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Google just won a judgement on variations of Google spelling in domain names. After a few thousand new domains get registered, watch for Moby to go after everyone.

Does DNS technically support null-string domains?

Just wondering if they'd just let someone specific register .mobi

"Expression and interpretation are impossible to obtain out of a computer (and always will be, i feel)."

"Imagine going to a concert where a guy is playing his keyboard on stage emulating the sound of a great symphony orchestra. I hope that music never reaches such a low.

IMHO that is a somewhat narrow minded view of musical experssion. Performances not unlike the one you speak of occur everyday and whether you particular care for the style, to say that artists like Moby or Amon Tobin lack "Expression" would not be very accurate.

Similar things were said about electric instruments when they first made their appearance and many a great classical genius was shunned by their contemporaries because they did not conform to current ideals of "musical expression". Electronica expands the number of ways in which an artist CAN express him/herself and this can be nothing but a good thing....we must step outside of the box and ask ourselves:

"What kind of "noise" would Beethoven be making were he born today?"

There is a very good chance it would not be classical.

Right, but nobody at the company remembers him or has any record of him, so that can't be taken as evidence. Google searches yield nothing, and Moby has never heard of him. For a computer consultant, he keeps a very low profile.

While game concepts can't be patented, games can be copyrighted. Think "K.C. Munchkin." Overly derivitave games can and will be shot down in court. But does Gallager have a case? Grand Theft Auto, a sprite-based top-down shooter, looked like most of the other games out there at the time. The artistic style was nice, but it was a straight rip of any number of 16 bit racing games. The "plot" was a laughable joke, mostly "answer phone, assassinate somebody, answer phone, steal a car." Games about crime had been done before, though none made the same cultural splash. Really, the thing that would make or break this case is if the unique mechanic of car jacking was in Gallager's game... but as nobody seems to have seen it, we simply won't know until it goes before a judge.

While I don't necessarily like his music (I really don't), Moby definitely knows what he's talking about. He posted a really interesting write up on his thought about changing the music industry. He makes some excellent points, and I think it's high time the industry starts looking to change rather than hanging on to their obsolete business model.

"Let's say I steal a $500 stereo. The government might spend $10,000 investigating my crime and imprisoning me. By your argument, "the authorities and lawmakers" would be better off leaving me alone. "

first off, that's NOT what he's talking about. If I read his post correctly, he's talking about collateral damage. It'd be more like if there was a criminal in the house next door to yours, and the government bulldozing your house to erect a barrier around the criminal. Damage was done to others in the name of the investigation by the government. This is a problem. We haven't even gotten into what the investigation itself cost...

" You disgust me. IT'S A CRIME. While you may look at it as a fairly innocent, no harm done crime, it is the law that distributing copyrighted material without the owners permission is illegal. We don't get to choose which laws we obey. Before getting a warrant, police don't think 'I wonder what the negative consequences of this warrant will be?" They think "Someone is breaking the law. I should stop them.'"

Have you looked at the music industry much? Popular musicians have albums go platinum and the industry, selling CDs for $17.95 each, says that the album isn't profitable and barely pays the musician anything. It's to the point that musicians like Moby are going on to talkshows on NPR and telling people that he'd rather them 'steal' his music and listen to it if they aren't going to pay the RIAA for it, rather than it go unheard. Others have come out and directly asked where the money is that the RIAA has asked Congress for regarding pirate-able media taxes, since the artists themselves haven't seen a dime from it, yet the RIAA said it was for the artists' benefit. The entire system is screwed to a pooch, and if the music industry in general isn't willing to adapt itself to meet new demands or new paradigms, it should die.

If you want to compenate a musician for their contribution to society, attend a concert of theirs, or send them a check for $20 or something as gratuity. Don't pay the RIAA any more for their stupid practices.

It's great that you've embraced the Web and have your own website. But it's even better that you have a weblog.

Weblogs, by their nature, are meant to be updated all the time. And while your articles and books are great there's something special when a celebrity such as yourself (and others, like the singer Moby and the actor Wil Wheaton), is willing to take on a project that really allows the fan to see you as one of us; as if we're holding a conversation.

Thus, do you recommend to your other high-profile friends, such as Rock Bottom Remainders band-mate Stephen King, to start a weblog instead of the rarely updated-type website?

Right, so this story is currently in the midst of being played out by YOURS TRULY.

Thanks to everyone's FAVOURITE media monopoly, ClearChannel, which is the OWNER of TM, I and a friend were EACH screwed out of $40 because of our dietary restrictions due to our religious/ethical beliefs. Just for the record, I keep Kosher & my friend is a vegan, just like the HEADLINER of the Area2 concert, Moby. We wanted to see the Area2, obviously.

We bought tickets over the web to the Area2 concert when it rolled into Philly. Before purchase there was NO indication of what restrictions would be placed on our tickets. Of course, AFTER we had paid, and our tickets printed on our printer, did we see all the fine print on the ticket that said, "subject to venue rules" or somesuch.

Ok. Fine. We check the website for the venue, the Tweeter Center in Camden, NJ (btw, ALSO owned [or is that 0WN3D?] by ClearChannel), and it seems like we'd be allowed a backpack & a small amount of our own food. Of course, when we GET THERE, they inform us that we cannot bring our own food in. We are REFUSED ENTRY due to our religious beliefs. I and my friend cannot eat the food they have there, and it its a 6 hour+ show. Oh, I also forgot to mention the fact that they were only allowing ONE bottle of water per person. This was on quite possibly the HOTTEST day of the year in a venue that has NO shade.

So, to sum up, I (and my friend) were REFUSED ADMITTANCE based upon our religious beliefs, not to mention the fact that apparently, ClearChannel wants to KILL all of their customers through dehydration. They refuse to refund the ticket price, claiming "all sales are final." However, they did NOT divulge the terms of purchase until AFTER the purchase had been made, and then even CHANGED terms on us!

If that's not a tangible example of someone being harmed by CC's evil monopolistic behavior, I don't know what is.

Here's an entry from Moby's journal where he claims that bands with technically savvy audiences don't do well in the charts because their fans rip & burn their CDs. I guess he's a little bitter about '18' not doing as well as 'Play'.

My $.02: I listened to '18' on MP3 with full intention of buying the album if I like it (I did this with Play), and I just didn't like it. IMHO, it sounded lik 'Play' warmed over, and didn't do much for me. So I didn't buy it, and I deleted the MP3s.

I can't believe this FUD came from Moby. I can't believe he had this thought and then sat down at his computer and then typed his thought out and then sent his thought to his website.

Eh, he says a lot of stuff in his journal. Myself, I read it for the gratuitous Simpsons references.

I can't believe this FUD came from Moby. I can't believe he had this thought and then sat down at his computer and then typed his thought out and then sent his thought to his website.

Eh, he says a lot of stuff in his journal. Myself, I read it for the gratuitous Simpsons references.

Interesting guy.

Here's a recent quote from Moby's Journalabout .nz (cut/paste)

today i had a quasi-day off in new zealand. and what better place to have a quasi-day off than the most beautiful country in the world? i'm almost afraid to tell people how beautiful new zealand is. cos then everyone will come here and possibly tarnish it's beauty. but new zealand is almost unspeakably beautiful. today we went to piha beach and karekare beach. karekare beach is where they shot 'the piano'. but thankfully the beach is pure and unsullied by harvey keitels naked butt. new zealand is like a time-capsule from 200 million years ago. if you've been here and walked around the new zealand rain forest you will understand what i mean. i've been to a lot of amazing places in my life, but new zealand is the most remarkable out of all of them. well, in its category. the american southwest is quite remarkable. but it's arid. new zealand is wet and fecund in the extreme. if i sound like a simpleton it's cos i've spent the day at these beautiful beaches and now it's kind of late and i'm very sleepy. so forgive my simpleton-ness. someday i hope to come back to new zealand as a simple tourist. i'm sure that i could give myself a month to roam around new zealand and never get bored. what a beautiful place. standing on the beach with the wind and sand in my face while looking out over the waves is probably the closest i'll ever come to feeling timeless and immortal. moby

Here's Moby's original journal entry that started it all.

you guys should at least read what the guy had to say before attacking.