Comcast investigating Comcast web use complaints First an Associated Press investigation found that Comcast was interfering with subscribers trying to share files online. Now the Federal Communications Commission plans to look into complaints that the country’s second-largest internet provider is interfering with internet traffic. That’s what FCC chairman Kevin Martin told International Consumer Electronics Show attendees in Las Vegas yesterday. Consumer groups petitioned the FCC in November to fine Comcast $195,000 for each affected subscriber and to prohibit Comcast from hindering certain kinds of data sharing. Comcast has admitted to slowing down traffic between computers that were sharing files but denies actually blocking files trying to be shared. Executives at the Philadelphia-based company said they will respond to any FCC inquiries into their broadband network management. The AP in October reported that Comcast hindered file sharing by some subscribers who used the popular file-sharing program BitTorrent.   Bush in the blogosphere: Chronicling the president With the every move of the average celebrity chronicled in countless blogs, it's not surprising that the president of the United States should be next subject to enter the blogosphere. White House press secretary Dana Perino said yesterday a new feature called "Trip Notes from the Middle East" will follow President Bush as he makes his eight-day trip to the Middle East. The blog, which can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov, will consist of the thoughts and opinions of senior staff members traveling with the President. Perino says that the blog is meant to be updated daily, but that could be subject to change as the trip progresses. Contributors to the blog will likely include chief of staff Josh Bolten, national security adviser Stephen Hadley, counselor Ed Gillespie and chief speechwriter Bill McGurn. If all goes well with this foray into blogging, the White House may continue the idea in the future.   Violinist follows Radiohead e-model for latest release Following in the footsteps of the pop group Radiohead, a classical violinist from Britain plans to give her next album away for free on the internet as a digital download. Tasmin Little hopes the move will help elevate the popularity of classical music. Radiohead allowed fans to pay whatever they wanted, including nothing, for “In Rainbows,” and the move drew a huge amount of publicity and a large volume of sales. Little, who is 42, told Reuters that making classical music more accessible is more important to her than making money. "Just the fact that people can listen to it on a computer means that hopefully they won't feel a need to have an education or be from a particular background or a certain sector of society," she says. Her album, “The Naked Violin,” will feature pieces by Bach, Paul Patterson and Eugene Ysaye and can be found at www.tasminlittle.net.   Digital divide: Sony BMG removes copy protections Despite all her personal trials, the latest being losing her car to a tow truck, Britney Spears has at least one bright spot in her professional life: Her fans will soon be able to download her music digitally. Beginning Jan. 15, Sony BMG will make digital albums by such hitmakers as Spears, Celine Dion and Beyonce available in MP3 format through a gift card service known as Platinum MusicPass. The digital album cards can be purchased at stores including Target and Best Buy. The move makes Sony BMG, the world’s second-biggest music company, the final of the four major music companies to remove copy protection software, or digital rights management, on downloadable music. It’s also an effort to attract more customers to combat the industry’s 15 percent decline in album sales last year. EMI, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group all dropped DRM, which prevented music fans from sharing songs with friends for free or making multiple copies, last year.