RIM Rivals Sign Patent License Agreement
"NTP and Good Technology have reached a patent-licensing deal, turning up the heat on rival Research In Motion, which is embroiled in an infringement suit with NTP.
"NTP, a patent-holding company, and Good Technology, a wireless communications specialist, announced the licensing agreement Friday. The deal gives Good access to certain of NTP’s patents for the life of those patents, which begin to expire in 2012. The arrangement ‘covers certain products and equipment but excludes network communications services,’ the companies said in a statement."
Richard Shim. RIM Rivals Ink Licensing Agreement. News.com. March 11, 2005.
See also:
Good Technology, Inc. Good Technology and NTP Enter Into License Agreement. Yahoo! Finance. March 11, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Don’t Get Goggle-Eyed Over Google Project
"If you haven’t heard about Google’s plan to digitize millions of books, you must live in another galaxy. Hardly a news outlet in the country, digitized or no, missed the story at the end of last year.
"Most people were pleased by the news. It seemed that books would finally be available at your fingertips. Google had embarked on a grand scheme to digitize the world’s greatest works, in cooperation with the world’s greatest libraries. Break out the champagne!
"Not a few bean counters at colleges and universities around the world must have thought, ‘At long last. We can kick the library in the archives and be done with that financial black hole.’ Some librarians may have had a similar vision of the future and been dismayed, although most of them were optimistic about Google’s plan."
Mary Y. Herring. Don’t Get Goggle-Eyed Over Google’s Plan to Digitize. The Chronicle Review. March 11, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Net Pirates Plead Guilty
"The U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday that three men pleaded guilty to criminal copyright infringement, as part of what attorneys called the largest multinational Net piracy investigation to date.
"The investigation, called ‘Operation Higher Education,’ has been conducted in 12 countries, prosecutors said. The three men pleaded guilty to being part of organized groups including Fairlight and Kalisto, both of which specialized in distributing pirated copies of computer and video games."
John Borland. Three Convictions in Net Piracy Sweeps. News.com. March 8, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ Covering the Intersection of Collaboration and Technology. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Debate Over Downloading
"Copyright infringement may not sound like a hot topic, but for the generation of Americans born in the Internet age, the ability to download music and films off the Internet has brought the issue front and center, along with confusion, thousands of lawsuits and now a Supreme Court case.
"The entertainment industry is suing makers of software that allow computer users to find and download files from each other’s computers, not just Web sites.
"The question for the Supreme Court: How to protect copyrights without stifling the innovation that has brought new technologies such as MP3 players and TiVo?"
Terence Smith. Downloading Debate. Online NewsHour. March 7, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ Covering the Intersection of Collaboration and Technology. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Digital Revolution Reaches the Airwaves
"From satellite to podcasts, programming is exploding — but the fight for profits will be ferocious.
"How fast is technology turning radio upside down? Ask Brian Ibbott. Last September, when the wannabe Denver deejay started playing music on the Internet, the term for what he was doing — podcasting — had been around for two weeks. These days the 35-year-old produces a half-hour show of popular songs called Coverville. Some 9,000 devotees download it three times a week to play on — what else? — their iPods.
"For all the hullabaloo it’s generating, podcasting is not even close to being a business yet. While startups such as Odeo and The Podcast Network are providing technological support and creating a podcasting network, right now Ibbott has barely enough ads to cover expenses, and most podcasters work for free."
Heather Green et al. The New Radio Revolution. BusinessWeekOnline. March 3, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ Covering the Intersection of Collaboration and Technology. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Recipe for Podcasting
"Podcasts are reinventing talk radio on the Web. These homemade audio downloads have become popular since they were introduced last year. Pontificate on your political opinions, praise your favorite bands, interview your hero — the possibilities are limitless.
"Podcasts were created by fans of the Apple iPod, but you don’t need an iPod or a Mac to make your own. Properly configured, the average Linux distribution can podcast with the best of them. Here’s how."
Johnathon Williams. Podcasting from Linux. Newsforge. March 2, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Library Offers Audio Books on iPod Shuffle
"Checking out a new iPod now applies to more than shopping trips or web browsing. This week the South Huntington Public Library on Long Island, New York, became one of the first public libraries in the country to loan out iPod shuffles.
"For the past three weeks, the library ran a pilot program using the portable MP3 devices to store audio books downloaded from the Apple iTunes Music Store. They started with six shuffles, and now are up to a total of 10. Each device holds a single audio book.
Cyrus Farivar. Library Shuffles Its Collection. Wired News. March 3, 2005.
See also:
National Public Radio. iPod Shuffle at a Public Library. Talk of the Nation. March 3, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
COPYCENSE 