15 Mar 2004
Webcasters to Report and Pay

This is completely beyond me - why isn't an Internet radio station treated the same way as a traditional broadcast station? It's actually somewhat easier to make an "off air" recording than it is to make an "on-line" one, for most people. This just shows the bias of the recording industry against anything digital.

In April, the feds will require webcasters to track playlists and pay royalties to artists and music labels. Naturally, the recording industry is delighted, but small webcasters call the requirements onerous. By Joanna Glasner.

(link) [Wired News]

00:00 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link

MPAA Puts Words in Mouth of CA Attorney General

I believe that Mark Twains comment about having the best legislature money could buy should be applied to offices in the executive branch of governments as well.

In another example of Microsoft Word meta data coming back to bite you, Wired News reports that a document circulated by the California Attorney General to fellow lawmakers supporting new restrictions on P2P software was actually authored by a senior vice president of the Motion Picture Association of America.

(link) [Slashdot]

00:00 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link

Hollywood Rethinking Faith Films After 'Passion'

Great! A whole year of religious pap, brought to you by the same folks who brought us a whole year of asteriod movies, a whole year of earthquake/volcano movies and a whole year of tornado/storm movies ...

The overwhelming success of "The Passion of the Christ" may result in a wave of New Testament-themed movies or more religious films in general.

(link) [New York Times: NYT HomePage]

00:00 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

Congress May Force Revealing of Car Computer Secrets

We can hope they're going to be forced to take the locks off the hoods, after all! I've noticed this in attempting to get my own vehicle repaired - there are now some repairs on some cars that can only by done by dealers, with a "dealer price" as a part of the deal.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is reporting that there is a bill with 86 co-sponsors in the House to force automakers to open up their proprietary interfaces to car computers. Small car repair shops are more and more becoming locked out of the repair business because most late model cars can only be fixed by accessing their computers with codes that are secret.

(link) [Slashdot]

00:00 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link