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A Norwegian teenager has been found not guilty of piracy charges after breaking a DVD encryption code and distributing a computer program that allowed copying of movies. The precedent-setting verdict validated the argument by pirates-cum-intellectual freedom activists worldwide, who claimed that Jon Johansen wasn’t stealing information but rather exercising his rights of free expression. Johansen, now 19, developed the program four years ago. Prosecutors may still appeal the decision. The case came to court after the Hollywood-based Motion Picture Association filed a complaint against the Oslo-based "DVD Jon." Movie studios complain that unauthorized copying, what they term as copyright theft, has cost them about $20 billion per year just in North America. Although many DVD copying programs are currently available on the web, Johansen’s now-outdated DeCSS was the first to unlock the codes.
Yahoo reaches 2 million paid subscriber mark
Yahoo has received some good news in its scramble to reposition itself as a paid-content site. Company chief executive Terry Semel said Monday that the online portal met its goal of gaining 2 million paid subscribers for 2002 a month before deadline. Although Semel didn’t reveal the exact number of Yahoo subscribers, he did say the company met the goal in December. Premium services offered by the site include job listings, personal ads and customized email boxes. Semel also spoke about the $235 million acquisition of software company Inktomi, a deal made in late December. But the CEO did not address rumors that the deal would allow Yahoo to end its partnership with Google, which fuels the site’s search capabilities.
Britain warns parents of internet pedophiles
British officials are warning internet users to beware of pedophiles. Citing the uncertainties of an online world where posters are not always who they seem, authorities have drawn up a code of practice offering kids and parents advice on how to avoid unwanted advances. Child protection agencies helped draw up the code. A government official has said that Britain wants to become the “safest country for children on the internet.” An ad blitz warning parents and children of the danger of online predators will run on television through the end of the month, and a web site (www.thinkuknow.co.uk) outlines what surfers can do in the event of unwanted attention. Most of the advice is common-sense stuff, such as changing passwords and not meeting an online pal without adult supervision. A proposal introduced in November would make “sexual grooming,” or seeking youngsters in chat rooms and interacting with them to gain trust, an offense in Britain, charging offenders hoping to have sex with children before the crime takes place.
Study: Republicans vote more than Dems (online)
No wonder Republicans registered big victories last November – apparently their party takes its politics a little more seriously, at least where online polls are concerned. Republicans are almost twice as likely as Democrats to vote in online surveys, according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, in conjunction with the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Nearly five in 10 Republicans vote in online surveys, while just 28 percent of Democrats do. That could be because more Republicans than Democrats also log on to get their political news. Last year 22 percent of internet users logged on for election news, compared to 15 percent during the 1998 midterm elections. Just one in five Democrats and one in four independents surveyed said that they like to participate in online polls; 50 percent of Republicans do. Online polls have often been criticized as unscientific because they represent only those who care enough to click, which may not reflect public opinion as a whole. The survey results seem to support that opinion, since a disproportionate amount of Republicans vote in such polls.
Seaside city goes wireless to attract tourists
In an effort to attract visitors, Long Beach, Calif., has gone wireless. The beach town has installed a wireless WiFi network along a four-block area of its main street to encourage visitors to web surf for free at local business. WiFi, or 802.11b, has become the country’s most-used high-speed wireless online access, and is being touted as a promising innovation to draw users to already established businesses, such as restaurants or airports. A Long Beach economic official said that after selling partnerships to local businesses, the city will pay just $3,000 per year for the service. Locals hope that the increase in business that will come with WiFi access will pay for the service, which offers information about Long Beach businesses at its portal.
Sick of sharing the beach? Buy this island!
Eighteen bucks and a couple of tools doesn’t buy you an island these days. But $3 million and an eBay userID just might do it. In what would be the largest-ever real estate deal to take place on eBay, the online auction company is carrying a listing for Thatch Cay, a 230-acre island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The land has been split into three parcels by the seller, a San Diego real estate developer, with a minimum $1 million bid for each (or sweep up the entire island with a triple bid). Should the island find a buyer, it would top the $2.1 million sale of upstate New York’s former Atlas F missile silo last year, or the $1.78 million auction of a town in Northern California. But buyers will have to bid well over the minimum price to make it the biggest eBay deal ever. That honor belongs to a used Gulfstream jet sold for $4.9 million.
January 8, 2003© 2002 Media Life
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