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DoJ making preliminary inquiries into Apple's music endeavors while iTunes dominance continues
It's all just noise right now, but the United States Justice Department is purportedly having a "very preliminary conversation" with Apple regarding the company's music business, wondering in particular if anything it's doing (or has done) would violate antitrust legislation. According to unnamed sources familiar with the situation, DoJ staff seem most interested in whether or not Apple's dominance in the market enabled it to unfairly prevent Amazon's music service from exclusively debuting new songs. Beyond that, details of the investigation are few and far between, but it's coincidentally coming down on Cupertino when its iTunes numbers are on the up and up. The latest NPD research figures show that over a quarter of the music purchased within the US is now procured through iTunes -- 28 percent, if you're looking for specifics, which is up 4 percentage points from Q1 2009. Meanwhile, Amazon has pulled into a tie with Walmart for second place, which may or may not coerce Wally World to ditch its morals and finally start stocking that uncensored version of My World 2.0.
Truth in Caller ID Act of 2010 makes Caller ID spoofing a crime
Caller ID spoofers, your days are numbered! The "Truth in Caller ID Act of 2010" has just passed the House. The bill -- which has been kickin' around in one form or another since 2007, and which only passed the Senate as recently as this February -- makes it illegal "to cause any caller ID service to transmit misleading or inaccurate caller ID information." As Ars Technica points out, there are some exceptions, including blocking your own outgoing caller ID info, and law enforcement is exempt. This bad boy is aimed at any and all real-time voice service, "regardless of the technology or network utilized," ensuring that VoIP is included. Look for the punitive measures (including flogging) to kick in about six months from now. [Warning: PDF read link]
Apple, Siemens and Sisvel patent infringement leads to CeBIT booth raid
Mama always said that some folks just never learn, and we reckon there's plenty of wisdom to be had from that very statement. Year after year, German police are called in to raid select booths at CeBIT (and IFA, to be fair), and yet again we've seen a booth cleared out at the request of powerful lawyers from a few companies you may have heard of. Word on the street has it that Apple, Siemens and Sisvel were all kvetching over patent infringements made by an unnamed company exhibiting at last week's show, and within an hour or so of the fuzz showing up, the whole thing was stripped and a hefty fine (€10,000) was levied. Unfortunately, the exact details of who was violating what remains clouded in mystery, but for whatever reason, we get the feeling that something extremely similar will be going down in Hannover next year. We blame KIRFers determination. Updated: Turns out one of our editors at CeBIT saw this whole situation go down at the FirstView booth. Within minutes the entire booth was surrounded by the Polizei, and though we tried to dig further on the situation our inability to speak German caused some communication issues so we decided it best to move on to the next craptablet on the floor. We will, however, always have the shot above to remember the confusing experience. [Thanks, TheLostSwede]
Windows 7 Activation Technologies Update now live, ready to be dodged
Remember that polarizing Windows 7 Activation Technologies Update we told you about? You know, the one that helps you to "verify that the copy of Windows 7 that is running on your computer is activated correctly and is genuine?" It's available for download now through Windows Update, and it's not particularly easy to spot. The main label simply says "Update for Windows 7," though we'd be sure to avoid KB971033 if you weren't up for having this thing looking into your business. Your call, though. [Thanks, Elijah and bighap]
Livescribe Pulse Smartpen records heated Delta / airport conversation, leads to chaos
Whoa, Nelly! Talk about a whale of a story. Ben DeCosta, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport's general manager, loves gadgets. So much, in fact, that he purchased a Livescribe Pulse Smartpen, which is capable of recording audio onto its 4GB of internal storage space. While details on the story remain murky (disputed by both sides, actually), it's fairly clear that Ben and Delta didn't exactly see eye-to-eye on everything. To that end, Mr. DeCosta figured he could flip the recorder on during a private conversation between airline executives and personnel from the city of Atlanta, and now the whole thing seems to have backfired. Ben maintains that he didn't intend to record Delta's negotiations, and he even went so far as to suggest that Delta stole his pen in order to discredit him. In the end, the city's investigation found that there was "insufficient evidence that DeCosta intentionally sought to record the private conversations of Delta's team," but that's not stopping Ben from retiring when his contract expires in June. Hit the source link below for the whole drama-filled thing, but unfortunately, the discussions held on the pen have yet to leak. TMZ -- you on that, or what?
Windows 7 Activation Technologies Update coming down the pike, will tell you things you (should) already know
Wondering why your PC has been infested with malware, random popups, intermittent shut downs and all sorts of other atypical garbage since the day you installed that downloaded copy of Windows 7? In case you aren't capable of determining that your copy of Windows isn't genuine (as in, you didn't buy it from a legitimate source), Microsoft is about to lend you a serious hand. In the "coming days," the software behemoth will be pushing out a new update for Windows Activation Technologies, which will look for over "70 known and potentially dangerous activation exploits." It sounds as if the update is intended to alert folks who purchased complete PCs from the back of their local White Van that they may have gotten ripped off, but either way, we're not particularly stoked about having yet another item running in the background, consuming system resources and telling us that we've been naughty. Thankfully it's a voluntary update, but keep your eyes peeled if you don't want to okay the installation accidentally. [Thanks, Troy]
Officers' Quarters: Multiple personalities
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. Sharing accounts is an issue that I've talked about in the past (and I'm sure, in some people's opinions, beaten to death). Previously I've covered a few different situations. First there was a general question about the issue, which I answered back in 2007. Then there was an officer who shared his account with his girlfriend (which is still a terrible idea in my opinion). Finally, a guild leader's account was banned because he bought it from another player, and his guild's progression subsequently skidded to a halt. As if those examples weren't enough to convince you that account sharing can cause a lot of problems, here's another one: Recently, my fellow guild officers and I decided to kick a member from our guild, which also caused three other members to leave. The person who we initially kicked from the guild had asked our guild leader for a BoE Epic item in the "Ask an Officer" tab of the bank. Our guild leader responded by saying he'd ask the officers about it before handing the axe out. Not less than an hour later he asked another guild member to take it out of the guild bank for him. Being a good guild member, they asked the guild leader if it was okay. It was instantly perceived as being an attempt to ninja the item from the bank by trying to avoid the guild leader.
DOT bars bus drivers and commercial truckers from texting while driving
It's coming. And soon. Of course, you know darn well we're referring to the day where no human in any nation can text and drive legally, and we're seeing the US Department of Transportation get us one step closer with its latest mandate. Effective immediately, bus drivers and interstate commercial truckers are disallowed from texting while operating a motor vehicle, and should they choose to send that one last SMS anyway, they'll be hit with "civil or criminal fines of up to $2,750." Needless to say, the Advocates for Highway Safety are pretty stoked about the notion, but they confess that this isn't taking things far enough. And for anyone who has been sideswiped by someone special telling someone more special "I LUVRZ U XOXO LOL" while doing 80 on the I-15, well, they'd probably concur.
Android photo backup app reveals burglars' identities, stupidity
Burglaries are an unfortunately commonplace event in daily urban life, but on some very rare occasions their outcomes give cause for celebration and maybe even a smile. Two young men from the Portland area, keen to get on the smartphone bandwagon without paying, broke in and stole a pair of Motorola Android handsets (along with other electronics) from a nearby household. What they didn't foresee, however, was that one of the phones would have the free Lookout app, which automatically backs up all photos taken with the handset to a user-accessible server every night. So, in the midst of testing out their ill-gotten loot, the criminals provided the phone's legitimate owner with enough visual clues for the police to swoop in and apprehend one of them. The search for his partner in crime continues, but the "gadget versus man" fight has already concluded with a clear win for what we presume was a Droid. [Thanks, John]
LCD price fixing investigation reaches $860 million in total fines, Chi Mei latest to 'fess up
It's not every day we get to cite an official US Department of Justice news release, so it's with a certain glee that we can announce the US taxpayer was last week enriched by another $220 million courtesy of the not-so-fine folks who swindled him out of that money in the first place. Joining the ignominious ranks of LG, Sharp, Hitachi and Chungwa Picture Tube, Taiwanese manufacturer Chi Mei is refunding the US state for the pecuniary impact of its collusive practices, which were primarily related to keeping prices artificially high and profits proportionately inflated. US companies directly affected by these ignoble activities include HP, Dell and Apple, but don't you worry, AT&T has already started the inter-corporation scuffle, with Nokia piling on for good measure. Man, it almost seems like crime doesn't pay.
UK T-Mobile customer data sold to cold callers, responsible staff to be prosecuted
Let's be honest, who here is actually surprised that underpaid and overworked data workers would sell on our details for a few extra quid? Given the number of uninvited calls to our unlisted phone numbers, we know for a fact that somebody has been dishing our personal contacts to those Nigerian princes and caring loan consolidators, so it's no shock to learn that T-Mobile employees have been fingered for committing the deed and are now facing prosecution. We're told that inappropriately leaked information made its way into the hands of brokers, who then "cold-called the customers as their contracts were due to expire" without T-Mob's knowledge. Disappointed by the failure of current fines to discourage such illegal information trade, British Justice Minister Michael Wills has even called for "custodial sentences" to be levied against the poor slobs responsible. So, if you're scoring at home, that's now two black eyes for T-Mobile when it comes to keeping our data safe. For shame.
Sony and Nintendo increasing effort in fight against piracy
Though Nintendo already has a pretty solid system in place for combating piracy -- the persistent threat that Reggie Fils-Aime will crush any software buccaneers between his mighty jaws -- the company recently increased its piracy-preventing ranks. Neil Boyd was recently appointed European anti-piracy counsel for the company. Boyd, along with a pair of Nintendo's legal advisors, will "take action against criminals who are making money out of the infringement of games developers' copyright," according to Nintendo anti-piracy director Jodi Daugherty. Sony's also increasing its piracy prevention efforts, albeit through more technological means. The PSP Go will contain a non-removable internal battery, which keeps would-be hackers from implementing the popular, homebrew-enabled Pandora battery. Also, we hear the PSP Go's boot-up screen displays a pouty, doe-eyed Jack Tretton that's said to strike crippling pangs of guilt into anyone who tries to conduct dubious dealings on the handheld. Consider PSPiracy beaten, friends.
Kaleidescape gets in line behind RealDVD for rough treatment
When it rains it pours -- right on the heels of the punishing blow dealt to RealDVD, the money-laden Kaleidescape crowd suffered its own setback at the hands of the law. You just know that the DVD CCA (Copy Control Association) appealed the 2007 ruling that allowed Kaleidescape owners to rip DVDs to their media servers, and yesterday a California Appeals Court overturned that ruling. Next stop -- the Santa Clara Superior Court, which could place an injunction on Kaleidescape if the appeal is upheld. It's not over yet, but we're prepping the soundboard with ominous music, boos and noisy hand-wringing. Whatever (and whenever) the outcome, we can only hope that Blu-ray's Managed Copy comes to the scene sooner rather than later and settles this issue for our beloved HD content
Court injunction puts sales of RealDVD on ice, hopes and dreams in purgatory
Something tells us Kaleidescape has a man (or woman, to be fair) on the inside, else United States District Court Judge Marilyn Patel is just downright trifilin'. In every visible way, RealNetworks' proposed RealDVD player was exactly what Kaleidescape was, but for people with annual salaries far less than $9,854,392,220. Regardless of our opinion, a preliminary injunction has just been passed down from The Almighty in the robe, which blocks the sale of the RealDVD software here in the US. The six major movie studies filed the suit last September, alleging that it "illegally violated their right to restrict the use of their movies in digital form." Evidently those that matter agree. A RealNetworks spokesperson took the time to vent their feelings on the whole ordeal, and since we know you're curious, we've pasted it below for your convenience.We are disappointed that a preliminary injunction has been placed on the sale of RealDVD. We have just received the Judge's detailed ruling and are reviewing it. After we have done so fully, we'll determine our course of action and will have more to say at that time.[Via Electronista]
Pirate Bay owners announce give-and-take model, proclaim "filesharers are our best friends"
When the Pirate Bay was suddenly and unexpectedly commandeered by Global Gaming Factory late last month, only a few clues were dropped as to how the new site would proceed as a legally acceptable entity. Now, however, the owners are speaking up, and their business plan sure sounds unorthodox, if not fatuous in nature. In a new report, we're told that the new face of TPB should appear in around a month, and with the refresh will come a handful of "give-and-take" pay models that will somehow please both customers and the top brass within the music industry. Here's how Hans Pandeya, the chief executive of GGF, explains things: "The more you give, the more you get. For the great majority, [the new service] will be free of charge, for a minority it will actually make them money, and for a small portion it will cost them. We know that unless we're able to create revenues for the filesharers they'll just move on to the next free site. Filesharers are our best friends."Mr. Pandeya also affirmed that his outfit was currently in negotiations with some of the music industry's biggest players, and while he wouldn't list 'em by name, he did note that things have been "positive" so far. Another interesting aspect of all this is how it expects to generate revenue outside of actual music consumers. Reportedly, the new site will raise cash "through advertising and by making network data traffic cheaper and more efficient for internet service providers, which would be done by making the filesharing more local, allowing users in the same city to be interconnected as opposed to swapping data across multiple borders." Is P2P 2.0 upon us? Is the conventional subscription model about to be turned upside down by a most unlikely source? If Hans' dreams come true, it sure seems possible.
China bans gold farming
Gold farmers! They're everywhere, right? We get spammed by them, we run into them farming Dire Maul, we put them on ignore. Lazy people with too much disposable income buy gold from them in a show of crass consumerism. Blizzard has done their best to stamp out gold-farming services, but litigation is difficult due to the fact that most of the major gold-farming companies are based in China or other parts of Asia. They've instead opted to try to control and stop gold farmers from being able to complete transactions via other methods. This time, though, it looks like Blizzard may have an unlikely ally in, of all things, the Chinese government. They announced today that the trading of virtual goods for real money is now illegal in China. This ruling reaches farther than just gold farming, though. It also bans the sale of prepaid time cards for MMOs or other online games, as well as numerous technicalities we're sure to hear about in the weeks to come. To give you an idea of how much an economic impact this will have on China, gold farming alone generates nearly one billion dollars a year worldwide, with China's specific numbers growing at a reported rate of 20% per year. It's estimated that 80 to 85 percent of gold farmers reside in China, so this ruling is massive and, to be frank, pretty troubling.From a gamer's perspective, yes, it'll be nice to worry about this kind of service a little less, but from a human perspective this places hundreds of thousands of Chinese people in one of two kinds of serious trouble: the first is financial hardship from the "honest" gold-farming companies that will close down after this ban, and the second is legal issues from the companies who don't close down because they can't afford not to do what they've been doing.It's not my intention to defend gold farming as an industry, because I used to have to deal with its more nefarious effects every day -- compromised accounts stripped of gold and gear, keyloggers, disruptive spam, all of that. But life isn't easy for many Chinese people working jobs like this. Many gold farming centers are much cleaner and safer, in relative terms, than other places in China where one on the bottom rung of the financial ladder might seek work, so while I appreciate the change as only a white first-world male can, I worry about what will happen to the underprivileged working-class Chinese people behind the spam ads and dead gnomes when this law starts getting enforced. NOTE: Comments are now disabled for this post.
The question of emulators
Gizmodo recently posted this video, which is beautiful to any PSX-era gamers: it's Final Fantasy VII running right on the iPhone, like buttah thanks to the 3GS hardware. How is this possible? Through the magic of emulation -- ever since computers got powerful enough to pretend to be other computers, people have resurrected old consoles and hardware by writing code that makes old games and software think its right at home in the computer it belongs in (an old NES system, a Genesis, or even a Playstation or Nintendo 64). As a result, by loading up ROMs into an emulator program, you can play old games you can't find (at least working) in the store any more.But the problem, as it usually does, lies in the legality. Even though those games are hard to find, companies still often own the copyrights on them (Square, for example, just released FFVII in an official emulator on the PSP, and they wouldn't be very happy with someone else releasing it on the iPhone). So while it's very easy for someone to write software that pretends to be an old NES (and there are lots of jailbroken apps around that will do just that), it's not easy to get all the rights and legal sign-offs to make it legit. Legit enough for Apple to keep it in the App Store, anyway. And while the video Gizmodo shows is awesome, and is possible on a jailbroken phone, it's not likely we'll ever see that app make it through Apple's approval. Not to mention that even when people jump through the legal hoops, Apple isn't happy with running other systems' code on their hardware anyway. Lame.That doesn't mean that the old games are gone forever -- there are certainly emulators of open-sourced or expired hardware on the App Store (here's one for Chip-8), and obviously there's a commercial reason for companies who do own the copyrights on popular games to bring them into the App Store officially. But as great as it would be to have a GBA emulator that automatically played any GBA game ROMs you loaded into it, that kind of stuff will have to stay in the jailbreak underground for now.
Report: Brazil is a 'haven' for video game piracy
The Escapist's Pedro Franco recently wrote up an interesting article about Brazil's recent transformation into a "pirated goods heaven," particularly for illicitly acquired video games. According to Franco, Brazil was once a thriving market for games, until the mid-1990s brought about outrageously high taxes on gaming software (45 percent of the price of PC titles consisted of taxes), diminished per capita income and the transition from cartridge to disc-based games. Now, it's estimated that 94 percent of Brazil's gaming market is composed of pirated merchandise.Check out Franco's full article to find out the social and industrial implications of a nation that finds gaming piracy permissible. (Spoiler alert: It leads to bad things.)[Via GamePolitics]
EVE Evolved: Combat boosters
The drug trade has been a part of EVE since the very beginning. Originally, drugs were nothing more than a trading commodity occasionally demanded by agents in low security space. The old drug trade goods still exist in EVE, a non-functional relic of years gone past. A new drug trade has taken its place - the black market for performance-enhancing combat boosters. If you want to push your ship to the absolute limit of its abilities, whether it's for PvE or PvP, you're definitely going to want to get your hands on some combat boosters. In this article, I take a look at the drug trade in EVE and the different kinds of performance-enhancing combat boosters that are available.
RealDVD ripping software heads to court, fair use advocates on pins and needles
Let's face it -- quite a lot is resting on the outcome of this case. For months now, RealNetworks has been unable to legally sell its RealDVD movie ripping software after a court issued a temporary restraining order that remains valid until it's decided if the application violates the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). Now, the software is finally having its day in court, and the outcome could shape the future of the DVD player (for better or worse). You see, Real has already assembled a prototype Facet device that hums along on Linux; essentially, this DVD playing machine would sell for around $300 and could store up to 70 movies internally. On the surface, this sounds entirely like a poor man's Kaleidescape, but only time will tell if The Man agrees. Cross your fingers folks, we get the feeling fair use advocates are going to need the luck.
