The FBI on Wednesday arrested a Los Angeles-area blogger on suspicion of violating federal copyright laws after he allegedly streamed tracks of the unreleased Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy on his Web site.
Kevin Cogill, 27, caused quite a stir earlier this summer when he allegedly began streaming nine songs from the album, which has been 15 years in the making, on his blog Antiquiet. The traffic crashed his site almost immediately, and shortly afterward the songs were removed at the band's request. But users who recorded the streams quickly made the songs available on file-sharing sites. It's unknown how Cogill allegedly acquired the material.
The FBI began investigating the incident in late June, and earlier this week Cogill posted a plea for legal help on his blog, writing that, "more and more each day, it looks like I may be indicted."
The Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005 makes the sharing of pre-release copyright material a felony punishable by up to three years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. According to his arrest affidavit, Cogill admitted to posting the songs, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Cogill was due to appear in the Los Angeles District Court Wednesday afternoon.
UPDATE: According to a post on Antiquiet, Cogill was released under a $10,000 signature bond and is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on September 17.
(Credit:
Aerielle)
Wireless music sharing isn't a new concept--just take a look at the Microsoft Zune, which lets you beam songs to other Zune owners with the press of a button. The problem with the Zune is that everyone you want to share with must have that specific brand of MP3 player.
Aerielle is offering a different take on music sharing with the i2i Stream, a device that connects to any MP3 player and headphones. Each i2i Stream acts as a transmitter and receiver, allowing the user to either broadcast music or tune in to others' "stations"--and either one is extremely easy to do. No doubt, the concept isn't for everyone, but for those who like to rock out in groups, it's a great solution.
Aerielle sells a pair of i2i Streams for $99.95, so you'll always know someone who has one, but the price needs to come down quite a bit before we'll consider it a value. Read the i2i Stream review.
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Broadband Media)
Could a teenage girl undo what Microsoft hoped would be the Zune's iPod-killing feature?
Microsoft has long hoped that its MP3 player's wireless music-sharing abilities would help it gain precious ground on Apple's market leader, though that notion has hardly yielded any magic bullets. And now Kristyn Heath, a 16-year-old from the San Francisco Bay Area, has reportedly come up with the concept behind a device called "SnoopTunes" that lets iPods beam their music as well.
Moreover, unlike the Zune, "this one doesn't limit you to three days or three plays," according to Mobile Magazine. The $60 device--which itself looks something like a silver bullet, ironically--was engineered by the teenager's father at her behest. It's being sold on eBay and marketed on MySpace.
We can't help but wonder how Steve Ballmer & Company would have reacted upon hearing about SnoopTunes, though the words "insult" and "injury" come to mind. In any case, we suspect that Kristyn would be a slam dunk for an internship in either Redmond or Cupertino, if not a permanent position. But she's probably too smart for that.
(Credit:
Konami)
If music-sharing Zunes are getting off to a slow start in the United States, they may face an even tougher go of it in Japan because of some unlikely competition: a digital pet.
The "Otoizm," which Tokyomango says is like a Tamagotchi but less needy, can beam an infrared signal to find others of its kind nearby and "determines whether you'd be a good match with another based on similar tastes in music."
And if you can't find a new friend that way, Konami's Otoizm will keep you company as it evolves from "petitizm" to older stages the more you listen to music, growing faster depending on your sense of rhythm. Or you could just stay home a rent a movie.
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