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On April 20, 2004, President Bush said, “Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires — a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we’re talking about chasing down terrorists, we’re talking about getting a court order before we do so. It’s important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution.”

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Earlier this week, Bill Gates gave the Keynote Address at CES. In an effort to gear people up for the gadget wizardry they were about to experience on the show floor, Bill touted the revolutionary new features of the upcoming Windows Vista. Baring any further setbacks, Vista is scheduled to be released near the end of 2006.

Any Mac users who watched the Keynote were likely unimpressed. This must have been the case with the user who created the following video. Is Vista unique in all of its first of a kind features? You decide.

(The audio comes from Microsoft’s keynote speech. But in place of the video from the Windows Vista demo, the prankster has substituted footage of Mac OS X’s equivalent features.)

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Het openbaar ministerie in Roermond gaat de 27-jarige vrouw en 18-jarige man uit Stramproy, die op de website Marktplaats tientallen mensen hebben opgelicht, niet strafrechtelijk vervolgen. Slachtoffers is schriftelijk te verstaan gegeven dat ze zelf een civielrechtelijk procedure tegen het duo moeten beginnen om hun geld terug te vorderen.

In de brief verwijst officier van justitie F. Hilhorst naar een gebrek aan mankracht bij de politie. ,,Ik heb besloten geen nader onderzoek in te stellen. Gelet op de capaciteit is het niet doenlijk altijd en overal met politie-inzet op te reageren. Er zullen keuzes gemaakt moeten worden.”

Tja. De heren hadden kennelijk andere prioriteiten.

Aargh!

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A judge Friday tentatively approved a proposed settlement of lawsuits against Sony BMG Music Entertainment that would give millions of consumers free music downloads to compensate them for flawed software on CDs.

U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald gave her approval after a hearing in which lawyers explained the deal that requires the world’s second-largest music label to stop manufacturing compact discs software that can leave computers vulnerable to hackers.

The settlement pertained to lawsuits alleging that the vulnerabilities were created by MediaMax software or with extended copy protection or XCP software.

According to terms of the settlement, Sony BMG will let consumers who bought the CDs receive replacement discs without the anti-piracy technology and will let them choose one of two incentive packages.

The first package lets consumers who bought XCP CDs to obtain a cash payment of $7.50 and a promotion code allowing them to download one additional album from a list of more than 200 titles.

The second package permits them to download three additional albums from the list. The court papers said Sony BMG would try to offer Apple Computer Inc.’s iTunes as one of the download services available to the consumers.

$7.50 + 1 album, or 3 albums.

Value of a full-length album according to Sony: $3.75, but if you download that same album without their approval, they’ll sue for thousands.

And why do we continually let wrong-doing companies settle lawsuits by giving away advertising?

I strongly suggest you take them to small claims court, if you bought one of their CD’s…

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I think my CD drive was seriously damaged by the XCP or MediaMax software. Do I have to give up my claims against Sony BMG for this injury?

No. The settlement does not release claims for:

* damage to a computer or network resulting from interactions between the XCP Software or the MediaMax Software and your computer (e.g., damage to your hard drive);
* damage related to your reasonable efforts to remove the XCP Software or the MediaMax Software; or
* copyright, trademark or other claims arising from the development of the MediaMax Software or the XCP Software, or any uninstallers or updates thereto.

You may still sue Sony BMG for any such claims, whether or not you choose to take advantage of the settlement benefits. As part of the settlement process, Sony BMG agreed to waive its unconscionable New York forum selection clause and $5 limit on damages, so you can take them to your local small claims court for your damages. EFF will be developing a web page explaining how to use the small claims process to bring a lawsuit against Sony BMG.