COPYCENSE

"Perhaps for some, being credited with inventing the World Wide Web would be more than enough as far as life accomplishments go. But for Sir Tim Berners-Lee, it’s merely the beginning of something even more fulfilling.

"The man who was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 greatest minds of the 20th century is now busy channeling his energies into the work of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), a standards body he founded and now directs.

"Moments after delivering a keynote address at the SpeechTek Conference in New York earlier this week, Sir Tim sat down with internetnews.com to discuss the state of the Web browser market, the growth of the Semantic Web and some of the challenges facing the W3C."

Ryan Naraine. Tim Berners-Lee, Director, W3C. internetnews.com. Sept. 17, 2004.

"Microsoft is trying to get to know its pirates a little better.

"The software maker has launched a pilot program in which some visitors to the main Windows download page are being asked to let the software maker check to see whether their copy of the operating system is licensed.

"Visitors do not have to partipate in the program to get their downloads. They’ll also get their downloads if they do participate and their copy of Windows turns out to be unlicensed. But Microsoft said the program is a first step in trying to provide a better experience for customers using legitimate copies of Windows."

Ina Fried. Microsoft: Can We Check Your Software License?. News.com. Sept. 17, 2004.

"On the day before its summer vacation, the US Supreme Court freed Internet porn. The First Amendment, the Court held, prevents the government from regulating online speech if it can’t prove that ‘less restrictive alternatives’ – like software filters – would be less effective than regulation.

"Yet in light of other decisions affecting freedom on the Internet over the past six years, there’s something astonishing about the finding nonetheless.

"For why does the First Amendment speak so forcefully to protect pornographers yet barely whisper when librarians or film restorers complain that copyright regulates their speech, too?

Lawrence Lessig. Porn Free. Wired. September, 2004.

"Satellite radio operator XM Radio on Wednesday announced plans to launch an online music service.

"The Washington, D.C.-based company said the service, dubbed XM Radio Online will launch sometime in early October and operate commercial-free, just as its satellite programming does. XM will charge $7.99 per month for unlimited listening and offer a discount rate of $3.99 to subscribers of its existing radio services.

"The company’s main business is a commercial-free radio service that’s used with its portable satellite radio receivers, which are designed for use in homes and cars."

Matt Hines. XM Radio Tunes In Online Music Service. News.com. Sept. 15, 2004.

"In a move to expand its role in the online music business, Yahoo announced yesterday that it would buy Musicmatch, a company that sells music online, for $160 million.

"The move puts Yahoo in direct competition with Apple Computer’s iTunes, Microsoft’s new music store and RealNetworks in the small but growing market for online downloads of music.

"’Music is one of the most-used applications on the Web,’ said Dan Rosensweig, Yahoo’s chief operating officer. ‘Our objective is to be the leading player in the digital music world.’"

Saul Hansell. Yahoo to Challenge iTunes With New Acquisition. The New York Times. Sept. 15, 2004.

See also:
Matt Hines. Yahoo to Buy Musicmatch for $160 million. News.com. Sept. 14, 2004.

Jefferson Graham. Yahoo Breaks into Music with Musicmatch Purchase. TechNewsWorld. Sept. 15, 2004.

Update: John Borland. Yahoo to Launch its Own Music Player. News.com. Sept. 17, 2004. (Yahoo is planning on launching its own online music service by the end of this year, using Musicmatch’s customers to approach separate audiences.) 

(Editor�s Note: The Times allows free access to their stories on the Web for seven days before sending the stories to the paper�s fee-based Archive.)

"Mark Zuckerberg ’06-’07 planned to spend his semester away from the College focusing on improvements to his popular networking site, thefacebook.com, while readying his next endeavor, Wirehog, for its long-awaited release. But any dreams of a stress-free semester were dashed on Sept. 2, when the founders of competitor ConnectU.com filed a lawsuit against his site and its five officers.

"The suit asks the court to shut down the site and force Zuckerberg and thefacebook.com to turn over the profits resulting from his alleged breach of contract.

"According to the complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, ConnectU LLC, formed by Divya K. Narendra ’04, Cameron S. H. Winklevoss ’04 and Tyler O. H. Winklevoss ’04, is seeking damages for Zuckerberg’s alleged theft of their idea—then called Harvard Connection—and his subsequent deception."

Timothy J. McGinn. Lawsuit Threatens To Close Facebook. The Harvard Crimson. Sept. 13, 2004.

"IMlogic Inc. on Tuesday launched a free tool to let enterprises detect and block the use of instant messaging, peer-to-peer file sharing networks and voice-over-IP applications within their walls.

"Called IM Detector Pro, the software provides a first step for organizations to get a handle on the extent of such traffic flowing on their networks and to decide how to best manage it, said Dave Fowler, IMlogic’s vice president of marketing and strategic alliances.

"With the use of IM and P2P increasing, corporations can face risks of sensitive information being disclosed, employees illegally sharing copyrighted files, or viruses and worms entering their networks, Fowler said. Meanwhile, they must meet corporate governance requirements to prevent security breaches."

Matt Hicks. IMlogic Launches Free IM, P2P Blocker. eWeek. Sept. 14, 2004.

See also Dan Muse. Detect and Block IM � for Free. InternetNews.com. Sept. 14, 2004.