'Never mess with another mans vehicle'
...the destruction of the amatuer music scene/ free music resourses...
As we are constantly reminded of the global economic slowdown, Some very
strange changes are happening to the once abundant online culture of 'free'
music and the digitization of the music media...Several sites have made it
harder for the amateur or bedroom musician, cutting the amount of songs they
can have online and stopping their ability to publish CD's online and get paid
for selling their own CD's...A once flourishing underground arena for new music
has been mostly deleted...major sites have favoured 'signed' artists by
allowing record companies to send music direct to the music server, while us
poor unwashed...unsigned , peasants have to use slow if not bug riddled
uploading tools... or pay a monthly fee per album for privileged access...the
music available here is the result of a tireless effort to maintain some sort
of web presence...I orginally had hundreds of freely available tracks, over
thirty albums.... which have now been deleted...WITH NO DEBATE, AND NO
CONSULTATION...
Will more tunes and CD's be available online soon????....Not if the greedheads
get their way!!!!
see below for more info on the crisis facing the freedom of
both artist and consumers on a global scale.
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Prajna Pranab Saves the day!!!
Prajna Pranab, Peace activist and all round good guy has very generously donated Gigs of webspace for Captain Wardrobes music...so now tou can download laods of free MP3 tracks without having to sign up for any Corporate BULLSHIT!!!
I thank you Prajna for your help...and support
Peace [or whatever!] to you...
check out Prajnas Journey @ Declare peace
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"Music is art, an extension of ourselves. Major label record companies do not
sell art, they sell 50 cents of plastic at $15 because they see music as an
industry they can control. Maybe 5% of your $15 will end up going to the
artist. The artists (Metallica, Dre) that complain about napster obviously care
a great deal about the money involved with their art, rather than the art
itself. Perhaps because they are also producers, in the business of selling 50
cents of plastic at $15?
Maybe.
The RIAA is a joke. the RIAA does not represent your favorite music artists.
They represent rich record executives. These are the fat cats who make profit
from the other 95% of cd sales. These people are so filthy rich, the only thing
they know how to do is squabble over how rich they are and how they dont want
anything to happen to their wealth and power. There's more to life than money
fellas. Also may I say I applaud the lawsuit bought by 26 states against the
big 5 music labels for cd price fixing and violating anti-trust laws. This is a
great positive step towards decentralization of power in these companies..."
Pimpshiz
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Now where have i heard this before...
ah yes MP3.com...
except this time its the whole internet
The End of the Internet?
[wooooo so it's back to reading prom mags then?!]
Jeff Chester from The Nation:
The nation's largest telephone and cable companies are crafting an alarming set of strategies that would transform the free, open and nondiscriminatory Internet of today to a privately run and branded service that would charge a fee for virtually everything we do online. Verizon, Comcast, Bell South and other communications giants are developing strategies that would track and store information on our every move in cyberspace in a vast data-collection and marketing system, the scope of which could rival the National Security Agency. According to white papers now being circulated in the cable, telephone and telecommunications industries, those with the deepest pockets--corporations, special-interest groups and major advertisers--would get preferred treatment. Content from these providers would have first priority on our computer and television screens, while information seen as undesirable, such as peer-to-peer communications, could be relegated to a slow lane or simply shut out.
more
the nation
more
- democraticmedia.org
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Duh! I wonder who is sending all that spam?
could it be the very companies that stand to gain from this?
| Yahoo, AOL to charge for 'direct' e-mails
February 06, 2006 10:09 IST
America Online and Yahoo, two of the world's largest providers of e-mail accounts, plan to start charging an optional fee to send e-mails directly into user inboxes without going through junk mail filters, a media report said in New York.
Users will now have to pay from a quarter of a cent to 1 cent per e-mail to ensure their messages are marked as certified and grab the attention of the receiver.
"The Internet companies say this will help them identify legitimate mail and cut down on junk e-mail, identity-theft scams and other scourges that plague users of their services," the New York Times reported on Sunday.
The companies also stand to earn millions of dollars a year from the system if it is widely adopted, the daily said.
In the next two months, AOL will start accepting e-mail processed by the US-based Goodmail Systems, which will collect the electronic postage and verify the identity of the sender.
Unpaid e-mails will be subject to AOL's spam filtering process, which diverts suspicious messages to a spam folder.
Meanwhile, Yahoo has said it will start trying out Goodmail's system in the coming months but has not yet decided how paid e-mail will be differentiated from unpaid.
"In a broader sense, the move to create what is essentially a preferred class of e-mail is a major change in the economics of the Internet. Until now, senders and recipients of e-mail...each covered their own costs of using the network, with no money changing hands," the daily said.
http://us.rediff.com/money/2006/feb/06yahoo.htm?q=bp&file=.htm
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Duh! really...I can't trust a faceless company
to protect me from needing even more security?
The billion dollar Net Security business depends on Virus attacks...
| Is your firewall spying on you?
Paul Hales / The Inquirer | January 23 2006
IT’S OBVIOUS, REALLY, that the best way of penetrating users' PCs to see what they get up to online would be to become a Firewall maker.
Like, when I wanted a Firewall and was too tight to pay for one, I turned to Checkpoint’s little freebie Zone Alarm. It sits there between you and the Internet and lets you know when someone’s trying to sneak in through your backdoor or when a program you’re running tries to connect to the Web for no apparent reason. When you’re as techie as me – not very – you just have to trust it.
Of course, Checkpoint’s an Israeli company and as a foreign journalist working in Israel you know the hyperactive security services here would like to keep tabs on you. And you know that they do. It has been confirmed to me by a security sources here that mobile phone conversations I have had have been listened to – and in circumstances which I won’t reveal, the contents of a call I have been involved in have actually been relayed back to me.
It’s part of the game – like the airport interrogation, or the surreptitious copying of your notepad while you’re off having a body search. You know what goes on but you have a job to do and just get on with it – hoping that what you get up to in the legitimate pursuit of your business won’t upset anyone to the extent that they’ll come break your door down and cart you off somewhere.
Now, the handsomely-named Mr Cringely has revealed that a colleague of his at Infoworld noticed that Zone Alarm 6.0 was sneakily sending off data to four different servers. Cringely says that Zone Labs (acquired by Checkpoint in March of 2004) at first denied the activity for a couple of months before deciding the software had a "bug" even though, as he points out, "the instructions to contact the servers were set out in the program’s XML code."
The company says it will fix the "bug" soon. In the meantime you can work around it by adding:
# Block access to ZoneLabs Server
127.0.0.1 zonelabs.com
to your Windows host file.
The "bug" seems to be present in the retail version of Zone Alarm, so there’s no telling what the freebie gets up to. We called Checkpoint here in Israel to find out, but were referred to a US spokeszoner. Trouble is they’ll all be in bed there on this sunny Sunday morning.
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Coldplay discs virtually unplayable
question: why would you wanna listen to that shit anyway?
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Coldplay DRM means no play on many devices
Fans of UK global superstars Coldplay have begun complaining that the band's latest CD, X&Y, is 'virtually unplayable', reports consumeraffairs.com.
The EMI disc has a copy protection system that might even make Sony blush. The list of incompatible devices is bewildering.
Some CD players that have the capability of burning into an MP3 (such as portable players or car stereos);
Some CD players that possess CD-R/RW functions (such as portable players or car stereos);
Some car stereos with satellite guidance system;
Some CD players or car stereos with hard disk recording capacity;
Some CD-R/RW recorders used for music
Some portable CD players;
Some DVD players;
Some CD/LD convertible players;
Some game Players.
While there is no guarantee that they will work in a Windows machine, Capitol states categorically that they will not play in a Mac and that the tracks cannot be ripped to MP3 or any other digital format. This somewhat contradicts Richard Cottrell, the head of EMI's content-protection division, who said in November of last year that the discs would be compatible with iTunes so that the tracks could be ripped and transferred to an iPod.
The licence agreement then goes on to state that discs will not be exchanged, returned or refunded unless there is a manufacturing defect. And none of this information is displayed on the outside of the CD packaging, which states only that the disc is copy protected.
However the report has been questioned by Coldplay fans (see: comments on p2pnet.net/story/7506) who have had no problems playing and ripping the CD. Mac users' experiences are similarly varied, although this may be because some have the DRM-disabled version and others the DRM-free release. Others still may be using the incredibly sophisticated technnique of holding down the Shift key to prevent the software starting automatically.
EMI is using DRM technology is supplied by Macrovision, one of the companies embarrassed by the Sony debâcle. What is not known yet is whether the DRM represents a security threat on PCs, since the licence agreement threatens legal action against anyone who reverse engineers the code.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), fresh from its successful legal campaign against Sony's DRM policies, is calling on EMI to allow security researchers to test their discs.
'Music fans deserve to know whether EMI's copy-protected CDs are exposing their computers to security risks,' said Fred von Lohmann, the EFF's senior staff attorney. 'When it comes to computer security, it pays to have as many independent experts kick the tires as possible, and that can only happen if EMI assures those experts that they won't be sued for their trouble.'
EMI has been asked to comment. - computer shopper
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Sony settles over dodgy DRM fallout 11:31AM
Sony BMG has agreed to settle a New York state lawsuit arising from its controversial deployment of digital rights management technologies on CDs released in the US.
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, which will have to be approved by a judge, the record company will compensate anyone who purchased a CD that included either XCP or MediaMax DRM and will provide tools for removing the software from PCs. It will also recall all XCP CDs, having already recalled MediaMax discs, and has committed to limiting its use of copy protection measures in the future. This includes a promise not to use XCP or MediaMax nor any other system that installs software on a PC without the user's consent. Given that this is almost essential for a DRM system to work, the agreement could put an end to the practice for good.
Two compensation options will be given, depending on which DRM system has been used on the CD: $7.50 plus one free album download, or three free album downloads. Downloads will be available from several stores including iTunes, which will please those who bought an affected CD only to find that they could not copy it to an iPod. The company already has a programme for replacing protected discs with clean versions.
The settlement applies only to US residents and does not apply to a separate lawsuit filed in Texas. Nor does it affect any plans that Sony BMG or any of the other major labels may have to introduce similar DRM systems in Europe, although hopefully it will make them reconsider.
Sony BMG declined to comment.
Sony's problems started when computer programmer Mark Russinovich discovered that a protected CD had installed hidden rootkit software on his PC that could opened a significant security hole. The problems soon became a PR disaster after software 'fixes' failed to remove the rootkit and Sony made only a half-hearted attempt to recall and replace the discs. However this proposed settlement appears to show that Sony BMG has made a welcome volte-face.
computer shopper
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Criminalising all free information networking
Not a corporate slave?... then you're a terrorist
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Music industry seeks access to private data to fight piracy
· Plea to Europe to widen scope of anti-terror laws
· Civil rights fears over phone and email records
Bobbie Johnson - Saturday November 26, 2005 The Guardian
The music and film industries are demanding that the European parliament extends the scope of proposed anti-terror laws to help them prosecute illegal downloaders. In an open letter to MEPs, companies including Sony BMG, Disney and EMI have asked to be given access to communications data - records of phone calls, emails and internet surfing - in order to take legal action against pirates and filesharers. Current proposals restrict use of such information to cases of terrorism and organised crime.
"The scope of the proposal should be extended to all criminal offences," says a letter to European representatives from the Creative and Media Business Alliance, an informal lobby group representing media companies. "The possibility for law enforcement authorities to use data in other cases ... is essential." The attempt to pressure MEPs comes as they prepare to vote on an extension to the period for which data must be held by telephone networks and internet service providers. The plans, championed by the British government, would harmonise and extend the broad range of policies across the continent.
The Home Office says such moves are necessary in order to assist proper investigation of suspected terrorist activity. But if successful, it would mean communications companies would be obliged to keep information on phone calls, emails and internet use for as long as three years.
"It is not for us to get involved in the wider issue of national security," said a spokesman for international music industry association IFPI, parent body of the CBMA.
If the demands were met by European legislators, it would open use of such private information across any number of criminal cases. "Even the Bush administration is not proposing such a ludicrous policy, despite lobbying from Hollywood," said Gus Hosein, a senior fellow at Privacy International.
The music industry has already pursued a large number of cases against illegal downloaders, but the letter claims that wider access to private information would be an "effective instrument in the fight against piracy" and help secure more legal actions. Critics say it is simply a case of litigious industries attempting to gain access to protected data by the back door.
The proposals, to be put to the vote on December 13, have already faced censure. More privacy-conscious nations such as Germany have voiced concerns about long-term data retention, and telecoms companies say they cannot afford to keep more information about their customers.
"The passing of the data retention directive would be a disaster not just for civil liberties and human rights in Europe," said Suw Charman, director of digital rights campaigners, Open Rights Group.
The music industry has been waging war against illegal filesharing for some time, with film companies closely behind. An Australian court this week ordered Kazaa, one of the biggest file-swapping services, to filter out copyrighted music from its systems or face closure. Last week the British Phonographic Industry announced its latest batch of cases against illegal downloaders, taking the total number of UK actions to over 150.
Such prosecutions already rely on voluntary data supplied by internet providers, but the music industry would like it made compulsory. At the same time, the legitimate digital download industry continues to grow at a startling pace. - guardian
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Flashback June 2004 : Claim of spyware on Beastie Boys CD denied
Suspicions that a new Beastie Boys CD automatically installs sinister software on a user's computer have been denied by music company EMI, which released the CD.
The suggestion, which started on an online message board, has caused a storm of controversy among fans of the US rap band and computer enthusiasts. Some of the CDs do carry copy protection software, which aims to reduce piracy.
A posting on the bugtraq message board on SecurityFocus.com claimed that when a copy-protected version of the album is inserted in a PC, software installs itself automatically and silently and stays there even when the CD is removed. That "sounds like viral malware behaviour to me", the user wrote.
If so-called spyware was installed, it could monitor a users habits and send back evidence of illegal behaviour says Barry Ritholtz of the Maxim Group in New York City, a consultancy for technology and media investors.
But EMI and Macrovision of Santa Clara, California, which developed the software, refute these claims. There is no spyware on the discs, an EMI spokesperson told New Scientist.
Currently, EMI only puts copy protection software on CDs sold outside the UK and the US, but it has been routine in 40 countries for the past 18 months. However, the Beastie Boys album, To the five boroughs, has become the highest profile release to have such software. Furthermore, EMI plans to roll out the software in all countries.
New Scientist
NOT SPYWARE? DON'T BELIEVE YOU!!!
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| Sony BMG recalls copy-protected CDs
November 16, 2005
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Music publisher Sony BMG <6758.T>, yielding to consumer concern, said on Wednesday it was recalling music CDs containing copy-protection software that acts like virus software and hides deep inside a computer.
"We share the concerns of consumers regarding discs with XCP content-protected software, and, for this reason, we are instituting a consumer exchange programme and removing all unsold CDs with this software from retail outlets," Sony BMG said in an statement.
The XCP software used by Sony BMG, which was developed by British software developers First4Internet, leaves the back door open for malicious online hackers.
Sony BMG, in a separate statement, also announced it would distribute a program to remove the software from a PC where it jeopardizes security.
"We deeply regret any inconvenience this may cause our customers. Details of this (recall) program will be announced shortly," Sony BMG said.
The withdrawal is set to affect millions of compact discs from artists such as Celine Dion and Sarah McLachlan but Sony did not give exact figures or the names of the artists affected.
Sony reiterated that the copy-protection software only installs itself on personal computers and not on ordinary CD and DVD players.
Microsoft Corp.'s anti-virus team said on Tuesday it would add a detection and removal mechanism to rid a personal computer of the Sony's DRM copy-protection software. The software installs itself only on PCs running Microsoft's Windows operating system.
VIRUSES EMERGE
The flaws of the copy-protection software became acute last week, when the first computer viruses emerged that took advantage of the security holes left by the program.
Responding to public outcry over the software, the music publishing venture of Japanese electronics conglomerate Sony Corp. <6758.T> and Germany's Bertelsmann AG had said on Friday it would temporarily suspend the manufacture of music CDs containing XCP technology.
It then provided a patch to make the hidden program more visible. At the time it did not recall the CDs or offer a program to remove it from computers. The initial measures still left PCs vulnerable, according to software engineers.
The program will have installed itself on a Windows-operated personal computer when consumers wanted to play certain Sony BMG music CDs. The program forces consumers to use a music player that comes with the program.
Sony BMG has positioned itself as a defender of artists' rights. It re-emphasized on Friday that copy-protection software is "an important tool to protect our intellectual property rights and those of our artists."
Sony BMG last week was targeted in a class action lawsuit complaining that it had not disclosed the true nature of its copy-protection software.
boston.com
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Spyware downloads & seeks to track you - even if you 'click no'
New spyware claim against Sony BMG
By Reuters - Published: December 21, 2005, 10:32 PM PST
The Texas attorney general said on Wednesday that he added a new claim to a lawsuit charging Sony BMG Music Entertainment with violating the state's laws on deceptive trade practices by hiding "spyware" on its compact discs.
Attorney General Greg Abbott filed the original lawsuit in November, accusing the company of violating state anti-spyware laws by embedding software in its CDs and media player to monitor users' habits.
The new charges brought by Abbott contend that MediaMax software used by Sony BMG to thwart illegal copying of music on CDs violated state laws because it was downloaded even if users rejected a license agreement.
"We keep discovering additional methods Sony used to deceive Texas consumers who thought they were simply buying music," Abbott said in a statement.
The original lawsuit contends that Sony BMG secretly installed copy-protection software, using XCP programs, that was extremely difficult to remove from users' computers.
Sony said it has recalled the CDs, which feature music from 52 popular artists including Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and Celine Dion.
Critics have said the MediaMax software lets the company track customers' listening habits even if customers reject maker SunnComm's terms in a licensing agreement that appears upon installation.
The Texas attorney general said both the MediaMax and XCP software can put customers' computers at risk.
"Malware" was detected in a mass e-mail in November that was designed to exploit the Sony BMG software and enable hackers to access people's computers by bypassing firewall protections.
Sony BMG denied the MediaMax software was hidden and said it does not collect the personal information that spyware typically does.
"We are in an ongoing dialogue with the Texas Attorney General and as part of that discussion we believe we will establish that Sony BMG has responded appropriately to the issues raised today--particularly about the MediaMax software installation," a company spokesman said in a statement.
news.com
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Geldof, Bono and Live 8 Are Blairpoop and Bushit.
By Lloyd Hart 10/26/05
Today the U.K. newspaper The Independent published an article by Stuart Hodkinson which finally exposes the truth about Bob Geldof and Bono to a broader public as simply being corporate Stooges for what merely is just a debt reorganization scam by the G8 and not real debt relief after all the hype of the Live 8 concerts supposed impact on the G8 Vampire Nations.
But of course all rock stars are corporate Stooges. After all that's where their money comes from, corporate scumbags who rig the radio playlists through payola bribery. You know, prostitutes and parties in Las Vegas all disguised as a corporate junket, paying off other corporate scumbags who run the conglomerate communications companies who bought up all the radio stations to play the next piece of shit they think their conning the kids into believing is cool. And when con job isn't working anymore and the kids created the new radio paradigm that has a much more democratic process with no advertising but still promotes the artists while cutting out the whole corporate scumbag thing and is done via file sharing over the Internet the Corporate scumbags who the own record companies sue 12 year-old children for downloading a file which is no different from recording a song off the radio to a cassette but thanks to the wonders of American capitalism you can buy a U.S. Supreme Court and get them rule against the more democratc ruling of the "Fair Use" precedent set by a previous U.S. Supreme Court ruling when the Cassette was originally introduced.
I mean, it does make sense that record companies would have to bribe radio stations into playing that last piece of shit that U2 put out. I wonder how many children sexually abused by Catholic priests that grew up thanks to the abuse to become prostitutes that in turn sucked the cocks of the corporate scumbags from the communications companies in a party in Las Vegas in order to get U2s piece of crap album played on their radio stations across America and around the world.
The prostitution to get the song played however does not compare to the prostitution of all the artists who played at the Live 8 shows which were really designed to distract the kids and the folks away from protests like the previous G8 meetings where cops beat the crap out of young people killing one or two because the G8 leaders were confronted with the truth of their Vampiric selves. Not to mention the grand smokescreen the Live 8 shows effectively created endorsing what is really a common IMF and World bank practice to roll over old debt into new loans creating a whole new era of prostitution of corrupt leaders in Third World nations who are willing to do backwards somersaults through burning hoops of fire in order to sellout their own people.
You see, its not important whether a third-world nation pays back the loans it gets from the IMF and World Bank and the greater international loan shark industry. No, it's more important that the Third World nation is financially in debt. With debt leverage and a foaming at the mouth Military to back it up the psychotic white people in Europe and America can rape the resources of said third-world nation while at the same time getting that Third World nation to pay back the loan that it got to get its nation to spread its its legs and take it up the ass from transnational corporations with the no morals clause in their corporate mission statement.
So while the Third World nation is paying back the new of loans and the population of the Third World nation goes without basic human services and laws to protect them from the pollution and labor strife brought on by transnational corporations, the psychotic white people in Europe and America get to live high on the hog off all the resources that have been raped out of the said third-world nation.
I gotta hand to ya Bob and to you to Bono you really conned the shit out of all lot of people this year, but now you have been exposed and your super ego shallow rock star veneer has been punctured I'm wondering how long it'll take for the record buyers to discover what a pair of steamy piles of shite you really are.
Just as a parting shot Bono, I guess you learned nothing when you were used by the Bush regime in a photo op on a campaign stop in the 2002 midterm elections where George "Back ground noise" Bush had you prancing around on a stage in front of thousands of Bush supporters when Bush stated "heh, heh, I can't be all that bad I've got Bono with me." No you couldn't resist an invitation to have lunch last week with and provide another photo op for the most hated man on the planet who just murdered over 100,000 Iraqis in order to set up hegemonic shop on top of the strategic oil supply in the Middle East. For this, your a little bit larger of the two steamy piles of shite. - via Indymedia
Lloyd Harts writing, music & videos can be found
Here
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WTF!!! don't cry for me Imelda Marcos???
Fatboy Slim makes Marcos musical
DJ Fatboy Slim and Talking Heads singer David Byrne are writing a musical about former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos, to be shown next March. Here Lies Love will examine Mrs Marcos' passion for music and night clubs.
Billed as "a timeless story with more contemporary resonances than are comfortable", it will premiere at Australia's Adelaide Festival. Mrs Marcos was found guilty of corruption in the mid-1990s, but her conviction was overturned on appeal.
The charges were part of a wider case alleging that Mrs Marcos and her husband, former President Ferdinand Marcos, plundered the nation's economy between 1968 and 1986. The pair were overthrown in a popular revolt in 1986 and fled to Hawaii, where Ferdinand Marcos died three years later.
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'Non-stop party'
Mrs Marcos - who now lives in the Philippine capital Manila - is well-known for her huge collection of shoes, which came to symbolise her family's excess.
"She loved the nightlife in all parts of the world, and in New York at Studio 54, so much so that she installed a disco in her NYC townhouse," an Adelaide Festival spokesman said. "It was a non-stop party, featuring politicians, arms dealers, financiers, artists, musicians and the international jet set."
Here Lies Love was the concept of Talking Heads star Byrne, who has written the music with Fatboy Slim, real name Norman Cook.
The 90-minute musical will be directed by Marianne Weems, artistic director of New York ensemble The Builders' Association, as "a multimedia extravaganza".
- bbc.co.uk
So...will this be a contempory version of Andrew Lloyd Webbers Right wing gushing love for dictators a la Evita???
Or will it be a strange parody of Cherie Blair, and her penchance for high priced flats and New age excess???
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Imelda Marcos was once the 'Steel Butterfly,' the beautiful wife and confidante of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The Marcos regime (1965-86) was marked by corruption, political repression and gross financial shenanigans, acts to which Imelda was almost certainly privy. The Marcoses were finally deposed in 1986 and fled to Hawaii, where Ferdinand died in 1989. Imelda Marcos later returned to the Philippines and, in spite of everything, was elected a legislative representative from her native district of Leyte. In October of 2001 she was arrested and formally charged with corruption and amassing a fortune of up to five billion dollars illegally during her husband's regime. - who2.com
Strange fact: Ferdinand Marcos - who killed thousands and imposed a Military dictatorship largely with the support of the CIA - was born 11 September 1917
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Marcos might not be one of the all-time killers but he is certainly one of the biggest thieves in the history of the planet. Estimates of his ill-gotten gains range from US$3 to US$35 billion. Some suggest that the true amount is over US$100 billion, perhaps even trillions of dollars.
While these latter sums may he fanciful, the legacy of the Marcos dictatorship is all too real - an economy struggling just to pay the interest on its foreign debt and a seriously compromised democracy seemingly unable to shake off entrenched corruption. Witness the debacle of the Estrada presidency. It took Marcos 20 years to pillage and wreck the Philippines. Unfortunately it may take far longer for the damage to be undone. - more or less
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HEAD GAMES
WARNING!
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If you want to talk on Skype, this webmaster advises that you do so ONLY to people you have actually met in the flesh previously, with friends and family that you feel you know reasonably well ...DO NOT contact entities who are on Forums or chatrooms...In my opinion, they always turn out to be rather strange individuals, with no sense of irony/humour, and a vampyric controlling nature. They try to 'get to know you' & then offer gifts. They use this as a way to engender guilt and loyalty, sometimes asking you to offer ideas for, or take part in activities of which you might not be fully aware of.
While this approach might not stop you falling out...at least you'll have a vague idea who you are actually conversing with
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Advocates crack printer identifier code
Secret Code in Color Printers Lets Government Track You
Tiny Dots Show Where and When You Made Your Print
San Francisco - A research team led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) recently broke the code behind tiny tracking dots that some color laser printers secretly hide in every document.
The U.S. Secret Service admitted that the tracking information is part of a deal struck with selected color laser printer manufacturers, ostensibly to identify counterfeiters. However, the nature of the private information encoded in each document was not previously known.
"We've found that the dots from at least one line of printers encode the date and time your document was printed, as well as the serial number of the printer," said EFF Staff Technologist Seth David Schoen.
You can see the dots on color prints from machines made by Xerox, Canon, and other manufacturers (for a list of the printers we investigated so far, see:
the list).
The dots are yellow, less than one millimeter in diameter, and are typically repeated over each page of a document. In order to see the pattern, you need a blue light, a magnifying glass, or a microscope (for instructions on how to see the dots, see: here).
EFF and its partners began its project to break the printer code with the Xerox DocuColor line. Researchers Schoen, EFF intern Robert Lee, and volunteers Patrick Murphy and Joel Alwen compared dots from test pages sent in by EFF supporters, noting similarities and differences in their arrangement, and then found a simple way to read the pattern.
"So far, we've only broken the code for Xerox DocuColor printers," said Schoen. "But we believe that other models from other manufacturers include the same personally identifiable information in their tracking dots."
You can decode your own Xerox DocuColor prints using EFF's automated program at this page.
Xerox previously admitted that it provided these tracking dots to the government, but indicated that only the Secret Service had the ability to read the code. The Secret Service maintains that it only uses the information for criminal counterfeit investigations. However, there are no laws to prevent the government from abusing this information.
"Underground democracy movements that produce political or religious pamphlets and flyers, like the Russian samizdat of the 1980s, will always need the anonymity of simple paper documents, but this technology makes it easier for governments to find dissenters," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Lee Tien. "Even worse, it shows how the government and private industry make backroom deals to weaken our privacy by compromising everyday equipment like printers. The logical next question is: what other deals have been or are being made to ensure that our technology rats on us?"
EFF is still working on cracking the codes from other printers and we need the public's help. Find out how you can make your own test pages to be included in our research at this page.
Contact:
Seth Schoen
Staff Technologist
Electronic Frontier Foundation
seth@eff.org
www.eff.org
More
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FCC Releases Orders for Internet Backdoor Wiretap Access
by Brendan Coyne
Sep 29 - Quietly last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a 59-page document outlining new rules forcing broadband internet and voice-over-IP (VoIP) phone service providers to open up their systems to federal, state and local law enforcement officials.
In releasing the rules, the FCC opened up a 30-day public comment period. The regulations, which are planned for implementation in 2007, were decided upon in the beginning of August and made public Friday without a news release or other announcement.
Opponents of the proposed rules argue that the "backdoor" requirements pose the opportunity for privacy rights violations and will be prohibitively expensive for companies and the consumers they will ultimately pass the cost along to. In addition, Internet phone companies allege that the FCC rules are designed to prop up faltering traditional telephone companies, which are losing ground in competition with the relatively versatile and inexpensive VoIP services.
In a statement yesterday, Electronic Freedom Foundation attorney Kurt Opsahl said that "a tech mandate requiring backdoors in the Internet endangers the privacy of innocent people, stifles innovation and risks the Internet as a forum for free and open expression."
Opsahl's organization is a nonprofit electronic privacy advocate that has grown vocal in opposition to increasing government regulation of electronic communications in recent years. The Electronic Freedom Foundation is considering a court challenge to the FCC's proposed rules, the statement noted.
In a related resolution made public Friday, the FCC agreed to incorporate four new principles into its mission, including a deferential guideline stating that "consumers are entitled to run applications and use services of their choice, subject to the needs of law enforcement." Commission members did not expand on the intent of the statement included in the three-page decision. - new standard news.net
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National Security Agency gets fix on Internet users
Top secret group applies for patent
to ID physical address of Web surfers
Internet users hoping to protect their privacy by using anti-virus software, Web anonymizers, false identities and disabled cookies on their computer's Web browser have something new to worry about - a patent filed by the National Security Agency (NSA) for technology that will identify the physical location of any Web surfer.
NSA granted Net location-tracking patent
Published: September 21, 2005, 1:49 PM PDT By Declan McCullagh - Staff Writer, CNET News.com
The National Security Agency has obtained a patent on a method of figuring out an Internet user's geographic location.
Patent 6,947,978, granted Tuesday, describes a way to discover someone's physical location by comparing it to a "map" of Internet addresses with known locations.
The NSA did not respond Wednesday to an interview request, and the patent description talks only generally about the technology's potential uses. It says the geographic location of Internet users could be used to "measure the effectiveness of advertising across geographic regions" or flag a password that "could be noted or disabled if not used from or near the appropriate location."
Other applications of the geo-location patent, invented by Stephen Huffman and Michael Reifer of Maryland, could relate to the NSA's signals intelligence mission--which is, bluntly put, spying on the communications of non-U.S. citizens.
"If someone's engaged in a dialogue or frequenting a 'bad' Web site, the NSA might want to know where they are," said Mike Liebhold, a senior researcher at the Institute for the Future who has studied geo-location technology. "It wouldn't give them precision, but it would give them a clue that they could use to narrow down the location with other intelligence methods."
The NSA's patent relies on measuring the latency, meaning the time lag between computers exchanging data, of "numerous" locations on the Internet and building a "network latency topology map." Then, at least in theory, the Internet address to be identified can be looked up on the map by measuring how long it takes known computers to connect to the unknown one.
The technique isn't foolproof. People using a dial-up connection can't be traced beyond their Internet service provider--which could be in an different area of the country--and it doesn't account for proxy services like Anonymizer.
Geo-location, sometimes called "geo-targeting" when used to deliver advertising, is an increasingly attractive area for Internet businesses. DoubleClick has licensed geo-location technology to deliver location-dependent advertising, and Visa has signed a deal to use the concept to identify possible credit card fraud in online orders.
Digital Envoy holds a patent on geo-location, and Quova, a privately held firm in Mountain View, Calif., holds three more, one shared with Microsoft.
"It's honestly not clear that there's anything special or technically advanced about what they're describing," Quova Vice President Gary Jackson said, referring to the NSA's patent. "I'd have to have our technical guys read it, but I don't think it impacts us in any way." CNET
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PATENT GRANTED:
Method for geolocating logical network addresses
Abstract
Method for geolocating logical network addresses on electronically switched dynamic communications networks, such as the Internet, using the time latency of communications to and from the logical network address to determine its location. Minimum round-trip communications latency is measured between numerous stations on the network and known network addressed equipment to form a network latency topology map. Minimum round-trip communications latency is also measured between the stations and the logical network address to be geolocated. The resulting set of minimum round-trip communications latencies is then correlated with the network latency topology map to determine the location of the network address to be geolocated.
USA patent Office
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So, you know, the unintended consequences of this are pretty hilarious, right? Your sons first steps across your living room, you follow them with your camcorder, you get too close to your televisions watermark that says, Im a copyrighted work. You may not touch me. And your sons first steps are lost forever as the analog-to-digital converter in your device shuts itself off. -
Will Congress Outlaw Your iPod?
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Eminem's Mosh - MUST SEE: WAKE UP!!!
Now, its up to the broadcasters. Will they ban the top selling musical artist for being anti-establishment while they allow other propaganda to air? Or will they finally allow an artist who has the courage to speak out to take center stage and utilize the airwaves for something other than typical celebrity fodder? -
Guerilla News Network
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pic by 0742
...and then there was silence...
John Peel RIP
Tuesday, 26 October, 2004 - John Peel, veteran radio presenter and DJ, has died suddenly on holiday in South America.
what can i say? are there no words?
...except maybe as i raise a glass in memory of your outstanding ability to inspire, to shine and to seem, and really be, so down to earth ...rock on, wherever you are now, John!!!
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Fans pay tribute on the BBC
more Fans pay tribute on the John Peel homepage
"I saw John a few months ago and he looked awful.
Peely actually said to me that the BBC had marginalized him, they had put him, moved his slot, from 11pm to 1am. He said to me that it was killing him." - Andy Kershaw
Go now to your music player and play "teenage kicks" by the Undertones, really fucking loud, for John...
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Copyright Bill To Kill Tech?
The Senate Judiciary Committee will consider a bill Thursday that would hold technology companies liable for any product they make that encourages people to steal copyright materials.
Critics say the bill would effectively outlaw peer-to-peer networks and prohibit the development of new technologies, including devices like the iPod. The Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act was introduced last month by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), head of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The legislation would hold a company liable that "intentionally induces" a person to infringe copyright.
Wired
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where's the stream gone?
Now...it seems streaming music is being hindered & stopped...
click on a streaming button in Iuma, Soundclick and many other MP3 sites
and you will see NOTHING HAPPENS...
WHY?
well then, this is what's become known as consumer behaviorism...
kids'll get fed up with trying to listen to alternative unheard of music,
and listen to stations streamed over broadband...
because it's being made easier for them to do that...
eventually they will all do as they are being directed...BUY CDs and PAY for downloads of
established acts who play ball with corporate fascists.
You can bet that streaming a signed up member of the celebrity whore sets tunes is easier
than beating BUSH at tick tack toe!
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finished?
a while back the company 'Buongiorno'
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bought out 'Vitaminic' - the company that owned IUMA
[a vibrant independant mp3 music server]
Now the IUMA site streaming / downloads
has slowed down to ridiculous levels...
with administrators apparently unable
to give any reasons...
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Well... i'll give you a reason!
the death of free music!
one more nail in the coffin...
as the uber-corporatist info-tech
monopoly destroys piece by piece,
the very thing that threatens their
big music industry partners futures...
our individuality...
These companies can purposefully hinder
small artists...and their clientelle...
their aim is to change the habits of the
music buying public...by underhand means.
all free music will be labelled 'pirate'.
all downloaders of free music will be labelled 'criminal'
this will enable the controllers of media to introduce
the 'golden goose'...
you will be forced to own a license if you want to:
A: hire webspace
B: be able to download to your hard drive
all one has to do is to look at how the
Major supermarket chains
have affected the small farmer,
to see the similarities...
see more further down this page
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New Euro directive means
Hollywood can break down
your door at midnight
"Robin Gross, executive director of the civil liberties organisation IP Justice, said that traditional civil liberties, fairness, balance and proportionality have "been thrown to the wind in the over zealous rush to pass this dangerous directive".
And IP Justice reported that French Conservative MP Janelly Fourtour will directly profit from the new law which it claims she "rushed through the parliament".
Her family owns Vivendi Universal, IP Justice said."
calling all MP3.com artists...BYE BYE MP3.com hello CNET
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CNET Networks, Inc announced today that it has acquired certain
assets of MP3.com, Inc.
Please be advised that on Tuesday, December 2, 2003 at 12:00
PM PST the MP3.com website will no longer be accessible in
its current form.
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Yeah... Fuck off mp3.com...you sucked ass and now you are kablooey!!!
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CNET new mp3 music site looking promising for independant artists
"In response to the overwhelming feedback CNET received from the MP3.com artist community following this news, CNET's Download.com is answering your call to build a free music upload/download destination for independent artists. Launching in early 2004, this new site will give independent musicians free hosting for their songs and related material, as well as valuable exposure to Download.com's tens of millions of unique monthly visitors. Download.com plans to do for musicians what it did for software developers when it launched nearly 10 years ago: give independent artists an affordable way to build a market for their work."
from e-mail newsletter
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OR MAYBE NOT!!!
Trusonic - a CNET subsiduary... is the company who have taken over MP3.com
Get a load of this!!!!
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Music
Music can be a powerful, persuasive tool for businesses that can affect purchasing behavior and employee behavior. Music conjures positive feelings, adds to an office or store's decor and enriches any environment.
Whether your business is a chain of cutting-edge clothing retailers, a grocery store or a candlelit restaurant, truSONIC's rich content can create the perfect atmosphere for your brand. Why not use music to enhance your opportunity for success?
Trusonic
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DON'T GET ME WRONG
ALL CREATIVE OUTPOURING AIMS TO CHANGE / AFFECT ...
BUT IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT MONEY, KIDS.
THERE ONCE WAS A TIME WHEN THE UNDERGROUND RULED.
WHEN PIRATE RADIO ENABLED YOUNG AND OLD
TO GET HEARD AND SEEN BY THIER PEERS...
TO INFLUENCE THE ECLECTIC CREATIVITY OF THE FREAK COMMUNITY
THIS WAS THE THREAT THAT SCARED THE MAJORS WITLESS
THAT THESE 'SUITS' WOULD NEVER BE 'HIP TO THE KIDS, MAAN' !!
WELL, NOW THEY ARE IN A TAKEOVER BID FOR YOUR FUTURE...
DO YOU NOT THINK IT A LITTLE STRANGE
THAT THE VERY COMPANIES THAT INTRODUCE TECHNOLOGY
THAT COPIES DVD'S AND CD'S ETC.
ARE ALSO THE VERY SAME PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTING ALL SCARED
ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE 'MUSIC BUSINESS'?
INDUSTRIES CREATE A PROBLEM AND GENERATE A REACTION
IN ORDER TO GET A SOLUTION THAT SUITS THEM...
IT IS A DELIBERATE ATTEMPT TO OWN ALL MEDIA -
THAT IS DIFFERENT...THAT IS CREATED...THAT IS HUMAN...
THAT IS YOU!!!
GET WISE TO IT...
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Something dodgy going on...
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When I try to log in to the truSONIC Artist Admin Area using my former MP3.com username and password, it does not recognize me as a truSONIC artist. Is something wrong?
At this time, only artists who have songs currently included in truSONIC playlists that are performed in businesses that use the truSONIC Business Music Service can log in to truSONIC's Artist Admin Area.
As a result, you may not be able to access the truSONIC Artist Admin Area right now. In the future, truSONIC hopes to add functionality that will enable you to view all your songs that are enrolled in truSONIC, whether or not they are being actively performed in business environments at a given time.
Trusonic FAQ
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So I can only log-in and find out if my music is being used by some shark business if it is on your 'playlist'...
and that is constantly changing...! eh? Should I just Guess?
my advice: remove yourself from this dodgy corporate BULLSHIT!!!
SIGN UP WITH SOMETHING ELSE
and don't hold your breath for that site to remain any good for long either
click
'Kosheen' think their CD's are copy protected!
wrong again you dumb fucks
you been played by BMG
because you are one of many bands
who are an experiment in enforced choice...
forcing people to only listen to your
music on PC's with cookies enabled
to spy on their browsing / purchasing habits
now why in the world would any band wish to LIMIT the
ways in which people can enjoy music?!!!
I wonder if they had any choice in the matter?
but the CD of this album which I own...
won't play on a
DVD player, mp3 player, or cd audio player...
wow! now that IS user-freindly...
I just destroyed a copy which played perfectly on my pc!
you can easily copy the cd with Nero...!
Kosheens stoopid fans almost rebel!
[here]
[here]
quote:
"Well, if you are using Windows then you have 2 choices to be able to listen "Kokopelli" on your PC:
1. try to get some new DVD recorder (I have Lite-On 811s)
- they usually simply ignore the copy-protection
(I was able to copy all my protected CDs using that Lite-On drive)"
Baaaa! Baaaaa! Bleeett! bleeet!
yeah! buy a new dvd drive to listen to a 10 buck CD!!!!
ha hahaaaa haaa haa!!!!
ahaaaa hhaaaa!!!!
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