Tag Archive 'riaa'

Biggest Turkeys of 2008

Last year around this time I introduced the Gobblers, my awards for those individuals in the tech field whose behavior most closely resembles a bird whose sole purpose is to be served on a platter.
It was such a big hit I decided to do it again this year. Thus I present the 2008 Gobblers [...]

Death, taxes, and the RIAA

Your tax dollars are not only saving billionaire bankers from their own bad habits, they’re also helping to bail out the recording industry. Does the RIAA really truly need our help? To quote Amy Winhouse, “no no no.”

Drop that DVD copying software and put your hands in the air

Don’t expect to be making legal copies of your DVDs any time soon. A judge has extended the order banning sales of the RealDVD copying software. Hollywood is happy, but are consumers getting a raw deal?

RealDVDs, surreal law suits

Well, that didn’t take long. One day after RealNetworks releases its DVD copying software, lawsuits are filed. Who’s right, who’s wrong, and where do movie fans fit in? Cringely has some thoughts.

Thomas to RIAA: Do It to Me One More Time

Regular readers will remember Jammie Thomas, the Minneapolis mom who was ordered to pay $222,000 in damages to the RIAA last October – the only case to ever reach a jury in the recording industry’s ongoing war on its own customers.
That ruling made everyone look bad: Thomas and her attorney, the judge and [...]

The RIAA vs… well, everybody

Most sane humans would greet a law suit from the RIAA the way you’d welcome a surprise audit from the IRS. Not Ray Beckerman. He says, "Bring it on, bubba."
Beckerman is a New York-based attorney who’s defended several clients in lawsuits brought by the recording industry. He also relentlessly chronicles the absurd activities of a [...]

Demo: Real Networks lets you copy DVDs without being a scurvy pirate.

The biggest story from Demo so far: Real Networks RealDVD recorder, which lets you make legal copies of your DVDs on your computer, just like you can with your music CDs. It’s a simple concept wrapped in a legal minefield.
Real does this legally by paying the same licensing fees that manufacturers of DVD players [...]

Chinese democracy meets US justice

The feds have arrested a 27-year-old blogger for posting unreleased Guns N’ Roses songs to his site, and Cringely is steamed. Read on to find out what’s making him so mad.

Identity theft: fact, fiction, and the funny papers

Phishing scams are no laughing matter. But when a tax-payer funded group tackles the topic in comic book about identity theft, unintentional humor prevails. Cringely has the dirt.

The RIAA’s comic crusade

(This post originally appeared on Infoworld’s Notes From the Field blog — but without the cool graphic.)
 
The Recording Industry Association of America probably sees itself as a band of caped crusaders fighting for truth, justice and the American way. (And in this case, "American Way" translates into propping up a dying cartel seeking to squeeze [...]

The RIAA vs the mothers of prevention

After years of terrorizing its best customers, the RIAA may soon be brought to its knees — by a handful of angry moms. Would you mess with them? Cringely advises against it.

Who is that handsome devil, and what’s he doing on P2Pnet?

Jon Newton at P2Pnet took a shine to my screed on Zuckerberg and asked me for the right to republish, which I happily granted. Plus, he agreed to run a nice photo of me along with it. Now I hope none of us get sued. (He said, half joking). You can find it here, reprinted [...]

You Don’t Know Tech: The News Quiz

Windows holes, Google food, aging tunesmiths, cranky billionaires, Tony Soprano, and — yes — the ghost of MicroHoo dominate this week’s quiz. Are you ready to demonstrate your geek street cred? Give yourself 10 points for correct answers and bupkis for everything else. Ready? Then let’s rock and roll.
– Dan Tynan
1. Australian security researchers have [...]

YouTube, copyrights, and copy wrongs

(This post originally appeared on Infoworld’s Notes From the Field blog.)
The longer I stay in this business, the more I think I should have listened to my mother and become a copyright attorney. Don’t get me wrong — I love digging for dirt and punishing the technologically wicked, but just think of the employment opportunities. [...]