Jul 22 -- Microsoft drops into social gaming from the cloud; Internet bill could help hackers,experts warn
Industry Spotlight
Katy Perry, Adele lead MTV Video Music Award nominations
July 21, 2011 – Washington Post (blog)
Google+ iPhone App Arrives, Offers Social Network to Go
July 21, 2011 – RollingStone.com (blog)
Microsoft Drops Into Social Gaming From the Cloud
July 21, 2011 – All Things Digital
How Amazon's Kindle is poised to revolutionize textbooks
July 20, 2011 – Fierce Mobile Content
Apple releases Lion-compatible iTunes and iWork updates
July 20, 2011 – CNET (blog)
Best Buy Exclusively Carrying AT&T’s Samsung Nexus S July 24th
July 21, 2011 – Phandroid.com
Slacker Radio Adds New Artist-Curated Stations with Sondre Lerch, Ida Maria
July 17, 2011 – Spacelab
Politics & Policy
I. Online Piracy and Music Licensing
Music labels bet on China search deal
Authored by Lee Simmons on July 21, 2011 - Bizmology
An agreement between three global music labels and China’s largest online search portal could open the floodgates to free music while stemming that country’s rampant digital piracy.
One-Stop China is the culmination of talks between Baidu, Universal Music, Warner Music, and Sony Music, and represents the first major stab at a legal online music distribution service in China outside of rival Google (the latter closed its Chinese search portal but still operates a music download service there). Labels had sued Baidu for providing deep links to users to connect directly to pirate sites. The agreement forces Baidu to eliminate such links from its searches and donate money to the anti-piracy fund of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
II. Intellectual Property Enforcement: The New Copyright Alert System
ISP Copyright Alerts: Your Questions Answered
Authored by Chloe Albanesius on July 15, 2011 - PC Magazine
News that a coalition of copyright holders and ISPs would jointly go after subscribers downloading illegal files created quite the controversy last week. Many were concerned that their ISPs would be snooping on their online activity, while others threatened to drops ISPs that signed on for the new alert system.
Many ISPs already provide warnings to users if sketchy behavior is detected, but the Copyright Alert System is intended as a standardized approach that most ISPs will use. PCMag worked up a "What You Need to Know" FAQ with the major inquiries, but we also asked readers to leave comments or tweet us with any other questions they might have. We tackle some of them below.
III. Protect IP Act (S. 968)
Internet Bill Could Help Hackers, Experts Warn
Authored by Sara Jerome on July 14, 2011 - National Journal
Legislation cracking down on rogue websites could inadvertently help hackers who have struck major corporate and government targets in recent weeks, a group of computer science experts said on Thursday.
“America is getting hacked,” security consultant Dan Kaminsky said at a Center for Democracy and Technology briefing. “On a deep architectural level, we have to fix this or our economy cannot work.”
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., introduced the PROTECT IP Act to crack down on websites that sell copyrighted and counterfeited materials, and it passed out of committee in May.
But Kaminsky and other Internet architecture experts object to a section that requires Internet service providers to use a controversial method known as domain name system filtering to direct traffic away from websites selling copyrighted or counterfeit materials.
IV. Data Security
House panel approves data breach notification bill
Authored by Brendan Sasso on July 20, 2011 - The Hill (blog)
Republicans pushed a data security bill through a House subcommittee Wednesday despite complaints from Democrats that the measure does not do enough to protect consumer privacy.
The Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade subcommittee approved the Secure and Fortify Electronic (SAFE) Data Act in a voice vote. The measure will now move to the full Energy and Commerce Committee for consideration.
The bill, sponsored by subcommittee Chairman Mary Bono Back (R-Calif.), would establish a national standard for when companies are required to notify consumers that their personal information has been hacked.