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EMusic.com
targets Napster with 'fingerprinting' software
Internet music site EMusic.com [Nasdaq: EMUS] today started its "acoustic fingerprinting" offensive in hopes of stopping music file-swapping service Napster from distributing its songs. Claiming Napster has rejected technical avenues that would stop Napster users from downloading its material, EMusic says it has developed its own software to find its songs on the rogue service that infringe on the copyrights of its artists and partners. When the software finds an EMusic recording on Napster, a message is sent automatically to the user asking that the song be withdrawn from the service. If the user fails to comply within 24 hours, EMusic will ask Napster to block that individual's account. Napster and Bertelsmann AG, parent of BMG music, have made a deal that could
transform the free service to a fee-based membership program that would
compensate the music's copyright holders. The companies urged other major record
labels to follow suit. The city of Los Angeles today passed a resolution calling for "open access" to broadband cable Internet platforms, a measure that provides funds for the city to lobby federal regulators and the California Public Utilities Commission on behalf of all Internet service providers. Councilman Padilla's spokesman, David Gershwin, said the resolution was intended to raise the bar for customer service standards for broadband Internet services. Traditionally, many cities - Los Angeles included - have been parceled out into different franchise areas, where one cable company is given exclusive domain in one or more of those areas. But several cities are now pursuing legislation that allows for "overbuild," a policy that permits any cable company to come into one of these previously closed franchise areas and directly compete with the incumbent cable company by building out their own cable network.
Despite Yahoo's protestations that it can't and should not be forced to prevent French Internet users from participating in its constitutionally protected US-based auctions, the court decided to fine Yahoo more than $10,000 per day until Yahoo blocks access to the auctions in question. Civil libertarians worry that while the Yahoo ruling is purportedly only aimed at preventing French users from accessing the site, such foreign court decisions could ultimately have a chilling effect on US-based speech.
LizardTech has developed a file compression technology designed to compress image files down to their smallest possible size, without losing image sharpness or resolution. The DjVu compression system is billed as compressing image files some 150 times faster than using Adobe portable document format (PDF) and around 20 times faster than using joint photographic experts group (JPEG) or graphics interchangeable format (GIF). To achieve this level of compression, the DjVu technology splits an image file into two separate components, the background and the foreground. In use, DjVu converts any scanned paper document, catalog or book into
miniature, high-quality images that can be instantly transmitted and viewed by
anyone via a standard Web browser. The situation with cable ISPs is analogous to that of telephone service providers: for several years now telephone carriers have been obligated to "unbundle" services to allow competitors to offer services on the same phone lines. No such unbundling regulations exist for cable providers, hence the FTC's concern that smaller providers be allowed access to cable lines. However, agreements such as the one between Time Warner and EarthLink do little to guarantee such access. Those kinds of guarantees can only come through government incentives. The Federal Communications Commission has not forced the issue, and so the FTC is trying to pick up the slack by withholding its approval of the Time Warner-AOL merger.
The flow of online advertisers has remained steady during the past 10 months, growing an average of 14 percent each month. In the third quarter alone, 5,489 companies advertised on the Web for the first time, 87 percent more than the second quarter's 2,935 new advertisers.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the two were in talks about a possible combination of their businesses. Analysts said, however, it was more likely that any deal would be some kind of strategic alliance in the tiny but growing electronic book business in which customers can download books from the Internet. The Seattle-based computer giant said in August it was teaming up with top online retailer Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN.O) to sell digital books. Traditional publishers such as Simon & Schuster also have been trying to get in on the act. Analysts, however, were very skeptical whether the electronic publishing market would get off the ground, given how expensive it is -- the reader device used to download the books costs about $300 -- and how much simpler it is just to buy a book rather than download from the Internet.
Fresh on the heels of a deal with Gateway Inc., Broadcom Corp. has announced its "Internet-on-a-chip" strategy and has rolled out several products with multiple networking functions on a single device. Broadcom's Internet strategy includes support for broadband networking over home phone lines and conventional Ethernet, as well as facilities for legacy V.90 dial-up modem access. The BCM4211 contains a PCI 2.2-compliant interface to both HomePNA 2.0 and V.90 functions, along with its flexible 16-bit Microprocessor Slave Interface for embedded systems, such as Internet appliances. Available now, the chip is priced at $17.35 in lots of 50,000. The BCM4413 doubles the speed to 32 Mbits/s by taking advantage of the 2.0 spec's higher modulation characteristics. The chip is sampling, priced at $20.60 in 50,000-piece quantities.
Rush to mend cable after net
jam The 3300 is built for workgroups of up to 253 users and can be configured to use either a cable or DSL modem for a high speed Internet connection. UGate supports any platform that has the TCP/IP networking protocol installed and includes built-in Dynamic Domain Name Service (DDNS) offered free for the first year and provides users with a short, specific domain name instead of an IP or hosted site address full of subdirectories. Network Address Translation (NAT) services act to provide firewall security against scripted security attacks and other intrusions. Port scanners block ping requests and any attempted attack gets printed on a log report for review. Configuration for UGate 3300 is browser-based with network management controls. IPSec pass-through provides connectivity for telecommuters to work from home via a VPN. UGate 3300 is compatible with Windows 95/98/NT/2000, Windows for Workgroups, MacOS 7.1 and above, Unix, Linux and Netware.
The Broadband Multimedia-Service Routers are intended initially for use by cable-TV operators that want to provide high-speed services on their coaxial-fiber networks, which will carry integrated high-quality video services, data services, and Internet access. The Broadband Multimedia-Service Routers will be available in two
configurations. The BMR1200 is for installation at central sites within
providers' networks, and the BMR100 is for placement in smaller hub sites,
according to BigBand. The systems will be available in the first half of 2001,
with prices beginning at $40,000. MegaPop provides a dial-up access service to ISPs, connecting their customers into their network points of presence (POP) so they can access services such as e-mail and the Internet. Telstra said it developed MegaPop to enable ISPs to grow without having to face significant capital expenditure when looking to upgrade or expand. The product provides a local access
number and pipes callers’ data to the ISP via a transparent tunnel through
Telstra’s network, allowing the ISP to continue to control branding and
marketing of services as well as determining competitive prices. |
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