Microsoft hits software pirates with 21 lawsuits
June 11, 2008
Software giant Microsoft has filed 21 lawsuits against alleged pirates spread across 14 American states. Its goal is to protect customers from the ‘risks’ of pirated and counterfeit software. It also mentions that software piracy has resulted in over $8 billion of economic loss in the US alone.
These alleged pirates aren’t the kind of people using BitTorrent downloads to cobble together a couple of Counter-Strike capable PCs out of their spare components. No, no, these are the worst kind of offenders – stores that are selling unlicensed copies of Microsoft software pre-installed on new machines. Very cheeky.
The practise, know as hard-disk loading by the unimaginative, saves sellers money because they are selling the same program multiple times. Buyers are then not provided with the relevant discs, manuals or serial keys and often don’t get the software updates and support they have paid for. Plus you’ll get a very annoying popup in the corner whinging at you because your computer is at risk and needs an update.
However, although it seems very clear cut when it comes to selling multiple copies of the same software on new PCs, but there’s more of a grey area with second hand devices. A Vancouver computer shop owner, Simpson, has been targeted by one of the lawsuits. “I sell used systems all the time,” he told one newspaper. “I just clean ‘em up and kick ‘em out the door. I’m not real sure what the deal is here.”
That’ll be something for the courts to decide.
Google plays catch up for a change: Google Earth now available to browsers
June 1, 2008
Google has announced the release of the Google Earth API and browser plug-in. Essentially it’s offering the same functionality as Google Maps, but with added 3D functionality and real Earth photography.
With the new release, web developers will be able to embed Google Earth into their sites, insert lines and markers into the 3D environment, import 3D models (clearly a recipe for disaster), and even overlay content over different planets, stars, and galaxies by toggling Sky mode.
Google’s Earth and Maps blog writes “Our goal is to open up the entire core of Google Earth to developers in the hopes that you’ll build the next great geo-based 3D application, and change (yet again) how we view the world.”
And it’ll certainly be interesting to see what creative ventures emerge from the new concept. There are still a few kinks to iron out though – it currently only works for Windows users running Internet Explorer or Firefox and as getting up close and personal with the 3D environment is not exactly the most jaw-dropping graphical experience.
Still, it is extremely early days and it’ll be worth keeping a look our for its application in future web sites. You can get the plugin and various other information / downloads here.
Legitimate internet TV network hit by denial of service attack from anti-piracy company
June 1, 2008
Online media company Revision3 suffered a severe Denial of Service (DoS) attack last weekend, which brought down the everything from the main site to the RSS server, and even its internal corporate email. Although DoS attacks far from uncommon in the modern internet era, the question on everyone’s mind (after hours of solving the problem, natch) was this: who would want to bring down Revision3?
After some digging, Revision3’s engineers found the answer. It attacked by a subsidiary of public company, Artistdirect, called MediaDefender. MediaDefender’s purpose in life is to “stop the spread of illegally traded copyrighted material over the internet and peer-to-peer networks.”
Which of course begs the question why it had pointed its beady eyes at Revision3 - a perfectly legitimate internet TV network. One that LEGALLY trades in its own copyrighted material over the internet, including popular shows such as Diggnation. Not exactly the Pirate Bay, really.
For a full account of what transpired that fateful weekend, it is well worth checking Revision3’s lengthy blog post about it. Here’s the skinny though: MediaDefender became interested in Revision3 because of its use of BitTorrent technology. BitTorrent is of course, often used for internet piracy (but by no means exclusively). Revision3, like an increasing number of other companies, uses it to distribute its larger files legally and cheaply.
MediaDefender apparently wasn’t interested in that and found a back door into Revision3’s network, “allowing their networking experts to exploit its capabilities for their own personal profit.” Revision3 engineers spotted the unauthorised use of its tracking server and locked them out, which in turn initiated a flood of SYN packets attempting to reconnect to the files. And then everything went arse over tit.
Mediadefender - which has had clients including Sony and Universal Music and works by targeting peer-to-peer networks, propagating fake files and launching denial of service attacks against distributors - has since tried to explain its actions.
"Our systems were targeting a tracker not even knowing it was Revision3’s tracker," Randy Saaf, Media Defender’s CEO, said in a recent interview. "They were using the tracker as the tracker for their legitimate content. It had been open for years."
And so MediaDefender’s actions are exposed as a classic example of why any kind of vigilantism is very bad idea. Sure enough, an innocent organisation trying to perform legitimate business got caught in the crossfire. This time it was ‘just’ an intenret TV site; but the question is really, what if it was something like a hospital or an airport that was targeted?
Whether MediaDefender’s actions were unlawful is now being assessed. The FBI is investigating.
EU to probe Microsoft’s Open Document Format support
May 23, 2008
The European Commission has revealed that it plans to investigate Microsoft’s decision to support rival file formats in its Office products. Among these is the Open Document Format (ODF) and although the software giant’s decision to integrate direct support for it is seen as a victory for antitrust regulators, the EC still wants to be extra sure Microsoft isn’t trying any funny business.
“The Commission would welcome any step that Microsoft took towards genuine interoperability, more consumer choice and less vendor lock-in,” the EC said in a statement. “The Commission will investigate whether the announced support of ODF in Office leads to better interoperability and allows consumers to process and exchange their documents with the software product of their choice.”
Okay, Microsoft doesn’t exactly have the greatest record when it comes to playing fair in marketplaces where its dominance is all but completely monopolistic. But equally, the EU has now earned itself a bit of reputation for putting the squeeze on the Redmond giant at every opportunity.
Of course we don’t know the exact ins and outs of this situation, but it’s hard to see this as anything other than a red tape-wielding entity trying to tread on Microsoft’s toes even despite the fact it has conceded to its demands. What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty?
via AFP
Yahoo’s board now threatened on two fronts, bides for time
May 23, 2008
Yahoo has postponed its annual shareholder meeting from July 3rd to an unknown date, later in the same month. Although Yahoo states otherwise, many believe this is designed to give Yahoo’s board the chance to prepare itself in the face of mounting rebellion from shareholders.
This is actually the second time Yahoo’s board has delayed the meeting, the first time because it was exploring alternatives to Microsoft’s unsolicited takeover bid. That move didn’t work out so well, and Microsoft has since walked away from the negotiating table as well following the board’s rejection of a $47.5bn offer, sparking general unrest among shareholders.
Some of them are now being led by investor Carl Icahn, a well known, billionaire investor and business man. He proposes to oust the existing board and replace them with his own representatives, and himself, natch.
The board’s delay tactics give them time to prepare their defence against Mr Icahn’s rebellion. There is a chance that fresh negotiations with Microsoft could begin in the meantime, but it is believed that attempting both at the same time would be difficult.
Jerry Yang, co-founding chief-exec of Yahoo rejected Microsoft’s bid, claiming that it undervalued the company. Mr Icahn stated this week "Microsoft would be crazy to give up this opportunity that we handed them in this fight. These companies should be merged in one way or another."
via BBC
EA wants to buy Take-Two but what is likely to happen if they do?
May 14, 2008
Electronic Arts has made a $2 Billion bid for Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games. The bid has not been accepted by the board as they consider it too low, but if they make an offer that is accepted what is likely to happen to the quality of games produced by Take-Two?
It would of course depend on many things but if EA gets to control the creativity and direction of games it is possible that we will not see great games like GTA IV continue to come out. EA have become so large and corporate that they are the main stream games company producing nice games that are not too going to upset people. Normally EA are only ever sued over copyright infringements, royalties and ownership, they do not like to push the barriers of taste to bring out new games. They instead prefer pretty games that all tend to have 1 great idea and focus on that, and they have the control systems in place to see that anything that could be considered unsavoury is made as inoffensive as possible.
Rockstar on the other hand has produced a number of controversial games and has been sued over it on many occasions. Most notably were GTA and the infamous Hot Coffee mini-game, as well as Bully and Manhunt which some people see as glamorising violence and death, as well as possible copycat behaviour.
Would EA try and tame Rockstars bad boy image? Well realistically they have to, EA is too big and corporate not to worry about being sued for large sums of money around the world. So trying to limit any potential law suits would always be a factor in game development for them. So gratuitous violence, life like killings, sex and psychological abuse would no doubt all be reduced. So we expect a tamer set of games from Rockstar if the take over goes through.
takeover details via reuters
Microsoft releases a Virtual Telescope
May 13, 2008
Microsoft Research released WorldWide Telescope today, a cool new app that allows you to explore the universe from the comfort of your living room.
Created with Microsoft’s Visual Experience Engine, it allows you to seamlessly pan and zoom around the night sky, choose your view from multiple wavelengths, see the X-ray view of the sky and zoom into bright radiation clouds, and then cross-fade into the visible light view and discover the cloud remnants of a supernova explosion from 1,000 years ago.
NASA has provided most of the content, with photos taken by the Hubble Telescope, Mars Rover, the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Which helps to make this a neat way to view the universe and a handy little tool for any astronomers.
There are a lot of similarities between WWT and Google Earth which does make you wonder if Microsoft will be extending the program to compete with Google in yet another arena.
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You can download the Beta version for free and try it for yourself http://www.worldwidetelescope.org
Forget 1080p - Texas Instruments launches WUXGA projector
May 12, 2008
So you thought 1080p was the be all and end all of high definition images? Not by half. Texas Instruments is rolling out its first WUXGA chip designed to produce widened images of 1,920 x 1,200 pixels in a 16:10 aspect ratio.
Unfortunately, it won’t have much use for home entertainment purposes because essentially the 1080p standard has only just achieved mainstream acceptance and no one’s going to mess with it until it’s safe to do so.
“While 1080p has been widely regarded as the top shelf standard for resolution quality and use for video-centric applications like HDTVs, we recognised that select businesses could stand to benefit more with pixel qualities that surpassed even that of 1080,” said Anders Løkke, International Marketing & Communications Manager at projectiondesign.
Ugh, business use. Well that’s taken all the fun out of it. Still, makes you wonder how long it’ll be before High Definition 2 or 4HD or whatever they decide to call it. Five years? Ten?
Gibson still suing over Guitar Hero
March 24, 2008
NASHVILLE, Tenn. –(Business Wire)– Mar. 21, 2008 On March 20, 2008, Gibson Guitar Corp. filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Harmonix, MTV Networks (a division of Viacom) and Electronic Arts (EA Games) in the Federal District Court in Tennessee. This new lawsuit relates to the same U.S. Patent involved in the lawsuit filed by Gibson Guitar recently against various retailers in the same court. Gibson Guitar had made good faith efforts to enter into a patent license agreement with the defendants in this case. The defendants have not responded in a timely manner with an intent to enter into negotiations for a patent license agreement. Gibson Guitar had no alternative but to bring the suit, and it will continue to protect its intellectual property rights against any and all infringing persons.
Gibson is known worldwide for producing classic models in every major style of fretted instrument, including acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins, and banjos. Gibson’s HD.6X-PRO Digital Guitar and the Gibson Robot Guitar represent the biggest advances in electric guitar design in over 70 years. Founded in 1894 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and headquartered in Nashville since 1984, Gibson Guitar Corp.’s family of brands now includes Epiphone, Dobro, Maestro, Kramer, Steinberger, Tobias, Echoplex, Electar, Flatiron, Gibson Baldwin Music Education, Slingerland, Valley Arts, Maestro, Oberheim, Sunshine Piano, Take Anywhere Technology, Baldwin, J&C Fischer, Chickering, Hamilton, and Wurlitzer. Visit Gibson’s website at http://www.gibson.com.
Steve’s Notes
Perhaps I might be missing something very obvious here but the guitars used in Guitar Hero are not real guitars. They are just a video game controller made to look like a guitar. Playing guitar Hero will in no way help you learn how to play a real guitar.
Since when does a couple of colored buttons and a strum area a guitar make? Is Gibson trying to say that the thousand dollar guitars they make are somehow in danger because a plastic video game controller was made to look like them for use in a game where players do nothing more than play an over-glamorized version of air guitar to impress their friends?
Give me a break Gibson. I know you have some patents on guitars but the only Guitar in Guitar Hero is in the name. The controller is not even a close facsimile of how a guitar works.
Amazon.com Completes Acquisition of Audible
March 19, 2008
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced the completion of its acquisition of Audible, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBL).
Audible is the leading provider of spoken audio information and entertainment on the Internet. Through its websites in the US and UK and alliances in Germany and France, Audible offers over 80,000 programs, including audiobooks and other spoken word content from more than 520 content partners that include leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers, and business information providers. Content from Audible is downloaded and played back on personal computers, CDs, or AudibleReady computer-based and wireless mobile devices.
Upon the closing of the acquisition, all remaining outstanding Audible shares, other than those held by stockholders who properly perfect appraisal rights under Delaware law, were converted into the right to receive $11.50 per share in cash. As a result of the transaction, Audible has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amazon.com.
