Linux News: P2P Tech

EU Drafts New Bill of Rights for Internet Users
November 05, 2009

EU lawmakers and governments agreed on new rights for Internet users Thursday, aiming to protect them from arbitrary crackdowns on those who illegally download music and movies on the Internet. EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding said a deal was reached after EU governments agreed to EU parliament demands to balance measures against illegal downloaders with a broader set of rights for telecom users.

The Promise and the Peril of Web 2.0
September 01, 2009

Web 2.0 enables companies to build dynamic networking communities and foster ad hoc collaboration. This can be great for businesses, as they can gain insights and feedback in hours instead of weeks or months. However, the trusting, collaborative and open nature of the Web 2.0 environment is precisely what makes it ripe for malicious exploitation.

File-Sharing Penalties May Be Scrutinized on Constitutional Grounds
August 03, 2009

The numbers in two recent copyright infringement lawsuits involving downloaded music are enough to get tongues wagging. Is a song really worth $22,500? Or even $80,000? Juries in Massachusetts and Minnesota, respectively, ordered those awards to the recording industry this year in cases involving defendants alleged to have illegally downloaded music from the Internet.

Google to Let 100,000 Surfers Ride Early Wave
July 22, 2009

If you want to splash around in Google Wave right now -- the search giant's new real-time communication/collaboration tool that received plenty of tech press hype during a May unveiling -- then you have to be a developer with access to the API. However, that will change on Sept. 30, when Google will let 100,000 curious users take Wave for a test swim.

Pirate Bay Decides to Join the Navy
June 30, 2009

He may still have an eye patch, a peg leg and a funny hat, but is a pirate still a pirate if he writes you a check before plundering your ship? How long would Robin Hood keep his band of merry men intact if they took from the rich -- and charged the poor a redistribution fee for access to those riches?

RIAA Beats Minnesota Mom to the Tune of $1.92 Million
June 19, 2009

Jammie Thomas-Rasset, the Minnesota mom who has been at the center of the RIAA's legal battle against music piracy, has been found liable for illegal file-sharing in the retrial of Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset. She now faces a $1.92 million penalty, or $80,000 for each of 24 songs she made available online through the Kazaa file-sharing network.

You Could Be File-Sharing More Than You Think
May 14, 2009

With the Congressional Oversight and Government Reform Committee taking a fresh look at the privacy and security risks posed by using LimeWire and other peer-to-peer file-sharing applications, now is a good time for both home and office users of these services to reassess the safety of their own sensitive data.

The Pirate Bay Fights Back With Appeal Charging Judicial Bias
April 23, 2009

The music and entertainment industry didn't even have a week to fully savor its victory against the four proprietors of The Pirate Bay before they filed an appeal. Though the move was expected, the grounds for the appeal may have caught the plaintiffs by surprise. The Pirate Bay contends that the judge hearing the case, Tomas Norstrom, should have disqualified himself due to a conflict of interest.

Congress Squeezes LimeWire for Straight Talk on P2P Security
April 22, 2009

The Congressional Oversight and Government Reform Committee has reopened hearings on possible privacy and security risks posed by using LimeWire and similar peer-to-peer file-sharing applications. The committee on Monday sent letters to Mark Gorton, chairman of The Lime Group, which owns LimeWire; U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.; and Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the FTC.

Pirate Bay Swashbucklers Convicted in Swedish Court
April 17, 2009

The music industry cheered as a Swedish court on Friday found the four proprietors of The Pirate Bay guilty of copyright law violation. The Pirate Bay is a torrent tracker site in Sweden that helps users find and download files used to swap movies, music, TV shows, games, books and software via BitTorrent file-sharing applications.

Are ISPs the Music Industry's New Guns for Hire?
March 26, 2009

There are reports that Cox and AT&T have begun cooperating with the Recording Industry Association of America's new antipiracy strategy -- first announced in December -- of targeting illegal file-sharing activities through Internet service providers instead of through the courts.

Prosecution Hits Choppy Water in Case Against The Pirate Bay
February 17, 2009

Swedish prosecutors have dismissed about half the charges brought against defendants accused of copyright violations through their operation of a P2P Web site that connects users to content -- mainly music and movies -- on other users' PCs. Last year, the owners of The Pirate Bay were charged with "promoting other people's infringement of copyright laws."

'We Didn't Want to See the Future': Q&A With Ex-Sony Lawyer Steve Gordon
December 03, 2008

In 1999 at a Sony Music corporate meeting, the room was filled with Sony executives and attorneys from across the globe. At one point, one of the Sony attorneys gave a presentation on two music services. One was the Sony music service and the other was a tiny, fledgling service. The Sony service required users to go through multiple layers of Web sites in order to get to the songs they wanted.

Social Disease Networking Lets People Own Up Anonymously
October 22, 2008

In an era when people routinely deliver life-changing news via text and e-mail -- "I want a divorce," "I'm pregnant," "You're fired" -- it is perhaps inevitable that a service offering to automate and anonymize a personal, painful message is gaining traction. inSpot allows people to send free e-cards to sexual partners informing them that they have been exposed to an STD.

Internet Congestion: ISPs Don Traffic Cop Uniforms
October 18, 2008

Anyone who's used popular P2P applications such as BitTorrent, Gnutella or Limewire has probably been plagued by network slowdowns that make sharing heavy media files a time-consuming endeavor. However, a consortium of technologists at the Distributed Computing Industry Association has found a way to alleviate Internet network congestion created by P2P applications.

Xohm Rollout Troubled by Comcast's Shadow
October 01, 2008

Sprint Nextel has successfully rolled out Xohm in Baltimore. The new 4G wireless WiMax network runs on 2.5 GHz and delivers downloads at 2 to 4 Mbps -- but it is clear the telecom service provider is still carefully negotiating the industry land mine that has become network management.