of the net have set their sights on completely new targets – hit US TV shows.
In the old days when you wanted to watch a TV show you needed a television – what a quaint, 20th Century notion.
With the advent of [...]
