Archive for August 2004
Now Apple is Really Ticked Off
"RealNetworks on Tuesday unveiled its ‘Freedom of Choice‘ marketing push, featuring 49-cent singles, $4.99 albums and a message that it has the only music store compatible with both iPods and portable devices based on Windows Media. The result: a major challenge to Apple Computer, a boost for Windows Media, and a new imperative for music labels to back Apple rivals to break down compatibility barriers."
Forrester Research. Commentary: RealNetworks Lobs Another Grenade. News.com. Aug. 17, 2004.
See also:
John Borland. RealNetworks Slashes Song Prices. News.com. Aug. 17, 2004. (RealNetworks has kicked off a digital music marketing campaign by highlighting Harmony, a new iPod-compatible technology, and offering song downloads from its music store for 49 cents for a limited time.)
John Borland. Can Glaser and Jobs Find Harmony? News.com. Aug. 17, 2004.
Update: John Borland. Real Curtails Half-price Music Sale. Sept. 9, 2004. (RealNetworks closed down its three-week promotional campaign, selling more than three million singles.)
Johansen Strikes Again
"Jon Lech Johansen, the Norwegian hacker famous for cracking DVD encryption, says he has cracked Apple AirPort Express.
"Johansen has revealed the public key that Apple AirPort Express, a wireless networking protocol, uses to encrypt music sent between iTunes and a wireless base station.
"AirPort Express was released in June 2004 as a small wireless bridge from a personal computer to a stereo. Details of the AirPort Express codes were also published on Johansen’s weblog, which is called So Sue Me."
Lars Pasveer. Hacker Takes Bite Out of Apple’s iTunes. News.com. Aug. 12, 2004.
Visits to Political Parody Outnumber Campaign Web Sites
"According to Internet statistician ComScore Media Metrix, JibJab’s online lampoon of President Bush and Sen. John Kerry received 10.4 million unique hits during the month of July.
"It’s just amazing,’ said Spiridellis, who founded JibJab with his brother Evan in 1999. ‘It really speaks to the power of word-of-mouth advertising.’
"The political movie did manage to attract the attention of music publisher Ludlow Music, however, which owns the rights to Guthrie’s original song. The music company sent JibJab a cease-and-desist letter (.pdf), asking that the site be taken down. The online media company responded (.pdf) with legal action aimed at defending its fair-use rights to the music."
Matt Hines. Political Parody Draws Web Crowd. News.com. Aug. 16, 2004.
European Antitrust Regulators Extend Review of Anti-Piracy Software
"European antitrust regulators said Monday they have extended their review of a deal between Microsoft Corp. and Time Warner Inc. to make anti-piracy software together.
"European Commission spokeswoman Amelia Torres declined to give a reason for the extension but such a step usually means regulators need extra time to review concessions offered by the companies to address competition concerns.
"Under the new timetable, the commission must decide by Aug. 25 whether to clear the deal or open a second-phase, in-depth probe, which takes four months."
Associated Press. E.U. Extends Review of Anti-Piracy Software Deal. WashingtonPost.com. Aug. 16, 2004.
See also:
Dawn Kawamoto. Microsoft, Time Warner DRM Buy on EU Review Shelf. News.com. Aug. 16, 2004.
Robert McLeod and Matthew Newman. Microsoft, Time Warner Offer EU Concessions to Approve Purchase. Seattle Times. Aug. 17, 2004.
(Editor�s Note: The Post allows free access to their stories on the Web for 14 days before sending the stories to the paper�s fee-based Archives.)
Copyright Crusaders Target Schools
"For the third year in a row, software companies are supplying schools with materials that promote their antipiracy position on copyright law.
"But for the first time this year, the library association is presenting its own material, hoping to give kids a more balanced view of copyright law.
"The ALA sees a need for this because materials offered by groups like the Business Software Alliance and the Motion Picture Association of America are designed to influence kids with one-sided information."
Katie Dean. Copyright Crusaders Hit Schools. Wired News. Aug. 13, 2004.
P2P Networks Distribute Windows Update
"Peer-to-peer advocacy group Downhill Battle has made a copy of Microsoft’s Windows XP Service Pack 2 available at a site called SP2torrent.com through the BitTorrent file-sharing system.
"’Now is a crucial time to demonstrate ways that peer-to-peer can be useful,’ according to co-founder Nicholas Reville. ‘We are facing a situation where Congress is seriously considering outlawing peer-to-peer for all intents and purposes.’
"Reville was referring to the Induce Act, a bill before Congress that says ‘whoever intentionally induces any violation’ of copyright law is liable for that infraction. Downhill Battle also used peer-to-peer technology to distribute video of the congressional hearings on the Induce Act."
Ina Fried. Windows Update Hits File-Sharing Networks. News.com. Aug. 10, 2004.
See also Alfred Hermida. File-Sharers Offer Windows Update. BBCNews. Aug. 10, 2004.
UPDATE: Ina Fried. Group Cites Microsoft Tthreat, Says No SP2 Over P2P. News.com. Aug. 13, 2004. (Downhill Battle has stopped distributing Microsoft’s Windows XP Service Pack 2 update following a DMCA threat from the software maker.)
Copyright Issues in Digital Media
"The Congressional Budget Office released a new study on digital copyright issues, outlining economic problems that Congress should keep in mind as it grapples with making new laws.
"While stopping short of specific legislative recommendations, the paper offers a set of principles for lawmakers that’s largely focused on avoiding being tied too closely to past practices or to the interests of powerful companies or consumer groups.
"The paper could provide a strong working text for legislators, as they face growing calls from both copyright holders and consumer groups to reshape laws that have been severely tested by the growth of the Net and digital copying technologies."
John Borland. Congressional Economists Tackle Copyright Issues. News.com. Aug. 10, 2004.
COPYCENSE 