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arstechnica.com rss archive / September-28-2007
Consumer group blasts binding arbitration clauses
A consumer group has obtained the records of a firm that manages binding arbitration on behalf of companies, and it finds a pervasive bias in favor of corporations. Read More...
Copyright lawyer tells universities to resist "copyright bullies"
Universities need to do more to stand up for the openness of their networks, says former EFF staff attorney Wendy Seltzer.Read More...
Read B4UCopy: software industry targets students with antipiracy site
The Business Software Alliance, which represents numerous software companies worldwide, has launched a new campaign geared toward college and university students, educating them on the consequences of pirating software. Read More...
Amid disappointing Vista uptake, Microsoft relents on XP execution
Microsoft resets the clock ticking down on Windows XP's demise, allowing OEMs and retail partners to continue sales through June 2008. That may be enough to satisfy OEMs that have wanted XP's expiration date set by the market, not Microsoft.Read More...
Shoe, meet other foot: Microsoft bashes Google on Capitol Hill over DoubleClick
At a Senate hearing yesterday, Microsoft's top lawyer said that the Google/DoubleClick merger could give "a single company the degree of market power that could foreclose competition."Read More...
MPAA continues war on illicit online video, sues Cinematube, Ssupload
Cinematube and Ssupload are the two latest sites to be targeted by the MPAA. The organization accuses the two sites of enjoying "significant profits" due to piracy and wants them to be shut down.Read More...
EFF sues the DOJ for withholding records of telecom surveillance immunity lobbying
The EFF has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice demanding that the government agency fulfill the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act by processing a request for documentation pertaining to telecommunications industry lobbying efforts.Read More...
Two-timin' Intel pushes Classmate PC in China while courting OLPC
Denied a spot in the OLPC XO laptop's driver seat (at least for now), Intel is continuing to push its Classmate PC project in markets where it will complete against the OLPC XO. Next up, the Middle Kingdom.Read More...
Intellectual property laws abused in quest to shutdown Lowes-Sucks.com
Trademark and copyright laws are favored tools of corporate giants who wish to silence online critics, but such tactics often backfire, as they did in the case of one man. This time, "sorry" won't be enough.Read More...
Supreme Court agrees to take yet another patent case with tech implications
Can LG collect patent license revenues both from Intel and from companies that use Intel's products, or is this illegal double-dipping? The Supreme Court will weigh in.Read More...
Web apps: e-mail and games remain hot, office apps cool
The general computer-using public is happy to use web applications in place of software that they once used on the desktop, but e-mail and games are far more popular than online productivity apps. Many others are still concerned about security issues, too.Read More...
Judge quashes RIAA subpoenas in campus file-sharing case
In a first, a federal judge in Florida has quashed two RIAA subpoenas against students on technical grounds. Ars talks to the attorney who won the (temporary) victory.Read More...
FCC fines Comcast for fake news story
The FCC has fined a Comcast affiliate station for airing a video news releasea combination of fake news and infomercialwithout identifying it as advertising.Read More...
Toshiba taps Cell BE for video chip
Toshiba took the PS3's Cell BE, cut it in half, added some MPEG2 and H.264 hardware, and now plans to sell the result in the consumer electronics market. Read More...
Report: One-third of TV watching to be video-on-demand by 2012
The popularity of video-on-demand will increase steadily over the next five years, says information solutions company Pike & Fischer. The firm predicts that, by 2012, video-on-demand will occupy almost 40 percent of Americans' TV-viewing time.Read More...
Mark Twain's plans to compete with copyright "pirates" (in 1906)
More than 100 years ago, Mark Twain understood one very important thing: you have to compete with "free" because all things come to an end. Except, it would seem, the "pirates."Read More...
Mystery eBay 'hack' exposes 1,200 accounts, possibly more
A hacker posted a list of 1,200 eBay account names, along with credit card information, prompting eBay to contact the users and launch an investigation. It is not yet known how the compromise occurred.Read More...
US judge says two provisions of Patriot Act unconstitutional
A federal judge has ruled that two key provisions of the Patriot Act violate the Fourth Amendment's guarantees against unreasonable searches and seizures.Read More...
Slim is sexy: the new PSP-2000
The PSP-2000 is much lighter, slimmer, and features TV out. So why isn't it a more exciting product? We investigate. Read More...
Start 'em young: WIPO unveils children's copyright law workbook
A new educational project from the World Intellectual Property Organization attempts to explain copyright do's and don'ts to 9-14 year old kids, but surprisingly, it even addresses "the public domain" and "fair use."Read More...
Pro-business watchdog targets Google for enabling video piracy
Video piracy is getting a big boost from Google Video, according to the pro-business legal watchdog group National Legal and Policy Center.Read More...
Serious cross-site request forgery vulnerability found in Gmail
A new vulnerability found in Gmail makes it possible for a malicious web site to surreptitiously cause a Gmail user's e-mail to be redirected to another address.Read More...
Verizon flip-flops on censoring "unsavory" political group SMS messaging
Verizon Wireless found itself on the receiving end of public outrage after it decided not to allow a pro-choice group to use its mobile network to distribute opt-in SMS news alerts. Amid pressure, Verizon has folded.Read More...
Senate ponders Google-DoubleClick deal as report raises antitrust concerns
The Senate begins hearings today on whether Google's proposed merger with DoubleClick should be blocked or restricted, and a new report claims that the merger would raise real antitrust concerns.Read More...
Microsoft Live Search overhauled; quadrupled index size, results revamped
Microsoft says that it believes it can "now compete with Google" after the company completed its most significant update to Live Search since its debut more than 2 and a half years ago. Read More...
WiMAX backers positioning 802.16e as an alternative to municipal WiFi
At this week's WiMAX World show in Chicago, some of the buzz on the show floor was around municipal WiFi's trouble. WiMAX's backers think that 802.16e (also known as Mobile WiMAX) technology is a better option for wireless connectivity.Read More...
FCC commissioners: US in dire need of "national broadband strategy"
FCC Commissioners Copps and Adelstein told a Senate panel yesterday that the US desperately needs a national broadband strategy to keep from falling further in international rankings.Read More...