file-sharing

Study: File sharers spend more money on music

I know that many, especially those associated with making money out of music, feel that pirates who share files should be made to walk the plank to the rhythm of Fiona Apple's "Criminal."

However, a survey commissioned by the professional cogitators at Demos in the U.K., suggests that just because one might download illegally, it doesn't mean one never spends money on music.

Indeed, according to the Independent, this survey, performed by the omeletteheads at Ipsos MORI, showed that those who share files spend 75 percent more on music than those who have allegedly clean … Read more

File sharing's mysteries again stump Uncle Sam

The accidental disclosure of a House ethics investigation has kicked up quite a fuss on Capitol Hill as it turns out that more than 30 congressman and aides are under investigation. But after committee chairman Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) disclosed the breach on the House floor late Thursday, her colleague, Rep. Jo Bonner (Ala.), who is the committee's ranking Republican, spoke next, telling fellow members that the breach was an isolated incident.

Not exactly.

In February, a company that monitors P2P networks said that it had found blueprints and avionics about the president's helicopter, Marine One, on a computer … Read more

Q&A: A front-row seat for media's meltdown

During a visit to Hollywood last week, I wanted to talk to people who knew a thing or two about the film industry's burgeoning meltdown. One of the people I sought out was Eric Garland, CEO and co-founder of Big Champagne.

Beverly Hills, Calif.,-based Big Champagne has collected data on file sharing and sold it to media companies for almost 10 years. Garland's company has survived all that time, even while making the same sad pitch. He tells the music labels and film studios they are going to be chopped down at the knees by the Internet … Read more

Shakira says file sharing is just fine

Latinas sometimes have a way of explaining to you in short, telling words just how things stand.

So it is something of a bracing breeze in the desert to hear Shakira, the rather wily Colombian singer, declare herself to be in favor of file sharing.

If you've ever seen Shakira perform, as she did very recently on "Dancing with the Stars," you'll know that she is the kind of woman who would be rather upset if she didn't make your body move and your mind slip a little from its normal axis.

So please try … Read more

Dropbox for the iPhone: 1,000 documents in your pocket

Dropbox was one of the companies that I was shocked to see didn't have an iPhone app when the App Store launched last summer. The service seems like it would mesh perfectly with the iPhone. After all, one of Dropbox's competitors, Soonr, launched its iPhone sync app in January. Unfortunately, Dropbox was MIA from our favorite mobile device for a long time. However, on Tuesday Dropbox released version 1.0 of its iPhone app. So, how does it stack up? Is it worth the wait?

This iPhone app is a great addition to Dropbox's offering. If you … Read more

U.K. government eyes sanctions for file sharers

The U.K. government has made new proposals that would see Internet users disconnected if they are suspected of illicit file-sharing.

The proposals (PDF) were announced on Tuesday by Lord Mandelson's Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). They arrive in the middle of the department's own public consultation on legislation on the misuse of peer-to-peer (P2P) technology, which is scheduled to end in September.

"Our thinking on the process supporting the objectives and the obligations [of the consultation] has developed, and we thought it would be helpful to share these thoughts with stakeholders at this point, … Read more

BU student found liable in music-swapping case

A federal judge ruled late Thursday that Joel Tenenbaum, a 25-year-old Boston University graduate student, has violated copyright infringement laws by illegally downloading and sharing music on the Internet.

Tenenbaum could end up owing the recording industry millions of dollars in damages for swapping music online. The jury is considering monetary damages on Friday. The question the jury must consider in assessing the damages is whether his infringement was willful. This will help determine how much in damages should be awarded to the four recording labels that sued him over the illegal file sharing.

The music studios are entitled to $… Read more

Congress: File sharing leaks sensitive data

Sensitive files like Secret Service safehouse locations, military rosters, and IRS tax returns can still be found on file-sharing networks, according to a report to a U.S. House of Representatives committee on Wednesday.

In many cases, that's because federal government employees or contractors installed peer-to-peer software on their computers without paying attention to which documents would be shared, Robert Boback, the chief executive of Tiversa, told the panel.

Boback said his company found the Secret Service's evacuation plans for the first lady and motorcade routes. (See an interview with Tiversa about Marine One documents found on a … Read more

Sync contacts and calendars between Outlook, Gmail, and iPhone

Last February, I described losing half my iPhone contacts after an iTunes sync. Even though I tried the Filadex Web-based contact manager, I don't like the fact that the information is stored unencrypted on Web servers.

More importantly, my iPhone always has my most up-to-date telephone and address contact list, while Gmail knows more about my e-mail correspondents than the iPhone does, and Google Calendar is my primary scheduler. Just to complicate matters, I spend most of my workdays (and some weekends, unfortunately) in Outlook.

I need to export my Google Calendar and Gmail addresses to Outlook and my … Read more