Record industry shakes
ISPs for piracy evidence
The entertainment industry is
going beyond filing lawsuits against alleged online pirates to physically
taking back what they claim is illegally acquired material. Record
industry investigators raided the headquarters of Swiftel Communications
in Perth, Australia, today without the help of police. Music Industry
Piracy Investigations believed the internet service provider had used
BitTorrent technology to allow the pirating of thousands of songs and
video clips during the last year. This was the first time an Australian
internet company was targeted because of using BitTorrent software. During
the raid MIPI seized both allegedly illegal sound recordings and illegal
video clips. The raids were conducted with rarely used search warrants
known as Anton Piller orders that are used exclusively in civil
proceedings. Last year, MIPI used Anton Piller orders to raid offices and
homes in Sydney linked to the Kazaa file-sharing network.
TVB: ADS are draining wired cable subscribers
Traditional
television cable services are being hurt as more customers opt for
competing services. According to
new data from the Television
Bureau of Advertising, more
American households are receiving television programming via an alternate
delivery system (ADS) instead of wired cable, which has lost 1.1 million
subscribers in the past year. The
analysis, which covered Nielsen
Media Research data for February 2005, found that wired
service subscriptions have reached
a 10-year low. But cable is still way ahead of ADS in total subscribers.
According to Nielsen NTI data, ADS penetration in the United States
reached 19.7 percent in February 2005, up from 18.8 percent in February of
last year. During the same period, wired cable penetration fell from 67.5
percent to 65.8 percent.
Jacko accuser says singer was web p*rn pusher
The accuser in Michael
Jackson’s child molestation case revealed some lurid details during his
first day on the witness stand yesterday. The boy, now 15, said he surfed online porn sites with the King of Pop the
first time they met. According to the boy’s testimony, that day Jackson
suggested he and his younger brother sleep in his room. “We asked our
parents if we could sleep in Michael's room and my parents said, ‘Yeah
we could,’” he testified yesterday. He then said that one of
Jackson’s assistants started looking at racing web sites with photos of
naked women. “We started looking at adult material sites,” he said.
The accuser said Jackson even went to his son Prince Michael I and said,
“Hey, Prince, you are missing a lot of P-U-S-S-Y.”
New
Xbox will offer easy shopping for gamers
While
users are anticipating a more advanced game system with the introduction
of the new Xbox, Microsoft is anticipating more money from gamers. The new
system offers an on-screen guide with a shopping marketplace so players
can buy new game levels, weapons, cars or character outfits. Microsoft
will set up an in-system payment option. The on-screen guide will also
allow players to listen to their own music during games instead of the
game soundtrack. The on-screen guide will give each player a
"gamer card" that shows such details as their name,
location, skill level and accomplishments. The company said it will
provide more details about the console in May at the Electronic
Entertainment Expo but has not said when it will launch.
Analysts expect it to ship by
November.
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