Month: September 2015

Ein System-on-a-Chip, zwei Hersteller: Apple lässt den A9-Prozessor des iPhone 6S bei Samsung und TSMC produzieren. Das 14FF-LPE-Verfahren der Südkoreaner erweist sich dabei als besser als der 16FF+ genannte Prozess der Taiwaner, zumindest bei der Chipfläche. (Prozessor, Smartphone)

The head of the recording industry's main trade group, the RIAA, says that the DMCA take-down regime is outdated and broken, and is no longer able to deal with the current state of music piracy.

And this inability to effectively fight piracy, the RIAA's Cary Sherman says, is why the perceived value of music has decreased, and why the industry has to accept "below-market rates" for music licensing.

Sherman made these claims in an op-ed in Forbes, responding to a recent column by Forbes's Hugh McIntyre about the dropping perceived value of music.

Apart from what Sherman calls a "value gap" caused by the current flawed licensing regime, used to good effect by services like Sirius XM and AM/FM radio, the problem, Sherman identifies, is with the industry's inability to fight piracy via the existing legal infrastructure. In particularly, Sherman criticizes the DMCA take-down process, which no longer works in today's environment.

"In exchange for a legal “safe harbor” from liability, online service providers must deal with instances of theft occurring on their site or network when notified,", Sherman writes. 

"Unfortunately, while the system worked when isolated incidents of infringement occurred on largely static web pages—as was the case when the law was passed in 1998—it is largely useless in the current world where illegal links that are taken down reappear instantaneously. The result is a never-ending game that is both costly and increasingly pointless."

Sherman blames online music distributors, such as Spotify, taking advantage of this situation by forcing the industry to accept "below-market deals", or face the full onslaught of piracy, which Sherman labels as a Hobson's choice.

In conclusion, Sherman calls for an update to the "antiquated law" to reflect and respond to "new technology and business models".

Windows 10 has gotten a lot of attention for bringing back the Start Menu, adding the Edge web browser and Cortana digital assistant to desktop Windows users, and introducing Continuum technology to automatically transition from desktop to tablet mode and back again on 2-in-1 notebook/tablet convertibles. But the operating system has also come under fire […]

Lilbits 308: Is Microsoft spying on you (a lot)? is a post from: Liliputing

Watch maker Fossil announced plans this summer to get into the smart watch space, and now Fossil is starting to show off its Fossil Q line of connected accessories. The Fossil Q line includes a smart connected bracelet, a connected watch without a digital display, a watch with a round face and Android Wear software. The company isn’t […]

Fossil Q Android Wear smartwatches coming soon is a post from: Liliputing

Next week Microsoft will probably unveil the Surface Pro 4. This week the company is selling the Surface Pro 3 for $100 or more off… and you can save even more money if you order from Woot instead of the Microsoft Store. The online retailer is selling a Surface Pro 3 with a Core i3 […]

Deals of the Day (9-28-2015) is a post from: Liliputing

Google may have a new Android tablet on the way, but it won’t be part of the Nexus family. According to Android Police, the next Google tablet will be called the Pixel C. Like a Google Chromebook Pixel, the tablet will be designed by Google and you won’t find the name of another manufacturer on […]

Report: Google Pixel C will be a premium 10 inch Android tablet is a post from: Liliputing

Die Grünen wollen den Ausbau mit Fiber-To-The-Home in Deutschland über einen Ausverkauf der Staatsanteile an der Telekom finanzieren. Das soll zehn Milliarden Euro einbringen. (Telekom, Verbraucherschutz)

Indien hat ein Observatorium ins All geschossen, das fünf Jahre lang ferne Sterne beobachten soll. Als Sekundärnutzlast transportierte die Trägerrakete Satelliten einer anderen prominenten Weltraumnation. (Raumfahrt, Satelliten)

Google’s set to unveil two new Nexus smartphones on September 29th, but a series of leaks haven’t left much to the imagination. There are two thing we haven’t seen yet though: the price and launch dates. Now the folks at Android Police have both. According to the website, the Google Nexus 5X will sell for […]

Reports: Google Nexus 5X priced $380, Nexus 6P starts at $500 is a post from: Liliputing

As promised, Silent Circle’s Blackphone 2 is now available to purchase. This second-generation privacy-centric device features a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 pixel display screen, a 64-bit processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, a 13MP rear camera, a 5MP front camera, a microSD card slot, quick charge support, and runs a special, extra secure version of […]

Silent Circle’s Privacy-friendly Blackphone 2 now on sale is a post from: Liliputing