http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/05/technology/companies/05apple.html?_r=1
I found this article from the New York Times to be really interesting. I don't need to explain to anyone that has any knowledge of the internet or business in general that Google and Apple are two of the biggest companies in our country. Needless to say, Google has a near monopoly on internet searches and advertising, while Apple has a near monopoly on online music downloads and mp3 players. It's a scary thought to think what the two of them could accomplish if they were to join forces, publicly or secretly.
Being an internet search engine, well a monopoly internet search engine really, you are open to being scrutinized for possible antitrust issues. Especially when you give some companies priority of where they come up in the search results, which is where this case is stemming from.
Google has close ties with the Obama administration and part of this article points out how regulators don't expect that to have anything to do with this case. I certainly hope so. A Google-Apple-Obama team would be pretty hard to stop.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
DVD backup software in court
A new DVD backup software went into court shortly after releasing its product into the market. The product in question is Real Networks' "RealDVD" product. RealDVD allows you to make backups of your DVDs to put onto your hard drive.
The film companies argument is simply that all RealDVD really is, is a product that makes pirating movies online that much easier. Although I take RealDVD's side of this case that people have a right to make backups of their DVDs, the film companies are totally correct that the majority of people that buy this product will be buying it for the wrong reasons. They will release the movies out onto the internet for the most part.
While I do see both sides of this coin, I don't think Real Networks can be convicted of copyright infringement in this case. I really think sooner or later, something will be done to not make it so easy to pirate movies online, but it's not going to start with this case.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/24/AR2009042403168.html
The film companies argument is simply that all RealDVD really is, is a product that makes pirating movies online that much easier. Although I take RealDVD's side of this case that people have a right to make backups of their DVDs, the film companies are totally correct that the majority of people that buy this product will be buying it for the wrong reasons. They will release the movies out onto the internet for the most part.
While I do see both sides of this coin, I don't think Real Networks can be convicted of copyright infringement in this case. I really think sooner or later, something will be done to not make it so easy to pirate movies online, but it's not going to start with this case.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/24/AR2009042403168.html
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Is Turnitin copyright infringement?
With the growing problem of plagiarism in today's internet savvy society, professors and teachers around the country are looking for a way to put a stop to it. The invention of TurnItIn takes students papers and puts it in a huge database where it compares the papers to each other to look for anything that is too closely resembling another. Along with this, it searches online articles to make sure nothing is taken word for word from it.
Students have recently filed a copyright violation suit against TurnItIn saying that it is copyright infringement. The students say that since their paper has to be sent to a third party, this violates copyright. The way it works, if another student's paper is very similar to a previous paper turned in to TurnItIn, then TurnItIn sends that professor the other student's paper so they can make their own judgement.
I definitely understand the need for a way to protect against plagiarism which is undoubtedly a huge problem in schools today, however I don't think this is a fair way to go about it. These particular students lost this suit, however, I would not be surprised to see it come back up again because I think the students had a strong case of copyright infringement.
http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/index.php?id=3722
Students have recently filed a copyright violation suit against TurnItIn saying that it is copyright infringement. The students say that since their paper has to be sent to a third party, this violates copyright. The way it works, if another student's paper is very similar to a previous paper turned in to TurnItIn, then TurnItIn sends that professor the other student's paper so they can make their own judgement.
I definitely understand the need for a way to protect against plagiarism which is undoubtedly a huge problem in schools today, however I don't think this is a fair way to go about it. These particular students lost this suit, however, I would not be surprised to see it come back up again because I think the students had a strong case of copyright infringement.
http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/index.php?id=3722
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
ISPs to record emails and calls
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/apr/06/internet-data-storage
Some ISPs are going to start recording all e-mails and calls over the next 12 months because of a law that went into place on April 6th. This is water that I have already treaded in my blogs but it is worth continuing to talk about as privacy is a very important issue to me when talking about the internet especially. For example, I had no idea that this law even existed until I read this article. AND the only reason I read this article was because I have to maintain this blog for my Law class. This really disturbs me because this is the kind of thing I am interested in and I relatively keep up on news and I have not heard about this.
The point that I'm getting at is I understand that sometimes things like this need to be done, and I am someone who can see both sides of the Patriot Act which was highly controversial, but I would like to be made aware when things like this are going into effect.
Some ISPs are going to start recording all e-mails and calls over the next 12 months because of a law that went into place on April 6th. This is water that I have already treaded in my blogs but it is worth continuing to talk about as privacy is a very important issue to me when talking about the internet especially. For example, I had no idea that this law even existed until I read this article. AND the only reason I read this article was because I have to maintain this blog for my Law class. This really disturbs me because this is the kind of thing I am interested in and I relatively keep up on news and I have not heard about this.
The point that I'm getting at is I understand that sometimes things like this need to be done, and I am someone who can see both sides of the Patriot Act which was highly controversial, but I would like to be made aware when things like this are going into effect.
Copyright Violation Issue
Currently, the AP and the newspaper industry are planning on working together to fight against copyright violation. Copyright issues have obviously taken on a whole new persona in the internet age. It's hard to distinguish, and in fact, in many cases, it hasn't been distinguished what is copyright infringement and what isn't.
This article says that this is in part because of the tough economic times as the newspaper industry is obviously struggling very much. The AP and the newspaper industry are now working together to bring in some hefty fines to bloggers around the world. So I would say, bloggers beware in the near future. The AP is not someone I would want to tackle in court.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/news/ci_12083563?nclick_check=1
This article says that this is in part because of the tough economic times as the newspaper industry is obviously struggling very much. The AP and the newspaper industry are now working together to bring in some hefty fines to bloggers around the world. So I would say, bloggers beware in the near future. The AP is not someone I would want to tackle in court.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/news/ci_12083563?nclick_check=1
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Internet Predators a Growing Problem
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/23/AR2009032300798.html
Internet predators have been a growing problem over the last decade. The problem that government agencies are facing now is that these predators are becoming more careful now that they know people are out there undercover, looking for them.
Some think that there should be more government agents put on these task forces that go undercover and arrest predators, but naturally this comes with a downside of less people being available for other jobs.
There seems to be a continuing theme that I am encountering in writing these blogs where criminals are using technology to do bad things and the government is always a step or a few steps behind in trying to find a way to control it. Hopefully there is an end to this chase soon where predators will stop preying on children instead of finding other ways to do it.
Internet predators have been a growing problem over the last decade. The problem that government agencies are facing now is that these predators are becoming more careful now that they know people are out there undercover, looking for them.
Some think that there should be more government agents put on these task forces that go undercover and arrest predators, but naturally this comes with a downside of less people being available for other jobs.
There seems to be a continuing theme that I am encountering in writing these blogs where criminals are using technology to do bad things and the government is always a step or a few steps behind in trying to find a way to control it. Hopefully there is an end to this chase soon where predators will stop preying on children instead of finding other ways to do it.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Australian Police = Hackers?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10191514-83.html
The Australian police are trying to get a piece of legislation passed that will give them the right to hack into people's computers for up to 28 days with a search warrant. This is something that they feel will put them on an equal ground with the criminals out there in this ever changing world of technology that we live in.
This is something that is almost becoming necessary due to the scary world we live in; but at the same time it's scary that the government would have the ability to do this. Granted they will need a search warrant to hack into your computer to see everything you do, but it's almost like it's a slippery slope once you start there.
I hope for the people of Australia's sake and for the people of the world's sake that this will be done on a very honorable basis and this power will not be abused.
The Australian police are trying to get a piece of legislation passed that will give them the right to hack into people's computers for up to 28 days with a search warrant. This is something that they feel will put them on an equal ground with the criminals out there in this ever changing world of technology that we live in.
This is something that is almost becoming necessary due to the scary world we live in; but at the same time it's scary that the government would have the ability to do this. Granted they will need a search warrant to hack into your computer to see everything you do, but it's almost like it's a slippery slope once you start there.
I hope for the people of Australia's sake and for the people of the world's sake that this will be done on a very honorable basis and this power will not be abused.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Pirate Bay Founders in Trouble
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7919674.stm
The well-known file sharing network 'The Pirate Bay' might be nearing the end of its run. The founders of the site are going under trial for facilitating copyright infringement on their site. The Pirate Bay offers free downloads of movies, songs, albums, documents, video games, etc. The men have earned at least 104,000 euros during their run from donations and advertisements and the industries that are making these claims of infringement say that the pirate bay has facilitated 10.1 million euros worth of downloads.
This case has been ongoing for a couple of weeks now and the new piece to the story is that prosecutors are trying to get a 1 year prison sentence as part of the punishment for these founders of the pirate bay. Considering how much money is on the table here, where they have facilitated 10.1 million dollars worth of downloads, it's amazing that worst case scenario for these guys right now is a 1 year prison sentence. This case really goes to show how far behind the law is lagging for internet related cases. Eventually, I think the law will catch up and the max sentence for these guys would have been something much higher.
The well-known file sharing network 'The Pirate Bay' might be nearing the end of its run. The founders of the site are going under trial for facilitating copyright infringement on their site. The Pirate Bay offers free downloads of movies, songs, albums, documents, video games, etc. The men have earned at least 104,000 euros during their run from donations and advertisements and the industries that are making these claims of infringement say that the pirate bay has facilitated 10.1 million euros worth of downloads.
This case has been ongoing for a couple of weeks now and the new piece to the story is that prosecutors are trying to get a 1 year prison sentence as part of the punishment for these founders of the pirate bay. Considering how much money is on the table here, where they have facilitated 10.1 million dollars worth of downloads, it's amazing that worst case scenario for these guys right now is a 1 year prison sentence. This case really goes to show how far behind the law is lagging for internet related cases. Eventually, I think the law will catch up and the max sentence for these guys would have been something much higher.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Cops tapping Facebook??
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,25092895-5013044,00.html
The rapidly growing Facebook.com has been the latest thing on a very long list that law enforcement is looking to use as evidence against people in criminal cases. With facebook becoming as popular as a cell phone as a means of communication, it may not be all that unlikely to see people's facebook accounts being tapped by law enforcement in the very near future. I can see law enforcement's point of view here as they are looking to stay as in touch with the technology as the people they are trying to bring down are.
My question is: how stupid can people be? Are there really people out there talking in detail (or at all) about illegal activities over facebook? Apparently there are even though it seems amazing.
I think the biggest point to take out of this is that it would be really hard for law enforcement to use any of this facebook activity in a court room because it is so easy for electronic information to be messed with so it might be something that would get dismissed in court from the defendant's side.
The rapidly growing Facebook.com has been the latest thing on a very long list that law enforcement is looking to use as evidence against people in criminal cases. With facebook becoming as popular as a cell phone as a means of communication, it may not be all that unlikely to see people's facebook accounts being tapped by law enforcement in the very near future. I can see law enforcement's point of view here as they are looking to stay as in touch with the technology as the people they are trying to bring down are.
My question is: how stupid can people be? Are there really people out there talking in detail (or at all) about illegal activities over facebook? Apparently there are even though it seems amazing.
I think the biggest point to take out of this is that it would be really hard for law enforcement to use any of this facebook activity in a court room because it is so easy for electronic information to be messed with so it might be something that would get dismissed in court from the defendant's side.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Tough Economy Hits Online Health Care
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/15/AR2009021501284.html
This article from the Washington Post is about how Congress has had a plan in the making which will make America's health care records available online. This plan has an estimated bill attached to it of about 150 Billion dollars.
As an economics major, I find this article interesting as it ties in the struggling times in our economy with an issue of internet law. I imagine that 2014 date will be pushed back, I don't know, maybe 10 years? That seems about right given our current crisis but who knows.
The issues that online health care creates is interesting as well. It will obviously need a very strong security so the information does not get into the wrong hands. Also, who decides who gets to see who's documents?
When this issue is more in the spotlight after this economic crisis passes it will be interesting to see how people react to this.
I personally am for online health care being available - but I am also for pretty much everything utilizing the internet. We have this technology at our disposal, so why not use it?
This article from the Washington Post is about how Congress has had a plan in the making which will make America's health care records available online. This plan has an estimated bill attached to it of about 150 Billion dollars.
As an economics major, I find this article interesting as it ties in the struggling times in our economy with an issue of internet law. I imagine that 2014 date will be pushed back, I don't know, maybe 10 years? That seems about right given our current crisis but who knows.
The issues that online health care creates is interesting as well. It will obviously need a very strong security so the information does not get into the wrong hands. Also, who decides who gets to see who's documents?
When this issue is more in the spotlight after this economic crisis passes it will be interesting to see how people react to this.
I personally am for online health care being available - but I am also for pretty much everything utilizing the internet. We have this technology at our disposal, so why not use it?
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Online Pharmacies: A Growing Problem
http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=105830
The above article details a pretty scary situation that is going on in North Dakota at the moment, but I'm sure the problem is even more widespread than this.
The number of people addicted to painkillers is rapidly on the rise and many of these cases are coming from people obtaining them online from bogus pharmacies.
It is a federal law that you cannot give out a prescription without an in-person doctor's visit but they have only been choosing to look at major cases thus far. I think with the rise of this problem that's about to change.
It's really scary if you think about it that things like this can happen.
What this story boils down to is: we need to learn to govern the internet better. Of course we are still in a transition phase where we are still getting used to this technology being a huge part of our society, but we need more laws governing this new world.
The above article details a pretty scary situation that is going on in North Dakota at the moment, but I'm sure the problem is even more widespread than this.
The number of people addicted to painkillers is rapidly on the rise and many of these cases are coming from people obtaining them online from bogus pharmacies.
It is a federal law that you cannot give out a prescription without an in-person doctor's visit but they have only been choosing to look at major cases thus far. I think with the rise of this problem that's about to change.
It's really scary if you think about it that things like this can happen.
What this story boils down to is: we need to learn to govern the internet better. Of course we are still in a transition phase where we are still getting used to this technology being a huge part of our society, but we need more laws governing this new world.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Facebook: Safe or not?
Facebook.com is used by millions of people around the world. It is becoming more and more popular each day.
What people don't know is the potential dangers that lie within the user agreement that I'm sure 90% of Facebook's customers never even read.
As a customer of Facebook.com you completely give Facebook the rights to all material you upload and post on the site. This really includes EVERYTHING. It would be terrible to see a company like Facebook take your ideas that you posted to the site and profit on them and then you wouldn't see a cent.
Not only this, but also all your material that you post on the site is totally not private. Everything including messages to other individuals is the property of Facebook.com and can be released at any time without your approval because you waived those rights by clicking 'I Accept' on the user agreement.
This brings me to my next point...
I think in this new age of technology it has become almost second nature to accept user agreements on many websites and softwares.
Users need to become more aware of what it is they are agreeing to because that is no different than signing a contract. You wouldn't sign a contract without reading it would you?
Hopefully these scary facts about Facebook.com makes people more aware about what they are doing on the internet.
What people don't know is the potential dangers that lie within the user agreement that I'm sure 90% of Facebook's customers never even read.
As a customer of Facebook.com you completely give Facebook the rights to all material you upload and post on the site. This really includes EVERYTHING. It would be terrible to see a company like Facebook take your ideas that you posted to the site and profit on them and then you wouldn't see a cent.
Not only this, but also all your material that you post on the site is totally not private. Everything including messages to other individuals is the property of Facebook.com and can be released at any time without your approval because you waived those rights by clicking 'I Accept' on the user agreement.
This brings me to my next point...
I think in this new age of technology it has become almost second nature to accept user agreements on many websites and softwares.
Users need to become more aware of what it is they are agreeing to because that is no different than signing a contract. You wouldn't sign a contract without reading it would you?
Hopefully these scary facts about Facebook.com makes people more aware about what they are doing on the internet.
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