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New P2P Battle is Heating Up

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the lobbying-for-tyranny dept.

Digital Dharma writes "News.com has an article about a new P2P war just getting underway in congress. With Senator Hollings retiring, the RIAA and MPAA have found suitable replacement hosts in three key members of the House of Representatives. Lamar Smith, R-Texas; Howard Berman, D-Calif; and John Conyers, D-Mich are taking up arms against P2P networks with a bizarre new bill that would require companies that create certain types of software such as web browsers, instant messaging clients and e-mail utilities to add a warning that it 'could create a security and privacy risk.' How this would deter P2P activity is a bit of a mystery. The article also talks about putting software company executives in jail for failing to correctly label said software, empowering the FBI to release anti-P2P propaganda and other typical RIAA/MPAA sponsored oddities." A network application can create a security risk? Best firewall off every port!

19 of 376 comments (clear)

  1. Come on! by Bendebecker · · Score: 2, Funny

    Whose going to buy Interent Explorer when it becomes correctly labeled. Woudl you buy an application labled as "utter shit"?

    --
    There's a growing sense that even if The Future comes,
    most of us won't be able to afford it.
    -- Lemmy
    1. Re:Come on! by trompete · · Score: 1, Funny

      The joke's on all of you who BOUGHT Internet Explorer. I just turned on my machine, and it was the default for everything...all for FREE. :)

      --
      More than enough BS
    2. Re:Come on! by zurab · · Score: 2, Funny
      Isn't it funny how whenever Microsoft builds something in, people complain about bundling or lack of modular design (and usually point out how the Unix way of having separate components for each part of a job is better), but when Microsoft does something the Unix way (e.g., the browser browses, and if you want pop-up blocking, get a pop-up blocker component), and the major Unix browsers do it the Microsoft way (incorporate the pop-up blocker into the browser), suddenly that is the right approach?


      In related news, Mircosoft announced today that it would be removing the "Back" button and all related functionality from its flagship web browser - Internet Explorer. This move is regarded to allow more competition in the "Back" button industry.

      "Customers want choices," said one senior VP at Microsoft who wished to remain anonymous, "we provide it to them. Having the ability to download, or write and compile your own "Back" button implementation is a major win for consumer choice and a major win for a revived, healthy competition in the browser, as well as the "Back" button market. We at Microsoft believe that we not only meeting our customers' demands and expectations, but constantly exceeding them."

      With hundreds of millions of consumers using a "Back" button tens of times daily, the "Back" button industry is believed to be a huge one. Many experts believe that such a move helps Microsoft score points with the U.S. Justice Department as well as the E.U. commission which is currently investigating Microsoft's monopolist practices in Europe.

      "We are glad to see Microsoft committing themselves to competition," said press release issued by John Ashcroft this morning, "we believe that they are a great American company, and its executives are true patriots who have voluntarily not only complied, but exceeded their contributions with regard to our court settlement."

      Meanwhile, some conspiracy theorists, hackers, unrecognized lobbyist groups, and underground organizations such as "slash"-"dot" are saying that is not what it appears to be. They argue that other browsers, especially what is called "open"-"source" have always allowed anyone to make such components and distribute them; they also say that Microsoft's moves will not increase any competition in the browser market, and Microsoft is still a monopolist.

      These views, however un-American and un-patriotic, are still allowed and tolerated because of free speech, however. "It's a wonderful country," said Donald Rumsfeld in a press conference, "Anybody is free to voice their opinion; it doesn't mean that we agree with it or even want to hear it, but we allow it."
  2. AHHHHH! SoM3On3 H4lp ME! by slothbait · · Score: 4, Funny

    I Am Currently Broadcasting An Internet IP Address!

    /me shoots computer

    1. Re:AHHHHH! SoM3On3 H4lp ME! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      <@Mike> OMG
      <@Mike> I just got a security alert
      <@Mike> MY COMPUTER IS BROADCASTING AN IP ADDRESS!!!!!!!
      <@Mike> OMFG
      <@Mike> what do I do?????????
      * @Mike clicks the helpful lil message
      <@Mike> oooh look. A purple monkey wants to sell me a firewall

      http://www.bash.org/?71953

  3. Damn them... by drblunt · · Score: 5, Funny
    Leave it to the government to pass a bill that has very little to do with the thing they're trying to stop.
    "People are violating copyright on the internet?"
    "Pass a law banning Collies and Yorkshire Terriers from public areas!"

    Stupid gits.

    --
    We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality.
  4. John Conyers? by bobintetley · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...and John Conyers...

    Have you seen this boy?

  5. The logic reminds me of.... by frodo+from+middle+ea · · Score: 5, Funny
    The logic of limiting technology and thereby curbing copyright infringment reminds me of ...

    And what else floats on water ?
    A Duck..."A DUCK!"
    "Exactly! Soooo . . . "
    " . . . If she weighs . . . as much as . . . a duck . . . "
    "Yes?"
    "Then she's made out of wood . . . "
    "And therefore . . . ?"
    " . . . . A WITCH!"
    "A WITCH!"
    "BURN THE WITCH!"
    "BURN HER!"
    "To the scales!"

    --
    for the last time people, I am "frodo from middle eaRTH", not "middle eaST".
    1. Re:The logic reminds me of.... by Timesprout · · Score: 4, Funny

      Funny you should mention ducks after this quote from SunnComm CEO Peter Jacobs

      "It wasn't about the Shift key...It had nothing to do with that. It had to do with reviewing a rabbit when we invented the duck and saying the rabbit didn't work right."

      God knows what he was talking about, never mind how he got to be CEO with nuggets of insight like that.

      --
      Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
      What truth?
      There is no dupe
  6. I believe by Sir+Haxalot · · Score: 2, Funny

    I believe it is our fate to be here. It is our destiny. I believe this night holds for each and every one of use, the very meaning of our lives. This is a war and we are soldiers. What if the Prophecy is true? What if tomorrow the war could be over, isn't that worth fighting for? Isn't that worth dying for?

    --
    I have over 70 freaks, do you?
  7. I've got a bill to propose myself by Loki_1929 · · Score: 4, Funny

    It would set 1,000-year mandatory jail sentences for members of congress who become pawns for multi-national mega-corps, spouting out ignorant and inflamatory propaganda to please their campaign-financing Masters.

    Anyone care to sponsor?

    --
    -- "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
  8. Re:ignorant politicians... by Dot.Com.CEO · · Score: 4, Funny
    Dear Sir,

    Your post immediately conjured, in my brain, the image of a world ruled by slashdotters. Suffice it to say I was scared to hell.

    You shall be hearing from my lawyers soon.

    --
    Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
  9. Flash back to.... by plopez · · Score: 4, Funny

    Reefer Madness! Stop the P2P insanity before your children become godless open source socialists! FIrst free music, then free love. Then, before you know it, they will be rejecting the corporate values that make our society great! The values of profit and greed! Anything for a buck, reality is what I say it is and to hell with the rest of the world! Just like God intended!

    (for those of you a little slow today and before I get accused of being flame bait, this is sort of a 'toungue in cheek' rant).

    --
    putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
  10. Re:Glad to see it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Maybe you should spend less time fucking around with your firewall and spend more time addressing the horrendous amount of spelling & grammar errors on your company website.

    Ass.

  11. Congress Critters by tds67 · · Score: 3, Funny
    Lamar Smith, R-Texas; Howard Berman, D-Calif; and John Conyers, D-Mich are taking up arms against P2P networks with a bizarre new bill that would require (software) companies...to add a warning that (their software) 'could create a security and privacy risk.'

    Let's post a similar warning in front of Capitol Hill.

  12. Re:And here are the Bribe numbers ! by corbettw · · Score: 2, Funny

    Right, 'cause when you lobby one, it's more like a lease than an outright purchase.

    --
    God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
  13. Re:So let me get this straight... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    stupidity increases the toxicity of carbon monoxide? Holy shit! I better get back to the books.

  14. Uh oh! by pair-a-noyd · · Score: 2, Funny

    this is scary stuff!
    Man, I'm going to block all my ports right now, starting with port eigh

    Error!
    No route to host on Port 80
    Connection timed out

  15. Re:Uh oh! MOD Parent Funny by Nom+du+Keyboard · · Score: 2, Funny
    MOD Parent Funny +1.

    ---

    (This is part of the new M3 Moderation system, for people who can't M or M2 Moderate.)

    --
    "It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."