To post hypertext links to articles/items, use the following method:

1. Copy and paste (or type) the following string:

Headline[">http://link">Headline[ /url]

2. Remove the two blank spaces.

3. Trade "http://link" with the actual url address of the page you wish to appear when the link is clicked.

4. Trade "Headline" with the news article's headline or your own descriptive text.

EXAMPLE:

[url= http://dmusic.com]Dmusic[ /url]

...remove the 2 spaces and it becomes:

[url=http://dmusic.com]Dmusic

===============

Folks, sometimes it is a lot quicker/better to alert our readers to important/relevant news articles and other items by sticking a quick link to them right here in this "news" thread than it is to submit using the "news/submit" button at the top of the page.

If you point your cursor at the "news" button, then do a "mouse-over" (awaiting the drop-down menu to provide you the "submit" option and all... THEN bother to type in or C&P your submission correctly in the proper format...
...Sheesh, after all that, your submission STILL has to await the "approval process" (meaning that I, or one of the fine Dmusic admin have to be online and alert enough to check the article input box, THEN decide where it needs filed, proof-read, etc... )

If you have an article/story/item that needs our attention, why not simply stick it here "In The News" instead! (Besides, I'll go to the front page with anything found here that meets the same criteria used for that "article input box" anyways.)

Let's save some time and hassle. Use that "submit" button only for ORIGINAL articles that come from your own hand.
==========

True, I no longer want a lot of "chit-chat" here "In The News"

...but, if you are talking about/commenting upon a relevent news item that was posted in this thread, that's not idle "chit-chat" in my opinion/definition. That would be called being "on-topic."

=========

Work with me on all this stuff folks! Sure, I got's me lotsa bugs to iron out, but I am trying to "go somewhere" with these minor administrative/editorial changes!

This is classic...

Richard Richard Pryor Sues Record Label Over Sales

LOS ANGELES (Oct. 14) - Comedian Richard Pryor has sued Universal Music Group for allegedly marketing and selling 11 of his recordings without a license.

Richard Richard..how did I accomplish that one? I'm so clever.. This story is SO good!!!

This story is just plain comical

Russian pair sue MTV over translation

Way to go MTV...

Copyright as patents


http://p2pnet.net/story/6596

Gee, Pep, my mom would never do that for me!

Maybe this company would consider making a version using the fair use clause for us.

http://www.acornonline.com/product.asp?pn=12681&bhcd2=1129420378

Thought it was pretty cool.

ShadowMom LOL, yeah., the worst (or best) thing my mom did was try to "lose" me in a hot poker game...are we in the wrong thread...again?

Disappearing Civil Liberties Mug That's a good one!

What's he gonna do--fire us?! And I like that idea, gfmlcka, since fair use concerns more than just music.

http://www.infowars.com/articles/bb/rfid_promoter_cant_stand_being_tracked.htm

RFID promoter can't stand being tracked

UK Register | October 13, 2005

Don't look at me looking at you

It's apparently okay for RFID tag promoters to watch you apply lipstick from 750 miles away, but not for a privacy advocate to keep an eye on companies using the pesky technology.

Yes, the cloak and dagger operations of consumer trackers have come under the microscope and it's not to the liking of Frontline Solutions. The conference organizer sent a letter to CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering), requiring that the organization pull down "unauthorized" photos of CheckPoint's RFID tags popping up in clothing from the likes of Abercrombie & Fitch and Champion taken at a recent event here. CASPIAN's leader Katherine Albrecht has refused to gag herself, opting instead to print Frontline's complaint online.

"It has come to my attention that you falsely represented yourself as a member of the press at the recently-concluded Frontline Solutions Conference & Expo in Chicago," the complaint states. "In addition to attending the event under false pretenses, you surreptitiously took pictures of the exhibitors’ booths and products and posted those photographs on your websites without obtaining the permission of the exhibitors.

"I am writing to request that you remove all unauthorized photos that you obtained at Frontline Solutions Conference & Expo from your websites, www.spychips.com, www.spychips.org , www.nocards.com , www.nocards.org and any other websites under your management and that you refrain from making the photos available to anyone else."

Albrecht wrote back saying she was in fact working for a "well-respected computer industry publication" and received the needed press credentials that permitted photography.

"I myself was hardly inconspicuous," she writes. "I wore a bright red jacket and a badge with my name and the word "Press" prominently displayed. I held the camera openly to my eye as I took over 200 photographs."

Along with jeans and shirts, Albrecht uncovered RFID tags in diapers, tissue boxes, baby formula, cold medicine and vitamins. RFID haters would suggest these little trackers will be used to monitor your baby's every crawl and bowel movement with frightening precision. Pop a pill and Uncle Sam is there . . . watching . . . in an uncomfortable manner.

More to the point, critics suggest that retailers are about to flood the market with RFID-tagged goods before politicians have had time to debate thoroughly the use of the technology. Albrecht's work points to a coming onslaught of trackable gear. Companies such as Wal-Mart and Procter and Gamble have not been shy about their RFID aspirations, so it's not clear why this would come as a shock, but it does. To some.

Elsewhere, a BBC reporter chipped himself, like a dog, while in a Barcelona bar. The purpose of having an RFID tag injected under his skin? Well, access to the VIP room and an easy way of paying for drinks of course. Makes total sense. A real "opportunity" as the emergent glob puts it.

Looks like things are going to end up just like Sun Microsystems' CEO Scott McNealy predicted.

"They're going to slap that baby's bottom, then slip an ID chip in their neck or between their shoulders so you can keep track of your kid," McNealy once said.

Very scary story....and yet another reason to boycott Wal-Mart.

For all those Les Paul fans

Les Paul still rocking at age 90

Shared music abuse bug hits iTunes

[url=http://p2pnet.net/story/6629[Riaa Spends Millions to Sue People[/url]

Another good story from p2pnet...just a short clip here

~~But undoing the evil wrought by the likes of 14-year-old Britanny Chan doesn’t come cheap and according to US Internal Revenue Service filings, the RIAA had an income of $46.4 million, but expenses of $51 million, leaving it in the hole to the tune of $4.6 million.~~

The more I do this, the dumber get...

Appeal Filed in Loud v. Does --Recording Industry vs The People

Sony Chairman: China Is Key to Growth --AP

OBIT:

Songwriter Baker Knight Dies at 72 --AP

Shield Law Sponsor: Bloggers 'Probably Not' Considered Journos

I say BOO to that!!!

Unions seek video iPod residuals

"If Apple's new video iPod is as successful as expected in delivering paid programing over the Internet, Hollywood's unions want their share and are worried about being shortchanged on residuals."

EFF Reveals Codes in Xerox Printers --AP

Trying to kill a record store with Eminent Domain!

This record store is frequented by my best friend, who orders his CDs there. (They stock only vinyl, not CDs. Gasp!) Probably not unlike the record store in High Fidelity, except they don't have a fat man who insults the customers.

They sell T-shirts with a silhouette of a cassette tape, crossbones underneath, with the slogan "Home Taping Is Killing Music." LOL. I have one of these shirts. This is sarcasm, obviously. I wonder how many people are savvy enough to realise that.

Approximately a week ago someone posted a link to a guide on the proper way to rip CDs using the program Exact Audio Copy (EAC). I want to thank that person. When I buy a CD, I usually want to rip it to my hard drive for convenient listening. I rip it to WAV for highest quality, but EAC will automatically make MP3s using LAME -alt-present-standard option if you like.

Sometimes I get pops and clicks in my rips, because computer CD-ROM drives do not have good error detection/correction when reading audio CDs. (Data CDs are another matter -- those must be bit perfect.) EAC solved the pops and clicks problem for me. The rips sound like a freakin' master tape. EAC reads the data several times, and if there are discrepancies, it looks for a consensus to eliminate reading errors.

So I will second the motion and suggest people use this program and the guide below for ripping to hard drive, and for copying CDs. Just doing a quick copy with Nero will not be as accurate.

(Raid HHI has also been a champion of this program. He's correct. If you're going to copy, for goodness' sake, do it right! Unless you don't care about pops and clicks.)

Guide here:
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=101833

If you're in NYC on 10/25 stick it to Virgin.

http://www.nyunews.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/10/18/43546858c6630?in_archive=1

It's free sailing for most Web music pirates
http://www.tuftsdaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/10/17/43533ea06b14e

Beyoncé takes credit for writing tunes her producers merely sampled

"The four major labels, Concord Music Group and the RIAA are teaming for a double-disc compilation to benefit victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita."

Proceeds have been earmarked for the
American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity and the MusiCares Hurricane Relief Fund.

Link to story

Of course, there will be a 20% deduction for new media, 25% for packaging, 15% for free goods, in addition to any marketing expenses incurred.

Provided there are any actual "proceeds" in the first place.

DVD Jon now working in United States

Wired News - DVD Jon Lands Dream Job Stateside

SAN FRANCISCO -- Jon Lech Johansen, the 21-year-old Norwegian media hacker nicknamed DVD Jon, is moving to San Diego to work for maverick tech entrepreneur Michael Robertson in what can only be described as the most portentous team-up since Butch met Sundance.

I wonder how long it is before the FBI comes knocking on his door?

Another place to get good CD ripping programs:

www.dbpoweramp.com

Allows use of the "Lame" codec.

INeedAlover, I second the motion on www.dbpoweramp.com. It is my second favorite program for ripping, after EAC. When I want a quick-and-dirty rip, which is usually more than adequate, I use their program, dBPowerAmp Music Converter.

Other ripping progams gave me the same problem you've mentioned on my older PC, namely clicks and pops, etc. While it may be that my PC upgrade has eliminated the problem, the dbPowerAmp software has worked great for me. I've never had a problem.

Just wanted to make this known for anyone who is really serious about high end audio. Here is a company that makes a DRM FREE digital playback system (its way more than a typical computer, you use this as your main playback source in a full blown stereo/home theater system, its also for the rich, costing upwards of 10 grand).

Webster’s dictionary defines revelation as “the manifestation of truth or something revealed not formally known”. The VRS Revelation Music Studio System does just that. The Revelation now has great potential for state of the art sound and video surpassing that of conventional CD, DVD players or DAC combinations . . . the ability to truly reveal a musical event. The Revelation Music Studio System has been designed to optimize the playback and recording of music for the home.

Sound Quality

The Revelation is the first and only commercially available hard drive based recording and playback system that has been designed to compete sonically with the best high-end audio products. Digital playback from Audio CDs is state of the art, offering performance that will equal or better that of digital systems sold for $30,000 or more. The recording quality is the equal of the best professional studios.

The digital playback through the Compact Disc has been around for over twenty years. As a format, it has been a convenient medium with many advantages. However, many serious music lovers and musicians have been disappointed with the sonic potential of the compact disc. The Revelation, through it's precise data extraction, virtually jitter free environment and our own proprietary software and hardware design, reveals music with the clarity, depth, tonality and emotional impact of the musical performance. The Robb Report recently stated: "It's like vinyl on steroids!".

Using the Music Studio

The Revelation Music Studio is designed to be the central source for your music. You can store your entire collections of CDs,Vinyl records or any other analog source in the Revelation. Play or view any of it at any time you like through our simple graphic user interface. With a distributed wired or wireless ethernet, you can also play this same high-quality data in all the rooms of your house with other ethernet-connected extension devices. You can download your music from the Music Studio and take it on the road with you through a portable or hard drive based car system.

Vinyl Archiving/Restoration

If you've always wanted to transfer analog sources such as your precious vinyl, reel to reel tape, cassettes, radio or other digital mediums, the Revelation is for you. With the Revelation you can record your albums to the hard drive and edit them with our software suite. You can record at rates up to 24 bits/192 Khz, and downsample the recording to put onto CD or DVDs. You can play back your records anytime you like through the VRS, and mix and match with other digital music sources with ease.

Highest Quality Components

The Revelation is built with the highest quality parts selected for quality and quiet operation. We even offer a hand-made case from aircraft grade 6061-T6 heat-treated aluminum alloy.

Quiet Operation

Each Revelation is built to be ultra quiet. We use special sound damping material internally, specialty fans, fanless power supplies and fanless hard drive cases. Customers are pleasantly surprised when they can't hear our products! We believe that the Revelation is the quietest high-performance hard drive based system available today. See our FAQ.
Playlists

Music stored on the VRS Revelation can be played back indivually or through playlists. A basic playlist is the collection of tracks listed in order of appearance from a particular CD. You can make as many kinds of playlists as your creativity allows. If you need a playlist that covers all the music for your Mozart Wine and Cheese night, you can create it and play it all at once. Need an Ani di Franco fix? Put all your favorite tracks down and play anytime in any order.
Streaming Formats

Gain access to new music, videos and entertainment through many streaming formats online, including Shoutcast, Magnatune, Rhapsody etc. You will be amazed at how good these lossy formats can sound when decoded through the VRS system."

Here's part of their FAQ about copyright:

"Copyright issues and the DMCA
The following information focuses on United States Copyright law. We believe in strong copyright protections for artists and business. VRS audio and video products are sold with the implicit consent that our customers will use them only for lawful purposes. Taking a Compact Disc or Record that you own and ripping it into a computer for your own personal use is a legal and protected right in the United States (this is called fair use rights). Downloading or copying media or files you do not own is not legal unless the owner of the files or music grants you specific rights. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) further restricts the use of digital media. We do not believe that software or file formats that include limiting or crippling code are a good idea. They typically inhibit a consumer from using media they may actually own and is protected under fair use law. In addition, these types of systems stifle innovation and creativity in development and sometimes the very artists they were designed to protect."

Oops forgot the link to the above: http://www.vrsaudiosystems.com/index.html

This is funny.

Apple and Disney's two-inch disappointment

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/18/apple_disney_stink/

Opinion The AP went with "groundbreaking." Robert Iger, Disney's new chief, exclaimed, "This is the first giant step to making more content available to more people online." Such praise, however, shot well over the rather humble news last week that a video iPod arrived which will play ABC TV shows for $1.99 a pop.

This isn't an anti-Disney thing nor is it an anti-Apple or anti-Apple freak thing. We love Mickey Mouse and can't think of anything better than seeing the rodent with a white cord dangling around his neck.

No, the cynicism stems from how hard the industry as a whole - IT, content owners and media included here - tries to hype what consumers don't care about or want. Paying $1.99 to watch 40 minutes of TV on a 2.5 inch screen? Why not offer us an Orange Julius fetched from the toilet or an asbestos jockstrap?

Anyone who decries the use of P2P technology or fingers BitTorrent as evil can look at this Apple and Disney announcement and then bite his tongue. These technology and media companies are quite plainly mocking consumers by offering up such teeny content. Hasn't the video on a portable device idea already played out as a disaster over and over again?

And the press is no better. All types of media outlets ran around last week, touting the revolution of paying for miniscule images on miniscule screens as a great thing. Er, you can watch the same programs for free on your massive TV, and this is considered pretty unimpressive.

Hardly any of the reporters even mentioned that consumers could actually watch fullscreen versions of the TV shows on their computers via iTunes. That's the bigger news, although we're not sure it's even all that big.

(John C. Dvorak recently hit on the media's terrible Apple fetishism and so did Jack Shafer over at Slate. Examples of the shameful Apple coverage can always be found on the pages of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal where David Pogue and Walt "My Assistant Will Segway Me a Latte" Mossberg puke up non-stop advertorials for Steve Jobs.)

This week has seen local Team Rodent affiliates, actors and union groups gripe about the Apple and Disney deal. Don't their concerns more or less prove that Disney knows this whole thing will be a flop? Would the media giant really not tell any of its major partners about such a plan just so it could secure a prominent place on the iPod or even iTunes? We don't think so.

No, the content holders still want to wall themselves off in an old world. They'll toss the occasional bone out here and there to make it seem like they know what consumers want, but in reality they don't care.

Take, for example, MLB.com, which has been charging well over $10 a month all season to let consumers watch baseball games live on their PCs. Well, when playoff time hits, all the games go to FOX and ESPN, and MLB.com shuts up shop. Even though you've shelled out tons of cash during the season, you can't watch the games you really want to see, if like us your favorite team is in the playoffs. Go Astros.

Still, MLB.com claims you can see them. It has a "Postseason Package: Live" offering up for sale now. Only, it's not live at all. You can only watch archived games. The only live option actually available is streaming radio. And here we thought Americans were technology savvy capitalists and that radio was a thing of at least Web 0.4.

And why not deliver the live TV? All season, viewers have seen ads just like the TV watchers sitting at home. Can't FOX keep showing you the same ads and make some extra cash off subscribers? It sure could, but the content owners would hate to sell something you'd actually want.

You can be sure that kids and adults the world over will keep downloading their favorite TV shows and hunting down music if the best these companies can up with is 2 inch programming and DRM-laced tunes. The only thing worse than these feeble offerings is a press corps that cheers the move.

Why not at least point to the more impressive selection of 5 shows via iTunes and then go ahead and criticize that for being a mediocre selection? That would be the right thing to do.

Sue the kids for getting what they want? Not in America. You're supposed to sell it to them.

New Language Floated
On Digital Audio Piracy

http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-NMWR1129752672124.html

(Tuesday, October 1 A public advocacy group circulated language that it said the recording industry wants lawmakers to include in upcoming legislation on the transition to digital television.

The language, purportedly crafted by the Recording Industry Association of America, would authorize the FCC to implement rules specifying that digital audio broadcasters must encrypt their signals -- and that digital audio manufacturers must make devices capable of decrypting the broadcasts.

The language, circulated by the Public Knowledge – which lobbies on digital copyright issues -- also would allow the FCC to prohibit the use of software programs to snag segments of programming from broadcasts. An RIAA spokeswoman declined to comment.

The language appears to address the concerns that the RIAA, songwriters and others have with regard to software programs that enable consumers to record specific songs from digital radio without having to pay fees -- as they would for digital downloads over the Internet.

"We hear that the language...is a candidate for: a) the so-called "policy" DTV bill, if one emerges; or b) a floor amendment when the budget resolution goes to the floor," Public Knowledge Communications Director Art Brodsky said. He was referring to the budget reconciliation process, which Congress has begun to undertake this week.

Both Public Knowledge and the Consumer Electronics Association oppose including the proposal in upcoming legislation. Brodsky said it is unnecessary.

CEA President Gary Shapiro Monday wrote to Senate Commerce Committee leaders, urging them not to include the language in the DTV bill. He also asked the committee not to accept language offered by the Motion Picture Association of America to reinstate the FCC's authority to implement rules for an anti-piracy technology know as the "broadcast flag."

Shapiro contended that "a narrow broadcast flag amendment for digital video, with appropriate exceptions, may well serve the public interest. But a simple ratification of the rule struck down by the United States Court of Appeals, as proposed by the MPAA, would not."

He also blasted the purported RIAA language and predicted that "consumers would rightfully rebel at this unprecedented government intrusion into their private, noncommercial [home-recording] practices."

Some lobbyists in the technology sector are worried that an amendment with the RIAA or MPAA language could be offered to the budget reconciliation bill once it reaches the Senate floor.

If that happens, the so-called Byrd rule -- which prohibits the Senate from including non-budgetary items within reconciliation legislation – could be invoked. That, in turn, would require a supermajority of 60 senators to waive the Byrd rule in order to include the amendment.

Although public advocacy groups and some technology companies oppose the RIAA language, some lobbyists are concerned that the RIAA could win enough support from Senate leaders to organize such a vote.

Much of the music industry is located in relevant jurisdictions of key senators – including Nashville, which is in the home state of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.

http://p2pnet.net/story/6657
US publishers sue Google

p2p news / p2pnet: The Association of American Publishers has followed in the footsteps of the Author's Guild, suing Google for copyright infringement.

In papers filed today in New York, “the publishers association sought a ruling that would support an injunction against illegal scanning and cited the "continuing, irreparable and imminent harm publishers are suffering … due to Google's willful (copyright) infringement to further its own commercial purposes," says the Associated Press.

“The suit named five publishers as plaintiffs: McGraw-Hill, Pearson Education, Penguin Group USA, Simon & Schuster and John Wiley & Sons. The suit seeks recovery of legal costs, but no additional damages.”

ABC says Google called the legal action "short-sighted”.
-----------------------------------------------
""continuing, irreparable and imminent harm publishers are suffering"

I wish that the law required that the copyright holders prove suffering. This is one of the problems with American and Canadian copyright law -- the concept of "statutory damages" and the ability of copyright holders to get fines levied against an infringer even when no damage occurred. This is why the music cartels are able to scare P2P users into settling out of court, and how they are able to launch this frivolous lawsuit against Google at all.

If Google is just indexing the books and allowing people to find them, but not read them online, I can't see how this is anything other than a $free$ advertising vehicle for book publishers. Google is trying to keep these antiquated book publishers relevant in the new media world. In a sane world the book publishers would be paying large fees to Google, not suing them.

It is getting harder and harder every day to have any sympathy for the interests of old-economy copyright holders and their intermediaries."

Well stated.
I'm behind you all the way.

The following was sent to my INBOX anonymously out of the blue. It could all just be hearsay, but if anyone wants to research and try to find out more, you know what to do!
==========================

Schmoo. This is just a taster of what i can get you.
If you want more get in touch. But for now this is how
it goes:

For the deputies of the Mariposa Sheriff's
Department, the awakening occurred on June 24, 1980,
when deputy Ron Van Meter drowned in an alleged
boating accident on Lake McClure. The search party
consisted mainly of three divers, deputies Dave
Beavers, Rod Cusic and Gary Estep. Although adjacent
counties offered additional divers, sheriff Paul Paige
refused outside help, even a minisubmarine offered by
Beavers' associate.

In the shallow, placid waters of Lake McClure, Van
Meter's body was not recovered that week, and indeed
would not be found until ten years later, in
September, 1990 when his torso, wrapped in a fish net
and weighted down by various objects, including a fire
extinguisher, washed ashore a few hundred yards from
where Sergeant Roderick Sinclair's houseboat had once
been moored.

Van Meter's widow, Leslie, had been at home baking
cookies when she was notified of her husband's
disappearance. She was an Indian girl who had no
affinity with sheriff Paul Paige. The horror began for
her that day also. Her home was ransacked and her
husband's briefcase and diary were seized by the
Mariposa Sheriff's department. Only she and a few
deputies knew what Van Meter's diary contained. He'd
told his wife he'd taken out a special life insurance
policy two weeks before, but after the search that was
missing also.

Leslie was taken to a psychiatric clinic for
evaluation shortly after the incident.The story
surfaced years later, one tiny bubble at a time. The
selfinvolved little community of Mariposa did not
cough up its secrets gladly. On March 23, 1984, Leslie
Van Meter filed a Citizen's Complaint with the
Mariposa County Sheriff's department alleging that the
Sheriff's office had been negligent and unprofessional
in their investigation of her husband's disappearance.
His body had still not been found, despite private
searches by Sergeant Beavers and other friends of the
missing deputy. She wanted the case reopened.

Paul Paige was no longer sheriff, but newly elected
Sheriff Ken Mattheys responded by reopening the
investigation. Investigator Raymond Jenkins, a Merced
College Police Chief, and retired FBI agent Tom Walsh
from Merced, were notified by Sheriff Mattheys in
October, 1984 that the Van Meter case had been
reopened and he wanted their help in cleaning up the
Sheriff's Department.

Their investigation led them straight to the doorstep
of MCA Corporation (Music Corporation of America),
parent company to Curry Company, the largest
concessionaire in Yosemite National Park. A major drug
network had surfaced in the park, compelling one park
ranger, Paul Berkowitz, to go before the House
Interior Subcommittee on National Parks and Recreation
to testify about drug distribution by Curry Company
officials.

Ed Hardy, the president of Curry Company, was closely
associated with Mariposa County officials, in
particular, Mariposa District Attorney Bruce Eckerson,
County Assessor Steve Dunbar, and Congressman Tony
Coelho, whose district encompassed Mariposa and the
Park. The annual camping trips that the three men took
together was encouraged by the local townsfolk because
most of Mariposa's tax base emanated from Curry
Company.Coelho and Hardy were regular fixtures around
town, seen at most of the social events. Coelho even
cooked and served spaghetti dinners for the whole town
annually at the Mariposa Fair Grounds, and purchased
property in partnership with one member of the
Mariposa Board of Supervisors. In fact, Mariposa was
one of the first places he bid farewell to after
resigning from Congress to avoid an investigation of
his finances.

Meanwhile, investigator Raymond Jenkins had followed
the drug trail from Yosemite back to the Mariposa
airport, where sheriff's deputies were seen regularly
loading and unloading packages from planes in the dead
of night.

They called you Schmoo...how interesting. How many people misspell that, do you think? How many people would address it to you that way, instead of independentmusician or Mike or Shmoo? And why send it here at all? If anonymous knows something about a crime, who would be the proper person to report it to? A web site? Don't think so....

My nick gets misspelled that way all the time and thus doesn't really give me a clue to who it was. (...not that I even feel the need to know. If someone wants to remain anonymous, fine by me.)

First rule of journalism--who is the source? Ask Judy Miller...

DRM and wiretapping huge threats to cyber freedom --PCWorld

EFF launches contest to design GUI for Tor --Newsforge

Musicians Trickle Back Into the Big Easy --AP

Serletic departing Virgin chairman post --Reuters

I wish they would ALL leave.

Viacom to Complete Splitup This Year --AP

gdZiemann's updated 7-steps found at http://azoz.com


-------

1) Napster happened.
2) RIAA claims that sales will suffer because of evil pirates, mp3s, p2p, CD-Rs and any other handy target. Complains to government, asks for new laws.
3) Self-fulfill prophesy of lower sales by reducing the number of new releases offered to the marketplace, introduce childish DRM, insult and threaten consumers.
4) Sue a few college kids. Repeat Step 3.
5) Sue a lot of college kids. Repeat Steps 2 and 3. Sue another file-sharing company.
6) Reduce artist rosters and maybe an entire genre or two. Repeat Step 3.
7) Repeat Step 2. Sue everyone with an Internet connection. Repeat Step 6.

They make fewer records, they piss off some fans, they sell fewer records, the labels don't make as much money as they used to, so they make fewer records...

Another merger, anyone?

Something else from the INBOX:
--------------------------

"LOOK AT WHAT THEY DID TO LIMEWIRE PRO 4.9 MY GOD, THEY HAVE A LICENSE SEARCH ADDITION YOU CAN'T D/L 99% OF THE SONGS, THAT IS THE FINAL STRAW,IM GOING TO WRIGHT MY CONGRESSMAN!!!!!!!!!!"

Mike, Your letter in the inbox sounds like the start of a halloween prank?

ShadowMom do you have to evacuate? This is big nasty monster storm....as if you aren't aware of that...

Pepe, my dear...I never have to evacuate... No, really, I don't. I am just south of Miami, but the Keys have been evacuating since yesterday. I have enough food to last a week, so if this thing goes somewhere else, everybody can come to my house for tuna fish and peanut butter sandwiches, bottled water, and chocolate chip cookies. My weather is beautiful right now, like it usually is before a storm, because it sort of sucks all the bad weather around itself. In fact, it would be a great day to go to the beach. If those people would get off my tv and stop talking about it, you would never know there was a storm there today...

Glad to hear that....and with the exception of the peanut butter...sounds like a fabulous diet plan....be careful anyway though, ok? Storms bring out weird people...

You can't be serious...this is Florida! We're all weird, all the time! I only hope we don't lose power; it's still hot down here, and that makes people quite cranky when you mess with their ac..

I'll make sure to put in a good word for all of your air conditioners down there

Regarding Limewire, it is the standard tool for Mac users.

DO NOT follow the instructions to upgrade to 4.9.

Limewire has sold out and the new upgrade will "call home."

Most amusing that the most popular Limewire search will be for its own LW Version 4.8.1. But the persistent popups are indeed aggravating.

Methinks they are sweating bullets and shitting bricks.

shadow mom..

I thought fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches was a little odd, but turns out they're pretty good. Is peanut butter and tunafish all that good together or do you have to use rye bread???

I'm moving this to the proper thread so as not to irk the powers-that-be (hi, Tom!) by being off-topic...

Warning: If you do not understand the meaning of the word "satire" -- please look it up before reading this story!

RIAA Claims Music On Car Radios Meant Only For Original Vehicle Owner!!!!

Good one ShadowMom. I think we have had it here before.

Dolby To Showcase DRM Technology --TechWeb

DRM, comming to a theater near you soon!

(can you believe it?)

The Beatles Dubbed Icon of the Century --AP/Variety

Sirius sees big bounce after Stern deal --Reuters

Lawmakers back U.S. control of Internet --Reuters

Digital TV Date Pushed to 2009 --PCWorld

This seemed to have been overlooked, maybe on purpose, but I thought it rather funny. Only in America can a person be indited for criminal activity one year, and get a jury duty notice the next....

Michael Jackson Summoned for Jury Duty

Whose peer is he? Inquiring minds want to know...uh, no. They don't.

An Light Hearted Look At The Music Industry

Happy reading!

George has a great article: "P2P Bad - Guns & Cheeseburgers Good" up at http://azoz.com

Great find CopyrightLawSucks! I will permanently link it over on the left under "The Education" tab (which is in serious need of an update anyways.)

...scratch that. I can't figure out the html associated with the "Education" tab (grrr, it explains why it hasn't been updated since I took over as admin) so I stuck it in our "friends and partners" list.

Andrew Kantor: CyberSpeak - Useful - and free - tools abound on the Net

He lists Audacity which is an awsome tool if you are a musician/producer.

OBIT:

Jazz diva Shirley Horn dies at 71 --AFP

Swedish crack down on P2P hit by backlash

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=27110

THE SWEDISH FILM and music industry's attempts to clamp down on file sharers seem to have hit a snag.

Last week the movie industry body, Antipiratbyrån (APB), was allowed an exemption from the tough Swedish data protection act to store IP addresses of people who are file sharing. This would give it the power to lurk on the interweb and get a nice list of data of what file sharers were copying.

The music industry saw all this and decided to wade in too. The Swedish branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) told Computer Sweden that it was expecting to carry out a number of investigations in the autumn with an appropriate advertising campaign.

However, when they came to look at the exemption to the Data Protection Act that they had been given, the combined forces of the IFPI and the APB discovered that all was not as it seemed.

The Swedish Board of Data Inspection has told them that they can have IP addresses, but they have to warn the file sharers that they have them.

Following the antics of the American movie and music business you would think that all that would mean is that they would write to the file sharer and tell them they were being monitored.

But this requires the co-operation of the country’s ISPs and indications are that they have told the movie and music business to go forth and multiply.

As a spokesperson from Telia Sonera Sweden said: "We don’t send out warning letters to our customers on anyone else's behalf."

More here.

Big Brother Wants to Read your e-Mail

The federal government, vastly extending the reach of an 11-year-old law, is requiring hundreds of universities, online communications companies and cities to overhaul their Internet computer networks to make it easier for law enforcement authorities to monitor e-mail and other online communications.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/20/openoffice_versus_microsoftoffice/

Open source go.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/21/opensource_government/

Go Go Go.

OBIT:

CHRISTIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY & FRIENDS MOURN THE LOSS OF NICKOLAS GONZALEZ --Assist

New Boycott-Riaa Certified Artist:

Platinum Bitch

Lol, George, they can read mine all they want...those ads for Viagra and Rolex watches are ever so entertaining! In fact, I'll forward them all to the government if they'd like....

I know you are just being light-hearted and jocular about it ShadowMom, but I am very pissed off by news like that.

(I suspect you are troubled by that sorta thing too.)

George, is there another way to access that NYTimes article about Big Brother wanting to read our e-mail?
The NYTimes has a bad habit of wanting to bombard one's computer system with myriads of cookies; I think they are just about the worst in that regard.
Perhaps there's some other link.

With all this invasion of privacy, I suggest internet users finally need to explore alternatives to online communication companies. Perhaps there are still some ways to use the internet by means of encryption or random foreign proxy servers.

Input appreciated.

grumpygeezer, I equate that sorta shit (yes, I spell it out vulgar like that because it IS vulgar what they are doing) with DRM and the like.

You may notice that if I find an article that is about our sorta "thang" ...I will NOT link to it unless it is "in the clear" where you can just click the link and read it.

(Or, in those rare instances that I do refer/link to a "registration required" article, I always try to give a head's-up warning.)


I think it is pure BULLSHIT to say:

"Hey, I wanna tell you something, but... you gotta give me all your sensitive info first!"

NYTimes and other rags who do that
can go fuck themselves for all I care. (Are they not owned by Viacom/Disney/CBS or one of our enemies anyway?)

Here's a band that's become successful completely outside of the music establishment:

Pop band goes to No 1 by clicking with fans online

grumpygeezer -- Hey, I find 'em where I find 'em.

MP3 Downloads Per Player Drop Sharply

The story is kind of misleading because it only counts paid downloads. Still, it says that the number of mp3 players has increased 400 percent but downloads have only increased 150%.

Also says that 90% of the music on mp3 players is ripped from CDs that people own or borrowed from friends.

So consider this...
After you've ripped all your favorite music to your iPod (or whatever) and it can play for days without repeating a song, then every time you listen to it the industry is unable to get the flavor of the week into your ears.

In re to the digital TV deadline in the US, for you British viewers:

Here is a list of target switchover dates for the United Kingdom.

2008: Borders and Cumbria (Border)

2009: South West (Westcountry), North West/Lancashire (Granada), Wales (HTV Wales)

2010: West (HTV West), North Scotland (Grampian), Central Scotland (STV)

2011: Midlands (Central), Yorkshire/Lincolnshire (Yorkshire), East (Anglia)

2012: South and South East (Meridian), London (Carlton/LWT), North East (Tyne Tees), Northern Ireland (Ulster), Channel Islands (CTV)

Source: http://www.wolfbane.com/uktv.htm

And it is interesting to know that thirteen of these ITV networks are controlled by corporations that own at least two networks (ITV plc, a merge of Carlton’s and Granada’s assets, owns all the stations in England and Wales, while the Scottish Media Group controls both Scottish channels). What are the two independents? Ulster and Channel, also the last two networks to switch over.

"After you've ripped all your favorite music to your iPod (or whatever) and it can play for days without repeating a song, then every time you listen to it the industry is unable to get the flavor of the week into your ears."

Quite right! This is why these Moron are going out of business with all the BS they are trowing arrond themsleves and calling it marketing!

Bye Bye Bye RIAA!

Welcome to the new music industry!

Holland's BREIN to hit p2p sites


Music Industry Renews Effort To Control Digital Radio Copying

Divvying Up the Download Payload

Wanted: P2P Tech Experts

How novel....free music

Free CDs can really sell music magazines. But the record industry isn't so crazy about giving away the store.

check out forums, serious legal, RIAA give the music away. RIAA can compete with free if they want to. Here's one way.

The RIAA is about as relevant as icemen when refrigerators were becoming popular in the '40s. And about as useful.