25 most recent entries:
BBC And IBM Reinvent The Music Chart (Aug 05 2008 22:34 GMT)
The idea of the "Top 40" music hit seems like a relic of a different age, and the Billboard best sellers list hasn't done much to really update with the times. However, reader Will North writes in to point us to a rather interesting experiment being done by the BBC and IBM to basically reinvent the concept of the music chart with a beta test of a new offering called Sound Index. Rather than just checking on sales at certain shops which (as Will notes in his submission) can be easily gamed, Sound Index tries to look at a variety of online sources to find out what music people are really interested in: "Crawls some of the biggest music sites on the Internet - Bebo, MySpace, Last.FM, iTunes, Google and YouTube - to find out what people are writing about, listening to, watching, downloading and logging on to.
Ok, How About A $12 Computer? (Aug 05 2008 21:20 GMT)
Last week, we wrote about supposed efforts in India to build a $10 computer. However, Indian officials later explained that there was a typo in the transcript to the speech in question, and they really meant a $100 computer. But don't think others aren't trying for cheaper computers. The Raw Feed points out that some folks at MIT (ironically, the home of OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte) are working on building $12 computers for the developing world, using the old Apple II as a base. It seems like an interesting plan, though still quite far away from reality.
TSA Loses Laptops With 'Verified' Flyer Details (Aug 05 2008 20:06 GMT)
The concept of a "trusted" or "verified" traveler program at airports has been shown as not particularly secure for years -- but it didn't stop the TSA from aggressively rolling out the program. There's no doubt that, for frequent travelers to locations participating in the "Clear" program, it's wonderful. You pay $100/year and you get to bypass all the security lines, and head to a special faster security screening line, supposedly because your background is already "cleared." As Bruce Schneier writes in the above link, in terms of security, all this really does is give those looking to break security a better target. Get some "terrorists" on the list, and you've just made life a lot easier.
Connecticut Gives Up Banning Cameraphones In Court Rooms (Aug 05 2008 18:46 GMT)
It's been somewhat amusing watching as various folks overreacted to the rise of cameraphones over the past few years, with some companies banning them entirely, and a few clueless industry analysts insisting that they were just a fad that should be banned from any workplace. However, as cameraphones have become much more common, it seems that this mass hysteria is, thankfully, dying down. Over in Connecticut, they've even backed down on a rule that banned cameraphones in the court room. You're still not allowed to use them, but the courts realized now that nearly every mobile phone is a cameraphone, that it was becoming ridiculously time consuming to stop everyone from entering the courthouse, and make them tag and bag every mobile phone for storage and later pickup. Apparently, the lines to get into the courthouse were getting rather long.
Police And Newspaper Say The Internet Turned 10,000 Australian Kids On To Crime (Aug 05 2008 17:32 GMT)
madlep writes in to point us to a story out of Australia, where police in Victoria are blaming the internet for a recent rise in youth crimes. Of course, this seems to go against almost all other evidence, but why let that stop a little fear mongering: The head of the police youth affairs office, Inspector Steve Soden, said too many children were viewing inappropriate content on the internet and this, coupled with boredom due to a lack of community services on Melbourne's fringes, was behind the alarming rise in youth crime. Does he have any evidence of this? Nope.
Industry Study Says Recording Industry Should Embrace Piracy... Sorta (Aug 05 2008 16:03 GMT)
Slashdot points us to the news that a new study, by the MCPS-PRS Alliance, which represents music rights holders, and Big Champagne, a company that measures file sharing activity claims that the music industry should embrace piracy rather than continuing to fight it. Specifically, it points to the success of Radiohead's "name your own price" promotion, and the fact that the music was still widely available on BitTorrent, even though you could download it for free from Radiohead's own site. This, the study's authors, suggest, show that stopping piracy has little correlation to "success." That's not a surprising finding as plenty of previous reports have shown the same thing. In fact, albums that are considered a success tend to have a lot more unauthorized file sharing than those that are not.
Google Sued For Patent Infringement For Keeping Track Of How Many Ads People Click On (Aug 05 2008 14:26 GMT)
It still seems rather amusing (if not twisted) that some patent system supporters are trying to convince the world Google would be harmed by an absence of software patents. Instead, it seems increasingly obvious that it would only serve to help Google, who is a regular target of questionable patent infringement lawsuits. Take the latest such case as an example. A company by the name of Web Tracking Solutions, which ironically enough, doesn't appear to have much of a web presence (if any), has sued Google for patent infringement, claiming that its patent on third-party on-line accounting systems is being violated by Google's AdSense offering. Try to read the patent without gagging over the question of what the USPTO was thinking when it approved this as a "non-obvious" process.
Uri Geller Realizes His Psychic Powers Don't Extend To Twisting Copyright Law (Aug 05 2008 11:57 GMT)
About a year ago, Uri Geller tried to abuse the DMCA to get videos critical of his "mentalist" act taken down. The videos in question debunked Geller's claims to having supernatural powers, and Geller claimed they were copyright infringement because they used 8 seconds worth of a Geller-copyrighted clip in the entire 13 minute video. Also, it's quite clear from the fact that it was a critique of Geller that this was fair use. Of course, Geller went beyond just issuing a DMCA takedown notice. He also sued.
How Come There Aren't More Technologists On The Board Setting Voting Tech Standards? (Aug 05 2008 09:22 GMT)
Ed Felten raises a rather important question concerning the lack of knowledgeable computer scientists or other voting technology experts on the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) Board of Advisors. As Felten notes, the EAC is in charge of setting voting technology standards, and four slots (out of 39) on the board are specifically allocated for "members representing professionals in the field of science and technology." Already, only 4 out of 39 seats seems rather low, considering how important the technology choices are -- but it's even worse when the people filling those slots aren't actually technologists. Yes, Felten points out that three of the four slots are held by folks who are: accomplished people who have something to offer on the board.
Domainers Lose Big Time In Verizon Cybersquatting Lawsuit (Aug 05 2008 06:35 GMT)
Eric Goldman has the details on a lawsuit that should make various typosquatting "domainers" (those who register tons of domain names on typos or other variations of a brand name) a bit nervous. The court came down hard on domaining in general, and domain "tasting" more specifically. The domainer in question tried to get around the law by claiming that by just "tasting" the domain (i.e., holding onto it for the 5 day grace period before you have to pay for it), they weren't running afoul of laws concerning registering someone else's trademarked names.
Yet Another Star Singer Doesn't Mind File Sharing (Aug 05 2008 04:17 GMT)
While there are still some popular musicians who argue against file sharing, we're seeing more and more realize that it's hardly the enemy that the industry has made it out to be. The latest is the singer Duffy, who apparently has quite the hit album out, selling over a million copies. However, in a recent interview, she noted that unauthorized file sharing is "amazing" and that she doesn't mind it at all if others are file sharing her songs. She points out that when she was growing up, it was often hard to get new music, and file sharing changes the equation: "I think it's got more positives because it basically gives people access, what's the harm in that?
Microsoft Researchers Suggest Six Degrees Of Separation May Actually Be Accurate (Aug 05 2008 02:19 GMT)
The concept of "Six Degrees of Separation" was originally based on an experiment by Stanley Milgram where he asked people to try to send a letter to someone totally unconnected to them by passing it from person to person among people they knew. The idea was that, on average, any two random people could be connected within six connections. However, more recently, Milgram's study had been somewhat discredited. Yet, a new study, coming from Microsoft researchers suggests that six degrees may be fairly accurate. The researchers looked at data on how people use Microsoft's MSN Instant Messaging software, and discovered that the average chain length to connect any two users on the software was 6.
Judge In Jammie Thomas Trial Seems Likely To Declare A Mistrial (Aug 05 2008 00:35 GMT)
In the ongoing saga of the Jammie Thomas trial, where the RIAA tried to get its first serious victory in court against an alleged file sharer, things may be looking a bit grim for the RIAA's argument. While it initially gloated after winning the case, the judge later admitted that he may have made a "manifest error of law" in saying that the RIAA did not need to prove actual infringement -- but that showing Thomas had "made available" content was good enough. While both the MPAA and the RIAA tried to explain why actual proof of infringement shouldn't be necessary because it's just too difficult (the gist of their arguments), it appears that the judge is not at all persuaded by their arguments and seems quite likely to declare a mistrial. In the hearing today, the RIAA's lawyer basically argued the same point: that because it's too difficult to obtain evidence, evidence shouldn't be necessary.
Should The Next President Use A Computer? (Aug 04 2008 23:10 GMT)
Much has been made of John McCain's status as a self-proclaimed "computer illiterate." Juxtaposed with his rival, the Blackberry-wielding, iPod-listening Barack Obama, McCain's inexperience with all things digital have raised concerns that he is out of touch with normal Americans. Although McCain is reportedly attempting to use computers more often, a bigger question remains unsolved: should the President of the United States use a computer? Lee Gomes at the Wall Street Journal seems to think the best policy is to "avoid computers.
Thailand Overreacts; Bans Grand Theft Auto Due To Stupid Kid (Aug 04 2008 21:44 GMT)
What is it with people wanting to blame technology for crimes rather than the idiots who perpetrate the crimes? The latest is that Thailand has banned the sale of Grand Theft Auto IV after an idiot kid killed a cab driver when he tried to carjack the taxicab. The kid claimed that he was copying a scene from the game, and wanted to see if it was as easy to do as in the game. In other words: "Not my fault!
Cablevision Remote DVR Doesn't Infringe; Decision Shows How New Tech Twists Copyright (Aug 04 2008 20:37 GMT)
As TiVo and other DVRs became increasingly popular, various cable companies realized it probably made sense to offer similar features themselves. While some started selling home DVRs, a few realized that perhaps they could short-circuit around this by offering a remote, centrally-managed DVR instead. Time Warner was one of the first to announce such a project -- but almost immediately, the other half of Time Warner (the content guys) freaked out, and Time Warner's eventual offering was neutered of any really useful feature. Basically, the various broadcasters are still freaked out about the idea of time shifting and commercial skipping -- even though both are perfectly legal. However, that won't stop them from doing whatever possible to stop such innovations from coming to market.
Internet Used To Keep House Of Reps. Broadcasting After Closure (Aug 04 2008 19:05 GMT)
If you watch the way Congress acts some of the time, you could easily mistake them for kindergartners at times, with the way they have petty grievances and blow attacks on each other totally out of proportion. Both parties engage in these silly petty spats from time to time, so this is hardly a partisan thing -- though, fans of each party tend to highlight it when the other party acts this way, and ignore it or brush it off when their own party does. Belonging to neither party, and not liking either party, I have no horse in this race, but do find what happened on Friday in the House interesting. For the sake of keeping this from being a partisan post, I'll leave out the party names, though I'm sure in the comments partisans of either side will be sure to make it clear how evil the other one is. Anyway, one party wanted to discuss some new energy legislation and the other did not.
Sony Exec Tells Frustrated PSP Users To Get Games Via BitTorrent (Aug 04 2008 17:48 GMT)
Sony, as a company, has had something of a split personality on issues having to do with unauthorized file sharing. The content side of the business is obviously very much against it. But the consumer electronics side of the house recognizes how it can be quite beneficial towards raising the value of consumer electronics. Even so, it's still a bit of a surprise to hear an exec basically tell fans to just download unauthorized content. Reader Yakko Warner points us to the news that Sony Computer Entertainment Europe CEO David Reeves was telling frustrated PSP users in Australia and New Zealand that they're going to have to keep waiting for games to show up there...
Copyright Expert William Patry Shuts Down Blog, As It's 'Too Depressing' (Aug 04 2008 16:14 GMT)
It was really disappointing, if entirely understandable, earlier this year when the until-then-anonymous "Patent Troll Tracker" had to shut down his blog. Prior to that, it had been one of the only sources (and in some cases the only source) to report on some important cases and trends in the patent world. Unfortunately, it appears the same thing is now happening in the copyright world. William Patry, recognized around the world as an expert on copyright, has shut down his blog. Tragically, he didn't just stop writing it, he's deleted the entire archive -- so even posts of his that we pointed to just last week no longer are live.
Can You Name An Example Where Suing For Copyright Infringement Made Business Sense? (Aug 02 2008 03:42 GMT)
Responding, in part, to our analysis of how Hasbro's handling of the Scrabulous situation was about as poor a business decision as it could make, Information Week's Mitch Wagner asks a very good question: Can you name a company that has aggressively fought so-called "piracy" of its products and found that to be a successful business strategy? As he notes, there are plenty of examples of the opposite -- companies that have learned to embrace such "piracy" and build business models around dealing with it. In fact, Matt Mason has a whole book of examples of that. But is there a single company that aggressively sued for copyright infringement, and found that strategy to make good business sense?
Columnist's Solution To Newspaper Woes: Take Down Newspaper Websites (Aug 02 2008 02:33 GMT)
It's almost cute when long-time newspaper columnists with almost no grounding in basic economics try to come up with plans to "save" the newspaper industry. It almost always ends up demanding some form of collusion, government bailout or a complete suppression of basic economics. Sometimes all three. We've seen ideas where newspapers would team up to collude on ad prices. We've seen (many, many times) the idea that newspapers should collude to charge for all content online, and we've seen demands that newspapers should just get money from the government.
Google Wants To Launch MP3 Search In China (Aug 02 2008 01:26 GMT)
When Chinese search engine Baidu first went public, some folks pointed out that the main reason why people used it a lot more than Google was that it had an MP3 search engine, which let people find music to download. Google, being afraid of copyright infringement lawsuits, chose not to have such a specific search engine. Of course, once it had gone public, Baidu attracted the attention of record labels as well, and was quickly sued. However, Baidu eventually won that lawsuit -- which does seem like the right decision. Baidu, as a search engine, isn't making any copies of the file itself at all.
Advertising Is Everywhere... Even Armpits? (Aug 02 2008 00:18 GMT)
If you were among those who thought advertising in urinals was reaching a new low, you probably won't be please to learn of the new ad campaign from deodorant maker Right Guard. The Raw Feed points us to the news that it's kicking off a promotional campaign/publicity stunt, where it appears to be outfitting folks with clothing that has video screens sewn into their armpits, which will be running a constant stream of ads for Right Guard. It's certainly a different way of getting attention. Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
JPEG Patent's Single Claim Rejected (And Smacked Down For Good Measure) (Aug 01 2008 23:10 GMT)
We've been covering the ongoing saga of an old patent we've referred to as the "JPEG Patent." This actually isn't the first patent we've called the JPEG Patent, because multiple people claimed to hold patents over the technology that goes into a JPEG image. But, this one was rather special. The patent had been used, repeatedly, by lawyer Ray Niro, against a wide range of opponents, including a patent system critic. The end result was a drawn out review process where all of the original claims were rejected, but a single new claim was added to the patent, which Niro insisted covered JPEGs on a website.
Court Unravels Grand Theft Auto Sex Scene Settlement (Aug 01 2008 21:57 GMT)
We still can't understand how someone who bought a game where the focus of game play includes stealing cars, killing people, prostitution and drugs could possibly be offended to later find out that if you applied a special mod to the software you could also experience some consensual adult sex. Yet, some folks (mainly lawyers and politicians) got all uptight about the so-called "Hot Coffee" mod, and a class action lawsuit quickly followed -- supposedly to help reimburse those poor souls traumatized by the discovery (actively, after applying the mod) that the carjacking game they were playing had consensual sex. And, of course, the lawyers won. They reached a settlement where the lawyers made over a million dollars, and those of you traumatized by the hot coffee mod got $5. It turns out, though, that not too many people were actually traumatized by this.
|
