Home / arstechnica.com rss archive / October-03-2007


Debate over "making available" jury instruction as Capitol v. Thomas wraps up
As Capitol v. Thomas heads to the jury, the attorneys sparred over the question of whether making a file available over a P2P network was infringement. The judge's proposed jury instructions say that "an actual transfer must take place" in order for copyright infringement to occur.Read More...

The AudioFile: Understanding MP3 compression
It's one of the most popular and controversial file types in the world, but most explanations of its workings are either blindingly simplistic or overwhelmingly technical. Learn about the workings of MP3 without a second Ph.D. in this guide.Read More...

Geek Squad trip lands child porn "trafficker" in slammer for 10 years
A businessman on a trip to Arkansas took his laptop to a local Best Buy for repair and now faces more than ten years in jail on child porn charges.Read More...

More performance updates, fixes for Vista released in advance of SP1
Microsoft has revealed five new hotfixes scheduled for inclusion in Windows Vista Service Pack 1 that were not previously available to SP1 beta testers. One addresses performance and reliability, and cuts boot times.Read More...

Growing nanotubes on microprocessors could lead to cooling breakthrough
Researchers at Purdue University have found a way to grow carbon nanotubes directly on silicon chips to greatly increase heat transfer efficiency.Read More...

FCC permits well-connected lobbyists to skirt anti-lobbying rules
The Government Accountability Office has found that while the FCC generally plays by the book, it does often give frequent lobbyists information before it is publicly available, information that helps them skirt anti-lobbying rules.Read More...

Judge bars RIAA president from testifying in Capitol Records v. Thomas
Both the plaintiffs and defendants rested their cases after the judge in Capitol v. Thomas refused to allow RIAA president Cary Sherman to testify. Defendant Jammie Thomas also testified that the KaZaA share observed by Media Sentry did not belong to her.Read More...

An in-depth look at the new Zune lineup; Q&A with Microsoft
Ars talks to Microsoft's Senior Director of Product Management for the Zune about the "human" scale of the launch and about the technical details of the new devices. Topics include the birth of Zune 2.0, Microsoft's low-key launch, more WiFi sync details, and more.Read More...

Defendant's counsel hammers away at piracy picture painted by RIAA
The defense worked on dismantling many of the RIAA's chief claims today, including those relating to her possession of music which was supposedly stolen, as well as the now-debunked claim that Thomas replaced her hard drive to avoid legal scrutiny.Read More...

Lawsuit over web site accessibility for the blind becomes class action
A federal judge has certified a class action lawsuit against Target after blind users claimed that the company's web site was inaccessible to people with disabilities.Read More...

Google brings Postini's security, spam features to enterprise customers
Google has announced that its hosted e-mail service for businesses will be gaining a number of new features, free of charge, as a result of the company's acquisition of Postini earlier this year. Read More...

Congress blinds DHS's spaceborne eye of Sauron, postpones domestic spy plan
Congress has stalled a Department of Homeland Security program that would have broadly permitted law enforcement use of domestic satellite surveillance.Read More...