Real Netorks and Apple in DMCA Dispute over Harmony

Apple has announced that RealNetworks may be in violation of the DMCA by releasing the trial version of their new Harmony Service software - which enables subscribers to their Rhapsody service to download songs directly to an iPod - which is supposed to be compatible only with the iTunes music service.

Apple feels that RealNetworks may be guilty of violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act as the software circumvents the copy protection controls.

More here.

4th Generation iPods

According to this article in Newsweek, the new 4th Gen iPods will feature longer battery life (up to 12 hours), better control interface (this design taken from the iPod Mini), and a $100 price cut.
 
These new iPods coming soon from Amazon, I am sure.

World Software Piracy - $29 Billion in Estimated Losses

Losses from the piracy of software such as Windows XP, Adobe Photoshop and other high-end programs have been estimated at $29 billion dollars by the BSA (Business Software Association).

Vietnam and China were identified are singled out as being the "piracy capitals" followed by Ukraine, Indonesia and Russia.

The BSA also mentioned that P2P file sharing with programs such as Kazaa are also a huge problem for the software industry.

Not mentioned, but judging from Spam Filter Help's Software Section, offers for pirate software rate right behind Online Pharmacy Spam - and quite possibly another source of pirate software.

More at CNN.