Recording industry in a new
round of lawsuits
The
recording industry's war against the illegal downloading of music from the
internet has taken some more prisoners. The industry sued 477 more
song-swappers yesterday, including dozens of college students at schools
in 11 states. The Recording Industry Association of America, the trade
group for the major labels, is singing the praises of colleges and
universities that are cracking down on music piracy while targeting
frequent student offenders. The industry’s latest complaints were filed
against “John Doe” defendants, identified only by their numeric
internet protocol addresses. It plans to work through the courts for
subpoenas to gain access to the defendants’ names from universities and
some commercial internet service providers. These latest filings bring the
total number of lawsuits filed by the recording industry to a 2,454 since
last summer.
Soon, a wireless National
Mall for laptoppers
Washington
’s National Mall is going wireless. Dog-walkers and lawmakers alike
will soon have free wireless internet access along the two-mile
stretch. Members of the Open Park Project already have installed a
wireless access point covering the Supreme Court and the Capitol, and
they hope to blanket the entire capital area with wireless broadband
coverage within a year. The director of the group, Greg Staple, says
free internet access for wireless-equipped laptop users furthers the
traditions of free expression and democracy embodied in the area's
public buildings and monuments. Staple adds that the tourists,
protesters and reporters that typically cluster on the front steps of
the Supreme Court will also benefit. The group plans to install up to
six more access points, or hot spots, at start-up cost of
$250,000.
Apple bonus: A free song to
iTunes customers
Apple Computer has a lot to
celebrate. Not only has iTunes made it to its first birthday, the online
music store has also sold more than 70 million songs. So Apple has decided
to give back to its supportive users by offering a free song to customers
for the next eight days in honor of the event. Apple has upgraded iTunes
software with features such as iMix, which allows users to publish their
playlists on the iTunes online music store for their fellow customers to
buy. Although the company is satisfied with iTunes’ first year, the
results did not meet its initial goal of selling 100 million songs. But
Apple CEO Steve Jobs says that if a year ago anyone had said iTunes would
sell 70 million songs they would have been a laughing stock. Now Apple
sells about 2.7 million songs each week.
Cell phones, quite the
thing among Brit kids
A full 25 percent of British
kids between the ages of 7 and 10 now have cell phones, according to
a study released yesterday. Mintel Marketing Intelligence, which
conducted the survey, says that parents are turning to mobile
technology to keep a closer eye on their kids, never mind the cost.
The survey of 2,000 children across the UK showed the number of
connected kids has nearly doubled from 13 percent in 2001. And among
9- and 10-year-olds, the figure is even higher, about a third of
kids. But the increasing popularity of cell phones has child
protection groups worried that providing phones to kids comes with
unwanted problems, one of which is the near impossibility of knowing
who children are talking to. That’s a risk parents are apparently
willing to take.
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