News Byte

Philly Tries to Curb Peer-to-Peer Ride-Sharing Company SideCar

In an episode that was probably the most exciting thing that’s ever happened at the Philadelphia Parking Authority, inspectors on Saturday conducted a sting operation on SideCar peer-to-peer drivers, impounding three cars and citing the three drivers for offering illegal taxi services. SideCar, which had just launched in Philly, will continue to operate next weekend, said CEO Sunil Paul.

Spotify (Finally) Shows Up on the iPad

Prettier pictures, same sound. Paying customers only.

News Byte

Did Piracy Drop When Limewire Vanished?

Last October, the big music labels got the courts to shut down Limewire, one of the best-known file-sharing services on the Web. Normally, shutting down a piracy site is simply a whack-a-mole exercise, but research firm NPD says this time is different: It says peer-to-peer filesharing in the U.S. dropped from 12 percent of Web user to 9 percent between Q3 of 2010 and Q4. These numbers are from a self-reported survey, so use as much salt as you’d like.

Voices

Why Are Health Data Leaking Online? Bad Software, Study Says

Hard-to-use software is behind the leakage of sensitive health data online, according to a study by Dartmouth researchers published in December. Health documents with sensitive patient information can be found in “peer-to-peer” networks, which people typically use to share music files and the like.

LimeWire Laid Off 30 Percent Of Staff Following Shutdown

Not a surprise: Following a court injunction that turned off its primary file-sharing service, LimeWire laid off a third of its staff last week. A bit of a surprise: The company insists that it can keep its remaining employees working on a new music service.

LimeWire Gives Up the Ghost, Shuts Down P2P File-Sharing Client

Last spring, music file-sharing service LimeWire suffered a crushing blow in federal court. This is the net result: The company will stop distributing its core software, and will disable “hundreds of millions” of existing downloads. It’s the victory the big music labels have been seeking for some time.

Comcast Owes You Money

Were you a Comcast subscriber between April 1, 2006, and December 31, 2008? Did the company’s network management techniques during that time screw up your Fedora downloads? Then why haven’t you filed your P2P Congestion Settlement Claim yet?

Big Music Wins One: LimeWire Loses Court Fight

A big victory for Big Music: A federal court has ruled in favor of the music labels in their fight against LimeWire, one of the most prominent file-sharing services on the Web.

The Year in Wisecracks

An Indie Label Sounds Off: Why We Don’t Love Grooveshark

When a big music label sues a scrappy Web music start-up, most people tend to sympathize reflexively with the little guy. But not everyone. Here’s the case against Grooveshark–not from EMI, which has hauled them into court, but from an indie that by all rights ought to be working with Grooveshark: “The service is just ripping off the band.”

U2: The Unforgettable Ire

Napster Sad

GooHoo?

Suegate?

Qtrax Actually Otrax