p2pnet World Headlines: Feb 13, 2010
Pubs win court battle over music charges Press Association
The catering trade and retailers won their court battle today over the charges they pay for playing recorded music. High Court judge Mr Justice Arnold upheld a ruling from a Copyright Tribunal which the Institute of Licensing said will mean pubs, hotels and restaurants across Britain will now receive up to £20 million in refunds. The judge dismissed an appeal by Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL), which introduced new tariffs in 2005/6. The institute claimed the tariffs meant fees were increased by more than four times.
EMI’s Owner, Lender at Odds on Breakup Wall Street Journal
Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd. boss Guy Hands three months ago proposed to break up EMI Group Ltd. in order to salvage the struggling music company, a plan that was rejected by EMI’s lender, but that could provide a blueprint to its future. Court documents filed Friday by Citigroup Inc. as part of a legal dispute with private-equity group Terra Firma include a letter Mr. Hands sent on Nov. 5 to Citigroup executive Chad Leat proposing the separation and recapitalization of EMI’s two businesses: the ailing recorded-music division, known as EMI Music, and the healthier EMI Music Publishing unit. Though Citigroup rejected the proposal, Mr. Hands wrote that “we believe that we are in agreement in relation to a number of the key components of an acceptable solution including the need to separate the two businesses.”
Author, 17, Says It’s ‘Mixing,’ Not Plagiarism New York Times
It usually takes an author decades to win fawning reviews, march up the best-seller list and become a finalist for a major book prize. Helene Hegemann, just 17, did it with her first book, all in the space of a few weeks, and despite a savaging from critics over plagiarism. The publication last month of her novel about a 16-year-old exploring Berlin’s drug and club scene after the death of her mother, called ‘Axolotl Roadkill,’ was heralded far and wide in German newspapers and magazines as a tremendous debut, particularly for such a young author. The book shot to No. 5 this week on the magazine Spiegel’s hardcover best-seller list. For the obviously gifted Ms. Hegemann, who already had a play (written and staged) and a movie (written, directed and released in theaters) to her credit, it was an early ascension to the ranks of artistic stardom. That is, until a blogger last week uncovered material in the novel taken from the less-well-known novel ‘Strobo,’ by an author writing under the nom de plume Airen. In one case, an entire page was lifted with few changes.
Adolf Hitler painting may have hung in Sigmund Freud’s surgery Telegraph
The Jewish psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud might have had a painting by Hitler hanging on the wall of his office, it has been disclosed. A watercolour by the German dictator has come to light that has an inscription on the back that bears the name of Freud’s medical practice in Vienna. While Freud was based in the Austrian city in 1910 it is possible he or one of his staff bought the picture from the struggling artist. Hitler was a jobbing painter at the time, knocking out postcards and paintings and trying to make a living. This painting, that measures 8in by 4in, shows what looks like a small church with a background of mountains and is signed “A Hitler 1910.”
Rogue antivirus program comes with tech support IDG News Service
In an effort to boost sales, sellers of a fake antivirus product known as Live PC Care are offering their victims live technical support. According to researchers at Symantec, once users have installed the program, they see a screen, falsely informing them that their PC is infected with several types of malware. That’s typical of this type of program. What’s unusual, however, is the fact that the free trial version of Live PC Care includes a big yellow “online support” button. Clicking on the button connects the victim with an agent, who will answer questions about the product via instant message. Symantec says the agent is no automated script, but in fact a live person.
GPS: A Stalker’s Best Friend PC World
Watch out for common ways that a creeper can follow you by using the same GPS devices you love so much.
..… and identi.ca
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
February, 2010
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February 15th, 2010 at 8:41 am
Rogue antivirus program comes with tech support
lolololololololol. ‘How can we help with your Malware Today?’