By Marc Frank Mar 13, 2008 repost here 03/14/08
Communist Cuba has authorized the unrestricted sale of computers and DVD and video players in the first sign that its new president, Raul Castro, is moving to improve Cubans' access to consumer goods. An internal government memo seen by Reuters on Thursday said the appliances long desired by Cubans can go on sale immediately, although air conditioners will not be available until next year and toasters until 2010 due to limited power supplies. Only foreigners and companies can buy computers in Cuba at present, while DVD players were seized at the airport until last year, when customs rules were eased. Now Cubans will be able to buy them freely, paying for them in hard currency CUCs, or convertible pesos, worth 24 times more than the Cuban pesos state wages are paid in. "Based on the improved availability of electricity, the government at the highest level has approved the sale of some equipment which was prohibited," the memo said. It also listed television sets, which were already on sale, electric pressure cookers and rice cookers, electric bicycles, car alarms and microwave ovens.
Read more here -->Link
Friday, March 14, 2008
RIAA faces the music
They can't run... and they can't hide
By Stewart Meagher: Friday, 14 March 2008
TANYA ANDERSEN HAS REFILED her suit against The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), a move which will almost certainly lead to the heavy-handed organisation's tactics being exposed for the first time. Andersen charges that the RIAA used unlicensed investigators to gather information and was in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. The new complaint will ask for information on how the RIAA and its investigators gathered information on suspected file sharers. Andersen's legal team suggest that the group's insistence upon keeping its techniques veiled in secrecy casts doubts on the legality of those methods.
Read more here -->Link
By Stewart Meagher: Friday, 14 March 2008
TANYA ANDERSEN HAS REFILED her suit against The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), a move which will almost certainly lead to the heavy-handed organisation's tactics being exposed for the first time. Andersen charges that the RIAA used unlicensed investigators to gather information and was in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. The new complaint will ask for information on how the RIAA and its investigators gathered information on suspected file sharers. Andersen's legal team suggest that the group's insistence upon keeping its techniques veiled in secrecy casts doubts on the legality of those methods.
Read more here -->Link
Verizon gets cozy with P2P file-sharers
By PETER SVENSSON Mar 14, 2008
Peer-to-peer file sharing, the primary vehicle for online piracy, has been as unpopular with Internet service providers as it has been popular with users. Providers have banned, blocked or slowed peer-to-peer traffic in their efforts to keep the flood of music, video, games and software from overwhelming their networks. But Verizon Communications Inc. has broken ranks with the industry and announced Friday that it plans to help its users share files faster - at least those who do it legally. With researchers at Yale University and a group of companies that make file-sharing software, Verizon collaborated to enable faster downloads for consumers and lower costs for participating ISPs.
Read more here -->Link
Peer-to-peer file sharing, the primary vehicle for online piracy, has been as unpopular with Internet service providers as it has been popular with users. Providers have banned, blocked or slowed peer-to-peer traffic in their efforts to keep the flood of music, video, games and software from overwhelming their networks. But Verizon Communications Inc. has broken ranks with the industry and announced Friday that it plans to help its users share files faster - at least those who do it legally. With researchers at Yale University and a group of companies that make file-sharing software, Verizon collaborated to enable faster downloads for consumers and lower costs for participating ISPs.
Read more here -->Link
Microsoft Now Denies Blu-ray Disc on Xbox 360
Microsoft flip-flops once again on Blu-ray Disc on Xbox 360
By Marcus Yam - March 14, 2008
When Toshiba officially threw in the towel in the high-definition format war, eyes turned to Microsoft to see what the software giant would do about the Xbox 360’s support of HD DVD. Some expected Microsoft to quickly change gears and back Blu-ray Disc, but no such plans are in place. “Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience,” Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox 360, told Reuters. The quote from Greenberg’s runs slightly contrary to comments made by other executives. Sony Electronics president Stan Glasgow said that Sony and Microsoft are currently in discussions over adopting the Blu-ray Disc format.
Read more here -->Link
By Marcus Yam - March 14, 2008
When Toshiba officially threw in the towel in the high-definition format war, eyes turned to Microsoft to see what the software giant would do about the Xbox 360’s support of HD DVD. Some expected Microsoft to quickly change gears and back Blu-ray Disc, but no such plans are in place. “Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience,” Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox 360, told Reuters. The quote from Greenberg’s runs slightly contrary to comments made by other executives. Sony Electronics president Stan Glasgow said that Sony and Microsoft are currently in discussions over adopting the Blu-ray Disc format.
Read more here -->Link
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