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Orrin Hatch wants to blow up your computer. Or, if not yours specifically, that of someone you know. The Republican senator from Utah has decided the best way to combat online copyright infringement is to get all militant. During Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on copyright abuse, Hatch suggested that the entertainment and technology industries begin employing a three-strikes-and-you’re-fried policy that would send two warnings to copyright infringers before essentially zapping their computers. The recording industry already has looked at ways to counterattack infringers, relying on somewhat secretive technology companies to come up with the plans. But their plans don’t go as far as Hatch’s. When an employee of one of them said Tuesday he wasn’t interested in actually harming offenders, Hatch, a composer still earning song royalties, exclaimed that he was. He claimed that tough consequences are the only way to stem what’s become a huge industry worry. But there are so many liability issues, not to mention feasibility problems and legal hurdles, that you’re still safe logging on to Kazaa for the foreseeable future.
Microsoft sues 15 spammers for deception
Microsoft has decided to stop treating spam as an annoyance and start treating it as, well, illegal. The company filed suit against 15 alleged U.S. and U.K. spammers this week, accusing them of sending more than 2 billion pieces of unsolicited email. This is the latest in a recent blitz on spammers by internet service providers (ISPs) such as America Online, Earthlink and Microsoft’s MSN. All say that their customers have cited spam as one of the most pressing worries on the web. Microsoft alleges that the 15 firms used deception and fraud in their email campaigns. Accusations include use of false subject lines, the employment of dummy domains and the marketing of how-to-spam kits. Twelve of the 13 U.S. suits were filed in Washington, where Microsoft is based and where suits against spammers have been successful.
Workers average 73.5 hours online in May
U.S. workers averaged 66 internet sessions per month and spent roughly 73.5 hours online during May, according to data released this week by Nielsen//NetRatings. Workers doubled the number of internet sessions of at-home surfers, though at-home users visited more sites per session, 1.73, than workers, 1.48. Workers averaged slightly more time per web visit, 33 minutes to at-home users’ 31. In the United Kingdom, at-home and at-work users averaged a combined 23 sessions per month, visiting an average 61 domains. U.K. users spent slightly less time on each online session, averaging 30 minutes. Australian at-home and at-work numbers combined were similar to Britain’s, with 25 sessions per month and 52 domains per month visited. Time spent per web visit was 32 minutes. Aussies boasted the longest average duration of a web page view, just over a minute, with the U.K. and U.S. lagging roughly 10 seconds behind.
New for lazy ballpark fans: Order food via cell
Baseball is in many ways a lazy man's game, so why should it be any different for fans? The Seattle Mariners have begun testing a new plan that allows fans to order food right to their seats, saving them a trip to the concession stands (or the wave of an arm it takes to hail a vendor). The orders are taken via cell phone off special menus that right now are limited to about 2,700 fans who must have web-enabled phones. The menu is pretty sparse right now, with just soda and two types of hot dogs available, but will expand as the program itself expands. Mariners officials hope to have cell ordering available to three-quarters of the stadium by season’s end. There’s a markup of about 20 percent for the delivered food. Bills are paid by registering credit card numbers on a web site. The Mariners also hope to have text message and interactive voice ordering capabilities by year’s end. The Atlanta Braves also offer a limited cell order system, with cheese or pepperoni pizzas available.
Gemstar-TV Guide nixes e-book production
Depending on whom you ask, the e-book is either a concept that still needs more time to develop or one that will never take off. Gemstar-TV Guide International seems to believe the latter. The company said Wednesday that it is getting out of the electronic book business as of July. Gemstar has already stopped selling e-book reading devices and will refund unused subscriptions. The company had been considering the move for several months, hoping to ease out as concerns about other parts of its business became more pressing. The e-book site will engage in a fire sale of sorts until July 16, discounting even the most recent titles by 40 percent.
June 19, 2003© 2003 Media Life
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