Police Blame Video Games For 2-Year-Old Stabbing 5-Month-Old TechDirt
Apparently a 2-year-old boy stabbed his 5-month-old brother with a knife. It sounds like he didn’t do much damage, but police immediately claimed that violent video games owned by a much older teenaged brother “may have played a role.”

Two New Books On Innovation Colliding With Law EFF
We at EFF have long lamented that, too often, incumbent industry leaders use law as a weapon to quell disruptive innovators, to the detriment of competition, innovation, and the public. Here’s how Larry Downes puts it in a recent Forbes interview about his forthcoming book due out in October, The Laws of Disruption:…

AT&T caught in ‘Idol’ texting controversy Neowin
American Idol year after year continues to attract millions of viewers and many of those who watch will also vote for their favorite performer. One way of entering your ballot is by texting. This year only those subscribers of AT&T were able to vote via text. AT&T has come under fire for possibly altering the results for the final vote that determined the winner of this year’s competition. [Additional: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/technology/20090528_AT_T_says_employees_helped_Ark___Idol__fans_text_votes.html]

AT&T begs customers to stick around for faster network The Standard
The cruelest, truest moment in iPhone: The Music Video is when New York Times gadget guru David Pogue sings, So what if it`s AT&T? A bit of audio doctoring mangled Pogue`s AT&T in sputtering mimicry of a bad connection. My own AT&T iPhone fails to connect in many areas where my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry never hiccups. AT&T needs to change that reputation. That`s one reason the company has pre-announced its rollout of a faster wireless network that most customers won`t have until 2011.

AT&T Class Action: US court rules class action against AT&T can go on Reuters
AT&T Can’t Force Arbitration Via Fine Print – A U.S. District Court ruled on Wednesday that consumers can go ahead with a class action lawsuit against AT&T Inc (T.N) that stems from the 2004 merger of Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless. The case arose from complaints from customers after the merger that they were being forced to pay fees and buy new phones to transfer their service plan from the AT&T Wireless network to Cingular, now operating under the AT&T brand. AT&T argued customers should channel their complaints through individual arbitration rather than class actions… “We respectfully disagree with the court’s conclusions,” the company said. “Our arbitration clause is among the most consumer-friendly in the nation and has been shown to be very consumer friendly in other cases.” The lawsuit MaryGrace A. Coneff, et al versus AT&T said Cingular “deliberately degraded” the AT&T network to induce AT&T Wireless customers to transfer their service to Cingular. But a transfer came with obligations including an $18 transfer fee to Cingular and the purchase of a new phone from Cingular. Customers who did not accept the transfer fee had to put up with a degraded service until the end of their service contract or pay a $175 early termination fee. [Comment: heh, Sounds like Rogers Canada customer friendly "arbitration contract clause". Additional info: http://www.xchangemag.com/hotnews/att-wireless-must-prep-for-class-action-suit.html and http://www.examiner.com/a-2037397~Class_action_by_ex_AT_T_Wireless_customers_OKed.html and http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TEC_TECHBIT_ATT_CLASS_ACTION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-05-27-16-05-52 and http://www.courant.com/technology/sns-ap-us-tec-techbit-att-class-action,0,578807.story and http://www.cellular-news.com/story/37698.php?source=rss and http://www.i4u.com/article25019.html and http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATT-Still-Cant-Force-Arbitration-Via-Fine-Print-102639]

Samsung Cell Recall: ‘Jitterbug’ cell phones might not call 911 Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/27/AR2009052701387.html
Samsung is voluntarily recalling thousands of “Jitterbug” cell phones because they may fail to connect to emergency 911 service when out of range, according to federal regulators. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the recall involves about 160,000 Samsung phones. Consumers can call Samsung at 866-304-4980 if they have not already been contacted. The model numbers are: SPH-a110 and SPH-a120 with standard key pads and version BB14 software. [Additional info: http://www.torontosun.com/money/2009/05/27/9586686.html]

Google gives away hundreds of free Android phones to developers ZDnet
The company handed out hundreds of HTC Ions today to eager developers, attendees, and press. The phone is packed with the Android 1.5 operating system, and a T-Mobile SIM card with 30 days of unlimited data and calls. [Comment: Nothing like free positive press for a free unlimited service. BTW This is not a paid for ad. ]

Iraq slaps mobile phone servers with $20 million fine Khaleej Times
The government Wednesday slapped fines totalling more than 20 million dollars on the three mobile phone operators in Iraq for poor service and not honouring contracts. The Zain group, which is Kuwaiti owned, bore the brunt of the fines and was ordered to pay 18.6 million dollars, with Korek to pay 1.2 million dollars and Asiacell fined 1.1 million. The bad service provided by these companies was the reason for the fine, said government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh in a statement. They should respect the contracts and the conditions laid down by the government. The mobile phone market has exploded since the US-led invasion of 2003. The customer base of Zain and Asiacell has shot up over the past two years from a combined total of 300,000 subscribers to a massive 10 million. [Comment: Can the Iraqi watchdogs come to Canada? Please?]

Yahoo open to Microsoft deal under right terms including ‘boatloads of money` Associated Press
Yahoo Inc.’s chief executive said Wednesday that she is open to joining forces with Microsoft Corp. so both companies can better compete in Internet search, but a deal would need a specific set of terms – including “boatloads of money.” An alliance in Internet search would have to enrich Yahoo, give Yahoo access to the “right data” and bring strong technology, Carol Bartz said at the Wall Street Journal’s D: All Things Digital conference. In the past, Yahoo has insisted it needs data culled from search requests to sell the most effective ads and tailor other services to suit its users’ interests. Asked if she would consider selling all of Yahoo, she said, “Oh, they’d have to have BIG boatloads of money.”

Google Throws Its Weight Behind HTML 5 Web Monkey
At Google I/O, the company`s developer conference taking place at the Moscone Center here this week, Google Vice President of engineering Vic Gundotra centered the majority of his keynote presentation around what the company is doing to promote the next version of HTML, the mark-up language upon which the bulk of the web is built. HTML 5 is still nascent technology. It`s only in the draft specification stage, mired in committee at the W3C, the web`s governing body. But HTML 5 is already being implemented in the wild, both as experimental demos and as the driving technology behind the latest wave of web applications.

Aussie Christian Group Demands Mandatory Porn Filtering ZeroPaid
Angry govt seemingly backpedaling from its plan to force ISPs to block porn other content deemed “inappropriate” for kids. The Australian Christian Lobby is angry over recent testimony by Broadband Minister Stephen Conroy in which he seemed to signal that the govt is backpedaling from plans for mandatory Internet filtering in the country. They want the govt to institute mandatory ISP filtering of pornography and other “inappropriate” material, offering an opt-out mechanism for those that choose. [Comment: Ummm no. You should opt-in for a censor. Please adjust your thinking.]

Lawyers Fined $72.6 Million For Screwing Up Patent Application, Not Letting Company Sue For Enough Cash TechDirt
Rob Hyndman points us to the news that a law firm has been hit with a $72.6 million judgment for legal malpractice, after a company who had hired the law firm to handle its patent applications claimed that the law firm screwed up the applications, making it that much harder for the company to shake down other companies for cash. The inventors, in this case, claim to have come up with a “man down” alert system (for firefighters and the like), and had this law firm patent it for them. Of course, similar technology appeared on the market soon after, and so these guys sued and were “only” able to collect $9 million — which they deemed to be way too little. So they sued the law firm… and won.

BSA’s Canadian Piracy Numbers Based On Hunches, Not Actual Surveys TechDirt
So… just to get this straight. IDC doesn’t bother to survey Canadians about software piracy, because it considers Canada to be a “low piracy” country. So it just makes up the number… and then the BSA, other lobbyists, research groups, the press and politicians (including the US Trade Representative) use these made up numbers to support the claims that Canada is a high piracy country. Doesn’t that seem like fraud?

Band Celebrates ‘Super Fan’ Who Burns Their CD And Gives It Out To Everyone TechDirt
While we still have various old media execs insisting that piracy is destroying content creators, every day we’re seeing new examples of content creators who have learned to embrace sharing, recognizing that it’s actually free promotion and free distribution. Via Ian Rogers, we find out about how the band Chester French isn’t just encouraging people to share their music, they’re actively promoting fans who are burning copies of their CD and handing them out to friends and strangers. In fact, they just put up a silly video of the guy showing others how to burn copies of the CD to hand out as well. The band gets it: these are “super fans.” They’re not “thieves” or “freeriders” or “leeches.” They love the band and are helping to promote the band for free.

Canadian Press mobile news application now available for iPhone Canadian Press
News stories from The Canadian Press, CTVglobemedia, Torstar, Transcontinental, the Winnipeg Free Press and The Associated Press are now available for the iPhone and iPod touch. The new mobile “app” can now be downloaded in English or French from the Apple App Store for a one-year subscription cost of $2.99.

Time Warner to spin off AOL Associated Press
Time Warner Inc. is dumping AOL after spending nearly a decade trying to build a new-age media empire only to wind up in a weaker position than when the marriage began. The divorce, announced Thursday, will spin out AOL as a separate Internet company run by former Google Inc. advertising executive Tim Armstrong. He was hired in March to try to restore the lustre to a brand once known as America Online.

[E-Health Gone Mad:] Ont. health agency scrutinized for contract tendering practices CBC
An Ontario health agency has doled out nearly $5 million in contracts without any apparent attempt to open up the deals to outside bidders, documents obtained by CBC News show. A letter regarding the request states that no procurement documents for consultant services were located “because none were created.”… Hiring outside consultants also would allow eHealth Ontario to skirt the so-called “sunshine law” that requires provincial agencies to publicize the names of employees with salaries of $100,000 or more…. “This is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s all sorts of problems with this agency where taxpayers are really being — I think it’s not going overboard to say — getting ripped off by this agency and their practices,” Runciman said.

Enhanced Drivers permit: Few takers for new border card Montreal Gazette
Slow start; Just 11,000 pay for ‘enhanced’ driver’s permit – The [Quebec] province’s new enhanced driver’s licences, which will act as official identification for crossing the border into the United States, are proving to be a tough sell. In the first 31/2 months of the program only 11,000 enhanced licences – which have computer identity chips that can be read by border guards – have been issued, The Gazette has learned… Quebec’s enhanced licences are equipped with a radio-frequency identification chip. Tailored to meet U.S. Homeland Security criteria, they can be read from 10 metres away, raising fears they could be also be read by police or identity thieves without the licence holder’s knowledge. The chip only contains a number, but using that number a U.S. border guard can access a database in Canada to obtain personal information, including a digitized photograph of licence holders. The SAAQ notes that U.S. authorities would keep that information on file for 75 years… Privacy experts say this would allow U.S. authorities to build extensive files on all enhanced licence holders crossing the border. Canada’s privacy commissioners persuaded the provinces to keep the enhanced licence database in Canada, shielding it from the U.S. Patriot Act, adopted in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, which grants police unlimited access to databases in the U.S. But once U.S. Customs and Border Protection has downloaded an enhanced licence file, it can combine the data with other available information to build a file.

Dutch Music Collection Society Loses Artist Royalties In The Stock Market TechDirt
The various music collection societies keep insisting that they’re just the important middlemen helping make sure artists get the royalties they’re due. Except, for some reason, they keep getting caught not actually giving that money to artists, but hanging on to it themselves. Billboard reports that the Dutch collection society, Buma/Stemra, is happily telling people that revenue rose by 2% last year — though, oddly, the Billboard report leaves out one rather interesting detail. Reader Marcel de Jong notes that Buma/Stemra invested a bunch of the money it collected for artists into the stock market and then lost a chunk of it, so it’s paying artists less money than it collected for them….

Marc – p2pnet

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May, 2009