Friday, February 20, 2004

Judge blocks sales of DVD copying software. Siding with several of Hollywood's largest movie studios, a U.S. federal judge on Friday barred 321 Studios LLC from manufacturing, distributing or otherwise trafficking in software that allows users to copy DVDs. [InfoWorld: Top News] 11:39:52 PM    comment []

Friday's must-reads [Salon.com] 4:59:43 PM    comment []

Firms Ignore Kids-Only Internet Domain, by David McGuire, washingtonpost.com. 2:22:30 PM    comment []

AccuStream Research Data Shows Internet Video Streams Grew By 104% In ’03 To Over 7.8 Billion 78% of video streams served were viewed at broadband rates Length of view and total views in streaming video segment were up significantly in 2003, primarily because the streaming experience has become more modular in format, with video clips now running back-to-back, an Internet version of television music videos captured 33% viewing share followed by news at 28% and sports 17% AccuStream Research Report Shows Declining Market Share For Broadcast And Cable Tv Networks As Stand Alone Brands In Streaming Media Broadcast and cable TV network brands captured 85.8% of the streams served by the top ten sites, networks and aggregators in Sept. 2001 broadcast and cable TV streaming media share of top ten sites, networks and destinations fell to 4.6% in late 2003 online- only brands like AOL Broadband, Real Networks and Yahoo have managed to establish leading broadband market positions and brand loyalty streaming media categories such as news and sports are dominated by broadcast and cable TV network brands online, other key categories like music video—a genre pioneered by television—have been supplanted by Internet-only brands that now enjoy a commanding lead in race for broadband viewer loyalty the Internet music audience is almost completely owned by Internet-only brands such as AOL, Launch.com (owned by Yahoo), Real Networks, MusicMatch and Live365.com 1:22:21 PM    comment []

Poll: Do-not-call list works, anti-spam law doesn't (AP) Sample of 1000, half of whom report they're on the federal no-call list. Around three quarters say phone solicitations have decreased. Half say they get a great deal of spam. Around seventy percent say they've seen no difference in the amount of spam e-mail they receive since the new law, and ten percent say it's gone up. Fewer than one in ten reports ever buying something from a spam offer. Complaints to http://www.donotcall.gov or phone 1-888-382-1222. 12:22:12 PM    comment []

U.S. Cable Modem Growth Slows, Opening Door to DSL, by Michael Learmonth (Reuters). 11:22:20 AM    comment []

Internet Pioneer Gives Over $1.2 Million to EFF to Defend Online Freedom: Electronic Frontier Foundation Announces Endowment Fund for Digital Civil Liberties (press release). The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the leading civil liberties organization working to protect rights in the digital world, is honored to receive a $1.2 million bequest from the estate of Leonard Zubkoff, an EFF supporter and technology pioneer. EFF will use $1 million of this money to establish the EFF Endowment Fund for Digital Civil Liberties. . . . This gift is important to us for several reasons, said EFF Executive Director Shari Steele. Not only does it help us establish our endowment fund, Leonard's legacy makes it possible for us to bring aboard a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to create and implement a technology strategy for EFF. With our combined expertise in both the law and technology, EFF is perfectly situated to help create and foster new technologies designed to enhance freedom. Leonard Zubkoff was an internationally known software developer and entrepreneur, respected for his expertise in computer architecture and operating systems. He loved to fly and was learning to pilot a helicopter when he died in a crash in Misty Fjords National Monument Wilderness in Alaska on August 29, 2002. 11:22:16 AM    comment []

Online anonymity under attack in Korea: `Web Real-Name Law' Faces Tough Challenges, by Kim Tae-gyu, Korea Times. 11:22:08 AM    comment []

Washington's Arabic TV Effort Gets Mixed Reviews. The television station is drawing mixed reviews, ranging from praise for slick packaging to criticism for trying to improve the image of "Satan." By Neil Macfarquhar. [New York Times: Business] 7:19:37 AM    comment []

RIAA's New Seal of Disapproval. The movie, music and software industries stick the FBI seal on their products in hopes that would-be pirates will think twice before distributing copyright content illegally. It's a big waste of time, critics say. By Katie Dean. [Wired News] 7:16:37 AM    comment []

In the New Economics: Fast-Food Factories?. Is cooking a hamburger patty and inserting the meat, lettuce and ketchup inside a bun a manufacturing job, like assembling automobiles? By David Cay Johnston. [New York Times: Business] 7:12:58 AM    comment []

Sex Industry Is No Longer Men's World. Demand by women is driving the growth of all sorts of sex-related ventures, from stores and sex toy companies to adult Web sites, also run by women. By Mireya Navarro. [New York Times: Technology] 7:10:27 AM    comment []

Outsourcing: Danger to Privacy. Companies are shipping a lot of sensitive information about Americans overseas for processing by foreign clerks. Now, some lawmakers want safeguards from the companies to prevent misuse of the data. By Kim Zetter. [Wired News] 7:09:07 AM    comment []

The Issue of Virtual Slave Auctions. In a situation that is currently being discussed on a Second Life message board, Linden Labs moved against a property that was advertising a sexually... [The Alphaville Herald] 7:07:21 AM    comment []