combat

MasterCard, is willing to stop processing transactions from sites trafficking in pirated music, movies, games, and other digital copyrighted content.

Lobbyists working for MasterCard have told trade groups from the entertainment sector that the credit card company is supportive of The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, an antipiracy bill introduced into the Senate last September, sources with knowledge of the talks tell CNET.

Backed by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and committee member Sen. Orin Hatch (R-Utah), the bill would authorize the Department of Justice to shut down domain names of U.S.-based … Read more

Among those who favor less restrictive copyright laws, Google once possessed undeniable street-cred.

When it came to standing up for the right of Internet users to freely exchange information online, the perception was Google would hold the line. The search engine sparred over copyright issues with newspapers, book publishers, recording companies, and big Hollywood studios--even fending off a $1 billion copyright complaint filed against it by Viacom, parent company of MTV. As for enforcement, Google made its position clear: the job of policing the Web for pirated content belonged to copyright owners.

But yesterday, Google's position began to blur. … Read more

A proposed law allowing the government to pull the plug on Web sites accused of aiding piracy received a sizable political boost yesterday.

Dozens of the largest content companies, including video game maker Activision, media firms NBC Universal and Viacom, and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) endorsed the bill in a letter to the U.S. Senate. So did Major League Baseball and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The letter to Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill, said new laws are needed to curb access … Read more

When it comes to fighting online piracy, some music and film industry executives think Google could be doing more to help.

At a time when Google is negotiating with television, movie, and music producers for the recently launched GoogleTV and an upcoming digital music service, the company has been sending mixed messages about how much help it will provide in removing links to pirated songs from its search index.

Last month, executives from two music-industry trade groups, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), asked Google if it could provide a … Read more

If you've been checking out the most popular list at the iTunes App Store recently, you might have noticed that a new game has reached the top of the charts--even unseating the mega-popular Angry Birds. It's called Cut the Rope and it challenges you to feed candy to a hungry little monster named Om Nom by cutting various ropes to direct the candy to his waiting mouth. It's a little hard to describe here, so check out Rick Broida's coverage of Cut the Rope here.

Beating out Angry Birds at the top of the charts is no small feat (it's been sitting pretty there for months), so it got me thinking about what type of game reaches the top of the iTunes App Store.

It seems you must have polish--both games were obviously painstakingly produced. From the main characters down to the menus and even the design of the buttons, the whole experience captures the ambiance the developers are trying to convey making the game more immersive. Both games have extremely cute characters; each of the different birds are adorable in their anger, and the little green monster Om Nom couldn't be cuter when he opens wide for the candy. Both games have simple controls that can be played by anyone--this seems to be the biggest factor. Just about anyone from any age group can grasp the simple controls, but the games are still plenty challenging.

Finally, you need airtight audio, with little nuanced and silly additions like the muttering birds in Angry Birds, or the sigh of sadness when the candy misses Om Nom's mouth. Judging from these games' success, it seems as though the combination of these ingredients casts the widest net for capturing most iPhone gamers' hearts.

So what will the next big iPhone game be? My bet is \it will include all of these ingredients. You can be sure there are developers working right now to capture that perfect combination that makes a hit at the App Store. The only question is, what's the next big hit?

This week's apps include a cloud-synced to-do list manager and an excellent sequel to one of the best first-person shooters on the iPhone.… Read more

MadMaks is a promising robot-combat arcade game with chunky old-school graphics, fun controls, and a short solo campaign.

You start the game controlling a maneuverable but relatively wimpy tank--a "Frogamo Mak"--and you can opt for good accelerometer controls (tilting left and right to steer, and forward and back to move) or a somewhat clunkier virtual directional-pad. You change weapons and shoot using touch-screen buttons, as you travel across a 3D sandbox terrain, destroying and defending various targets (all as cute as your Mak, with similar cartoony eyes) to accomplish varying objectives over 10 unlockable levels. As you … Read more

As expected, a bill that would have given the U.S. Department of Justice increased ability to shut down sites it accused of illegal file sharing, won't be a law any time soon.

The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act proposes to give the DOJ the power to shut down Web sites "deemed" to be trafficking in pirated films, software, music, and other U.S. intellectual property. Attempts to rush the bill through the Senate before Congress adjourned for November elections were unsuccessful. The legislation simply ran out of time.

Supporters, who now must wait until after … Read more

Killing legislation that would enable the government to shut down Web sites accused of piracy was a top priority for many technology trade groups today.

Last week, a Senate committee stunned the tech sector by announcing it would try to fast-track a bill designed to grant the U.S. Department of Justice wide authority to combat illegal file sharing and counterfeiting.

The bill, which was introduced in the Senate Judiciary Committee and backed by the committee's chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), could go to a vote in the Senate as early as tomorrow.

Critics say the proposed legislation, known … Read more

Movie sequels almost universally suck, but video game sequels? More often than not, they improve on the original.

So it is with Top Gun 2 ($2.99), the unexpected but very welcome follow-up to last year's widely praised Top Gun. It's essentially the same game, but just plain better in nearly every respect.

As before, you pilot your jet from a chase-plane view, tilting the iPhone for decidedly arcade-style steering. Top Gun 2 is more like a racing game than a flight simulator, as you're effectively on a straight-line track in the sky the entire time.

But … Read more