p2pnet World Headlines â Sept 15, 2009
All publicly funded content should be in the public domain BoingBoing
Let`s put aside my personal frustration at having my work locked away. The real question here is, since CBC content is funded by the public, shouldn`t the public own it? Or at least have access to it? Actually, the CBC archives are just the tip of the iceberg: the overwhelming majority of stuff made for Canadians with Canadians` money is inaccessible to Canadians. So I want to put forth one more contrarian position: I think that any publicly funded content should (within, say, 5 years of its creation) be released to the public domain. [Comment: A must read.]
BSA reaches $431,336 deal with Canadian companies for software piracy ITWorldCanada
The Business Software Alliance reached a settlement with 12 Canadian companies for using unlicensed copies of software. The Software & Industry Information Association (SIIA) said the tough economy is no excuse
Chinese schools quietly discard controversial Web filter Reuters
Schools in Beijing are quietly removing the Green Dam filter, which was required for all school computers in July, due to complaints over problems with the software. But schools were still ordered by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to install the web filter, which Chinese officials said would block pornography and other unhealthy content. Critics said it could be used to spy on Internet users and block politically sensitive sites. Nonetheless, some schools have chosen to uninstall it.
Iphone update kills Exchange access The Inquirer
Owners of older iPhones and Ipod Touches will be in for a nasty surprise if they decide to update to the latest OSX for Iphone 3.1. The point release which is supposed to improve security, reliability and fix bugs also stops all devices older than the brand new Iphone 3GS from accessing some Microsoft Exchange 2007 servers, according to reports. Users are telling us that after installing the update, a message informs them: Policy Requirement The account [account name] requires encryption which is not supported on this iPod/iPhone. Although the encryption policy is a server side option, thousands of users have been succesfully syncing to these servers for many months without problem. Which leads us to conclude that Apple devices have been misleading Exchange servers into thinking that they are capable of carrying out the level of on-device encryption demanded by their system administrators when they quite clearly are not.
Australia to split up phone giant Telstra CBC
The Australian government has announced major reforms to Telstra, telling the telco giant it must split its infrastructure and retail arms or be blocked from gaining more wireless broadband spectrum. If Telstra, the country`s biggest phone company, does not voluntarily restructure the organization, the government will legislate a split and force Telstra to sell off its cable network and 50-per-cent share in satellite TV provider Foxtel. [Additional: http://www.ovum.com/news/euronews.asp?id=8130 and http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,26075559-15306,00.html ]
MTS, small ISP [Acanac Inc.] take internet fight with Bell to court CBC
MTS Allstream and independent broadband provider Acanac are asking a court to overturn a CRTC decision that grants Bell Canada the right to impose new internet charges on wholesale customers. The companies, respectively based in Winnipeg and Toronto, have filed a notice of motion with the Federal Court of Appeal that says the regulator made an error of law by allowing Bell to go ahead with its usage-based billing plan. [Comment: Court filings can be found here: http://acanac.com/3333/ ]
Ownership complaint about fat cats wanting to get fatter, says Krstajic Cartt
The latest regulatory skirmish between an incumbent wireless operator and the new kids with the spectrum is about fat cats looking to get fatter, according to Public Mobile`s CEO Alek Krstajic . Public Mobile is backed by multiple Canadian investors including an investment of $50M from OMERS private equity, making them the largest shareholder in Public Mobile. OMERS commitment to Public Mobile was publicly announced last January and is no secret to Rogers. Rogers simply chose to ignore this information and intentionally mislead the CRTC, he added.
Globalive says CRTC review could delay wireless plans CBC
New wireless company Globalive Holdings said it might have to delay the launch of its mobile phone network after the CRTC decided Monday to review its ownership structure.
British cellphone rate calculator helps cut bills by 42% CBC
British cellphone customers using a regulator-sanctioned online rate calculator are saving an average of 42 per cent on their monthly bills, according to the company that runs it. The tool, at Billmonitor.com, compares more than 1.3 million cellphone contract deals across the United Kingdom and computes users` existing bills to suggest the best deals to customers . The tool stands in stark contrast to an effort by the Canadian government, which was scrapped over the summer. The government sank $1.4 million over three years into the project but abandoned it because it suffered from technical limitations.
EC Anti-Piracy Measures Soothe But Don`t Satisfy Billboard
IFPI chairman/CEO John Kennedy says new European Commission measures on intellectual property rights are good news for Europe`s music sector, but rights-holders still want stronger anti-piracy legislation across Europe. The Commission today (Sept. 14) issued a Communication which it said in a statement contained practical, non-legislative measures to combat counterfeiting and piracy. It aims to complement the existing legal framework by tightening up enforcement, which it says can be achieved through greater collaboration between the private sector, national authorities and consumers across the European Union. [Additional: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/1313&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en also Big 4 labels back EU `anti-piracy` plans ]
Number of webcam models ‘on the rise’ BBC
Market analysts say the overall webcam market is now worth more than a billion pounds, with online sex shows a big part of it. Industry insiders say there’s been a rise in applications, partly fuelled by the recession, with hundreds of British women signing up to UK websites each month, many more internationally.
The Fray Sues Manager Over Copyrights To Songs BillBoard
The Fray songwriting duo of Joseph King and Isaac Slade are suing their manager over the copyrights to their songs A lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court says Latterman told the band members his company, Evanston, Ill.-based Gregg Alan Corp., was getting only a finders fee. Instead, the band alleges Latterman obtained ownership to a portion of the composers` music through the agreement.
Recording Industry Insiders Complain About Musicians Who Argue Against Kicking People Off The Internet TechDirt
Well, well. Last week, we noted that a large number of well known musicians had come out against the idea of kicking accused file sharers off the internet, noting that it would only escalate the problem rather than solve it. But, of course, the industry organizations who claim to represent musicians` best interests can`t have that, so this week they`re on the attack. The head of a royalty collection society apparently called the statement from musicians grossly naive and desperately damaging. Yes, but damaging to whom? Perhaps to collections societies, but not to artists. Smart artists know that going to war with fans is never a smart move. But the collection society head went on:
European police forces launch online community CTV
European police forces launched a new online community Tuesday for cops to blog and send instant messages to one another so they can share advice and beef up security in the EU zone. The online community began in January as a pilot project involving police from Italy, France, Ireland, Romania, Interpol, Europol, and the European Commission. On Tuesday, the network was expanded for use by law enforcement agencies across the EU.
[Hero] Iraqi shoe thrower alleges prison abuse CBC
The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at George W. Bush last December says he was abused while he was held in prison. Muntadhar al-Zeidi was released from a Baghdad prison on Tuesday after serving nine months for hurling two shoes at the then U.S. president. Al-Zeidi told reporters he was beaten, whipped and given electric shocks behind a building at the prison over a period of two days after he was taken into custody. Al-Zeidi did not provide further details about his claim but said he would be releasing the names of those who harmed him. The U.S. intelligence services and its affiliated services, will spare no efforts to track me as an insurgent revolutionary in a bid to kill me, he said. And here I want to warn all my relatives and people close to me that these services will use all means to trap and try to kill and liquidate me either physically, socially or professionally. [Comment: He (and his shoes) should be invited to meet with Bush when he speaks in Canada soon]
[Part 1 of 3] New cookie technologies: harder to see and remove, widely used to track you EFF
This is part 1 of a three-part series on user tracking on the web today. The most prominent of these tracking methods is the so-called Flash cookie, a kind of cookie maintained by the Adobe Flash plug-in on behalf of Flash applications embedded in web pages.1 These cookie files are stored outside of the browser`s control. Web browsers do not directly allow users to view or delete the cookies stored by a Flash application, users are not notified when such cookies are set, and these cookies never expire. Flash cookies can track users in all the ways traditionally HTTP cookies do, and they can be stored or retrieved whenever a user accesses a page containing a Flash application. Some of the problems are highlighted by Rob Savoye, the developer of Gnash, an open source Flash implementation.
License to Kill Innovation: the Broadcast Flag for UK Digital TV? EFF
In Britain, as in America, content owners who want the public to use DRM have a problem. Consumers won`t reliably choose to have their TV reception limited by the demands of rightsholders with restricted controls over recording, ad-skipping, and format-shifting. To trump consumers` wishes, rightsholders need to devise a way to make demands mandatory on consumers` technology.
MLM Company Accuses Blogging Critic Of Trademark Infringement Over Metatag Usage TechDirt
acai berries â is threatening a critical blogger for the sin of mentioning the company name in metatags. Well, actually, they threatened him over a lot more in their legal nastygram to the blogger`s domain registrar. However, when the good folks at The Consumerist asked MonaVie for clarification, the company`s lawyer claimed that the original letter was from a new person working in our compliance department who apparently went a bit too far. But, that the company still felt the use in metatags was a violation of trademarks. That seems hard to believe for a variety of reasons, as no moron in a hurry would confuse a blog critical of MonaVie with the company itself. This certainly sounds like an abuse of trademark law in an attempt to stifle speech.
Marc – p2pnet
September, 2009
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September 16th, 2009 at 1:42 am
That first article was a good read. I think the one on Flash cookies (et al) is a must read as well for anyone who cares about their privacy.