Month: January 2024

Nachruf: Informatiker und Pascal-Erfinder Niklaus Wirth gestorben

Noch bevor es das Fach Informatik gab, hat der Schweizer Informatiker Niklaus Wirth Programmiersprachen und Compiler erstellt. Er blieb bis zum Ende wegweisender Praktiker. (Nachruf, Softwareentwicklung)

Noch bevor es das Fach Informatik gab, hat der Schweizer Informatiker Niklaus Wirth Programmiersprachen und Compiler erstellt. Er blieb bis zum Ende wegweisender Praktiker. (Nachruf, Softwareentwicklung)

Holo-Show: Elvis kommt als Hologramm zurück

Der King kommt nach London: Eine neue Hologramm-Show soll Elvis Presley lebensecht auferstehen lassen – andere Künstler haben mit dem Konzept Erfolg. (Audio/Video, Musik)

Der King kommt nach London: Eine neue Hologramm-Show soll Elvis Presley lebensecht auferstehen lassen - andere Künstler haben mit dem Konzept Erfolg. (Audio/Video, Musik)

Arbeitsrecht: Das kann doch die KI erledigen – oder?

Viele Devs nutzen KI als Hilfsmittel. Doch arbeitsrechtlich muss diese Hilfe Grenzen haben. Man lässt ja auch nicht seinen Bruder den eigenen Job machen. Ein Bericht von Maximilian Küstermann (Softwareentwicklung, Urheberrecht)

Viele Devs nutzen KI als Hilfsmittel. Doch arbeitsrechtlich muss diese Hilfe Grenzen haben. Man lässt ja auch nicht seinen Bruder den eigenen Job machen. Ein Bericht von Maximilian Küstermann (Softwareentwicklung, Urheberrecht)

Silenzio! ‘Anna’s Archive’ Shadow Library Blocked Following Publishers’ Complaint

Appearing in the wake of the Z-Library shutdown late 2022, shadow library ‘Anna’s Archive’ now bills itself as the “largest truly open library in human history.” A complaint filed in December 2023 by the Italian Publishers Association, which represents publishers of books, scientific journals, and digital content, paints a somewhat different picture. As a result, telecoms regulator AGCOM has issued immediate blocking instructions to ISPs.

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

anna's archiveOver the past decade, platforms including Sci-Hub, Libgen and Z-Library have broken through a sea of movie, TV show, music and similarly unlicensed platforms to take their own places on the piracy front lines.

In 2022, a platform called Pirate Library Mirror appeared on the scene, courting controversy right from the start after obtaining a full copy of Z-Library before the site’s legal troubles began.

“We deliberately violate the copyright law in most countries. This allows us to do something that legal entities cannot do: making sure books are mirrored far and wide,” the team behind ‘PiLiMi’ wrote.

In November 2022, PiLiMi team member ‘Anna Archivist’ founded ‘Anna’s Archive‘, a platform promising access to Z-Library and Libgen content from the same interface. Just over a year later, the site describes itself as the “largest truly open library in human history” mirroring Sci-Hub, Libgen, Z-Library, and other platforms, to offer 25.5 million books and 99.4 million papers for download.

90% of Italian Publishing Market Behind Complaint

Anna’s Archive is a relative newcomer to the world of online shadow libraries, but its impact has already ensured the inevitable. In common with its counterparts who are already blocked by ISPs in several countries, a year after its launch Anna’s Archive will receive the same treatment, starting in Italy.

On December 4, 2023, the Italian Publishers Association (AIE) filed a copyright complaint against Anna’s Archive. Founded in 1869, AIE represents publishers of books, scientific journals, and digital content; together, these companies control 90% of the local market. AIE’s complaint lists over 30 books, but the association stresses this represents just a sample of the content distributed by Anna’s Archive to which its members hold the rights.

A sample of books listed in the complaintAIE_Annas_Archive_Complaint_Dec_2023

“The site annas-archive.org calls itself a mirror of various ‘shadow libraries’ and claims to have over 25 million books and nearly 100 million scholarly articles, which it makes available by disseminating numerous links to each work. Unauthorized reproductions of works belonging to Italian publishers number several thousand,” the complaint reads.

Investigation Led to Ukraine

An investigation by Italy’s Digital Services Directorate verified that the content listed in the complaint was actually accessible from Anna’s Archive. In view of the facts, that led investigators to believe that this was probably a case of “serious and massive infringement.”

Official papers indicate that the operator of Anna’s Archive proved “unidentifiable” but with assistance from Cloudflare, Epinatura LLC – a hosting provider in Kiev, Ukraine – was identified as the likely host of at least some of the platform’s servers. Notifications were sent to various service providers warning that “spontaneous compliance” with a blocking request filed by the publishers was a potential outcome.

Decision: Site Must Be Blocked

With no counterclaims received from the contacted parties and having determined mass infringement on the site, an order to disable https://annas-archive.org through a DNS block was issued to Italian ISPs, to be completed in 48 hours. Visitors to the site are now greeted by the blocking page below in Italian. (translation on the right)

AGCOM_block_page_annas_archive

While Anna’s Archive operates alternative domains that aren’t specifically mentioned in the order (annas-archive.gs, annas-archive.se), the site faces perpetual blocking measures against “all future domain names of the same site.”

If the shadow library wishes to challenge the decision, it has until the middle of February to file a response before the Lazio Regional Administrative Court. All things considered, that seems unlikely.

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

Microsoft is adding a new key to PC keyboards for the first time since 1994

Copilot key will eventually be required in new PC keyboards, though not yet.

A rendering of Microsoft's Copilot key, as seen on a Surface-esque laptop keyboard.

Enlarge / A rendering of Microsoft's Copilot key, as seen on a Surface-esque laptop keyboard. (credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft pushed throughout 2023 to add generative AI capabilities to its software, even extending its new Copilot AI assistant to Windows 10 late last year. Now, those efforts to transform PCs at a software level is extending to the hardware: Microsoft is adding a dedicated Copilot key to PC keyboards, adjusting the standard Windows keyboard layout for the first time since the Windows key first appeared on its Natural Keyboard in 1994.

The Copilot key will, predictably, open up the Copilot generative AI assistant within Windows 10 and Windows 11. On an up-to-date Windows PC with Copilot enabled, you can currently do the same thing by pressing Windows + C. For PCs without Copilot enabled, including those that aren't signed into Microsoft accounts, the Copilot key will open Windows Search instead (though this is sort of redundant, since pressing the Windows key and then typing directly into the Start menu also activates the Search function).

A quick Microsoft demo video shows the Copilot key in between the cluster of arrow keys and the right Alt button, a place where many keyboards usually put a menu button, a right Ctrl key, another Windows key, or something similar. The exact positioning, and the key being replaced, may vary depending on the size and layout of the keyboard.

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