p2pnet World Headlines: Nov 26, 2009: #1
Al-Jazeera English gets CRTC approval CBC
Al-Jazeera English, the English-language service of the Qatar-based broadcaster, has been approved for distribution via satellite in Canada. Ethnic Channels Group Ltd., a Toronto-based satellite service, had applied in February to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for permission to carry Al-Jazeera English. On Thursday, the federal regulator approved the request, clearing the way for Al-Jazeera to be carried via digital satellite. “The commission notes the substantial support for the addition of AJE to the digital lists and considers that AJE will expand the diversity of editorial points of view in the Canadian broadcasting system,” the CRTC said in its decision.
BitTorrent’s Future: DHT, PEX, and Magnet Links Explained LifeHacker
Last week The Pirate Bay confirmed it would shut down its tracker permanently, instead encouraging the use of DHT, PEX, and magnet links. This move confounded many BitTorrent enthusiasts, who were confronted with confusing new terminology and technology. Time for some explaining. The Pirate Bay’s recent confirmation that they had closed down their tracker since DHT and Peer Exchange have matured enough to take over, was coupled with the news that they had added Magnet links to the site. This news has achieved its aim of stimulating discussion, but has also revealed that there is much confusion over how these technologies work. The key thing to understand is that nobody is being forced to use Magnet links or trackerless torrents. While these long-standing technologies may prove to be the future, they will co-exist with tracker-enabled torrenting for quite some time. For now, nobody will be forced to immediately change their existing downloading habits, although it may be wise to switch to a BitTorrent client that is compatible with these technologies. [Also see The Pirate Bay goes magnetic]
Experts: Bishops covered up priests’ child abuse Associated Press
Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in Dublin covered up decades of child abuse by priests in order to protect the church’s reputation, an expert commission reported Thursday after a three-year investigation. Abuse victims welcomed the commission’s report on the Dublin Archdiocese’s mishandling of child abuse cases â one of several government investigations into chronic child rape, beatings and other cruelty in Catholic-run schools, children’s workhouses and orphanages in 1975-2004. The government said the investigation “shows clearly that a systemic, calculated perversion of power and trust was visited on helpless and innocent children in the archdiocese.” “The perpetrators must continue to be brought to justice, and the people of Ireland must know that this can never happen again,” the government said, also apologizing for the state’s failure to hold church authorities accountable to the law.
Time Warner Cable ready to fight high program costs Reuters
Time Warner Cable, the normally placid No.2 U.S. cable operator, is getting ready for a fight with its programming partners at the cable networks and broadcasters over rising affiliate fees. In truth, TWC has always been ready for a fight with the programmers. This time, it wants to make the first move and get its 14 million subscribers behind it. The New York cable operator is launching an ad campaign on behalf of its customers to target what it sees as unfair price demands by programmers. It argues that these price demands, which usually come around this time of year at the end of programming contracts, can sometimes be as much as 300 percent increases. TWC says programmers make the demands secure in the knowledge that video distributors are the ones who have to pass those costs along to customers and take the blame.
Microsoft’s Xbox Live Sees 2 Million Facebook Users in First Week â What’s Next? Inside facebook
Microsoft put out a press release yesterday touting the success of its Xbox Live console gaming network, and the company included some stats about its new integration with Facebook and other web services. In the week since Facebook became available, more than 2 million of Xbox Live’s 20 million ‘Active Members’ have signed on to it. That’s ten percent of the total active user base, although it’s not clear what Microsoft’s definition of ‘active’ is in this case (we assume monthly active users). Certainly, it was a solid first week.
Theatre performances available in eight languages BBC
A new device which enables theatre goers to read live captions of a performance in eight different languages has launched. AirScript’s developers, Cambridge Consultants, hope the handsets will attract more tourists to theatres. The captions, received over wifi, scroll throughout live performances. The handsets have LED backlighting with a black background and orange text to minimise glare. They have a battery life of up to six hours.
If p2pnet has value for you, help me keep it online. Cheers! And thanks : )
(If you don`t fancy online payments, please email me at p2pnet @ shaw dot ca and I`ll send you my snail-mail address.)
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
November, 2009
Use free p2pnet newsfeeds for your site. It`s really easy!
Subscribe to p2pnet.net | | rss feed: http://p2pnet.net/p2p.rss | | Mobile – http://p2pnet.net/index-wml.php
Net access blocked by government restrictions? Use Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. Go here for details.
