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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: P2P

P2P stories: 10 news summaries

New Software Can Delete Emails Permanently

Software scatters encryption keys among temporary BitTorrent nodes

(Newser) - Email is inherently insecure, because it has a long shelf-life—even deleted messages can be stored infinitely on the email service of the sender or recipient. Now a team of scientists is poised to unveil software later this month to make them disappear for keeps, reports the Economist. “Vanish”... More »

(Newser) - Under new ownership, the beleaguered file-sharing powerhouse Pirate Bay is going legit through an innovative payment model, the AP reports. The new system will involve user fees, but users can work those off—or even earn a profit—in part by sharing their computers' storage capacity with the Pirate Bay... More »

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file sharing website P2P The Pirate Bay

Comcast to Put Brakes on Bandwidth Hogs

ISP decides to slow down users rather than P2P programs after FCC scolding

(Newser) - Comcast plans to reduce Internet connection speeds for heavy users, Bloomberg reports. The company's "FairShare" system will slow users down for 10 to 20 minutes during peak periods. Comcast was recently scolded by the FCC for improperly blocking file-sharing programs like BitTorrent in an effort to manage Web traffic.... More »

Music Biz
Can't Dodge Piracy: Study

It's time to embrace 'incredibly popular' sites, say authors

(Newser) - Offering fans cheap online access to music doesn't make a dent in illegal downloads, a new study of Radiohead’s latest album shows. Although In Rainbows was released online for whatever fans wanted to pay, it was illegally downloaded millions of times, reports the Financial Times. The study advocates accepting... More »

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music industry piracy copyright Radiohead P2P illegal downloading In Rainbows

Opinion

FCC Member: Leave the Internet Alone

Engineers, not politicians, should solve tech problems

(Newser) - The latest crisis for the internet is the gridlock caused by bandwidth-clogging P2P software. But don’t worry, says FCC commissioner Robert McDowell. This has happened before. As far back as 1987, engineers have been solving the net’s bandwidth problems. It’s been a triumph of anti-regulation, and there’... More »

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Internet FCC net neutrality regulation P2P bandwidth

Woman May
Get New Trial
in File-Sharing Conviction

Judge says he gave faulty instructions

(Newser) - The judge who presided over America's first music file-sharing trial might call for a do-over, the AP reports. A Minnesota mom was penalized $222,000 for illegal dowloads last fall, but the judge has since discovered that he may have issued faulty jury instructions. That's because a 1993 ruling said... More »

Virgin May Try
'3 Strikes' for
File Sharers

Copyright holders pressure British ISPs
to unplug users

(Newser) - Virgin Media may become the second ISP to unplug users who share files illegally, the Register reports. The company is in talks with a UK record industry association over a  "three strikes" system, which would disconnect users who share copyright-infringing files after two warnings. "We are taking this... More »

(Newser) - Cable and Internet service giant Comcast is disrupting more than just BitTorrent traffic, reports Ars Technica. Tests by the Electronic Frontier Foundation show that Comcast customers using a growing list of apps may find their Net access slowed or denied. A Lotus Notes engineer, for example, discovered Notes emails sent... More »

Comcast Blocks P2P File-Sharing

Company doesn't admit it, but AP tests show file-sharing deliberately slowed

(Newser) - Comcast is deliberately preventing its customers from using file-sharing services like BitTorrent, eDonkey, and Gnutella, the AP reports. Thecountry's second-largest Internet service provider claims that it does not block "access" to P2P apps; that may be technically true. Tests by the AP showed that while downloads were unaffected, attempts... More »

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Comcast file sharing net neutrality BitTorrent P2P peer to peer eDonkey Gnutella

Snocap Cuts 60 Percent of Staff

Napster founder Shawn Fanning's music- licensing company
on the rocks

(Newser) - The fortunes of Snocap, the follow-up project of Napster founder Shawn Fanning, continue to wane: the company has laid off 60 percent of its workforce and appears to be for sale. A spokeswoman for the online music-licensing company says that Snocap "has received interest from several companies and is... More »

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music downloads Napster Shawn Fanning P2P

10 Stories