Month: April 2021

Easter-Egg-Erfinder Warren Robinett: “Wie ein Künstler sein Gemälde signiert”

1979 hat Warren Robinett das erste Easter Egg in einem Computerspiel untergebracht. Er protestierte damit gegen die damalige Praxis, die Namen von Gamedesignern nicht zu nennen. Ein Porträt von Elke Wittich (Games, Adventure)

1979 hat Warren Robinett das erste Easter Egg in einem Computerspiel untergebracht. Er protestierte damit gegen die damalige Praxis, die Namen von Gamedesignern nicht zu nennen. Ein Porträt von Elke Wittich (Games, Adventure)

Redeblumen vor Ostern und zu Ostern

Wir uns die Word-Spreader Spahn und Wieler vor den Feiertagen noch einmal Pandemie und Maßnahmen erklärt haben

Wir uns die Word-Spreader Spahn und Wieler vor den Feiertagen noch einmal Pandemie und Maßnahmen erklärt haben

MPA and RIAA’s Megaupload Lawsuits Are Postponed Again

A federal court in Virginia has granted Megaupload’s request to keep the civil lawsuits filed by music and movie companies on hold until October. With no movement in the criminal case, this standstill could last for many years. Kim Dotcom and his colleagues are still fighting a US extradition request, a battle that started nearly a decade ago.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

megauploadIn 2012, Google Glass was all the rage and Microsoft released its latest operating system, Windows 8.

It was also the year where Internet blackouts took place in protest against the SOPA copyright law. And a few days later, Megaupload was raided and effectively shut down.

Legal Battles Continue

To many people, these events are little more distant memories. However, for the key players involved, it’s still a central part of their lives. That’s also true for the Megaupload defendants.

The criminal case against Dotcom was billed as the largest copyright infringement case the U.S. Government had ever launched. It also turned into one of the longest criminal copyright battles in history.

No Progress

After nearly a decade, the Megaupload case has barely progressed. In New Zealand, lawyers have been very busy with the costly extradition proceedings against Dotcom, but it could be years before that battle ends. This means that the criminal lawsuit remains in limbo.

The same is true for the civil cases the RIAA and MPA filed back in 2014. Since the civil cases may influence the criminal proceedings, Megaupload’s legal team previously managed to put these cases on hold, and a few days ago they requested another extension.

RIAA and MPA Cases Remain On Hold

In line with other recent requests, the RIAA and MPA didn’t object. As a result, District Court Judge O’Grady swiftly agreed to issue yet another extension, putting the cases on hold until October.

o'grady 2021 order extension

Looking at the matter realistically, it will probably take many more years before these civil cases can finally get underway.

First, the extradition process has to be concluded. This matter recently went back to the Court of Appeal in New Zealand and given the legal complications, it could take a while before a final conclusion is reached there.

If the case eventually makes its way to the US criminal court system, that could take many years to resolve as well. If the RIAA and MPA cases have to wait that out, as is suggested now, October of this year seems a bit optimistic.

In essence, these bi-yearly extensions are merely a formality. If anything, it’s a painful reminder of a legal battle that, thus far, only has losers.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Daimler-CIO Jan Brecht: “Arroganz ist ein K.o.-Kriterium!”

Um mitzuhalten, müsse die deutsche Autoindustrie vor allem eines tun, sagt Daimler-CIO Brecht: Anders denken. Dazu sucht er gute Coder, die nicht arrogant sind. Ein Interview von Maja Hoock (Mercedes Benz, Interview)

Um mitzuhalten, müsse die deutsche Autoindustrie vor allem eines tun, sagt Daimler-CIO Brecht: Anders denken. Dazu sucht er gute Coder, die nicht arrogant sind. Ein Interview von Maja Hoock (Mercedes Benz, Interview)

Nicht ohne ihre Mütter

Wohin mit den Kindern und Eltern, die aus europäischen Ländern kommen und in den Lagern im Norden Syriens leben?

Wohin mit den Kindern und Eltern, die aus europäischen Ländern kommen und in den Lagern im Norden Syriens leben?

LG is shutting down its phone business

As expected, LG is exiting the mobile phones business. LG is one of the world’s largest consumer electronics companies, but the company has had a hard time competing with major players in the smartphone space like Samsung, Huawei and Apple. Whil…

As expected, LG is exiting the mobile phones business. LG is one of the world’s largest consumer electronics companies, but the company has had a hard time competing with major players in the smartphone space like Samsung, Huawei and Apple. While the company has made some of the most interesting smartphones in recent years, that […]

The post LG is shutting down its phone business appeared first on Liliputing.

Corona für die Kirche

In Köln kann man gerade kaum aus der Kirche austreten. Es gibt Terminstau beim Amtsgericht. Ist das rechtens?

In Köln kann man gerade kaum aus der Kirche austreten. Es gibt Terminstau beim Amtsgericht. Ist das rechtens?

Review: Sean Bean gives Snowpiercer a charismatic villain to stir the pot

With fictional world established, S2 is free to explore its complicated human dynamics

  • Snowpiercer was overtaken by the supply train Big Alice in the S1 finale. [credit: YouTube/TNT ]

The unexpected arrival of the presumed-dead Mr. Wilford throws a wrench into the revolutionaries' plans to reform governance aboard the train, in the second season of Snowpiercer, TNT's TV adaptation of the 2013 film of the same name, directed by Bong Joon-ho. Most of the talented ensemble cast members who made S1 so worth watching are back and as good as ever, but ultimately S2 belongs to Sean Bean, whose portrayal of Wilford gives the series the charismatic, larger-than-life (human) villain it needed to really raise the emotional stakes.

(Spoilers for S1 below. Major spoilers for the S2 finale below the second gallery. We'll give you a heads-up when we get there.)

As we've reported previously, TNT's series is set seven years after the climate catastrophe that produced the Freeze. Daveed Diggs (Hamilton, Blindspotting) plays Andre Layton, a prisoner at the tail end of the train (aka the "Tailies")—those without tickets for the train who managed to climb onboard at the last minute, before the train departed and left the rest of humanity to die. In S1, Layton gets caught up in a revolutionary struggle against the strictly imposed social hierarchy aboard Snowpiercer. The conditions in the tail are squalid and typical punishment for insubordination is having one's arm stuck through a portal into the cold outside until it freezes solid and shatters off. There's also a prison car to punish more serious infractions, whose occupants are kept in suspension in "the Drawers."

Read 15 remaining paragraphs | Comments