European committee chair accuses Microsoft of hijacking the web
In a statement released this morning, Simon Awde, chairman of the European Committee for Interoperable Systems (ECIS), accused Microsoft of scheming to "hijack HTML" and wrestle control of the World Wide Web away from open standards. His specific beef: the XAML markup language, which will ship next week to consumers as part of Windows Vista.
Awde [...]
BitTorrent Inc. wants to provide a “better experience than piracy”
Ashwin Navin recently discussed his expectations for the upcoming BitTorrent online video download store and its partnering with Netgear Inc to stream content from the PC to the TV.
In a recent interview on the program MarketWatch, Ashwin Navin, BitTorrent Inc. CEO and co-founder, discussed the future of the company and how he hopes to [...]
Starbucks Hear Music Now on the iTunes Store
Starbucks and Apple® today announced the availability of the Starbucks Hear Music catalog on the iTunes® Store (www.itunes.com), giving iTunes users the ability to preview, buy and download a wide variety of Starbucks popular Hear Music titles. Hear Music produces a wide range of albums showcasing new and classic artists including the well-known Artist [...]
AACS confirms hacks on high-definition DVD players
A consortium of movie studios and technology companies backing the encryption system for high-definition DVDs on Thursday confirmed that hackers have stolen "title keys" and used them to decrypt high-definition DVDs through flaws in DVD player software.
Both the title keys and a number of decrypted films have been posted on peer-to-peer Web sites for downloading [...]
Washington Tries Its Best To Kill Internet Radio
Remember that election last November? You know, the one that signaled the need for change. Well, apparently that change doesn’t include taking a more enlightened approach to legislation involving new technology. Earlier this month a bipartisan group of Senators lead by Diane Feinstein (D-CA) introduced a bill that would create a variety of new restrictions [...]
Looks like its Plan B for The Pirate Bay…
With Sealand now giving them the cold-shoulder, the denizens of BitTorrent Piratedom have have pulled up anchor and gone looking elsewhere.
Talks with the “Prince” of Sealand have apparently gone nowhere, which was pretty much a foregone conclusion from the beginning in my opinion.
In addition to the fact that the Principality of Sealand it [...]
BSA: “Move over RIAA, we’re gonna keep an eye on BitTorrent!”
The Business Software Alliance(BSA) went after a BitTorrent user in the UK for downloading “unlicensed copies of copyrighted computer programs,” and he’s probably not alone.
A customer of the ISP Pipex in the UK was recently sent a letter informing him that he had been suspected of downloading “unlicensed copies of copyrighted computer [...]
Piracy thriving on campuses
College students who illegally download music and movies have been sued. They’ve had Internet access shut off or threatened, and they’ve been warned to never do it again.
But the threat of a letter in a permanent file doesn’t hold as much sway as it used to. Complaints of copyright violations remain steady at campuses across [...]
Perspective: Why ISPs can breathe easier after a porno decision
Internet service providers naturally are concerned about circumstances under which they potentially could be held liable for content posted by users. But after a recent decision by a Texas federal judge, ISPs can breathe a collective sigh of relief.
The judge dismissed an ISP as a defendant in the case of Doe v. Bates (PDF), even [...]
PS3 European launch date revealed
The long-awaited PlayStation 3 will finally go on sale across Europe on 23 March, and will cost 599 Euros.
The electronics giant has said that only the 60GB version of the console will be available at launch, with the 20GB model to follow later.
The next-generation console is already available in Japan and the US, where it [...]
