Its like that one part in that one movie

The RIAA is finding that it has to re-evaluate a situation that it got itself into recently with a Sergent in the US Army. The RIAA is alleging that the Sergent had around 350 tunes on his computer that he was sharing illegally (Damn him all to hell!) but when the case went to court, the RIAA showed all 4, 200 files in the alleged abusers share file including loads of pornographic images not relating to his case.

From Ars Technica:

The case of Warner v. Paternoster started as other P2P actions have, with the defendant sued after MediaSentry, the RIAA's investigative arm, found what it believed was evidence of copyright infringement. After the suit was filed—and the exhibit made public—Sgt. Paternoster decided to fight back, with the Knoxville News Sentinel reporting that he filed a counterclaim accusing the RIAA of violating his privacy and seeking to "shame Counter-Plaintiff... into giving in to their unreasonable demands regarding their copyrighted materials."

Before, Before, Before

It seems like a short time has passed since I was a little kid enjoying a day without having to spend money. I didn't find myself waiting to get paid as a high point in my weeks. I didn't know any music let alone have tracks in my head attacked to memories. Those were the best times of my life. When all your friends lived on one block or just around the block. Life before actualization and before retrospect.

We're growing cold to those times...always wanting to grow up so fast and then thinking back to a time when we thought there were real grown-ups is funny.

Why does everyone have to sue?

Apple is now being sued for their battery not being removable. The guy who is suing is claiming that the info on the site was hard to find and seeing that the battery will need replacing every year, he has to shell out $30 for a loaner each year. I guess if there ever was a reason to sue a corporation...this would be it. Where's the ACLU in all of the...what if the guy is white? Sue his company and give him free gas and health care for life is what I say.

Apples Store charging an entrance fee?

wOw....I understand the idea of keeping the store safe and attracting the right kind of people and I guess in this case the right kind of people are only those who can pay $5. Reminds me of South Park where the story of this giant green monster who is destroying the world gets to a point where he leans down and says, "That'll be about Four Fifty".

Apple is really turning into an amusement these days, park admission and all. I hope there are rides and a cotton candy kiosk for me when I get there. I also wonder if pirates are going to circumvent the entrance allowing people to get in the back door for free...

RIAA targeting 23 universities but avoids Harvard?

Think about this: How can the RIAA target 23 universities full of students, send self incriminating documents to random students at a rate of 700 per month asking them to voluntarily ID themselves or face court dates and jail time and a large fine while allowing the universities themselves to provide meaningful legal assistance for broad based accusations that the RIAA eventually drops?

Chinese cardboard buns story a hoax

This is actually disturbing. Sure it's easy to believe but when you find out what you are believing is a hoax, it really makes it difficult to accept other truths in media.

We are winning the War and We are losing the War...so what?

This is a purely opinionated post as is most here.

So I have one ear listening to how we are winning the war and then I have my other ear listening in on how we are losing the war. What I cant understand this time around is how all these republicans and democrats AND media outlets are trying so hard to report both sides to my face that I'm coming out confused. Why do I want to hear some opinion telling me how evil and rotten our Government is over and over and over again coupled with other opinions on how awesome and in control our Government is?

I am so far removed from what is actually happening in Iraq that I can't possibly form an opinion either way as to what is happening good or bad because I simply am not there. Maybe my own country has put me in this position and don't get me wrong, I've been reading and discussing and talking with plenty of forums and people but I ALWAYS get treated the same...as soon as I have an opinion, I get placed into a crass generalized category used to dismantle any hope of my opinion being taken as genuine. Either I am a "neo-con" or I am a "Bush hater" and it's been making me sick for some time.

Am I over there? No. Do I have any connection with anything happening over there? Nope. Why do I need to care about what some guy posts on Salon or Slashdot or Newsmax or Fox or CNN or Cryptome or CBS or KPFK? I am so sick of hearing why people want me to think a certain way or why this is important and that isn't, that it just makes me not care. I guess at this point I'd have to be apologetic to our troops who are dying and everyone that consistently is telling me that Bush is stupid when they themselves aren't doing anything constructive either but bitch and complain. I look at this like, if you aren't going to do anything about it then shut the hell up. Thats my stance. I don't want to hear your regurgitated information from someone else's head.

This is where my father would respectfully say, "Well do you want more Government or Less Government?"

Zune DRM Cracked

Can't find 'em, can't serve 'em

I don't own a Zune, but I may think twice now. It takes a look at your music you "purchased" and removes the DRM so you "own" the tracks you "bought".

MD5 hash 0d5eaa7f8010e1293221a320943adb7e

The Wii and Me

I recently had the opportunity to play the Wii after I've heard all the hype and all the damage created by users playing it. Damage that is spawning new products like Plexiglas screen coverings for your TV and the like. I don't have much to say on the matter because of the 5 people that were playing it, no one hit themselves, broke the TV, fell down and cut their head open, killed their partner or slashed their fingers. I think there is some logic that comes into play here which is quite obvious when you begin playing the Wii sports games. Make sure you have some space to swing and don't try to walk up on someone in mid game. It's pretty obvious to see why once you begin, so I find it hard to not laugh at the people on the Wii Problem blog page who have done some pretty scary things to themselves and their gaming partner. I look at those people and think WTF are you doing with a game if you can't control what is happening to you in the real world? Maybe they just suck at gaming or maybe they get so absolutely enthralled in the game that they forget about reality and thats pretty scary.

Me? After I played for a few hours and broke a little sweat, I managed to figure out how to play the game sitting down...its not hard but man did it piss off some of my friends who explained that the designers want you to stand up. But after a few drinks...who wants to stand up? =)

Sony suing again for millions more

Remember when you joined the class action lawsuit against Sony who made that rootkit designed by MediaMax (site since disabled) which was reporting back to Sony what your listening habits were and you ended up receiving like $3.00 for your troubles? Well for those of us who did receive that money, you should be aware that Sony is now Suing the company who made its rootkit in an attempt to recover its losses. After all, its not Sony's fault they inked the deal.

Chinese executes person responsible for tainted toothpaste and pet foods

I'm not sure whether this is to be laughed at or not. On one hand you have a communist country who's ultimate goal is to be a major player in the global capitalistic marketplace, eventually taking over the entire market place by buying up as many resources as possible, only exporting complete goods...adding value to the completed product, then on the other hand you have this giant fear of consumer confidence being tainted by the advertisement of legitimate mistakes made when you place market saturation and penetration above safety.

The solution...kill the responsible party or in this case, Zheng Xiaoyu. Does this make me anti-Chinese?

Related
Related
Related
Related
Related
Related

iPhone Battery setback

Yeah...we forgot to tell you that the battery is soldered onto the device and if you want to replace it then you'll have to send in your phone for three days minimum for $79 and you'll be paying shipping ($6.95) plus the cost of a loaner phone for $29. Sorry about that. That will be another $115 please.

AllofMp3 Shut Down by Russian Government

I guess we should go shut down Cuba now because of their ability to sell Cuban Cigars which are also illegal in the US. We should also definitely go after every company in other countries that the US feels is doing illegal business. Until then, we'll have to settle for 2 miles of fencing at our borders.

p2pnet was able to have a word with the people who run AllofMP3.com.

p2pnet :- Who originally started AllofMP3.com and what was the motivation behind it?

AllofMP3.com:- People love music. As digital audio and mobile technologies improve, interest in digital music will only increase. Several years ago we foresaw this situation and thought we could create an Internet store to provide people - both experienced and inexperienced computer users and audiophiles - with a quality service and a wide assortment of music. We obtained all necessary licenses and started our hard work. What will become of it in the long run, our users will decide.

p2pnet :- Approximately how many users does AllofMP3.com currently have?

AllofMP3.com:- We’ve 5,500,000 registered users.

p2pnet :- You’ve been singled out for special attention by the US administration: “I have a hard time imagining Russia becoming a member of the WTO and having a Web site like that [AllofMP3.com] up and running that is so clearly a violation of everyone’s intellectual property rights,” said US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, according to Reuters.

The story went on, “Schwab’s call for the allofmp3.com Web site to be closed came as the United States and Russia are trying once again to reach a deal on Moscow’s 13-year-old bid to join the WTO. Those talks failed in July, primarily because of agricultural issues and U.S. concerns that Russia was not doing enough to stop piracy and counterfeiting of American goods.”

How does it feel to be a principal target of the American anti-p2p effort?

AllofMP3.com:- It is disappointing that United States Trade Representative Susan Schwab completely and deliberately mischaracterized AllofMP3.com. Furthermore, it is irresponsible to use AllofMP3.com as a negotiating instrument in an attempt to extract concessions from Russia in return for US support for accession to the World Trade Organization.

AllofMP3.com is a Russian business that is in complete compliance with Russian law.

p2pnet :- Do you believe the existence of your site stands in the way of US/Russia trade negotiations?

AllofMP3.com:- We believe we are a not barrier to the conclusion of WTO negotiations and that Representative Schwab has deliberately mis characterized our company. As a Russian-based company, we operate legally under Russian law. It appears the US government is a willing partner in the campaign being waged by the big record companies that wish to shut down our company. And, unfortunately for us, it appears that the US government also sees AllofMP3 as a wedge issue to gain concessions from the Russian government in exchange for its support for WTO ascension.

p2pnet :- What effect might this have on you as a company?

AllofMP3.com:- At the moment it is not possible to define exact terms and conditions of Russia’s accession to WTO. Until the actual accession, which is not soon anyway, WTO rules do not apply to Russian companies. That is also true for any international intellectual property treaties developed under the WTO framework. It is possible that after Russia joins WTO some changes will be made to the national legislation and also that Russia will ratify some new international treaties. But for now it is too early to talk about effect that Russia’s accession to WTO will have on AllOFMP3.com business.

p2pnet :- Have you had any official or unofficial approaches from your government at any level asking you to stop operations in the interests of international goodwill?

AllofMP3.com:- We have not been contacted by Russian government.

p2pnet :- Have you heard from Schwab personally?

AllofMP3.com:- No.

p2pnet :- If you haven’t heard from her, have you heard from anyone else within the US trade office?

AllofMP3.com:- Nobody.

p2pnet :- Who’ve you heard from within the RIAA, or any of the other Big 4 trade organisations, and what did they have to say?

AllofMP3.com:- Nothing.

p2pnet :- Assuming you intended to keep AllofMP3.com online, what will be your next steps?

AllofMP3.com:- We believe the Russian market will continue to grow given the upward trend in incomes and access to the Internet and our plan is to build our business to support this market. We will grow our business by maintaining a dominate position in the market by providing customers a web-friendly site and great functionality at an attractive price point. Currently, we do not envision moving into other digital products.

p2pnet :- On the voucher story currently occupying the mainstream media’s attention, are you concerned with people advertising and selling Allofmp3.com vouchers on sites such as eBay, or on their own sites?

AllofMP3.com:- We don’t sell vouchers. Any user can purchase Gift Certificate on the site and give it to anybody.

p2pnet :- The Big 4’s IFPI (International Federation of Phonographic Industry) is trumpeting the arrest of a Londoner who allegedly worked for Allofmp3.com’s European office. How much truth is there in this?

AllofMP3.com:- The IFPI/ BPI (British Phonographic Industry) turned a person reselling gift certificates into a “European office of AllOFMP3″ in London. After that they initiated the loud “closure” of this “office” and an arrest of its mythical “employee”.

[NOTE: AllofMP3.com said earlier that it’s never been active outside of Russia and, “Thus we do not have any offices or employees abroad”.]

p2pnet :- I know you’ve been through this a hundred times before, but could you please explain, as simply as possible, how you’re able to legally sell downloads online?

AllofMP3.com:- We believe it is legal in Russia under Articles 44 and 45 of the Law of the Russian Federation No. 5351-1 On Copyright and Related Rights dated July 9, 1993, as amended, (the Copyright Law), which authorizes Russian non-profit Russian organizations for collective management of copyrights (Russian Licensing Societies) to grant licenses to entities such as ALLOFMP3. ALLOFMP3 has up-to-date licenses from the Russian Licensing Societies from the Federation of Rights Holders for Collective Management of Copyright with Respect to the Use of Musical Works in Interactive Regime (FAIR) and from the Russian Organization on Collective Management of Rights of Authors and Other Right Holders in Multimedia, Digital Networks & Visual Arts (ROMS).

Russian Copyright Law allows holders of intellectual property rights to establish non-profit organizations such as ROMS which in its capacity oversees licensing agreements and collects royalties and pays them out to copyright holders, aside from some commissions.

The Russian Copyright Law provides non-profit Russian Licensing Societies with a right to grant licenses and to collect royalties for the use of music without necessarily obtaining permission from the copyright owners.

p2pnet :- Do you get many requests from artists to have you to feature their music on your site? Still on this, have you had any well-known musicians ask you to include their music, and if so can you say, who?

AllofMP3.com:- Yes, we get a lot of new requests everyday. But we’ve no story with well-known musicians.

p2pnet :- One of the favourite themes of the Big 4 is: downloads which, presumably, include music from AllofMP3.com, are polluted with viruses and so on and are extremely dangerous: what’s your response to this?

AllofMP3.com:- WOW! We hear about it for the first time We’ve no viruses on the site nor in media-files.

p2pnet :- Do have a plan to start offering videos through AllofMP3.com?

AllofMP3.com:- No. We didn’t plan it.

p2pnet :- Do you see any hope of coming to terms with the corporate music industry?

AllofMP3.com:- It’s a question of time. Why not?

p2pnet :- The North American media tend to confine themselves to calling AllofMP3.com an illegal pirate organization: do the Russian media write about you in the same way?

AllofMP3.com:- The Russian media are proud of AllfofMP3 because of its popularity all over the world.

p2pnet :- And finally, do you have any messages for the people who continue to support you?

AllofMP3.com:- Thank you for using our services! Stay tuned!

iPhone root password cracked in three days

Ah...bloggers blogging about other peoples blogs. Anyway, yeah...taking it apart didn't take long and telling the world about it sure didn't take long either. But 16 seconds to obtain root pswd embedded in the phone is pretty damn cool.