Friday, June 23, 2006

Net neutrality lobbying intensifies. (InfoWorld) - Advocates on both sides of a debate in the U.S. Congress over net neutrality pumped up their lobbying efforts late this week, even as a Senate committee delayed acting on the issue. The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, scheduled Thursday to consider amendments to a 150-plus-page broadband bill, met for about two hours before adjourning to allow senators to vote on other legislation. The committee got through about 10 of the more than 210 amendments proposed for the broadband bill before committee Chairman Ted Stevens, an Alaska Republican, rescheduled the hearing for 10 a.m. Tuesday. [ See also: Net neutrality face-off on NPR ] The delay allows tech companies and consumer groups pushing for Congress to prohibit broadband providers from blocking or impairing competing Web content to continue their efforts to strengthen net neutrality provisions in the bill. The committee on Thursday did not address net neutrality and the bill's broadcast flag provision, which would require the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to create a technology plan for protecting online video and audio files. Entertainment companies have pushed for broadcast flag rules, saying Congress should protect their copyrights. But some consumer and technology groups have protested the provision, saying it would restrict legal consumer uses of video and audio files. But most of the debate over the bill centers around net neutrality. The latest version of the bill, sponsored by Stevens, would allow broadband customers to run Internet applications of their choosing, but it doesn't prohibit broadband providers from giving their own services preference over competing services. An earlier version of the bill only instructed the FCC to make annual reports to Congress on the free flow of Internet information. A bill passed by the House this month would allow the FCC to investigate content-blocking complaints after the fact. Both the House and the Senate bills would streamline franchising requirements for telecom companies rolling out television-over-Internet Protocol services in competition with cable TV. Broadband providers such as AT&T Inc. say they have no plans to block competing Web content, but they want to be able to explore new business plans that allow them to charge new fees to give some Web content priority routing across the Internet. Net neutrality backers have protested that such a plan would create a two-tiered network, with content from broadband providers and their partners in a fast lane and everyone else in a slow lane. This week, Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, recorded a video in support of a net neutrality law. "When I invented the Web, I didn't have to ask anyone's permission," Berners-Lee wrote in his blog. "Now, hundreds of millions of people are using it freely. I am worried that that is going to end in the USA." Meanwhile, AT&T and other broadband providers continued to push for Congress to allow them to control their own broadband pipes without government regulation. AT&T rejected a proposal, made by civil liberties group the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), that would allow broadband providers to offer special services on private networks separate from the Internet, but require them to treat all Internet traffic the same. "When you put lipstick on a pig it's still a pig," said AT&T spokeswoman Claudia Jones. "CDT's proposal is a transparent effort to put some lipstick on the many proposals to regulate the Internet. This proposal will still result in consumers paying all the costs of building a better Internet while Internet Goliaths like Google receive government-sanctioned corporate welfare to avoid paying their fair share." SEE ALSO: Groups push alternate net neutrality proposals Senate chairman vows to fight net neutrality regulation By Grant_Gross@idg.com (Grant Gross). [InfoWorld: Top News] 11:24:19 AM    comment []

TorrentSpy names hacker and details attack. (InfoWorld) - TorrentSpy named the hacker who it claims broke into its computer systems on behalf of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), as part of a legal request that would force the MPAA to turn over documents stolen from the Internet file-searching company. TorrentSpy accused the MPAA in May of paying a hacker US$15,000 to steal confidential company information, including e-mails and passwords for accessing TorrentSpy's servers. The MPAA has called the charges baseless. On Thursday, TorrentSpy asked the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, to require the MPAA to hand over any documents it acquired and reveal who has seen them. If the court grants the request, made as part of the discovery stage of the case, the MPAA will have 10 days to comply. TorrentSpy included with its court filing a declaration from Robert Anderson, the hacker allegedly hired by the MPAA, detailing his activities and his ties to TorrentSpy. Anderson describes himself as an "acquaintance" of Justin Bunnell, a principal of the company that runs TorrentSpy.com, who did some marketing work in 2004 and 2005 for a company Bunnell was involved with. The two parted ways in April last year, when Anderson stopped working for the company and became "upset" with Bunnell, he said in his declaration. Two months later, Anderson contacted the MPAA and offered to provide it with information about TorrentSpy, he said. The court filing includes a document described as a contract signed by the MPAA and a bogus company, representing Anderson, that includes the MPAA's agreement to pay Anderson the $15,000 for his services. Anderson says the MPAA "knew, or reasonably should have known," that he was not authorized to obtain the information he did, which also included e-mails, client billing information, IP (Internet protocol) addresses of servers, a cashflow spreadsheet and a personal utility bill of one of the company's principals. He also names a private investigator firm that he allegedly helped hire on behalf of the MPAA to comb through Bunnell's trash and that of other TorrentSpy associates. The MPAA didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Friday morning. In the past it has described the claims as "baseless" and accused TorrentSpy of filing its lawsuit in retaliation against earlier suits filed by the MPAA. The MPAA filed several lawsuits earlier this year in an effort to shut down Web sites operated by companies, including TorrentSpy, that help users find digital music and video files online. TorrentSpy operates a search engine that allows users to find files that can be shared using BitTorrent Inc.'s file sharing system. TorrentSpy argues that it only helps users find files but doesn't actually offer content itself, so it can't be held liable for users who download illegal content. Those suits, and the action initiated by TorrentSpy regarding the hacker allegations, are ongoing. SEE ALSO: FTC laptops stolen, along with personal data Hackers keep hacking because they can By Nancy_Gohring@idg.com (Nancy Gohring). [InfoWorld: Top News] 10:53:50 AM    comment []

Poor Enron Executives Don't Get The Respect They Deserve, After all They Are The Victims In All Of This Scandal! Comments By: Brent Usry Ha Ha Ha Look at this one folks Hollywood unfaily cast businessmen as criminals and murderers when all they are is businessmen trying to make an honest profit for their stock holders. Well I guess you can see the Washington Post is in the spin corner for the Enron/Bush Administration. Fact: Hottest summer in history I called my mom 5 different times in Southern California,  her power was off and she was in a boiling hot 105 degree house so that Enron executives and Bush friends could get Rich! Everything else said about this subject is BULLSHIT!!! Here is an interesting Piece I ran across. Story To Follow: On TV, There's a Killer Corporate Image Problem . On the heels of last month's conviction of top Enron Corp. executives comes this nugget from the Media Research Center, a conservative television watchdog group that examines programming to determine how certain groups are portrayed. In this study, the group claims that Hollywood unfairly and... By Post. [washingtonpost.com - Business News From The Washington Post] Just Because You're Paranoid, Doesn't Mean They're Not Out To Get You... Its Just A State Of Extra Awareness!©     9:13:37 AM    comment []

WSOP 2006 Poker News ONLINE POKER ROOMS INCREASE USE OF SATELLITES AS WSOP APPROACHES LAS VEGAS -- June 6, 2006 - Continuing the established practice of using final tables at major tournaments to advance their "ambush marketing" efforts, several online poker rooms are offering players the option to qualify online or via discounted buy-in, for the first open event of the 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP). As part of the deal, most poker room sponsors will require players to wear a shirt or baseball cap with the site’s logo. The $1500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em event is scheduled for June 27-29 at the Rio Pavilion Convention Center. Here’s a brief summary of each site’s satellite offerings (all times are Eastern Daylight Time): Bodog.com is offering 20 $54 buy-in satellites each week, Monday through Friday at 5:05 pm, 7:05 pm, 9:05 pm and 11:05 pm. The winner of each satellite will receive a $1500 buy-in to any $1500 buy-in WSOP preliminary bracelet of his or her choice. The winner will also get $1000 in cash to cover travel expenses. FullTiltPoker.com is offering 10 satellites each week, daily at 9:00 pm, as well as on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 11:59 pm . Buy-ins range from $26 to $216. Each satellite awards as many $2000 packages as possible, with each package containing three $500 WSOP buy-in chips and $500 in cash to cover travel expenses. The buy-in chips can be used to buy into any 2006 WSOP preliminary bracelet event. UltimateBet.com is offering $55 buy-in satellites on June 5th at 8:45 pm and June 10th at 1:30 pm. In addition, the site will offer a $33 buy-in, with $30 rebuys and $30 add-on satellite on June 5th at 5:30 pm. Each satellite will award as many $2500 packages as possible, with each package containing a $1500 buy-in to the No Limit Hold'em event June 27-29 and $1000 in cash to cover travel expenses. PokerStars.com is offering a variety of WSOP "Level 1" sub-satellites around the clock, with buy-ins starting at $2. These tournaments will allow players who have achieved "SilverStar VIP" status to accumulate enough special tournament credits known as W$ in order to buy into nine WSOP preliminary events, including the $1500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em event June 27-29. The winners of each "Level 1" sub-satellite can withdraw from the "Level 2" satellite and accumulate W$ in their account. Several third party "poker currency trading" websites offer W$ at a discount of $0.90-$0.95 for each W$. This enables PokerStars.com players with "SilverStar VIP" status to buy 1500 W$ with cash at a discount (of 90-95%), and use the W$ to buy-in to the WSOP event. In order to achieve "SilverStar VIP" status at PokerStars.com, a player must accumulate 1500 "VIP Player Points" each month by playing a combination of cash games and tournaments. Terms & Conditions In most cases, players who qualify for a WSOP preliminary bracelet event online are expected to sign a "Terms and Conditions" contract, which requires them to wear a shirt or baseball cap with the logo of the sponsoring online poker room. Compliance with the contract is required before the site will register a player into a WSOP event. Players who already have an existing logo sponsorship agreement with another online poker room, as well as those who participate in an intercollegiate sports competition sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), are advised to read the "Terms and Conditions" contract displayed by each online poker room before they enter any online satellite tournament to qualify for a WSOP event. Added caution is advised to ensure players avoid running afoul of existing contract agreements and by laws. It is important to note that the NCAA will vigorously enforce Bylaw 12.5.2.1, which prohibits any student-athlete who participates in an NCAA-sanctioned sport from carrying out any "endorsement activity" without the permission of the NCAA or a member school. In February, the NCAA suspended Sonoma State University golfer Robert Neary, who won more than $520,000 for finishing second at the main event of the 2006 Crown Australian Poker Championship (a.k.a. Aussie Millions). The one match suspension at the start of the 2006 intercollegiate golf season was for wearing a "PartyPoker" logo during the Aussie Millions. Neary arrived at the tournament via an online satellite at PartyPoker.com, where he had agreed to "Terms and Conditions" that required him to wear the "PartyPoker" logo at the Aussie Millions. According to a source at Harah’s Entertainment, the final table of the first open WSOP event (scheduled for June 29th) is expected to air on ESPN in early October, after ESPN has concluded its coverage of the 2006 WSOP World Championship Main Event on September 26. According to ESPN's online schedule database, the cable network will air the 2006 WSOP Main Event before it airs any 2006 WSOP preliminary bracelet event so that the broadcast of the Main Event can conclude on September 26, one week prior to the start of the Major League Baseball playoffs. An ESPN spokesperson declined to confirm the information in the schedule database as of June 1. Once again, the first open WSOP event is expected to be a sell-out. In 2005, 2305 players entered the same opening event, resulting in long lines at the player registration desk, the "will call" window for online qualifiers, and the cashier's cage. Harrah's Entertainment has a 14-day deadline for online poker rooms to register players using cashier's checks to pay for WSOP tournament buy-ins. The last day to register with a cashier's check for the $1500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em event scheduled for June 27-29 is June 13. PokerStars.com in particular has set a deadline of June 7 for players to use W$ to buy into the event. For more poker news please visit the poker web website. - The Poker Web [The Poker Web] 12:25:22 AM    comment []

WSOP 2006 main event If the ESPN television camera crews weren't enough to attract crowds to Harveys Resort and Casino for the $10,000 buy-in, No-Limit Hold'Em World Series of Poker Lake Tahoe Circuit Event main event, then a star-studded field of players will likely do the trick. Poker superstars John Juanda, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, David Williams, Eric Siedel and Daniel Negreneau are all scheduled to play in the marquee event for the final WSOP circuit event of the season before the WSOP Tournament of Champions later this month in Las Vegas. The main event's first-place payout is expected to be about $500,000. Ferguson, the 2002 world champion, will sign autographs tonight at 9 outside Hard Rock Cafe inside Harveys.The other top players aren't expected to arrive in Stateline until Friday, when the first day of the four-day main event begins. The final table of the $10,000 buy-in tournament is scheduled for Monday and will be aired on ESPN (tape delayed). Get your poker news and wsop 2006 poker news at The Poker Web . - The Poker Web [The Poker Web] 12:17:58 AM    comment []