Gadgets Blog » Rumors

President Obama Offers Support for ACTA

Dan Evans — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:07:42 +0000

The expansion of the Internet has generated an evolving platform for which information can be exchanged. While this has revolutionized the ease of information access, there have been some strong negative consequences, especially for intellectual property rights. Illegal downloads and torrents have made acquiring digital property a breeze, but the legal stipulations remain complex and litigated.

One proposed solution, a multi-national pact known as the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, would offer forth a series of international standards on intellectual property rights. The agreement, which has been negotiated in depth since 2008, has been a source of controversy on an international scale. While supporters of the agreement cite the need for new standards of property rights in an increasingly digital distribution model, critics point to some highly dubious consequences that are present within the treaty.

According to an article on OS News, President Obama has recently offered a support for this agreement in a speech at the Export Import Bank’s annual conference in Washington:

“We’re going to aggressively protect our intellectual property,” Obama said in his speech, “Our single greatest asset is the innovation and the ingenuity and creativity of the American people [...] It is essential to our prosperity and it will only become more so in this century. But it’s only a competitive advantage if our companies know that someone else can’t just steal that idea and duplicate it with cheaper inputs and labor.”

The issues with the treaty are primarily speculative, yet the possibilities remain troubling for organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The negotiations, which have occurred at eight different summits in several international locations, remained secretive in nature, with minimal information on the discussions leaking to media sources. In the “Border Measures” portion of the ACTA, provisions were included for the search and seizure of electronic gadgets speculated to have illegally downloaded or “ripped” music, movies, and software.

Obama’s stance backs up existing intellectual property organizations such as the MPAA and RIAA, who have extensively lobbied the administration to support the agreement. While the organization began as an international effort, which added a level of gravity to the proposed measures, international support has slowly eroded. On March 10, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for transparency on forthcoming negotiations. It remains to be seen what the ultimate fate of the agreement will be, but the future of digital information is very much on the line.

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/stuant6

Hacker Hoax?

gadgets — Wed, 06 May 2009 23:17:39 +0000

I don’t know yet but if he’s for real, he’s a real jackass.

From the computer news world: ‘Hacker’ threatens to expose health data, demands $10M

Hacking a Virginia prescription database full of personal information and then demanding a $10 mil ransom for the info? C’MON!

First of all, who would want it? I don’t care if my co-worker uses eczema cream or my neighbor needs Zoloft. Chances are, if you take it, you need it and it’s much better for the rest of us. No Sale.

This guy has an answer for that though. As to who would want the data, “I’m bettin’ someone will. Hell, if I can’t move the prescription data at the very least I can find a buyer for the personal data,” says the ransom note, since the allegedly hacked info includes vital stats like Social Security numbers, et al.

Really? Really? The best way for this guy to show off his mad hacker skillz is to screw over his fellow man? Not that I’m condoning hacking or thievery or ransoming of any type, but he’s not hurting some faceless corporate conglomerate. If Virginia PMP doesn’t pay his crazy ransom, he’s threatening the individuals, possibly very ill individuals, who have enough problems without having their identities sold off to the highest bidder.

*Sigh* I’m just sayin’, use your powers for good instead of evil. Find a solution to world hunger, make anonymous donations to charities, or reroute traffic to eliminate gridlock and thereby minimize emissions and waste. See? So many opportunities to be a positive, productive member of society instead of a jackass. eesh!

Sources: Computerworld, Wikileaks, Lariaeditutti.org

Rumor: iPhone Purchases up to Five a Person

nick — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 21:16:13 +0000

If you’re willing to fork out some cash, a rumor floating around has said that the number of iPhones available to for purchase per person has gone up from three to five.

There hasn’t been any formal announcement, but according to an anonymous tip sent to Gizmodo, Apple will allow you to purchase up to five iPhones without giving you any hassle.

Source: Gizmodo

iTunes Movies Price to Go Up to $15?

nick — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:05:56 +0000

So rumor has it, Apple is going to hike their movie prices up to $15 in their iTunes Store in order to lure in more movie options and titles. And after taking a peek into iTunes a few minutes ago and seeing some titles priced at just that, the rumors appear to be true.

Although this price jump would still save people a few bucks from buying a DVD, which usually vary around $18 to $20 for a new DVD, it is a price raise nonetheless that consumers I’m sure won’t take a liking to.

According to a report by Pali Research analyst Richard Greenfield, Apple is raising the average selling price of the movies in the iTunes Store in a bid to gain extra support for their service.

Also, stores such as Walmart have threatened to reduce or end support for studios who sell their movies on iTunes because they heavily undercut their business and studios have been reluctant to sell their movies on iTunes because of this as well. So in an effort to lure more movies from studios such as 20th Century Fox, Apple is said to be raising their prices up a bit to try to make everyone happy.

To read the full article at Electronista, click here.

Xbox 360 Price to get Reduced?

nick — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 17:39:02 +0000

A day after the Playstation 3 dropped the prices on their consoles, a rumor floating around is saying that Microsoft might drop the prices of their Xbox 360.

According to the site Gamasutra.com, they say that Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter expects Microsoft to announce a price reduction to their gaming console either tonight at the E3 Media Summit or soon thereafter. He says to help compete with the newly reduced PS 3 and the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft will drop the price of their consoles $50-$70.

Now this is all speculation, so don’t get too excited, but the chances are good that they will drop their price since they did not meet their 12 million units shipped goal. With them already trailing second to the Wii and with the PS 3 more affordable, they almost have to drop their price if they want to keep their numbers moving up.

Stayed tuned and we’ll keep you updated if anything new happens.

Source: Gamasutra.com

AT&T Offering DSL for only $10?

nick — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 17:24:50 +0000

An article posted on MSNBC revealed to me that AT&T is offering DSL service for only $10 a month, cheaper than any other advertised plan.

AT&T is quietly offering the deal to customers in its 22-state service region and local phone service and a one year contract are required, although the modem is free.

The service provides download speeds of up to 768 kilobits per second and upload speeds of up to 128 kps. This matches the speeds of the cheapest AT&T plan, which is $19.95.

Read the full article here to find outÂ how to take advantage of this deal.

Nintendo to License Games for iPhone

nick — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 16:36:16 +0000

The iPhone is adding another feature to its resume that is going to set it above everyone else.

According to an article by Noheat.com, Nintendo is going to team up with Apple to license a limited amount of content and games for the phone. The games are going to be soldÂ at theÂ iTunes StoreÂ for about $29.00 and will be available a few months after the phone launches.

First Apple announced they were improving the screens to glass for better clarity and to make them more scratch resistant,Â and now they’re working on a deal with Nintendo. What else can they doÂ with this thing?

Photo courtesy of noheat.com.

Complain and Get $100 off from Apple

nick — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:06:48 +0000

I was reading The Consumerist this morning and I picked up on this new rumor.

It said that if you order over the phone to Apple and you complain that costs are just a little out of your budget, you may be able to get up to $100 off the purchase. Of course this is a rumor and I haven’t actually tried it, but if you happen to order over the phone, it doesn’t hurt to whine a little bit.

Let us know how it turns out.

Xbox 360 Price to be Cut Down to $200?

nick — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 23:25:10 +0000

I hope Microsoft isn’t playing with my emotions. I’ve been wanting a new gaming system for months, but can’t rack up that much dough.

But according to bloggingstocks.com, the core Xbox 360′s price is supposed to drop down to $199 to compete with the popular Nintendo Wii. Although Microsoft has done fairly well selling about 174,000 units, it only trails the Wii in sales. They think that by reducing the price to below the Wii, they can sell more units.

But as of today, it is still a rumor. Nothing has been written in stone, but keep a look out for price reductions and keep checking back here for updates.