PARIS, June 11, 2007 - Cisco® announced today that Neuf Cegetel, one of the leading alternative operators in France, has chosen the Cisco Internet Protocol Next-Generation Network (IP NGN) architecture to transform its network to deliver both residential and corporate IP services over the next three years. Neuf Cegetel has continued to grow its customer base and currently serves 4 million residential customers, out of which 2.3 million are broadband customers, and connects 148,000 business clients' sites.
Neuf Cegetel's residential network comprises approximately 200 points of presence (POPs) connected to around 1,200 central offices (COs) throughout France. Neuf Cegetel is already using Cisco IP NGN 10 Gigabit Ethernet technology in the broadband aggregation network to support the delivery of residential quadruple-play services, offering Internet access, telephony, more than 200 IPTV standard-definition and high-definition channels, video on demand, and mobility over ADSL services.
Neuf Cegetel is deploying Cisco 7600 Series Routers, including the new Cisco 7603 Router as the access and aggregation platform, at its POPS and COs to take advantage of the coverage of the residential network and significantly enhance its enterprise market coverage and service portfolio. Neuf Cegetel is also deploying Cisco's flagship CRS-1 Carrier Routing System to strengthen its core network with the benefits of a future-proof, reliable and scalable solution.
"We were looking for a single access solution that would fit into the French central offices to deliver both residential and corporate services," said Pierre-Alain Allemand, general manager of the network division at Neuf Cegetel. "Cisco worked closely with us and designed a new model of the 7600 Series Routers to meet our requirements, making it possible for us to smoothly transform the Neuf Cegetel network using a technology that we already fully understand. We also very quickly identified that the CRS-1 would be one of the best solutions on the market to fit with our exponential growth."
Thierry Drilhon, managing director of Cisco France and vice president of Cisco Europe, said: "Neuf Cegetel and Cisco have shared the vision of IP Next-Generation Networks as the ideal platform for delivering a high-quality experience in entertainment and communication to customers, whether they are at work, on the move or at home. We are focused on delivering what our customers need to help them stay at the forefront of innovation, and Neuf Cegetel is recognized as an innovation leader in Europe for both residential and corporate services."
Neuf Cegetel selected the Cisco CRS-1 Carrier Routing System with 10 Gigabit Ethernet interface modules to provide the transport across the IP/MPLS core network and the DSL aggregation layer. Ethernet VPN connectivity for large businesses and service provider customers is supported on an IP/MPLS-enabled core architecture based on the Cisco IOS® MPLS virtual private LAN service (VPLS) technology.
reyfus and SFR, reported revenues of 2,897 million euros in 2006.
www.groupeneufcegetel.fr
http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2007/prod_061107.html?CMP=AF17154&vs_f=News@Cisco:+News+Releases&vs_p=News@Cisco:+News+Releases&vs_k=1
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Cisco Ships 900 CRS-1s in First Three Years to Drive Residential and Business IP Service Growth
CRS-1 in use by more than 85 providers as the basis of converged services including IPTV and TelePresence
SAN JOSE, Calif. - June 11, 2007 - Cisco® announced today that it has shipped 900 of the industry-leading Carrier Routing System (CRS-1), the core component of the Cisco Internet Protocol Next-Generation Network (IP NGN) architecture, to more than 85 providers since the first product shipment in August 2004. The CRS-1 offers providers a cost-effective means to meet the performance and reliability requirements of advanced service delivery while accommodating ever-increasing IP traffic.
The rapid growth of CRS-1 sales has been both accompanied and, to some degree, driven by significant IP traffic growth on global networks as video and other advanced service deployments continue. According to data compiled by Cisco and industry analysts, Internet video produced six times more IP traffic in 2006 than the amount of IP traffic that crossed the entire U.S. Internet backbone in 2000. By 2011, global IP traffic is projected to reach more than 26 exabytes per month (an exabyte is a unit of information or computer storage equal to one quintillion bytes).
BT and Sprint are among the leading global providers that have deployed the Cisco CRS-1 as the foundation of their IP transformation initiatives.
"The consolidation of BT's various service-specific networks onto a single IP infrastructure, combined with the growth of Internet traffic due to advanced services like IPTV and collaboration, makes having a reliable, highly-scalable, IP/MPLS core critical," said Matt Bross, Group CTO at BT Group. "Our aggressive 21CN service strategy, driven by the growing needs of our residential, business and industry customers, will increase traffic growth and we wanted to deploy a core routing system that would meet those needs now and in the future."
"We are deploying the Cisco CRS-1 to support our dramatic growth in MPLS services including our action to migrate customers from legacy non-IP-based technologies to our SprintLink IP and Global MPLS platforms," said Iyad Tarazi, vice president of network development for Sprint. "In addition to our wireline investments, we expect to see exponential growth in wireless data for 3G and Wi-Max services which also require significant investments in our IP core. The CRS-1 is well-suited to meet our needs, thus allowing us to support the long-term needs of our customers."
Other publicly announced CRS-1 customers include Cable & Wireless, Comcast, China Telecom (ChinaNet), China Education and Research Network (CERNET), Deutsche Telecom, Korea Telecom, FREE, the National Institute of Informatics' SuperSINET research network in Japan, Neuf Cegetel, National LambdaRail, MTS Allstream, MTN, Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center(PSC), SaskTel, Savvis, Softbank, Yahoo! BB, Swisscom, Shanghai Telecom, Strato Medien, Teliasonera, Terremark, Telstra and VTR.
The Cisco CRS-1 is the industry's most powerful carrier routing system, designed with the aim of offering continuous system operation as well as unprecedented service flexibility and scalability. Powered by Cisco IOS XR Software, it is designed for always-on operation while scaling system capacity up to 92 terabits-per-second (Tbps). The innovative system architecture combines the Cisco Silicon Packet Processor, the first programmable 40-Gbps ASIC, with the Cisco Service Separation Architecture for unprecedented service flexibility and speed to service. The CRS-1 marks a new era in carrier IP communications by powering the foundation for IP NGNs today while protecting investments for decades to come.
Cisco CRS-1 milestones:
- September 2006 - Four-slot CRS-1 joins the 16-slot platform 1.2 Tbps and the eight-slot platform (640 gigabits per second), all of which feature cross-slot-compatibility for continued investment protection.
- February 2006 - CRS-1 supporting 40Gbps OC-768c service is deployed in production network (Yahoo! BB, Japan)
- January 2006 - Shanghai Telecom becomes first provider to use multichassis CRS-1
- December 2005 - CRS-1 delivers industry-leading IP over dense wavelength-division multiplexing (IPoDWDM) optical integration
- July 2005 - CRS-1 sets Guinness world record with the world's highest-capacity Internet router
- December 2004 - Cisco announces availability of eight-slot CRS-1
- May 2004 - Cisco announces CRS-1 16-slot availability
"CRS-1 deployments continue to expand as providers accelerate their migrations towards IP Next Generation Networks to deliver advanced voice, video and data services," said Tony Bates, senior vice president and general manager of the service provider technology group at Cisco. "We are extremely pleased with the CRS-1's rate of adoption in the market, but possibly even more so with what it demonstrates - that the network is indeed the platform for changing how we live, work, play and learn."
For more information about the Cisco Carrier Routing System (CRS-1) please visit the Cisco Website at http://www.cisco.com/go/crs.
ISP Giants Form New Lobbying Group
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., (14 Jan 2002, 4:54 PM CST) A clutch of the nation's largest Internet service providers (ISPs) today announced that they had joined forces to form a new lobbying group that will address the growing number of high-tech policy matters that directly concern ISP operators.
America Online, Verizon Online, WorldCom Inc., Earthlink and a handful of other ISP giants have signed on as founding members of the United States Internet Service Provider Association (US ISPA).
"This is an awfully focused organization," said Stewart Baker, an attorney for the Washington law firm Steptoe & Johnson, who is serving as the group's general counsel. "These are ISPs - large ones - who are really pooling their resources to address issues that effect ISPs specifically."
Although many of the founding companies are active members of other high-tech associations and lobbying groups, the US ISPA will be the first such group to address the specific needs of the nation's largest ISPs, Baker said.
The top legislative priority for the group will be to define parameters for how ISPs work with law enforcement agencies, particularly in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Baker said. Baker said that the ISPs want to make it clear to Congress "what they can do and what they can't do," in terms of assisting criminal investigations.
Other legislative issues on the group's plate will include the obligations of ISPs under international cybercrime rules and critical infrastructure protection as it relates to service providers.
Baker acknowledged that the founding members of the US ISPA include several companies that argue against one another in other areas of the high-tech policy debate, but he said that the companies also have plenty of common ground. "We'll be working on the things we have in common, and there are a lot of them," Baker said.
Verizon and WorldCom particularly have argued opposite sides in the debate over whether Bell companies (like Verizon) should be allowed to offer long-distance broadband Internet service without opening their local phone service markets to competition.
The US ISPA Web site is still under construction, but will eventually be online at http://www.usispa.org.
Internet Providers Form New Group To Address Security, Liability Issues
Dow Jones Newswires
WASHINGTON (January 14, 2002) Several Internet companies announced Monday the creation of a new group representing service providers and said it will focus on compliance and liability issues. The U.S. Internet Service Provider Association will replace the Commercial Internet eXchange, which is disbanding.
According to US ISPA, the change came about because "as the ISP community has matured so have its needs for an organization that could represent the growing legal and policy issues common to service providers."
Founding members of US ISPA's board include representatives from AOL Time Warner Inc.'s America Online, Cable & Wireless PLC, Earthlink Inc., eBay Inc., Teleglobe, Verizon Online and WorldCom Inc.
"We are very excited about the new focus and membership of US ISPA," said Clint Smith, president of the association and vice president and chief network counsel of WorldCom.
The group's vice president, Tom Dailey, said: "The US ISPA will serve as an effective voice for the ISP community on a wide variety of compliance and liability issues of common interest to ISPs."
He said some issues the group will examine include Internet security, online liability and compliance with the new antiterrorism law, the USA-Patriot Act and the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime.
The group said it will also provide a forum for critical infrastructure and cyber-security issues, and looks forward to working closely with the federal government on efforts launched since Sept. 11.
The group said it will also advance "a variety of other policy and legal issues of concern to ISPs, such as Internet privacy, content regulations and intellectual property."
The group's press release did not specifically mention open access, a hot issue in the past. Open access refers to a policy that forces a cable operator providing Internet service using affiliated ISP to sell unaffiliated ISPs access to the cable pipeline.
http://www.cix.org/articles.html
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Wireless Internet Service Providers
Wireless Internet service providers offer their customers wireless Internet - that is, web access which requires no physical connections to a modem. All of the required technology for going online is cable-free. There are no land based cables to connect from the computer to the modem. A signal is placed in the computer, and the customer is provided with a wireless modem to pick up the signal. A cable-free connection should be fast and quick to install. Consumers may be considering getting cable-free web services. They can find plenty of companies offering these services both locally and online. Nearly every major web provider offers both a traditional cable web connection and a cable-free connection. Thus, it may be difficult to choose the best wireless Internet service provider. In order to make the decision, consumers will need to look at the price, customer service and the quality of the services of each company.
The great thing about no cables is the convenience. The best wireless Internet service will share all of the benefits people should take advantage of as cable-free customers. The most common benefit is the mobility. Those who travel a great deal can find it very convenient to have. As long as customers can find a cable-free hot spot, they can use the connection. This is convenient for students on the go and traveling business men. In many coffee shops or Internet cafes today, there are routers that allow customers to bring in laptops and surf the web while drinking lattes and cappuccinos. This makes it very much worth any extra cost. Plus, customers with several home computers will get one router that can accommodate all of them, making it easy for multiple computers to log online at once. In addition, using no cables is fast. The best wireless Internet service connects at rates up to 1Mbps or more. This allows for quicker webpage loading and downloading. Customers may find this necessary if job or school work requires a lot of web research as well as downloading of images.
Price is very important to every customer. Of all of the ways to connect online, the cheapest is typically dial-up. Now, even those who offer dial-up services are also wireless Internet service providers. This can help save some money if customers are hoping to keep the services within their budget. Price isn't everything, though. Consumers also need to consider the level of quality of their services and the quality of their customer assistance. Use a major search engine to look for the best wireless Internet service. Consumers will find that there are many choices out there. Visit the websites for some of major companies and get a price. Usually, they will post the prices of their services online. Some customers may have to call others and get a quote. Keep in mind that many cable and even telephone companies may offer cable-free services. Call local branches to get prices. They may be able to offer a special package for current customers.
No matter what company seems best, customers must be sure to select a reliable company. Consumers may decide to go with a lesser known company. This is fine as long as they are reputable. Although price matters, it is more important that they provide good customer assistance and a reliable cable-free connection. If customers have too many problems with the company, it's best to consider taking business else where. Don't sign on for lengthy terms to save money. Some wireless Internet service providers may offer discounts if customers agree to their cable-free services for a year or more, but try to sign up for no more than six months. This will allow enough time to test the waters. Thus, those who are unhappy, won't have to get mad, they can just get out without fees or penalties. "He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly." (Proverbs 14:29)
http://www.christianet.com/internetservices/bestwirelessinternetservice.htm
The great thing about no cables is the convenience. The best wireless Internet service will share all of the benefits people should take advantage of as cable-free customers. The most common benefit is the mobility. Those who travel a great deal can find it very convenient to have. As long as customers can find a cable-free hot spot, they can use the connection. This is convenient for students on the go and traveling business men. In many coffee shops or Internet cafes today, there are routers that allow customers to bring in laptops and surf the web while drinking lattes and cappuccinos. This makes it very much worth any extra cost. Plus, customers with several home computers will get one router that can accommodate all of them, making it easy for multiple computers to log online at once. In addition, using no cables is fast. The best wireless Internet service connects at rates up to 1Mbps or more. This allows for quicker webpage loading and downloading. Customers may find this necessary if job or school work requires a lot of web research as well as downloading of images.
Price is very important to every customer. Of all of the ways to connect online, the cheapest is typically dial-up. Now, even those who offer dial-up services are also wireless Internet service providers. This can help save some money if customers are hoping to keep the services within their budget. Price isn't everything, though. Consumers also need to consider the level of quality of their services and the quality of their customer assistance. Use a major search engine to look for the best wireless Internet service. Consumers will find that there are many choices out there. Visit the websites for some of major companies and get a price. Usually, they will post the prices of their services online. Some customers may have to call others and get a quote. Keep in mind that many cable and even telephone companies may offer cable-free services. Call local branches to get prices. They may be able to offer a special package for current customers.
No matter what company seems best, customers must be sure to select a reliable company. Consumers may decide to go with a lesser known company. This is fine as long as they are reputable. Although price matters, it is more important that they provide good customer assistance and a reliable cable-free connection. If customers have too many problems with the company, it's best to consider taking business else where. Don't sign on for lengthy terms to save money. Some wireless Internet service providers may offer discounts if customers agree to their cable-free services for a year or more, but try to sign up for no more than six months. This will allow enough time to test the waters. Thus, those who are unhappy, won't have to get mad, they can just get out without fees or penalties. "He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly." (Proverbs 14:29)
http://www.christianet.com/internetservices/bestwirelessinternetservice.htm
Dsl High Speed Internet Service
DSL high speed Internet service is just one of the many options for connecting to the World Wide Web, other services include cable, satellite, wireless and dial-up. DSL Internet service is among the fastest solutions available to consumers and is generally the most popular to date. With many people running home based businesses, telecommuting and using the Internet for various forms of entertainment, the faster the better is what most consumers prefer. Slow, dial-up connections are less and less popular unless they are the only choice in certain rural areas. Soon, however, DSL and other forms of high speed connections will push slower access to the back of the line in every corner of the country.
Cable and Digital Subscriber Loop connections are still on top of the pile in regards to speed, affordability and access. Most individuals and businesses want capabilities of all the advanced media options such as streaming audio and video, Voice Over Internet Protocol, video cams and other soon-to-arrive functions. DSL high speed Internet service will take a further leap with the upcoming advancement through VDSL. Very High Bit-Rate DSL will offer super charged bandwidth that will out-perform the typical DSL service that most consumers are content with. VDSL is not available as of yet in many areas, but before long this new access will make an impact as the hot, newcomer to web connection.
Making a choice among the various connection options depend on availability, functions required and price. For those who want wireless service for their laptops while traveling, the wireless connection capability is available in a limited capacity. Travelers are especially in need of this type of access, but must generally be within 1,000 feet of a local, wireless access point. This is great for those who are in hotels, airports, or around public arenas and need freedom with their laptops. DSL Internet service is available in many hotels and travel centers, but wireless connection provides the desired mobility and it found in many travel spots throughout the US.
Satellite services offer consumers any where in America access to the web if they are in proper range. Requirements are generally that the southern sky must be visible in the target range in order for a consumer to have access. While this may provide availability to some consumers who do not have access to DSL high speed Internet service, it is not as cheap. Satellite access is generally almost twice as much as the other most popular forms of access. Dial up access has been around for some time and is known for its slower transmission speed for data, especially for files and digital media outputs. However, for those who do not want to pay a higher price for DSL Internet service or cable but want a faster access through this method, there is dialup Internet access which is faster than the older, dialup system.
For faster surfing, this method may be sufficient for marginal computer users, but for transmitting large files, nothing has changed in slow transmissions. Cable access is getting very common for web connections since many areas, including rural regions, now have cable television services. Web connection is over the cable network and is offered only by a provider that has made a business deal with the respective cable company. While it is helpful to have high speed access over television cable outlets when there is no other, it does limit choices of providers to the one that has a monopoly with the cable company. This limits competitive pricing among providers and leaves consumers at the mercy of whatever is available.
While a DSL Internet service produces online access through phone connections, older phone connections that do not have copper wiring cannot accommodate this high speed choice. "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." (Col. 4:6) Many rural areas of the country are still operating with older phone lines, so high speed web access is not available, although it is rapidly drawing near as many phone companies are reworking systems as well as installing new ones. The accommodation of high speed access is advantageous to all concerned and it will continue to push the limits into rural and out-of-the way places in the US.
For many users of high speed access, the choice may be between cable or a DSL high speed Internet service. Although for some, there is no choice and location will determine which can be purchased. In either case, the prices are generally the same with DSL Internet service edging out cable at times by a few dollars more for installation and monthly fees. If both services are available, there are many variables that can effect which will be the most useful for any consumer. DSL speeds will depend on the distance from the Internet Service Provider, while cable speeds will depend on saturation of users at any one time on the cable line. It may be helpful to question neighbors and businesses in the surrounding area as to the type of speed and service they receive.
http://www.christianet.com/internetservices/dslhighspeedinternetservice.htm
Cable and Digital Subscriber Loop connections are still on top of the pile in regards to speed, affordability and access. Most individuals and businesses want capabilities of all the advanced media options such as streaming audio and video, Voice Over Internet Protocol, video cams and other soon-to-arrive functions. DSL high speed Internet service will take a further leap with the upcoming advancement through VDSL. Very High Bit-Rate DSL will offer super charged bandwidth that will out-perform the typical DSL service that most consumers are content with. VDSL is not available as of yet in many areas, but before long this new access will make an impact as the hot, newcomer to web connection.
Making a choice among the various connection options depend on availability, functions required and price. For those who want wireless service for their laptops while traveling, the wireless connection capability is available in a limited capacity. Travelers are especially in need of this type of access, but must generally be within 1,000 feet of a local, wireless access point. This is great for those who are in hotels, airports, or around public arenas and need freedom with their laptops. DSL Internet service is available in many hotels and travel centers, but wireless connection provides the desired mobility and it found in many travel spots throughout the US.
Satellite services offer consumers any where in America access to the web if they are in proper range. Requirements are generally that the southern sky must be visible in the target range in order for a consumer to have access. While this may provide availability to some consumers who do not have access to DSL high speed Internet service, it is not as cheap. Satellite access is generally almost twice as much as the other most popular forms of access. Dial up access has been around for some time and is known for its slower transmission speed for data, especially for files and digital media outputs. However, for those who do not want to pay a higher price for DSL Internet service or cable but want a faster access through this method, there is dialup Internet access which is faster than the older, dialup system.
For faster surfing, this method may be sufficient for marginal computer users, but for transmitting large files, nothing has changed in slow transmissions. Cable access is getting very common for web connections since many areas, including rural regions, now have cable television services. Web connection is over the cable network and is offered only by a provider that has made a business deal with the respective cable company. While it is helpful to have high speed access over television cable outlets when there is no other, it does limit choices of providers to the one that has a monopoly with the cable company. This limits competitive pricing among providers and leaves consumers at the mercy of whatever is available.
While a DSL Internet service produces online access through phone connections, older phone connections that do not have copper wiring cannot accommodate this high speed choice. "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." (Col. 4:6) Many rural areas of the country are still operating with older phone lines, so high speed web access is not available, although it is rapidly drawing near as many phone companies are reworking systems as well as installing new ones. The accommodation of high speed access is advantageous to all concerned and it will continue to push the limits into rural and out-of-the way places in the US.
For many users of high speed access, the choice may be between cable or a DSL high speed Internet service. Although for some, there is no choice and location will determine which can be purchased. In either case, the prices are generally the same with DSL Internet service edging out cable at times by a few dollars more for installation and monthly fees. If both services are available, there are many variables that can effect which will be the most useful for any consumer. DSL speeds will depend on the distance from the Internet Service Provider, while cable speeds will depend on saturation of users at any one time on the cable line. It may be helpful to question neighbors and businesses in the surrounding area as to the type of speed and service they receive.
http://www.christianet.com/internetservices/dslhighspeedinternetservice.htm
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Labels battle to hold onto DMCA win
The recording industry on Friday fought to preserve a preliminary courtroom victory, arguing that Verizon Communications has no choice but to hand over the identity of an alleged Kazaa music pirate
Why hasn't anyone heard of Jazzanova? I know, I know, this is my second column about them in almost as many months. But I just purchased The Remixes 1997-2000, and my CD player has not been able to part with it for weeks now. Maybe a review of it will serve as a kind of exorcism, and make way for another album in my boom box.
In case you don't know, (and you probably don't, unless you're from either Munich, Berlin, or Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where the people seem to know everything about good music) Jazzanova are a DJ collective comprised of six men with entertaining names like Jurgen von Knoblauch and Roskoe Kretschmann. They began playing and remixing records together in 1995. They describe their music as a hybrid of jazz, bossanova, (hence the name) soul, disco, R&B, and a little bit of everything else. They radically reinvent other artists' tracks, giving them the unique Jazzanova sound.
If I have any complaint about this album, it's that the aforesaid sound can get a bit samey. As background music, it's peppered with standout moments where you lean in and listen, curious to hear exactly what's going on. If you're playing it on your Discman/Walkman/MP3 player, you might find yourself skipping some tracks.
The two-CD set starts off with 4 Hero's We Who Are Not As Others. Eerie synth chimes immediately give you the feeling that what you're about to listen to is going to kick ass. It does, but with a whisper, not a scream. Jazzanova turn the track into what sounds like a robot band playing fusion. It's calm, intricate, and undeniably electronic.
Marschmellows' Soulpower is pure pop-funk, complete with slap-bassline, hand-claps, and squelching synths. They even break it down and add whooshing Seventies sounds at the end. Jazzanova manage to replicate an entire decade's worth of music in one song, and still make it their own cool blend.
Truby Trio's Carajillo melds Afro-pop with drum-pad beats and a simple, jazzy house piano line. The singers' voices call and answer to each other. It's music you want to turn up full volume and clamp headphones over your ears, but it's also perfect as background.
High Priestess, by Karma, has a big-band-shuffle feel that swings even when it turns into a bongo-ridden ¾ voodoo beat. Lazy upright bass and blasts of brass punctuate this swampy mire till it sounds like there's a full-on tribal ritual going on somewhere in the bayou. Every so often the heat breaks, but it always comes back full force before long.
Azymuth's Amazon Adventure starts with a beat that sounds as if it came straight off a Casio pre-programmed selection. It's soon accented with more organic instruments; a high piano, another upright bass, live drumming. It's intelligent hold music.
Absolute Space, by Koop, is more of the same Casio-on-ecstasy spasmodic jazz drumming and chiming piano, this time with a fair Bjork impression over the top. Although the drumming occasionally breaks the monotony by leaning toward an exhilarating Brazilian beat, this isn't one of my favorites. The same formula's applied in Ian Pooley's What's Your Number, but now something other than nonchalance is in the mix, as a woman's voice declares emotionally that "things change". This is one of the only songs in a minor key on the two-disc set.
Visit Venus's Planet of Breaks takes the frenetic jazz pace down to a nice steady dub. The drums flow, every once in a while broken by a little eddy of beats and beeps. Toward the end, however, the drummer once again gets carried away with himself. He might try listening to some Metallica, change the mood a little.
In a strongly worded brief filed in federal district court in Washington, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) assailed Verizon's request for a stay of a 21 January order as a brazen attempt by the telecommunications firm to "evade its responsibilities under the law".
The lawsuit, filed last August, pits the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) against Internet users' right to remain anonymous online. With the vocal assistance of civil liberties groups, Verizon has argued that the DMCA's turbocharged subpoena process is not sufficiently privacy-protective, because it can be used to glean the identities of hundreds or thousands of suspected peer-to-peer pirates at a time.
Matthew Oppenheim, a senior vice president at the RIAA, said in a conference call Friday that Verizon was exaggerating the privacy risks of complying with requests made under the DMCA. Verizon and its allies, including a former Clinton administration privacy official, have suggested that copyright holders should file a "John Doe" lawsuit to unmask suspected peer-to-peer infringers instead of wielding DMCA subpoenas.
"In private conversations with the RIAA, Verizon has made it very clear that this is not a privacy issue," Oppenheim said. "They said they would be happy to turn over the names of some of their customers, as long as they don't have to turn over the names of a lot of their customers."
At issue in the RIAA's request is section 512 of the DMCA, which permits a copyright owner to send a subpoena ordering a "service provider" to turn over information about a subscriber. The service provider must promptly comply with that order, and no judge's approval is required first. In August, the RIAA asked a federal court for an order under the DMCA compelling Verizon Communications to reveal the name of a Kazaa subscriber accused of illegally trading hundreds of songs.
Oppenheim said that Congress had created a careful balance between privacy and copyright when drafting the DMCA, and Verizon's argument that the DMCA applies only to material hosted on its own servers is specious. "They're not engaged in private conduct," Oppenheim said about peer-to-peer users. "They're on public networks making available hundreds of music recordings to millions of other users. They're not doing anything in private. They don't have the right to anonymously commit a crime."
Sarah Deutsch, a Verizon vice president and associate general counsel, said: "This is just the RIAA's desperate attempt to divert public attention from the fact that they want unlimited access to private communications. They're trying to divert attention from some of the bad publicity that this case has garnered."
Deutsch said the RIAA had spurned a compromise proposal. "We offered that while the case was pending, we would forward cease-and-desist letters to our subscribers, at our own cost, without revealing our customers' identities," Deutsch said. "But RIAA refused."
Verizon has appealed last month's order to comply with the DMCA subpoena, but the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will not hear the case until US district judge John Bates decides, possibly in the next few weeks, to grant a stay or not.
In last month's 37-page decision, Bates ruled that Congress used "language that is clear" when crafting the DMCA. "Under Verizon's reading of the act, a significant amount of potential copyright infringement would be shielded from the subpoena authority of the DMCA," Bates wrote. "That would, in effect, give Internet copyright infringers shelter from the long arm of the DMCA subpoena power, and allow infringement to flourish."
In another court filing Friday, the RIAA moved to strike a declaration last Thursday from Peter Swire, an Ohio State University law professor and former Clinton administration official, as irrelevant. "Mr. Swire's declaration boils down to nothing more than a twelve-paragraph legal brief, largely derived from speculation -- most, if not all, of which directly contradicts this court's prior ruling," stated the RIAA in its legal filing. "While his 'sworn' statements may have a place in law review articles and policy debates, they have no place in a court of law."
If the RIAA prevails in this legal skirmish, it seems intent on pursuing DMCA subpoenas against other Internet providers. In a third court filing Friday, the trade group filed a statement from Jonathan Whitehead, an antipiracy vice president at the RIAA. Whitehead's statement said he sent Internet service provider EarthLink a DMCA subpoena on Wednesday for the identification of a single peer-to-peer user.
I have both a gripe and a rave about this record, and they're one and the same. As I began to review this album, sometimes I would let a track play, begin to write about it, and turn to my CD player to find another track had started playing without my being aware the song had changed. This is disconcerting if you're trying to listen to the album as a collection of songs, which is how it's presented. I think it would sound fantastic as a continuous mix, without the usual two or three seconds of silent space separating songs. Chill-out music, which is what this is, sounds better without interruptions. I'd like to experience a Jazzanova live set to see if I'm right about this album sounding better as one huge song. Because if I view it that way, it's stellar.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,2130153,00.htm
Why hasn't anyone heard of Jazzanova? I know, I know, this is my second column about them in almost as many months. But I just purchased The Remixes 1997-2000, and my CD player has not been able to part with it for weeks now. Maybe a review of it will serve as a kind of exorcism, and make way for another album in my boom box.
In case you don't know, (and you probably don't, unless you're from either Munich, Berlin, or Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where the people seem to know everything about good music) Jazzanova are a DJ collective comprised of six men with entertaining names like Jurgen von Knoblauch and Roskoe Kretschmann. They began playing and remixing records together in 1995. They describe their music as a hybrid of jazz, bossanova, (hence the name) soul, disco, R&B, and a little bit of everything else. They radically reinvent other artists' tracks, giving them the unique Jazzanova sound.
If I have any complaint about this album, it's that the aforesaid sound can get a bit samey. As background music, it's peppered with standout moments where you lean in and listen, curious to hear exactly what's going on. If you're playing it on your Discman/Walkman/MP3 player, you might find yourself skipping some tracks.
The two-CD set starts off with 4 Hero's We Who Are Not As Others. Eerie synth chimes immediately give you the feeling that what you're about to listen to is going to kick ass. It does, but with a whisper, not a scream. Jazzanova turn the track into what sounds like a robot band playing fusion. It's calm, intricate, and undeniably electronic.
Marschmellows' Soulpower is pure pop-funk, complete with slap-bassline, hand-claps, and squelching synths. They even break it down and add whooshing Seventies sounds at the end. Jazzanova manage to replicate an entire decade's worth of music in one song, and still make it their own cool blend.
Truby Trio's Carajillo melds Afro-pop with drum-pad beats and a simple, jazzy house piano line. The singers' voices call and answer to each other. It's music you want to turn up full volume and clamp headphones over your ears, but it's also perfect as background.
High Priestess, by Karma, has a big-band-shuffle feel that swings even when it turns into a bongo-ridden ¾ voodoo beat. Lazy upright bass and blasts of brass punctuate this swampy mire till it sounds like there's a full-on tribal ritual going on somewhere in the bayou. Every so often the heat breaks, but it always comes back full force before long.
Azymuth's Amazon Adventure starts with a beat that sounds as if it came straight off a Casio pre-programmed selection. It's soon accented with more organic instruments; a high piano, another upright bass, live drumming. It's intelligent hold music.
Absolute Space, by Koop, is more of the same Casio-on-ecstasy spasmodic jazz drumming and chiming piano, this time with a fair Bjork impression over the top. Although the drumming occasionally breaks the monotony by leaning toward an exhilarating Brazilian beat, this isn't one of my favorites. The same formula's applied in Ian Pooley's What's Your Number, but now something other than nonchalance is in the mix, as a woman's voice declares emotionally that "things change". This is one of the only songs in a minor key on the two-disc set.
Visit Venus's Planet of Breaks takes the frenetic jazz pace down to a nice steady dub. The drums flow, every once in a while broken by a little eddy of beats and beeps. Toward the end, however, the drummer once again gets carried away with himself. He might try listening to some Metallica, change the mood a little.
In a strongly worded brief filed in federal district court in Washington, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) assailed Verizon's request for a stay of a 21 January order as a brazen attempt by the telecommunications firm to "evade its responsibilities under the law".
The lawsuit, filed last August, pits the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) against Internet users' right to remain anonymous online. With the vocal assistance of civil liberties groups, Verizon has argued that the DMCA's turbocharged subpoena process is not sufficiently privacy-protective, because it can be used to glean the identities of hundreds or thousands of suspected peer-to-peer pirates at a time.
Matthew Oppenheim, a senior vice president at the RIAA, said in a conference call Friday that Verizon was exaggerating the privacy risks of complying with requests made under the DMCA. Verizon and its allies, including a former Clinton administration privacy official, have suggested that copyright holders should file a "John Doe" lawsuit to unmask suspected peer-to-peer infringers instead of wielding DMCA subpoenas.
"In private conversations with the RIAA, Verizon has made it very clear that this is not a privacy issue," Oppenheim said. "They said they would be happy to turn over the names of some of their customers, as long as they don't have to turn over the names of a lot of their customers."
At issue in the RIAA's request is section 512 of the DMCA, which permits a copyright owner to send a subpoena ordering a "service provider" to turn over information about a subscriber. The service provider must promptly comply with that order, and no judge's approval is required first. In August, the RIAA asked a federal court for an order under the DMCA compelling Verizon Communications to reveal the name of a Kazaa subscriber accused of illegally trading hundreds of songs.
Oppenheim said that Congress had created a careful balance between privacy and copyright when drafting the DMCA, and Verizon's argument that the DMCA applies only to material hosted on its own servers is specious. "They're not engaged in private conduct," Oppenheim said about peer-to-peer users. "They're on public networks making available hundreds of music recordings to millions of other users. They're not doing anything in private. They don't have the right to anonymously commit a crime."
Sarah Deutsch, a Verizon vice president and associate general counsel, said: "This is just the RIAA's desperate attempt to divert public attention from the fact that they want unlimited access to private communications. They're trying to divert attention from some of the bad publicity that this case has garnered."
Deutsch said the RIAA had spurned a compromise proposal. "We offered that while the case was pending, we would forward cease-and-desist letters to our subscribers, at our own cost, without revealing our customers' identities," Deutsch said. "But RIAA refused."
Verizon has appealed last month's order to comply with the DMCA subpoena, but the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will not hear the case until US district judge John Bates decides, possibly in the next few weeks, to grant a stay or not.
In last month's 37-page decision, Bates ruled that Congress used "language that is clear" when crafting the DMCA. "Under Verizon's reading of the act, a significant amount of potential copyright infringement would be shielded from the subpoena authority of the DMCA," Bates wrote. "That would, in effect, give Internet copyright infringers shelter from the long arm of the DMCA subpoena power, and allow infringement to flourish."
In another court filing Friday, the RIAA moved to strike a declaration last Thursday from Peter Swire, an Ohio State University law professor and former Clinton administration official, as irrelevant. "Mr. Swire's declaration boils down to nothing more than a twelve-paragraph legal brief, largely derived from speculation -- most, if not all, of which directly contradicts this court's prior ruling," stated the RIAA in its legal filing. "While his 'sworn' statements may have a place in law review articles and policy debates, they have no place in a court of law."
If the RIAA prevails in this legal skirmish, it seems intent on pursuing DMCA subpoenas against other Internet providers. In a third court filing Friday, the trade group filed a statement from Jonathan Whitehead, an antipiracy vice president at the RIAA. Whitehead's statement said he sent Internet service provider EarthLink a DMCA subpoena on Wednesday for the identification of a single peer-to-peer user.
I have both a gripe and a rave about this record, and they're one and the same. As I began to review this album, sometimes I would let a track play, begin to write about it, and turn to my CD player to find another track had started playing without my being aware the song had changed. This is disconcerting if you're trying to listen to the album as a collection of songs, which is how it's presented. I think it would sound fantastic as a continuous mix, without the usual two or three seconds of silent space separating songs. Chill-out music, which is what this is, sounds better without interruptions. I'd like to experience a Jazzanova live set to see if I'm right about this album sounding better as one huge song. Because if I view it that way, it's stellar.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,2130153,00.htm
Thus bends law to avoid responsibility for child porn
British telco Thus is arguing that it cannot legally check for paedophile content, despite making a pledge in February to actively remove unlawful content from its newsgroups.
The owner of ISP Demon Internet is using the Indecency with Children Act that criminalises the possession or distribution of child pornography, to justify its claim that it is illegal for an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to download indecent images from its servers for the purpose of checking for illegal content.
"I'm limited by simple legislation that prevents me from looking at child pornography -- how do you decide that something is paedophilic when it's illegal for me to look at it?" said Keith Monserrat, director of legal and regulation at Thus.
There is however a working code of practice within the Internet industry that allows police, the Internet Watch foundation and content providers to check for illegal content on the Web. Hermod Stener, lawyer at city firm Charles Russell, confirmed there is nothing within UK legislation to prevent an ISP from checking articles that it is hosting.
"No statute would prevent an ISP from downloading Web pages that it is hosting in order to check them," said Stener. "It's more a question of them wanting to avoid responsibility for their content -- giving a simple answer."
Demon Internet requires all registered users to sign up to an "Acceptable Use Policy" that warns against customers using the service for illegal purposes. The terms and conditions state: "We will investigate suspected or alleged breaches of this AUP... Demon Internet, at its discretion, may run manual or automatic systems to determine compliance with this AUP. Customers are deemed to have granted permission for this limited intrusion onto their networks or machines."
"Their terms and conditions state that they are able to access everything on their Web pages," said Stener. "When entering a newsgroup, the service provider is contractually bound to reserve the right to throw people out if they are doing something unlawful."
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) -- the regulatory body responsible for protecting children online -- currently checks for indecent images on the Web by sight, which involves downloading child pornography in order to assess whether or not articles are illegal. "The very strictest application of the law is a conundrum that there's no way out of," said David Kerr, chairman of IWF.
Monserrat prevents any of his staff from personally checking newsgroup articles reported by customers to contain child pornography. "How do I know that I will not be considered an accomplice to a crime," he asked. Stener pointed out that there is little logic in this argument. "They are an accomplice to a crime if they are hosting illegal content," he explained.
An EU directive, called the Horizontal Selling Directive, due to be finalised shortly, will make it obligatory for ISPs to remove unlawful content from their servers on positive knowledge.
"This implies an obligation to go into newsgroups and download articles in order to check their content," Stener argued. Kerr said that half of the Web sites reported to the IWF to contain indecent images are actually not illegal. "It is acceptable for ISPs to check these complaints themselves, as the public at large are easily shocked by content, and don't know what's acceptable," he said.
"It's a matter of ISPs keeping their own house in order," agreed police inspector Terry Jones at Greater Manchester police Obscene Publications Unit.
Thus embarked upon a moral crusade in February to actively remove known paedophile content from its newsgroups. One week into its ambitious crackdown on child pornography, reports were already branding the decision "unworkable". Thus continues to deny knowledge of claims that they are still hosting two offending newsgroups the IWF alerted it to a year ago.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,2085357,00.htm
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