Engadget http://www.engadget.com Engadget http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif Engadget http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Louis CK makes $1 million in 12 days, proves that DRM-free content is valued]]>http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/22/louis-ck-makes-1-million-in-12-days-proves-that-drm-free-conte/http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/22/louis-ck-makes-1-million-in-12-days-proves-that-drm-free-conte/http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/22/louis-ck-makes-1-million-in-12-days-proves-that-drm-free-conte/#comments Hear that, MPAA / RIAA? That's the sound of Louis CK's audience chuckling. Not at one of his jokes, mind you, but at the notion of strapping DRM onto everything you possibly can in order to "make people buy it." In an effort to see if this crazy idea was true or not, the famed comedian decided to sell his Live at the Beacon Theater for just $5. Procuring it was dead simple -- you could either surf over to his website and plop down a PayPal payment, or you could pirate it. Either way, no DRM was affixed. Turns out, people actually are fans of paying money for things that they see as both fair and worthwhile, as evidenced by the $1 million that currently sits in Louis CK's PayPal account. Of course, we've never advise anyone to hold anywhere near that much cash in an account that could be frozen on you at a moment's notice (not that we have experience or anything), but at least he's going to do awesome things with the proceeds. We'll let you hit the source link to find out precisely what that is. Kudos, Louis.

Louis CK makes $1 million in 12 days, proves that DRM-free content is valued originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Dec 2011 20:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>comedydownloaddrmlouis ckLouisCkmpaapower to the peoplePowerToThePeopleprivacyriaaThu, 22 Dec 2011 20:54:00 EST<![CDATA[Pirate Bay founders launch 'copyright respecting' BayFiles sharing site, still dream of a life on Sealand]]>http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/01/pirate-bay-founders-launch-copyright-respecting-bayfiles-shari/http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/01/pirate-bay-founders-launch-copyright-respecting-bayfiles-shari/http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/01/pirate-bay-founders-launch-copyright-respecting-bayfiles-shari/#comments It ain't often that the hated few have a genuine change of heart, but it sounds as if the folks who founded The Pirate Bay are tired of sailing the same seas. After years of turning a blind eye to content mavens across the globe, Fredrik Neij and co. have launched what appears to be a legitimate file-sharing site -- one that's "respectful of copyrights." For all intents and purposes, BayFiles is yet another alternative to RapidShare and MegaUpload, acting as a cyberlocker that allows anyone with a web browser to upload files to share via a unique URL. Unregistered users will be limited to a 250MB upload, while standard members get bumped to 500MB and paying 'Premium' members can share up to 5GB per link. According to the terms of service, content that "violates third-party copyrights" cannot be uploaded, and folks who routinely ignore said words could face account termination. Head on down to the source to get started, and if you fall in love, you can pony up €5 a month, €25 for six months, or €45 for 12 months to claim your membership.

Pirate Bay founders launch 'copyright respecting' BayFiles sharing site, still dream of a life on Sealand originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>BayFilesBitTorrentcopyrightDRMfile hostingfile sharingFileHostingFileSharingillegallegalMPAAp2ppeer to peerpeer-to-peerPeerToPeerpiracyPirate BayPirateBayRIAAThe Pirate BayThePirateBayThu, 01 Sep 2011 15:43:00 EST<![CDATA[China's Baidu licenses music from major US record labels for streaming and downloads]]>http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/19/chinas-baidu-licenses-music-from-major-us-record-labels-for-str/http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/19/chinas-baidu-licenses-music-from-major-us-record-labels-for-str/http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/19/chinas-baidu-licenses-music-from-major-us-record-labels-for-str/#comments In a move suggesting they might be ready to accept the realities of the internet era, major US record labels have reached a deal with Chinese search engine company Baidu. The agreement between the search giant and One-Stop China, a joint venture of Universal, Warner and Sony BMG, will result in licensed tracks popping up in searches instead of pirated ones and resolve years of legal wrangling between the two sides. Baidu launched its ting! social music service earlier this year with support from local labels and EMI, while this new deal will see labels paid per-play, per-download and from advertising. Between this and the recent launch of Spotify in the US the cheap and easy fun of music piracy is slipping away rapidly, if record labels continue to act sensibly then illegal downloads will soon be limited to hipsters ironically cracking open vintage editions of Soulseek.

Continue reading China's Baidu licenses music from major US record labels for streaming and downloads

China's Baidu licenses music from major US record labels for streaming and downloads originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 08:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>baiduchinalicensingmucispiracyriaasonysony bmgSonyBmgtinguniversaluniversal music groupUniversalMusicGroupwarnerwarner musicWarnerMusicTue, 19 Jul 2011 08:32:00 EST<![CDATA[PROTECT IP Act called unconstitutional by bipartisan group of law professors]]>http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/11/protect-ip-act-called-unconstitutional-by-bipartisan-group-of-la/http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/11/protect-ip-act-called-unconstitutional-by-bipartisan-group-of-la/http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/11/protect-ip-act-called-unconstitutional-by-bipartisan-group-of-la/#comments Letter against PROTECT IP Act Turns out Eric Schmidt is not alone in his vehement opposition to the PROTECT IP Act, and the resistance is hardly partisan. A group of over 100 law professors signed a letter (jointly authored by Mark Lemley, David Levine, and David Post) arguing that the legislation working its way through congress is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has previously ruled that speech can't be suppressed without the speaker being given an opportunity to defend his or her actions. Yet, under the bill being advocated for by the RIAA the MPAA, a judge can issue a temporary restraining order that will essentially shutdown a site based only on evidence presented by the government. The letter warns that, not only could overseas domain owners be cheated of the right to due process but, plenty of protected speech could be censored based a single piece of infringing material. As we warned, this can only get nastier and this nascent battle is still only just getting started. Check out the full letter at the source.

PROTECT IP Act called unconstitutional by bipartisan group of law professors originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 22:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>censorshipconstitutionDavid LevineDavid PostDavidLevineDavidPostfree speechFreeSpeechlawMark LemleyMarkLemleyMPAAprotect ipprotect ip actProtectIpProtectIpActRIAAsupreme courtSupremeCourtunconstitutionalMon, 11 Jul 2011 22:19:00 EST<![CDATA[ISP's agree on Copyright Alert System, plan to notify you to death for piracy infringements]]>http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/08/isps-agree-on-copyright-alert-system-plan-to-notify-you-to-dea/http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/08/isps-agree-on-copyright-alert-system-plan-to-notify-you-to-dea/http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/08/isps-agree-on-copyright-alert-system-plan-to-notify-you-to-dea/#comments Too little, too late, we're afraid. For the past decade or so, the RIAA (amongst others) have spent every waking hour figuring out how to best sue and frighten every internet-connected human that even dares think about an illegal download. Now that said practice has failed miserably, it's finally resorting to something sensible. The entity announced today that AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cablevision have teamed up with the RIAA and MPAA in order to agree upon a six-stage notification system that'll electronically alert internet users whenever their account is used for wrongful downloading. It's actually not all that much different than the systems that have been in place at Suddenlink for what feels like eons, but at least this creates a standard protocol that the whole lot can adhere to. Oh, and before you ask -- under no circumstances will any of these notices result in termination of your broadband connection. There's no way an ISP would agree to such a thing, and indeed, they haven't here. The full run-down can be delved into below, but it's worth noting that no extra "watching" procedures are being put into place; your ISP will only drop you a line if a content overlord asks 'em to. Good times, no?

Continue reading ISP's agree on Copyright Alert System, plan to notify you to death for piracy infringements

ISP's agree on Copyright Alert System, plan to notify you to death for piracy infringements originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jul 2011 09:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>attbittorrentbroadbandCablevisionComcastcopyrightcopyright alertcopyright alertsCopyrightAlertCopyrightAlertsdownloaddownloadingdrmfile sharingFileSharingfiosillegalillegal downloadsIllegalDownloadsinternetispmpaap2ppiracyriaaTime Warner CableTimeWarnerCableu-verseVerizonwarningFri, 08 Jul 2011 09:12:00 EST<![CDATA[WWDC 2011 liveblog: Steve Jobs talks iOS 5, OS X Lion, iCloud and more!]]>http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/06/wwdc-2011-liveblog-steve-jobs-talks-ios-5-os-x-lion-icloud-an/http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/06/wwdc-2011-liveblog-steve-jobs-talks-ios-5-os-x-lion-icloud-an/http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/06/wwdc-2011-liveblog-steve-jobs-talks-ios-5-os-x-lion-icloud-an/#comments You're in the right place! Bookmark this page and return on Monday at the times listed below to see Steve Jobs take the stage at Moscone West. WWDC 2011 promises a peek at iOS 5, OS X Lion, the iCloud music storage offering and who knows what else. The iPhone 5? Don't count on it, but also, don't count it out. Your town not listed? Shout your time in comments below!

07:00AM - Hawaii
10:00AM - Pacific
11:00AM - Mountain
12:00PM - Central
01:00PM - Eastern
06:00PM - London
07:00PM - Paris
09:00PM - Moscow
02:00AM - Tokyo (June 7th)

Continue reading WWDC 2011 liveblog: Steve Jobs talks iOS 5, OS X Lion, iCloud and more!

WWDC 2011 liveblog: Steve Jobs talks iOS 5, OS X Lion, iCloud and more! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>applecloudcloud storageCloudStoragedrmicloudiosios 5Ios5lionliveliveblogmacmobilememusicmusic labelsMusicLabelsoperating systemOperatingSystemosos xos x 10.7os x lionOsXOsX10.7OsXLionriaasoftwaresteve jobsSteveJobswwdcwwdc 2011Wwdc2011Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:55:00 EST<![CDATA[Tennessee bill broadens scope of 'theft,' wide enough to include web-based subscription services?]]>http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/03/tennessee-bill-broadens-scope-of-theft-wide-enough-to-include/http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/03/tennessee-bill-broadens-scope-of-theft-wide-enough-to-include/http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/03/tennessee-bill-broadens-scope-of-theft-wide-enough-to-include/#comments
This week, Tennessee signed a bill that made waves across the web, with many sites claiming that sharing your log-in credentials for services such as Netflix could soon land you in the slammer. The actual story isn't that simple. The bill essentially adds onto laws pertaining to the theft of 'services' in the legal sense by covering more things that can be defined under the title. For instance, the original list included cable services, to keep folks from jacking free HBO -- now, stealing "entertainment subscription services" can make you a felon as well.

Tennessee has always been a hotspot for the recording industry, so there's almost no question about what this bill was meant to fight; during a senate hearing for the bill, the RIAA itself explained that online music services could be pirated via password sharing. It also added, though, that users who share passwords "en-masse" are the focus, rather than individual cases like it had pursued in the past.

However, this bill covers more than online services and could even extend to physical media such as magazines, another example vulnerable to this type of theft. Furthermore, while sharing passwords to these "entertainment services" may be illegal after its enactment on July 1st, that's not what this legislation is technically about; the RIAA would still need to prove that password sharing equates to theft in a court of law. You can check the links down below for more details.

Tennessee bill broadens scope of 'theft,' wide enough to include web-based subscription services? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>debunkdownloadentertainment subscription serviceEntertainmentSubscriptionServicehb 1783Hb1783moviesmusicNetflixpiracyriaasb 1659Sb1659servicesstealingtennesseetheftFri, 03 Jun 2011 09:02:00 EST<![CDATA[The Protect IP Act: Google's Eric Schmidt squares off against RIAA and MPAA]]>http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/22/the-protect-ip-act-googles-eric-schmidt-squares-off-against-ri/http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/22/the-protect-ip-act-googles-eric-schmidt-squares-off-against-ri/http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/22/the-protect-ip-act-googles-eric-schmidt-squares-off-against-ri/#comments The Protect IP Act: Google's Eric Schmidt squares off against RIAA and MPAA Protecting intellectual property sounds like such a noble cause that you'd have to be a anarchistic free-market extremist to be against the idea, right? Actually, we don't think Google CEO Eric Schmidt is particularly extreme in any definable way, yet this past week he spoke with gusto, railing against the proposed Protect IP Act, which was designed to "prevent online threats to economic creativity and theft of intellectual property." If passed into law, it would give the government the right to shut down any "Internet site dedicated to infringing activities" -- "infringing activities" largely being of the sort that allows dude A to download copyrighted item B from dude C when it's unclear whether dude C has legal rights to be distributing B in the first place.

So, you know, it's targeting the Pirate Bay and its ilk, giving government officials greater power to sweep in and snag the domains of such sites. Schmidt calls this approach a set of "arbitrarily simple solutions to complex problems" that "sets a very bad precedent." The precedent? That it's okay for democratic governments to go and kill any site they don't like, something Schmidt says would only encourage restrictive policies in countries like China. While we don't think China really needs any sort of encouragement at all to keep on building up its Great Firewall, we tend to agree that this is a much more complicated problem than the Act makes it out to be. That said, one must admit that Schmidt's opinions are necessarily somewhat swayed by the knowledge that any such law would also have a negative impact on the business of search engines in general.

But of course no such volley of words could go unanswered from the two shining knights of copyright protection, the MPAA and RIAA, which mounted up their corporate blogs, rode down from twin castles full of lawyers, and collectively told Schmidt he's full of it. The MPAA spun Schmidt's comments into some sort of act of civil disobedience, saying that "Google seems to think it's above America's laws." Meanwhile, the RIAA called the statement "a confusing step backwards by one of the most influential internet companies." Obviously it's only going to get nastier from here, so buckle your seatbelts, place your bets, and hang on to your BitTorrent clients.

The Protect IP Act: Google's Eric Schmidt squares off against RIAA and MPAA originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 May 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>copyrightcopyright protectionCopyrightProtectioneric schmidtEricSchmidtgooglegovernmentinternetlawmpaapiracypirateprotect ipProtectIpriaaSun, 22 May 2011 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[LimeWire reaches $105 million settlement with record labels]]>http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/13/limewire-reaches-105-million-settlement-with-record-labels/http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/13/limewire-reaches-105-million-settlement-with-record-labels/http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/13/limewire-reaches-105-million-settlement-with-record-labels/#comments
It's been a long, slow demise for the once mighty file sharing service, but LimeWire has now taken one last big step towards being a footnote in internet history. The company reached an out of court settlement with the major record labels yesterday, which will see it and its founder, Mark Gorton, fork over $105 million to finally put an end to its longstanding dispute with the RIAA. In a statement, the RIAA said that the settlement was "another milestone in the continuing evolution of online music to a legitimate marketplace that appropriately rewards creators," while LimeWire's attorney said simply that he was "pleased that this case has concluded." You'll note, of course, that the RIAA said "another" milestone -- it's obviously still hoping for plenty more settlements or legal victories where this one came from.

LimeWire reaches $105 million settlement with record labels originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 May 2011 11:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>file sharingFileSharinglegallimewiremusic labelsMusicLabelsrecord labelrecord labelsRecordLabelRecordLabelsriaasettlementFri, 13 May 2011 11:37:00 EST<![CDATA[Apple and other music retailers purportedly looking at 24-bit, high-fidelity audio downloads]]>http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/23/apple-and-other-music-retailers-purportedly-looking-at-24-bit-h/http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/23/apple-and-other-music-retailers-purportedly-looking-at-24-bit-h/http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/23/apple-and-other-music-retailers-purportedly-looking-at-24-bit-h/#comments
 Digital downloads, at least pertaining to music, have come a long, long way. The iTunes Music Store in particular has surpassed Walmart as America's leading seller of music, and it's evolved from a DRM-laden mess to a restriction-free(ish) marketplace with higher-than-average bitrate support. But it seems that 256kbps simply isn't high enough. According to unnamed "executives involved in talks," Apple -- as well as a few other digital music retailers -- are currently in discussions with labels to "improve the quality of the song files they sell." Essentially, these retailers are hoping to hawk 24-bit audio rather than the compressed 16-bit files available today, possibly with a price premium attached. The real trick, however, won't be coercing the labels to cooperate, but to retool future devices to actually play back 24-bit files. iTunes itself is already capable of handling 'em, but the iPod, iPhone and a slew of other handheld devices aren't. The report doesn't mention how close to a deal anyone is, but we're guessing it'll be sooner rather than later. Here's hoping the iPhone 5 ships with 128GB of capacity -- we're going to need an awful lot of space to handle those lossless Police albums.

Apple and other music retailers purportedly looking at 24-bit, high-fidelity audio downloads originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 01:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>24-bitappleaudiobitratebusinesscompressiondigital downloadsDigitalDownloadshifiindustryitmsitunesmp3musicpricingqualityRIAArumorsalessound qualitySoundQualityWed, 23 Feb 2011 01:03:00 EST<![CDATA[Google begins censoring autocomplete results for BitTorrent, RapidShare and other Big Media profanity]]>http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/27/google-begins-censoring-bittorrent-rapidshare-and-other-big-med/http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/27/google-begins-censoring-bittorrent-rapidshare-and-other-big-med/http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/27/google-begins-censoring-bittorrent-rapidshare-and-other-big-med/#comments Tried searching for "BitTorrent," "RapidShare," "uTorrent," "MegaUpload" or even "Ubuntu torrent" lately? Good luck finding a Google domain that'll autocomplete those results for you. Presumably caving to pleading from the MPAA and / or RIAA, El Goog has quietly begun to censor the results it shows when typing the above terms. Needless to say, the aforesaid companies aren't too keen on the new procedures, and strangely enough, a number of other sites that would typically be grouped into this same category -- MediaFire, 4shared and HotFile -- remain on the cleared list. Hit the source link if you're looking for loads of responses from companies angered with Google's move, and feel free to reset your homepage to Bing, Yahoo or any other search engine who has yet to bend. You know, if you're feeling rebellious.

Google begins censoring autocomplete results for BitTorrent, RapidShare and other Big Media profanity originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 10:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bittorrentcensorcensorshipdrmgooglelegalmpaap2ppeer to peerPeerToPeerradipdshareriaasearchtorrentutorrentThu, 27 Jan 2011 10:24:00 EST<![CDATA[LimeWire the online store fades away, LimeWire the file-sharing service soldiers on]]>http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/05/limewire-the-online-store-fades-away-limewire-the-file-sharing/http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/05/limewire-the-online-store-fades-away-limewire-the-file-sharing/http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/05/limewire-the-online-store-fades-away-limewire-the-file-sharing/#commentsInjunction orders Limewire to disable 'all functionality,' company pledges to keep operating... somehow In what will no doubt be held up as an shining example of irony in the months and years to come, it seems the RIAA has succeeded in shutting down LimeWire... but only the legal part. The LimeWire Store, which legitimately sold online music, will reportedly close on December 31st, and the site itself states that it won't be taking new customers from now on. Where, oh where will folks get their digital tunes instead? Some might go right back to filching them using LimeWire's peer-to-peer application, which hasn't actually been squashed by the injunction. Yes, a rogue group released LimeWire Pirate Edition last month, a version of the original Gnutella P2P client with all the bloat stripped out and premium functionality turned on, which is apparently receiving so welcome a reception in the file-sharing community that the Lime Group felt the need to issue a cease-and-desist to those distributing the software. Yo ho, yo ho...

LimeWire the online store fades away, LimeWire the file-sharing service soldiers on originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Dec 2010 21:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>closedclosurefile sharingfile-sharingFileSharinggnutellakilledLime GroupLimeGrouplimewireLimeWire Pirate EditionLimeWire StoreLimewirePirateEditionLimewireStoreP2Ppeer to peerPeerToPeerRIAASun, 05 Dec 2010 21:49:00 EST<![CDATA[Limewire ordered to disable 'all functionality,' company pledges to keep operating... somehow (video)]]>http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/27/limewire-ordered-to-disable-all-functionality-company-pledges/http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/27/limewire-ordered-to-disable-all-functionality-company-pledges/http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/27/limewire-ordered-to-disable-all-functionality-company-pledges/#commentsInjunction orders Limewire to disable 'all functionality,' company pledges to keep operating... somehow Today marks another sad day for the three people out there using P2P sites to share open source software and copyright-free materials -- plus all the other millions of people downloading illegal stuff. The RIAA has been involved in a legal battle against popular P2P client Limewire for years now and back in June it finally got the verdict it was looking for. A federal court found that the Lime Group, which maintains and distributes the software, did not take "meaningful efforts to mitigate infringement." Now, that same court has issued an injunction ordering that Lime Group disable "the searching, downloading, uploading, file trading and/or file distribution functionality, and/or all functionality." So, you know, pretty much turn the thing off. We're not sure when that'll happen, but we're guessing soon, and while a Lime Group representative indicated a desire to move forward and work with the record labels that seems awfully optimistic. You see, the court still hasn't decided how much the Group owes in damages, and we think that rather than working with them going forward the RIAA would prefer to put this lime in a coconut and, well...

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in, image courtesy Rookie Cookie]

Continue reading Limewire ordered to disable 'all functionality,' company pledges to keep operating... somehow (video)

Limewire ordered to disable 'all functionality,' company pledges to keep operating... somehow (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 07:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>federal courtFederalCourtfile sharingFileSharinginjunctionlawlawsuitlegallimewirep2priaavideoWed, 27 Oct 2010 07:25:00 EST<![CDATA[Apple slyly enables background iDisk music streaming in iOS 4]]>http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/apple-slyly-enables-background-idisk-music-streaming-in-ios-4/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/apple-slyly-enables-background-idisk-music-streaming-in-ios-4/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/apple-slyly-enables-background-idisk-music-streaming-in-ios-4/#comments Well, would you look at that? The v1.2 update to MobileMe iDisk that Apple pushed out last month has a secret -- er, did have a secret. One of the concealed new features of the app is background streaming, or as Apple puts it, the ability to "play audio from your iDisk while using another app." For starters, it's pretty fantastic just to have this functionality in-hand for your own garage jams, but what's more is that any licensed music on your iDisk still streams perfectly fine. Only time will tell if any record labels (or that mean, mean RIAA) step forward with a grievance, but this could very well be the beginning of iTunes in the cloud. Or a reason for buying Lala. Or a mysterious combination of the two.

Apple slyly enables background iDisk music streaming in iOS 4 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>appleapple iphoneapple iphone 4AppleIphoneAppleIphone4backgroundbackground streamingbackgroundingBackgroundStreamingcloudcloud streamingCloudStreamingdrmiDiskidisk streamingIdiskStreamingiosios 4Ios4iphoneiphone 4iphone osIphone4IphoneOsipod touchIpodTouchituneslalaMobile MeMobileMeMobileMe iDiskmusicmusic streamingMusicStreamingrecord labelrecord labelsRecordLabelRecordLabelsriaastreamstreaminguniversaluniversal music groupUniversalMusicGroupWed, 04 Aug 2010 16:14:00 EST<![CDATA[Major labels show eagerness to fail with new CMX digital audio format]]>http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/11/major-labels-show-eagerness-to-fail-with-new-cmx-digital-audio-f/http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/11/major-labels-show-eagerness-to-fail-with-new-cmx-digital-audio-f/http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/11/major-labels-show-eagerness-to-fail-with-new-cmx-digital-audio-f/#comments
Let's think about this, shall we? How did Sony's ATRAC format do? How did all those DRM-laced formats fare? Call us zany, but we've got a feeling an all new format developed by the astoundingly brilliant (ahem) minds at the world's largest record labels is apt to follow the aforementioned formats right on down to Irrelevant Boulevard. According to Times Online, Sony, Warner, Universal and EMI are currently looking to go head-to-head with Apple's own "Cocktail" by introducing a CMX format (codenamed) that will "give music fans a computerized version of the sleeve notes that come as standard with a CD, including lyrics and artwork, and videos." Reportedly, the format is expected to launch in November in an effort to boost whole album downloads (as opposed to singles), and while the labels approached Apple in order to gain its support, the Cupertino-based company purportedly decided to concoct its own mixture. Oh, and you can pretty much consider this extra DOA should iTunes not support it; fair or not, that's just the way it is.

[Via Guardian]

Filed under:

Major labels show eagerness to fail with new CMX digital audio format originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>audioCMXcocktaildigital audioDigitalAudioDRMemifile formatFileFormatlabelsmusicportable audioportableaudiorecord labelsRecordLabelsRIAAsonyuniversalwarnerTue, 11 Aug 2009 08:39:00 EST<![CDATA[RIAA says consumers shouldn't expect DRM servers to run forever]]>http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/30/riaa-says-consumers-shouldnt-expect-drm-servers-to-run-forever/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/30/riaa-says-consumers-shouldnt-expect-drm-servers-to-run-forever/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/30/riaa-says-consumers-shouldnt-expect-drm-servers-to-run-forever/#comments
Man, these Copyright Office triennial DMCA hearings seem to be some kind of competition for media-industry lawyers to present ridiculous arguments -- just a couple months after the MPAA tried to convince us that videotaping DVDs was an acceptable alternative to ripping, the RIAA's claiming that consumers shouldn't expect their DRM servers to stay online and allow them to play their music to play forever. No joke. The argument comes as the Copyright Office decides whether or not to allow a DMCA exemption for breaking DRM, and RIAA lawyer Steven Metalitz's position is that copyright owners shouldn't be required to "provide consumers with perpetual access to creative works," since "no other product or service providers are held to such lofty standards." Of course, that's only partially true, since properly maintained physical media and DRM-free content theoretically can be played forever, but why acknowledge reality when you can jack up your legal bills making completely absurd arguments that make your porcine, slowly-decaying clients seem even more doomed than before?

Filed under:

RIAA says consumers shouldn't expect DRM servers to run forever originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>copyrightcopyright officeCopyrightOfficedmcadmca exemptiondmca rulemakingDmcaExemptionDmcaRulemakingdrmdrm serverdrm-freeDrmServerlegalmusicportable audioportableaudioriaasteven metalitzStevenMetalitzThu, 30 Jul 2009 17:44:00 EST<![CDATA[Kazaa also turning its life around, becoming legal music subscription service]]>http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/19/kazaa-also-turning-its-life-around-becoming-legal-music-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/19/kazaa-also-turning-its-life-around-becoming-legal-music-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/19/kazaa-also-turning-its-life-around-becoming-legal-music-subscri/#commentsWe must have missed the memo that informed us of the impending revival sweeping the illicit music landscape, but there's no denying its potency now. Just weeks after Napster and Pirate Bay decided to right the wrong and morph into legitimate music subscription services (or something of the sort, anyway), the infamous and all-but-forgotten Kazaa has evidently decided to do the same. According to "sources close to the company," the site is expected to officially exit beta and begin a $20 per month unlimited download service as early as next week, though details beyond that are few and far between. On the surface, it seems as if it'll be shooting itself in the foot from day one by charging a Jackson per month, but hopefully that includes a little something extra that we aren't privy to yet. At any rate, it looks like your illegal acquisition options are slowly dwindling down, but hey, it's not like a little consolidation ever hurt anybody, right?

Filed under: ,

Kazaa also turning its life around, becoming legal music subscription service originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Jul 2009 01:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>AltnetaudioBrilliant Digital EntertainmentBrilliantDigitalEntertainmentdrmKazaalegalmusicportable audioportableaudioriaasubscriptionSun, 19 Jul 2009 01:39:00 EST<![CDATA[Pirate Bay owners announce give-and-take model, proclaim "filesharers are our best friends"]]>http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/18/pirate-bay-owners-announced-give-and-take-model-proclaim-files/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/18/pirate-bay-owners-announced-give-and-take-model-proclaim-files/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/18/pirate-bay-owners-announced-give-and-take-model-proclaim-files/#comments
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.

Filed under: ,

Pirate Bay owners announce give-and-take model, proclaim "filesharers are our best friends" originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>file sharingFileSharinggive-and-takeGlobal Gaming FactoryGlobalGamingFactoryillegalP2Ppeer to peerPeerToPeerpirate bayPirateBayportable audioportableaudioRIAAsealandthe pirate bayThePirateBaySat, 18 Jul 2009 16:58:00 EST<![CDATA[RealDVD ripping software heads to court, fair use advocates on pins and needles]]>http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/27/realdvd-ripping-software-heads-to-court-fair-use-advocates-on-p/http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/27/realdvd-ripping-software-heads-to-court-fair-use-advocates-on-p/http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/27/realdvd-ripping-software-heads-to-court-fair-use-advocates-on-p/#comments
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.

Filed under: , , ,

RealDVD ripping software heads to court, fair use advocates on pins and needles originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>copyrightcourtcssdmcadrmdvdfacetfair useFairUsehdhollywoodillegalmpaaother formatsotherformatspiracyrealreal dvdreal networksRealDVDRealNetworksriaariprippingstudiotrialMon, 27 Apr 2009 05:08:00 EST<![CDATA[RealDVD ripping software heads to court, fair use advocates on pins and needles]]>http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/27/realdvd-ripping-software-heads-to-court-fair-use-advocates-on-p/http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/27/realdvd-ripping-software-heads-to-court-fair-use-advocates-on-p/http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/27/realdvd-ripping-software-heads-to-court-fair-use-advocates-on-p/#comments
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.

Filed under:

RealDVD ripping software heads to court, fair use advocates on pins and needles originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>copyrightcourtcssdmcadrmdvdfacetfair useFairUsehollywoodillegalmpaapiracyrealreal dvdreal networksRealDVDRealNetworksriaariprippingstudiotrialMon, 27 Apr 2009 05:08:00 EST<![CDATA[The Pirate Bay founders sentenced to prison, website soldiers on]]>http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/17/the-pirate-bay-founders-head-to-prison-website-soldiers-on/http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/17/the-pirate-bay-founders-head-to-prison-website-soldiers-on/http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/17/the-pirate-bay-founders-head-to-prison-website-soldiers-on/#commentsIn what's being described as a landmark verdict, four men responsible for assisting throngs of dubious internet users to download all sorts of copyrighted material are being ushered off to prison cells for twelve whole months. The Stockholm district court in Sweden found the defendants guilty not of hosting materially illegally, but of "providing a website with sophisticated search functions, simple download and storage capabilities, and a tracker linked to the website [that helped users commit copyright violations]." As expected, the foursome seems unaffected by the ruling, with Peter Sunde (shown) tweeting that "it used to be only movies, now even verdicts are out before the official release." After jail, the crew will be forced by pay 30 million kronor ($3.56 million) to a number of entertainment companies, which is far less than those firms were hoping for. Curiously, we're told that the verdict didn't include an order to shut down The Pirate Bay website, and you can pretty much bank on an appeal being filed in record time.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: , ,

The Pirate Bay founders sentenced to prison, website soldiers on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Apr 2009 07:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>copyrightcourtguiltyillegaljaillawlawsuitlegalMPAAmusicpiracypirate bayPirateBayportable audioportable videoportableaudioportablevideoprisonRIAAStockholmsuesuingsuitswedenThe Pirate BayThePirateBayFri, 17 Apr 2009 07:12:00 EST<![CDATA[Nokia aiming for DRM-free implementation of Comes With Music]]>http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/02/nokia-aiming-for-drm-free-implementation-of-comes-with-music/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/02/nokia-aiming-for-drm-free-implementation-of-comes-with-music/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/02/nokia-aiming-for-drm-free-implementation-of-comes-with-music/#comments
Make no mistake -- there's no need to wait for Nokia and its partner studios to implement a DRM-free version of Comes With Music to enjoy your subscription tracks on any device you want, but at least the handset maker -- along with those in control of the jams -- are working towards a legal way to strip your downloads of that pesky rights management stuff. According to an article on the matter from Singapore today, Adam Mirabella, director of Global Digital Music Retail at Nokia, had this to say: "We have dialogs going with all of our partners and Digital Rights Management-free (DRM-free) is also on the roadmap for the future integration of Comes With Music." No further details were spilled, but we'd say that's clear cut enough to get one's hopes up. Just don't bank on this going down anytime soon -- you should know there's lots of red tape to cut before those CmW tunes are freed of their shackles.

[Thanks, Masa]

Filed under: , ,

Nokia aiming for DRM-free implementation of Comes With Music originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 19:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>audiocomes with musicComesWithMusicDRMmobilemultimediamusicnokiaRIAAMon, 02 Mar 2009 19:33:00 EST<![CDATA[Nokia aiming for DRM-free implementation of Comes With Music]]>http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/02/nokia-aiming-for-drm-free-implementation-of-comes-with-music/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/02/nokia-aiming-for-drm-free-implementation-of-comes-with-music/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/02/nokia-aiming-for-drm-free-implementation-of-comes-with-music/#comments
Make no mistake -- there's no need to wait for Nokia and its partner studios to implement a DRM-free version of Comes With Music to enjoy your subscription tracks on any device you want, but at least the handset maker -- along with those in control of the jams -- are working towards a legal way to strip your downloads of that pesky rights management stuff. According to an article on the matter from Singapore today, Adam Mirabella, director of Global Digital Music Retail at Nokia, had this to say: "We have dialogs going with all of our partners and Digital Rights Management-free (DRM-free) is also on the roadmap for the future integration of Comes With Music." No further details were spilled, but we'd say that's clear cut enough to get one's hopes up. Just don't bank on this going down anytime soon -- you should know there's lots of red tape to cut before those CmW tunes are freed of their shackles.

[Thanks, Masa]

Filed under: ,

Nokia aiming for DRM-free implementation of Comes With Music originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 19:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>audiocomes with musicComesWithMusicDRMmusicnokiaportable audioportableaudioRIAAMon, 02 Mar 2009 19:26:00 EST<![CDATA[RIAA finds its soul, will stop suing individuals downloading music]]>http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/19/riaa-finds-its-soul-will-stop-suing-individuals-for-music-pirac/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/19/riaa-finds-its-soul-will-stop-suing-individuals-for-music-pirac/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/19/riaa-finds-its-soul-will-stop-suing-individuals-for-music-pirac/#comments
When you retard fair use with pointless DRM and then sue anonymous children for illegally downloading music while ignoring those of the execs at the top of the music industry, well, you're asking for a public relations nightmare. Now, with more than 35,000 lawsuits to its credit, the RIAA says it will finally end the legal assault against consumers that began back in 2003. The Recording Industry Association of America will instead, focus its anti-piracy efforts with ISPs. Under the new plan, the RIAA will contact ISPs when illegal uploading is detected. The ISP will then contact the customer with a notice that would ultimately be followed by a reduction or cessation of service. As you'd expect, the RIAA is not commenting on which ISPs they are in cahoots with. The RIAA also says that it won't require ISPs to reveal the identities of individuals but could, of course, go after individuals who are heavy uploaders or repeat offenders. For the moment though, it appears that single-mothers are in the clear.

Filed under:

RIAA finds its soul, will stop suing individuals downloading music originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 06:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>breaking newsBreakingNewsdrmlawsuitlegalmusic industryMusicIndustryportable audioportableaudioriaaFri, 19 Dec 2008 06:16:00 EST<![CDATA[Digital sales overtake CDs at Atlantic Records, music pie in general shrinks]]>http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/#comments
Yep, it finally happened. One label has come forward and admitted that, for the first time, digital sales of its music has surpassed CDs. While many pundits asserted that loosing tunes via tiny downloadable files would instantaneously cause the deep-pocketed record labels to crumble as piracy ran rampant, the numbers tell a different story. In fact, music sales overall have declined from $14.6 billion in 1999 to $10.1 billion this year, and it's expected to shrink further. But for Atlantic, moving tracks on the information superhighway has proven quite successful; last quarter, digital sales accounted for 51% of its revenue, while CD sales still make up over two-thirds of all music sales industry-wide. There's no real indication as to why Atlantic seems to have that digital charm while everyone else is still clinging tight to old world business models, but it's sure nice to see this side of the equation thriving. Now, about those DRM-free downloads across the board...

[Image courtesy of Dexondaz]

Filed under:

Digital sales overtake CDs at Atlantic Records, music pie in general shrinks originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>albumAtlanticAtlantic recordsAtlanticRecordsaudiodigital downloadsDigitalDownloadsdownloadsDRMmp3musicportable audioportableaudioRIAAWed, 26 Nov 2008 09:24:00 EST<![CDATA[Walmart has a change of heart, decides to maintain DRM servers]]>http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/10/walmart-has-a-change-of-heart-decides-to-maintain-drm-servers/http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/10/walmart-has-a-change-of-heart-decides-to-maintain-drm-servers/http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/10/walmart-has-a-change-of-heart-decides-to-maintain-drm-servers/#comments
Back by popular demand, it's the Walmart DRM servers! You heard right -- just days after Wally World announced its plans to turn the screw on its digital rights management servers, we're now being shown a big "just kidding." According to an e-mail (posted in full after the break) sent out to previous downloaders, the mega-corp be leaving things as-is for the foreseeable future, and it's all because of "feedback from the customers." In other words, those actions it urged you to take late last month are no longer required, though we'd still back those tracks up on CD just in case. Can't be too careful, you know.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Walmart has a change of heart, decides to maintain DRM servers

Filed under:

Walmart has a change of heart, decides to maintain DRM servers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>audiodigital downloadsDigitalDownloadsDRMdrm-freemp3musicmusic storeMusicStoreportable audioportableaudioriaawal-martwalmartFri, 10 Oct 2008 00:59:00 EST<![CDATA[Walmart shutting off DRM servers, turning over a new leaf]]>http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/28/walmart-shutting-off-drm-servers-turning-over-a-new-leaf/http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/28/walmart-shutting-off-drm-servers-turning-over-a-new-leaf/http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/28/walmart-shutting-off-drm-servers-turning-over-a-new-leaf/#comments
Walmart began selling DRM-free tracks in its music store in August of last year. 13 months later, the mega-corp has decided to follow the footsteps of so many others and hit the kill switch on its DRM management servers. As noted in an e-mail to customers, Wally World will be making the final transition into a fully DRM-free MP3 store on October 9th, and in order to keep those DRM-laden files playable on anything, it's recommended that you burn protected files on a CD on the double. If you choose to ignore this message, you'll be unable to "transfer your songs to other computers or access your songs after changing or reinstalling your operating system or in the event of a system crash." Heed the warning, kids.

Filed under:

Walmart shutting off DRM servers, turning over a new leaf originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>audioDRMdrm-freemp3musicportable audioportableaudioriaawal-martwalmartSun, 28 Sep 2008 17:38:00 EST<![CDATA[Judge declares mistrial in RIAA filesharing case, sets aside $222,000 verdict]]>http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/25/judge-declares-mistrial-in-riaa-filesharing-case-sets-aside-22/http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/25/judge-declares-mistrial-in-riaa-filesharing-case-sets-aside-22/http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/25/judge-declares-mistrial-in-riaa-filesharing-case-sets-aside-22/#comments
We always thought that the RIAA's first-ever filesharing trial victory against Jammie Thomas was a little suspect since the labels weren't required to prove that Thomas even had Kazaa installed on her machine or was the person using the account in question, and it looks like the court agrees -- it's just declared a mistrial and set aside the $222,000 judgment on the grounds that simply making copyrighted works available for download does not constitute copyright infringement. That's a huge decision -- the "making available" theory is the basis for most of the RIAA's legal arguments -- and it means that the RIAA will now have to prove the unauthorized transfer of each song it wants to collect damages on at the new trial. We'll see what effect this has in the broader sense -- we've got a feeling we're in for a slew of appellate decisions on both sides of the "making available" debate -- but for now it looks like the good guys are finally starting to score some points.

[Via ZDNet, thanks JagsLive]

Read - Wired article
Read - Decision [PDF]

Filed under:

Judge declares mistrial in RIAA filesharing case, sets aside $222,000 verdict originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>file sharingFileSharingjammie thomasJammieThomaskazaalawuitlegalpspriaaThu, 25 Sep 2008 13:34:00 EST<![CDATA[Yahoo! offers up coupons and refunds to DRM server-shutdown victims]]>http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/31/yahoo-offers-up-coupons-and-refunds-to-drm-server-shutdown-vict/http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/31/yahoo-offers-up-coupons-and-refunds-to-drm-server-shutdown-vict/http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/31/yahoo-offers-up-coupons-and-refunds-to-drm-server-shutdown-vict/#commentsYahoo MusicIf you woke up this morning worried about what Yahoo! is planning to do for its Music Store customers who are about to be left in the lurch with its DRM server shut-down, have no fear. Yahoo! has announced that it will offer customers coupons or refunds for those songs you bought. Basically, you'll get a coupon that you can use at RealNetworks Inc.'s Rhapsody download service. Their songs, of course, are DRM-free. For those of you who have "serious problems with this arrangement" (their words, not ours), refunds will be available. The servers go down on September 30, so start combing your collections, kids.

[Thanks, JC]

Filed under:

Yahoo! offers up coupons and refunds to DRM server-shutdown victims originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>compensatecustomer serviceCustomerServicedrmpiracyportable audioportableaudioriaayahooyahoo musicYahooMusicThu, 31 Jul 2008 08:45:00 EST<![CDATA[Yahoo! to compensate DRM-protected Music Store customers]]>http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/26/yahoo-to-compensate-drm-protected-music-store-customers/http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/26/yahoo-to-compensate-drm-protected-music-store-customers/http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/26/yahoo-to-compensate-drm-protected-music-store-customers/#commentsHey, both of you Yahoo! Music Store customers, listen up. Just hours after Yahoo! affirmed that it would be powering down its DRM servers, along comes a spokesperson to alleviate any worries that you two will get screwed in all of this. According to Carrie Davis, customers "will be compensated for whatever they paid for the music," and she continued on to state that Yahoo "had not yet decided what exactly it would do, but it would take care of its customers." Some of the possible options include getting cash back for the money spent on tracks or receiving MP3 versions of the jams sans DRM (we'd take the former, thanks). Depressingly, there doesn't seem to be a definitive time table laid out just yet for the restitution process.

Filed under:

Yahoo! to compensate DRM-protected Music Store customers originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Jul 2008 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>compensatecustomer serviceCustomerServicedrmpiracyportable audioportableaudioriaayahooyahoo musicYahooMusicSat, 26 Jul 2008 16:58:00 EST<![CDATA[El Tunes gives Linux users iTMS playback capabilities]]>http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/26/el-tunes-gives-linux-users-itms-playback-capabilities/http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/26/el-tunes-gives-linux-users-itms-playback-capabilities/http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/26/el-tunes-gives-linux-users-itms-playback-capabilities/#commentsIt has been a solid tick since we've seen a good FairPlay hack, so it's with great pleasure that we pass along El Tunes for Ubuntu 8.04 users everywhere. Tested to work on Hardy Heron using RhythmBox (but assumed to work on any modern Linux Distro with GStreamer and a media player that utilizes GStreamer), said plug-in enables open-source aficionados to play songs purchased from the iTunes Music Store. As for limitations, the current version has no Pause / Seek support and cannot de-authorize a machine for playback, but a future version should hopefully cure those two quirks and add support for purchased video content and audio streaming to an AirTunes device. Give it a shot and let us know how it treats ya.

Filed under: ,

El Tunes gives Linux users iTMS playback capabilities originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Jul 2008 04:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>audiodrmEl TunesElTunesFairPlayhackHardy HeronHardyHeroniTMSiTunesLinuxmusicopen sourceopen-sourceOpenSourceportable audioportableaudioRhythmBoxriaasoftwareUbuntuUbuntu 8.04Ubuntu8.04Sat, 26 Jul 2008 04:51:00 EST<![CDATA[RIAA chief says ripping okay, Sony BMG lawyer "misspoke" during Jammie Thomas trial]]>http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/04/riaa-chief-says-ripping-okay-sony-bmg-lawyer-misspoke-during/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/04/riaa-chief-says-ripping-okay-sony-bmg-lawyer-misspoke-during/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/04/riaa-chief-says-ripping-okay-sony-bmg-lawyer-misspoke-during/#commentsNow that the furor has died down over the Washington Post's questionable piece about the RIAA supposedly suing Jeffrey Howell for ripping CDs, it's time to hear what the RIAA actually has to say -- and it's surprisingly sensible. Speaking to NPR, RIAA president Cary Sherman flatly said "the story is just wrong." Sherman went on to say that the RIAA hasn't ever prosecuted anyone for ripping or copying for personal use, and that the only issue in the Jeffrey Howell case was -- as always -- sharing files on Kazaa. Perhaps most interestingly, Sherman directly addressed the "ripping is just a nice way of saying 'steals one copy'" comment made by Sony BMG's anti-piracy counsel in the Jammie Thomas case, saying that the attorney "misspoke," and that neither Sony BMG or the RIAA agreed with that position.

Of course, it wasn't all sunshine and cupcakes -- Sherman refused to straight-up answer the question of whether or not ripping was legal, saying instead that "there are 100 hypotheticals" and that "copyright law is very complicated." Of course, what he's really saying is that courts haven't made an clear determination of fair use regarding ripping and that he's covering the industry's collective ass -- which explains his hilariously out-of-touch explanation that making copies onto "analog cassettes, special audio CD-Rs, minidiscs, and digital tapes" is legal, because those are all expressly allowed by law. On the other hand, Sherman also said that RIAA's interpretation of the law "doesn't really matter," because "not a single claim has ever been brought over personal use -- [the Washington Post story is] really unfortunate, it's misleading consumers, and it's simply not true." It's a fascinating interview, and it's more than worth a listen if you've got any interest at all in copyright issues -- regardless of what side you're on.

Filed under:

RIAA chief says ripping okay, Sony BMG lawyer "misspoke" during Jammie Thomas trial originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Jan 2008 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cary shermanCaryShermanlawsuitlegalmark fisherMarkFisherportable audioportableaudioriaarippingwashington postWashingtonPostFri, 04 Jan 2008 18:59:00 EST<![CDATA[RIAA not suing over CD ripping, still kinda being jerks about it]]>http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/30/riaa-not-suing-over-cd-ripping-still-kinda-being-jerks-about-it/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/30/riaa-not-suing-over-cd-ripping-still-kinda-being-jerks-about-it/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/30/riaa-not-suing-over-cd-ripping-still-kinda-being-jerks-about-it/#commentsOkay, so we've done some digging into the RIAA's lawsuit against Jeffery Howell, in which the industry is claiming that ripped MP3s are "unauthorized copies," and it turns out that Jeffery isn't actually being sued for ripping CDs, like the Washington Post and several other sources have reported, but for plain old illegal downloading. As we're all unfortunately aware, that's pretty standard stuff; the big change from previous downloading cases is the RIAA's newfound aggressiveness in calling MP3s ripped from legally owned CDs "unauthorized copies" -- something it's been doing quietly for a while, but now it looks like the gloves are off. While there's a pretty good argument for the legality of ripping under the market factor of fair use, it's never actually been ruled as such by a judge -- so paradoxically, the RIAA might be shooting itself in the foot here, because a judge wouldn't ever rule on it unless they argue that it's illegal. Looks like someone may end up being too clever for their own good, eh?

Filed under:

RIAA not suing over CD ripping, still kinda being jerks about it originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Dec 2007 12:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>downloadingjeffery howellJefferyHowelllawsuitlegalriaarippingSun, 30 Dec 2007 12:16:00 EST<![CDATA[RIAA suing citizen for copying legally purchased CDs to PC]]>http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/29/riaa-suing-citizen-for-copying-legally-purchased-cds-to-pc/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/29/riaa-suing-citizen-for-copying-legally-purchased-cds-to-pc/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/29/riaa-suing-citizen-for-copying-legally-purchased-cds-to-pc/#commentsSure, we've heard RIAA-admiring lawyers affirm that ripping your own CDs is in fact "stealing," but it seems the aforementioned entity is putting its money where its mouth is in a case against Jeffrey Howell. Reportedly, the Scottsdale, Arizona resident is being sued by the RIAA, and rather than Mr. Howell just writing a check and calling it a day, he's fighting back in court. Interestingly, it seems that the industry is maintaining that "it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into their computer." Ira Schwartz, the industry's lawyer in the case, is arguing that MP3 files created on his computer from legally purchased CDs are indeed "unauthorized copies," and while we've no idea what will become of all this, we suppose you should go on and wipe those personal copies before you too end up in handcuffs.

Update: We got some more info on the case -- it looks like Jeffrey's actually being sued for illegal downloading, not ripping, but this whole "ripping is illegal" tactic is still pretty distasteful. Check out this post for the full story.

[Via BlogRunner]

Filed under:

RIAA suing citizen for copying legally purchased CDs to PC originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Dec 2007 18:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>drmlawsuitlegalportable audioportableaudioriaasuesuitSat, 29 Dec 2007 18:50:00 EST<![CDATA[Edgar Bronfman admits to "inadvertently" going to war with music consumers]]>http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/15/edgar-bronfman-admits-to-inadvertently-going-to-war-with-music/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/15/edgar-bronfman-admits-to-inadvertently-going-to-war-with-music/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/15/edgar-bronfman-admits-to-inadvertently-going-to-war-with-music/#commentsBy now, we're pretty certain you know how Warner Music's head honcho feels about DRM and its necessity in the digital download space, but apparently, the man behind not one, but two CE-Oh Noes has experienced some form of epiphany. MacUser has it that Edgar Bronfman admitted that the music industry "used to fool itself" by thinking that its content was "perfect just exactly as it was" while speaking at the GSMA Mobile Asia Congress in Macau. He went on to say that it was widely believed that the business would "remain blissfully unaffected even as the world of interactivity, constant connection and file sharing was exploding." He also noted that it essentially went to war "inadvertently" with consumers by "denying them what they wanted and could otherwise find." The conversation was used in part to urge mobile operators to not make the same mistakes again, and while we applaud such a figure for coming forward with a bit of hard truth, it remains to be seen if these sentiments will reverberate further or simply fall on deaf ears.

[Via mocoNews]

Filed under:

Edgar Bronfman admits to "inadvertently" going to war with music consumers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Nov 2007 08:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>conflictconsumersdrmEdgar BronfmanEdgarBronfmanerrorlabelsmistakemobile musicMobileMusicmusicportable audioportableaudioriaawarnerThu, 15 Nov 2007 08:26:00 EST<![CDATA[Jammie Thomas to appeal $222,000 RIAA file-sharing suit]]>http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/09/jammie-thomas-to-appeal-222-000-riaa-file-sharing-suit/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/09/jammie-thomas-to-appeal-222-000-riaa-file-sharing-suit/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/09/jammie-thomas-to-appeal-222-000-riaa-file-sharing-suit/#comments
Nothing's been filed yet, but Jammie Thomas and her lawyer were on CNN today discussing that ridiculous $222,000 damage award for sharing songs on Kazaa and confirmed that they will, in fact, appeal. The exact nature of the appeal is still up in the air, but Thomas' lawyer says it'll have to do with whether or not Thomas actually transferred a song to another Kazaa user or just made it available on the network. That's a pretty unsettled part of the law and a fairly weak part of the RIAA's case, but we'll have to wait and see what the actual appeal says before we'll have an idea of how this will play out. Peep the full interview on CNN at the read link.

[Via TG Daily]

Filed under:

Jammie Thomas to appeal $222,000 RIAA file-sharing suit originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Oct 2007 04:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>downloadingfile sharingFileSharingjammie thomasJammieThomasp2pportable audioportableaudioriaaTue, 09 Oct 2007 04:27:00 EST<![CDATA[Know Your Rights: Why is copyright law so screwed up?]]>http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/05/know-your-rights-why-is-copyright-law-so-screwed-up/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/05/know-your-rights-why-is-copyright-law-so-screwed-up/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/05/know-your-rights-why-is-copyright-law-so-screwed-up/#commentsKnow Your Rights is Engadget's new technology law series, written by our own totally punk copyright attorney Nilay Patel. In it we'll try to answer some fundamental tech-law questions to help you stay out of trouble in this brave new world. Disclaimer: Although this post was written by an attorney, it is not meant as legal advice or analysis and should not be taken as such.

What on earth is going on with that $222,000 RIAA judgment against that poor woman in Minnesota? Is the system really that broken?

Why do you always ask questions that you know will have answers that you don't like?

Come on -- almost a quarter-million dollars for sharing 24 songs on Kazaa? No one even uses that anymore.

Well, the truth is that the system isn't broken at all, really -- it's working exactly as it was designed. Under the rules in place now, anyone who willfully infringes a copyright is on the hook for at least $750 and a max of $150,000 per infringement. Since each song you share is a unique copyrighted work, that means you get hit with that penalty for every track in your shared folder. This obviously lead to some strange hypothetical results -- sharing that copy of "Wave of Mutilation" triggers the exact same legal mechanisms as sharing all of, say, OS X or Vista, since those are considered single copyrighted works, but that's how we determine damages in our system.

Well, so why were the damages so ridiculous in this case?

A range from $750 to $150,000 is pretty huge, and we may never know exactly why the jury in the Jammie Thomas case settled on $9,250 per infringement as their number -- and most observers seem to agree that it's a figure that is out of proportion with whatever harm she may have caused the labels. There is also no conclusive evidence that damages of this size have done anything to halt the growth of P2P file-sharing.

The real problem that's being brought to light is that our system doesn't always keep pace with the rapid changes in technology. Every system has flaws, and it's incredibly unlikely that lawmakers, of all people, will be able to draft legislation forward-looking enough to avoid similar breakdowns in the future.

So why even bother? If we can't get it right, why even try to impose all these limitations? It just seems to lead to things like DRM.

Continue reading Know Your Rights: Why is copyright law so screwed up?

Know Your Rights: Why is copyright law so screwed up? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Oct 2007 18:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>featuresknow your rightsKnowYourRightsKYRriaaFri, 05 Oct 2007 18:53:00 EST<![CDATA[RIAA wins first-ever file-sharing case to go to trial, awarded $222,000]]>http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/04/riaa-wins-first-ever-file-sharing-case-to-go-to-trial-awarded/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/04/riaa-wins-first-ever-file-sharing-case-to-go-to-trial-awarded/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/04/riaa-wins-first-ever-file-sharing-case-to-go-to-trial-awarded/#commentsThe first RIAA file-sharing case to go to trial just wrapped, and sadly, the outcome isn't a positive one. Regardless of the incredibly asinine and consumer-hostile comments made by Sony BMG's head of litigation the other day, the jury found Jammie Thomas, a single mother from Minnesota, liable for willful copyright infringement and awarded the RIAA plaintiffs $222,000 -- that's $9,250 for each of the 24 songs she was alleged to have made available on Kazaa, for those of you keeping track at home, and probably something like, oh, say, $222,000 more than she should have had to pay, since the RIAA plaintiffs weren't required to show that Thomas had a file-sharing program installed on her machine or that she was even the person using the Kazaa account in question. Of course, this is just one case and there's always the possibility of appeal, but anything that emboldens the RIAA's litigation team is never good for the general public.

Disclaimer: Although this post was written by an attorney, it is not meant as legal advice or analysis and should not be taken as such.

Filed under:

RIAA wins first-ever file-sharing case to go to trial, awarded $222,000 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2007 18:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>downloadingfile sharingFileSharingjammie thomasJammieThomasp2pportable audioportableaudioriaaThu, 04 Oct 2007 18:21:00 EST<![CDATA[Sony BMG's head lawyer says ripping CDs is "stealing"]]>http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/04/sony-bmgs-head-lawyer-says-ripping-cds-is-stealing/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/04/sony-bmgs-head-lawyer-says-ripping-cds-is-stealing/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/04/sony-bmgs-head-lawyer-says-ripping-cds-is-stealing/#commentsThere's one of them RIAA lawsuits going down in Duluth this week, and Jammie Thomas, the single mother charged with sharing 26 songs on Kazaa, isn't going down without a fight. Yesterday her attorneys called Jennifer Pariser, Sony BMG's head of litigation, to testify before the jury and got her to say some incredibly incendiary things -- not least of which was her opinion that making copies of purchased music is just "a nice way of saying 'steals just one copy.'" That viewpoint, of course, implicates pretty much every single thing consumers do with music and computers, including transferring songs to iPods and Zunes. We're betting there might be a couple jurors on the panel who aren't too fond of Ms. Pariser right now. Might want to check yo'self before you wreck yo'self, counselor.

Disclaimer: Although this post was written by an attorney, it is not meant as legal advice or analysis and should not be taken as such.

Filed under:

Sony BMG's head lawyer says ripping CDs is "stealing" originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2007 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>lawsuitlegalportable audioportableaudioriaasony bmgSonyBmgThu, 04 Oct 2007 09:01:00 EST<![CDATA[Know Your Rights: What to do when the RIAA comes calling]]>http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/31/know-your-rights-what-to-do-with-the-riaa-comes-calling/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/31/know-your-rights-what-to-do-with-the-riaa-comes-calling/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/31/know-your-rights-what-to-do-with-the-riaa-comes-calling/#commentsKnow Your Rights is Engadget's new technology law series, written by our own totally punk copyright attorney Nilay Patel. In it we'll try to answer some fundamental tech-law questions to help you stay out of trouble in this brave new world. Disclaimer: Although this post was written by an attorney, it is not meant as legal advice or analysis and should not be taken as such.

Preface: There's been a lot of discussion about the RIAA's, shall we say "controversial" (and we're being generous here) tactics in suing P2P users who download copyrighted content; especially this week, what with the EFF releasing its "RIAA v. The People: Four Years Later" report. But it's never been easy to find information about the nuts-and-bolts of what happens when you get that first letter from the RIAA. We're not going to get into our feelings about the RIAA and MPAA (you probably already know what we think), but since we've (read: Nilay) been involved in a couple successful defenses -- and a lot of unhappy settlements -- we thought we'd try and break down the process for you. We're not telling you how to avoid or get out of trouble with the RIAA, just how it is that trouble usually operates.

Help! I'm being sued by the RIAA!

Wow, bad luck for you. The RIAA really only sues about 6,000 people a year, mostly those who use FastTrack clients like Kazaa. Users of other networks have been sued, of course, but it's by far Kazaa users who get sued the most often, and generally those who have been unknowingly sharing files. That's a drop in the bucket compared the to estimated nine million people who use P2P software every month.

Continue reading Know Your Rights: What to do when the RIAA comes calling

Know Your Rights: What to do when the RIAA comes calling originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2007 19:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>downloadingfeaturesknow your rightsKnowYourRightsriaaFri, 31 Aug 2007 19:37:00 EST