Apple Offers Extra Features

Apple users may be happy to hear the latest offer from Apple. Apple has offered its iPod and iPhone users to give downloading opportunity for music with some extra features, along with interactive booklets, sleeve notes and many other interactive features. However, huge amounts of digital music are being still bought from the Apple web site; and still individual tracks are being preferred over the high-margin albums.

The company is currently working with some major record companies in order to introduce their latest music marketing strategy in September. They work to invigorate curiosity in albums by collecting liner notes and some video footage with the music. This interactive album material may include photos, liner notes and lyric sheets.

Will Advance A.I. Research be Danger to Human?

Who doesn’t like Sci-fi movie? Its fun, things are always appears un-expertly and lot of cool gadgets. But what happens when this sci-fi movie comes to real life?

Okay, don’t raise your eyebrow that high, it didn’t come to real life, not yet. Some of the scientists at the Asilomer Conference, which was held earlier this year, were debating and arguing that, an advance A.I. can become danger to human race. Well, it would have been okay, assuming that some scientists are just talking crazy or they want to make the headline but the dark cloud headline of New York Time saying “Scientists Worry Machine May Outsmart Man” made the case real serious.

Asilomer is actually the host of groundbreaking conference of genetic s and biology since 1975. The conference which was held in February this year, the scientists debated limits research on A.I, similar to their colleagues in genetics and biotechnology have done already with stems cells.

The actual thought of the problem is, the same problem that happens in the movie such as Terminator, Eagle Eye, I Robot and so on. An advanced A.I system becomes smarter than human and take over the control. This is exactly what the scientists are saying. According to these scientists, an advanced A.I system, which probably will work without any human interface can gain knowledge on its own and it will become smarter then human being.

However, others are not that serious about the matter as they are giving the example of the RQ-4 Global Hawk. It is able to take off or land on its own, fly on its own but still its needs someone to refuel it. Looks like we are safe as long as it’s doesn’t refuel it self.

It’s pretty much sure that the topic kind of shook everyone, and the one thing is been pointed out is to be cautious. All we can do is wait to see what’s coming.

Pirate Bay site is Back in Legal Form

Peer-to-peer download site Kazaa and Pirate Bay are back in legal form, with new subscription model. Kazaa was shut down by $150m lawsuit back in 2006, is now back as an unlimited download service with a fixed-rate monthly subscription rate.

The Pirate Bay also returned with the similar model and their new outline say “give and take”. However, the Swedish Software firm that owns the Pirate bay said that, the service would be free for majority user.

Both Kazaa and The Pirate Bay are following the example which was set by Napster, the subject of several lawsuits that eventually shut down and bankrupted the service.

The Subscription Fee
Kazaa is expected to launch this week in US with their new monthly subscribing service. For unlimited download, it will cost you $20 per month.
The Pirate Bay was once the largest illegal download site in the web was assumed by a Swedish firm named Global Gaming Factory X after the original owner was found guilty violating copyright law. Last week they hired Wayne Rosso, who is a former president of P2P site Grokster and founder of P2P site Mashboxx to help refine the new business model and strike deal. The new Pirate Bay is expected to launch in August. The firm is now developing plans a monthly charge to use the service.

The fee would be reduce if the user allows sharing their own documents or allows the service to use the storage space on their computer.

Twitter Security Breach

Email account of Twitter’s executive and employees were hacked by a French hacker. The hacker is leaking the personal information to TechCrunch, a popular and respectable technology blog in Silicon Valley and Korben, a French blog.

The most amazing part is, the hacker simply guessed the password of email account and then gained the access of several Gmail account, Google Docs, Pay Pal and other services.
TechCrunch received 1compressed zip files of 310 confidential documents like

• Complete lists of Twitter employees and their salary information.
• Food preferences of Twitter employees.
• Confidential contract with other companies such as Nokia, Samsung, Dell, AOL, Microsoft and other.
• A contact lists of notable Web and Entertainment personalities.
• Meeting reports.
• Applicant resumes.

The 310 documents received by TechCrunch, they posted the information about Twitter’s financial projections and products. However, TechCrunch editor and founder Michael Arrington wrote,

There is clearly an ethical line here that we don’t want to cross, and the vast majority of these documents aren’t going to be published, at least by us.

He also added that,

But a few of the documents have so much news value that we think it’s appropriate to publish them,

According to BBC news, Twitter is now taking legal advice about the matter. Twitter’s co-founder Biz Stone said,

We are in touch with our legal counsel about what this theft means for Twitter, the hacker and anyone who accepts…or publishes these stolen documents,

He also mentioned in a blog posting

About a month ago, an administrative employee here at Twitter was targeted and her personal email account was hacked. From the personal account, we believe the hacker was able to gain information which allowed access to this employee’s Google Apps account which contained Docs, Calendars and other Google Apps Twitter relies on for sharing notes, spreadsheets, ideas, financial details and more within the company.

The lesson Twitter should learn
Jason Goldman, currently the director of product management of Twitter mentioned that simplicity of Yahoo’s password can let a hacker in and gain information from other sites. The bottom line is the excessive interconnectedness of social web sites like Facebook, with the likes of email contact importing and data-portability, a simple hacker can gain access to multiple accounts by simply accessing in to just one.

Internet Villain of the Year 2009

Stephen Conroy has been selected the Internet Villain of the Year 2009 at the 11th   annual British Internet Industry Awards for his Internet Censorship Plans (ICP). Conroy is Minister for Broadband, Communications & the Digital Economy in Australia.

The award recognizes persons or organizations, which may make obstacle for the development or disappointed or upset the Internet industry. The award goes to them that the industry loves to hate.

The Minster was awarded as the Internet Villain ‘For continuing to promote network-level blocking despite significant national and international opposition’. He is the supporter of world’s most ambitious ICP. 46 years old Conroy got tough contest in the segment from French President Nicolas Sarkozy; the European Parliament, Barnoness Shriti Vadera, and Baroness Vadera.

Conroy has got rigorous criticism for his ICP from

• Internet Service Providers
• Network Administrators
• Children’s Welfare Groups
• Liberal Party
• Greens

Conroy’s censorship plans has been extended to much broader range of material such as sites depicting drug use, cruelty, crime, sex, and violence. Initially, promoted is as a way to keep youngsters from child pornography.