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Report: Americans Increasingly Storing Large Video Files on PCs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 24, 2005 - 6:50am.
Port Washington, N.Y. -- The number of Americans with large video files stored on their PCs rose from 8% last year to 13% in March 2005, according to a survey conducted by New York-based market research firm NPD Group. Of the 13% who had a 150MB video file on their computers -- about the size of a half-hour TV show -- each additionally had an average of 15 such files on their PCs. "What will trouble many, especially in the film and video industry, is that some consumer collections include material that is clearly pirated," said NPD analyst Russ Crupnick. "In March, we noted several dozen full-length theatrical films on computers well before their expected DVD release date, including 'Ocean's Twelve,' 'Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events,' 'Million Dollar Baby,' 'The Aviator,' 'The Ring Two,' and 'Team America World Police.'" NPD plans to launch an ongoing PC survey of 40,000 panelist volunteers called MovieWatch Digital in the fourth quarter of 2005, which will monitor consumer interaction with digital video files.
tags: Video | Reports | Americans | PCs | Files |

Polish Police Bust Pirate Group That Hacked Academic Servers to Store Files

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 26, 2004 - 3:27am.
Warsaw -- A group of over 100 hackers who used academic computer networks to store games, movies and music they sold on the pirate market has been busted by Polish police, Reuters reported. In addition to storing their pirated wares on the university servers, the group of mainly twenty-something hackers may have also lifted and sold academic theses they found stored there. "They broke into the biggest systems they could find and set up 'warehouses' to store pirated games, films and music," police spokeswoman Agata Salatka told Reuters. "They distributed the goods through the Internet, and also supplied bazaars with the latest hits -- even before their official premieres."
tags: Store | Polish Police | Files | Pirate Group | Academic Servers |

Adware Firm Claria Files for IPO

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 13, 2004 - 6:21am.
Redwood City, Calif. -- Claria, a provider of advertising software formerly known as Gator, has filed for an initial public offering of shares with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company's software has been bundled with downloads of the popular Kazaa file-sharing application, and monitors the surfing habits of users in order to deliver targeted pop-up ads. It also provides software that can automatically fill in forms when ordering products or entering passwords online. Redwood City, Calif.-based Claria has battled several lawsuits against its adware, but claims 43 million people are currently using its products. Claria did not say how much it plans to raise in the IPO, but reported revenue of $90 million for 2003.
tags: IPO | Adware | Claria | Files | Firm |

Former EUniverse CEO Resigns from Board, Files Suit Against Company

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 12, 2003 - 5:13am.
Los Angeles -- Brad Greenspan, the recently departed CEO of EUniverse, a provider of entertainment-related websites and newsletters, announced on Friday his resignation from the company's board of directors, as well as the filing of a lawsuit against the company, its board and a venture capital firm that invested in the company. In the lawsuit, Greenspan alleges that "certain directors of the Board have embarked upon a scheme to entrench themselves in office… breach[ing] their fiduciary duties to the company." Greenspan also alleges that the terms of San Bruno, Calif.-based VantagePoint Venture Partners' recent $8 million investment in EUniverse "may have a material adverse impact on the company's ability to relist its common stock on The Nasdaq SmallCap Market." http://biz.yahoo.com/pz/031212/49649.html 
tags: CEO | Resigns | Board | Files | EUniverse |

PlayLouder to Launch U.K. ISP That Lets Users Share Files, Pays Artists

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 27, 2003 - 10:06am.
London -- PlayLouder, a U.K.-based online music site, on Monday announced the upcoming launch of a new broadband Internet access service that includes fees paid to copyright holders for the ability to freely stream and download music from other subscribers. PlayLouder has secured license agreements with MCPS-PRS, the licensing body that collects royalties on behalf of all U.K. music publishers, as well as with European independent record companies including XL Recordings, Beggars Group, V2 Music, PIAS Recordings and Ninja Tune. The service will let users freely trade songs from artists including the White Stripes, Pixies, Interpol and Underworld; the company said it is also negotiating with major record labels for inclusion. U.K. ISP Bulldog Communications is providing fulfillment for the broadband access service, which is scheduled to begin testing in November with an official launch slated for the first quarter of 2004.
tags: ISP | U.K | Files | PlayLouder | Pays Artists |

Shareholders File Class Action Suits Against Game Developer Midway

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 29, 2003 - 9:53am.
Chicago -- A number of shareholder class action lawsuits have been filed against video game developer Midway Games, alleging the company's share price was inflated due to misleading statements made by the company. The charges include not informing shareholders of "material disruptions" at Midway that made the company miss product release dates, which led to decreased revenue and inaccurate revenue projections being provided to shareholders. Chicago-based Midway reported earnings of $5 million for the third quarter, far below its earlier projections of between $7-$11 million, and at the same time announced the departure of CEO Neil D. Nicastro -- two events that resulted in a considerable drop in the company's share price.
tags: Games | Midway | Shareholders | Files |

Verizon, Given 14 Days to ID Song-Swappers, Files Another Legal Appeal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 25, 2003 - 10:01am.
Washington -- A federal judge on Friday gave Internet access provider Verizon two weeks to turn over to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) the identity of two of its subscribers who allegedly were trading songs on file-sharing systems using the company's network. U.S. District Judge John Bates denied two Verizon motions to rule the RIAA's subpoenas invalid; a new Verizon motion filed on Friday will seek an immediate U.S. Appeals Court stay of Judge Bates' ruling. "Today's ruling goes far beyond the interests of large copyright monopolists -- such as RIAA -- in enforcing its copyrights," said Verizon senior vice president and deputy general counsel John Thorne. "This decision exposes anyone who uses the Internet to potential predators, scam artists and crooks, including identity thieves and stalkers." The RIAA applauded Friday's ruling. "Today's decision makes clear that these individuals cannot rely on their (Internet service providers) to shield them from accountability," said RIAA president Cary Sherman. "If users of pirate peer-to-peer sites don't want to be identified, they should not break the law by illegally distributing music."
tags: Verizon | Song-Swappers | Files | ID | Legal Appeal |