A 3rd of US surfers plug into Wi-Fi
p2pnet.net news:- American surfers with wireless connections might want to take note of the Debbie Foster RIAA case in which an Oklahoma mother took on Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG, the members of the Big 4 Organized Music cartel, and won.
Now all she has to do is somehow get them to pay her the money they owe her.
"If the ruling stands, the RIAA will have to be much more careful about who it sues going forward, adjusting its scatter-shot approach to filing such lawsuits in order to avoid suing the wrong people," said Wired News.
But if the RIAA’s appeal is granted, "open Wi-Fi hotspots could become standing invitations for the organization to sue."
Now, one-third of internet users, either with a laptop computer, a handheld personal digital assistant (PDA), or cell phone, have surfed the Net or checked email with such as Wi-Fi broadband or cell phone networks, says a Pew Internet & American Life Project report.
Wi-Fi users of the wireless Net tend to be younger than Net users in general, says Pew. Of users under the age of 30:
- 37% have logged on wirelessly from anywhere.
- 32% have logged on wirelessly from someplace other than home or work.
- 25% log on wirelessly at home.
- 16% have gotten online by wireless means at work.
And as far as devices go:
- 40% have laptop computers, of which 88% are wireless-enabled.
- 26% have wireless networks at home.
- 40% have cell phones that can access the internet
- 17% have PDAs that can connect to the internet.
"Still," says the study, "the 30-to-49 age range also shows a predilection to use wireless access, particularly with respect to devices that are often adjuncts to people’s jobs. About one in five (18%) internet users in this age group have gone online using a wireless connection at work, and 15% have a PDA that connects wirelessly.
"As to other types of wireless use, one third (32%) of internet users in the 30-49 age range have logged on wirelessly from any location and 24% have connected to the internet by wireless means from a place other than home or work."
Also See:
and won – Unguarded Wi-Fi threat, February 23, 2007
Wired News – RIAA Fights Back, Threatens Open Wi-Fi, February 22, 2007
If your Net access is blocked by government restrictions, try Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at thIs the end (of the Net) nigh?zze University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies. Go here for the official download, here for the p2pnet download, and here for details. And if you’re Chinese and you’re looking for a way to access independent Internet news sources, try Freegate, the DIT program written to help Chinese citizens circumvent web site blocking outside of China. Download it here.
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Tired of being treated like a criminal? They depend on you, not the other way around. Don’t buy their ‘product’. Do bug your local politicians. Use emails, snail-mail, phone calls, faxes, IM, stop them in the street, blog. And if you’re into organizing, organize petitions, organize demonstrations and then turn up on your local political rep’s doorstep, making sure you’ve contacted your local tv/radio station/newspaper in advance. Don’t just complain. Do something!
