p2pnet headline roundup, August 22, 2008
China blocks iTunes music store – The Guardian
Apple’s iTunes music store has been blocked in China, allegedly due to some athletes listening to protest songs.
It started with Songs for Tibet, a compilation produced by the Art of Peace Foundation, a US-based Tibetan activist group. The Foundation invited Olympic athletes to download the album free of charge. By listening in Beijing, the activist group said, athletes would communicate that “compassion and non-violence can overcome intolerance and oppression – beautiful ideals to be associated with the Olympic spirit”.
More than 40 athletes downloaded the album, according to a press release, which includes songs by Sting, Rush, Damien Rice, Underworld and Alanis Morissette.
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Verizon, Google Close To Mobile Search Deal – Wall Street Journal
Verizon Communications Inc. is nearing an agreement with Google Inc. on a wide-ranging partnership, according to people familiar with the situation, in what could be a much-needed jolt for the anemic mobile search business. It’s the latest sign that telecom companies are finally conceding that their homegrown search services have stalled — and that they need help from the Internet’s big guns. Carriers have been reluctant to team up with established Internet players, not wanting to hand over a potentially lucrative stream of advertising revenue.
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Brazilian charged in U.S. in connection with operating botnet – CNET News
A Brazilian man has been charged in connection with operating a botnet composed of more than 100,000 computers infected with malicious software allegedly designed to send spam, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday. A federal grand jury in New Orleans handed down an indictment charging Leni de Abreu Neto, a 35-year-old from Taubate, Brazil, with one count of conspiracy to cause damage to computers worldwide. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and up to three years of supervised release, as well as a fine of $250,000 or more based on the gross amount of monetary loss determined to have been suffered by victims. The indictment alleges that Neto conspired with Nordin Nasiri, a 19-year-old from Sneek, Netherlands, to “use, maintain, lease and sell an illegal botnet.”
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Congress: Terror database upgrade failing – Associated Press
A congressional committee on Thursday asked for an investigation into a counterterrorism database software upgrade that it says is months behind schedule, millions over budget and would actually be less capable than the U.S. government terrorist tracking system it is meant to replace. At issue is Railhead, a software upgrade to the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, which is a vast database of names that feeds the nation’s terrorist watch list. It is meant to help analysts “connect the dots” between known or suspected terrorists and their contacts, potential targets and safe houses. As of January, the database contained 500,000 names. The upgrade was supposed to be completed by the end of this year.
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Actors paid to line up for iPhone launch in Poland – Reuters
When Apple Inc rolled out its iPhone in the United States, some fans paid big money to be among the first to get their hands on the device. In Poland, people are getting paid to line up. “We have these fake queues at front of 20 stores around the country to drum up interest in the iPhone,” a spokesman said. As part of a marketing campaign ahead of the iPhone’s Friday launch in Poland, the country’s largest mobile operator Orange is paying dozens of actors to stand in queues.
FTC to ban prerecorded sales messages – Associated Press
After a barrage of consumer complaints, the government is banning phone calls of prerecorded sales messages unless consumers agree to receive the calls. The Federal Trade Commission also announced that by December all prerecorded calls must provide an opt-out selection to make it easy for consumers to stop getting those calls. Effective Sept. 1, 2009, sellers and telemarketers may place prerecorded calls only to consumers who have provided signed and written agreements to receive them. The FTC said the rules will not affect informational prerecorded messages, such as messages to notify consumers of appointments and cancellations, because they do not attempt to sell goods or services.
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