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Post by stanleyb on Jan 3, 2018 22:10:37 GMT
Spotify sued for $1.6bn in unpaid royalties as it reportedly files for IPO
Music streaming service Spotify has been sued by a music publishing company for $1.6bn (£1.18bn), for hosting songs it allegedly doesn’t have the full rights to. The news comes at an awkward moment for the tech company, which is reportedly preparing for a stock market sale.
Wixen, a Californian company that collects royalties on behalf of artists including Tom Petty, Neil Young, Janis Joplin and the Doors, alleges that Spotify “took a shortcut” when it cut deals with major labels to host their back catalogues.
The suit states that under the US Copyright Act, each song has two copyright claims: one to the recording, and the other to the composition. Wixen claims that Spotify didn’t obtain the composition rights in their deals, and is seeking damages of $150,000 per song, for over 10,000 songs.
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Post by MartinT on Jan 4, 2018 6:48:54 GMT
We tend to think of all security vulnerabilities as being in software. It's more scary when it turns up in hardware.
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Post by Slinger on Jan 4, 2018 13:15:22 GMT
Barr's to change Irn Bru recipe "for good" it's announced. Scots are panic-buying and stockpiling Irn Bru. BBC NEWS |
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Post by Slinger on Jan 4, 2018 13:17:45 GMT
We tend to think of all security vulnerabilities as being in software. It's more scary when it turns up in hardware. And when those vulnerabilities are called Meltdown and Spectre it's even scarier. |
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Post by MartinT on Jan 4, 2018 14:02:27 GMT
I see that it affects Arm as well as Intel. Not good.
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Post by Slinger on Jan 4, 2018 14:50:17 GMT
The award for worst excuse for a 'news' article of 2018 so far goes to BBC text - X-Factor star knocked out by loft ladder. Even the use of the word "star" is questionable as the "star" in question won X Factor in 2013 and is currently appearing in panto.
Still, early days. I'm sure this will be eclipsed multiple times by the end of the week year.
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Post by Chris on Jan 4, 2018 18:00:46 GMT
Multi million £ jewel robbery in Venice. Just two pieces taken during opening hours. Unbelievable. IMO it'll be the Pink Panthers at work... Storyville, Smash & Grab - The Story of the Pink Panthers: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p01hs637 via @bbciplayer |
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Post by MikeMusic on Jan 4, 2018 18:06:46 GMT
Italy.
Nice people but oh so laid back.
Security in Italy - oxymoron
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Post by Slinger on Jan 10, 2018 14:01:38 GMT
Police in Taiwan have apologised after 54 prize-winners in a cyber-security quiz at an event highlighting the government's cybercrime crackdown (have you guessed the end yet?) were awarded memory sticks as prizes. Memory sticks that contained malware.
The malware, which can steal personal data has been linked to fraud. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) apologised and promptly blamed a third-party contractor.
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Post by Slinger on Jan 10, 2018 14:08:45 GMT
There are suspicions that The Kremlin has been meddling with SatNav systems in and around Moscow. The theory is that they're trying to 'confuse' GPS systems to prevent possible attacks on top officials. The major side-effect of this appears to be that taxi passengers are facing hugely inflated fares as their position has been wrongly located thousands of miles away. Latest reports suggest that the problem now affects a much wider area than was first thought.
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Post by Slinger on Jan 10, 2018 14:18:05 GMT
Microsoft has halted some of its patches for the 'Meltdown' and 'Spectre' vulnerabilities as it was 'bricking' AMD-based machines. They've also admitted that the fix could slow your machine down by 2% to as much as 14%. They say that this should not be significant for "average computer users." Gaming platforms and cloud services, on the other hand, will feel the pinch. I rather thought that cloud services were pretty much 'average computer user' fare these days.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2018 14:35:11 GMT
So Micorosft are playing the Apple iPhone game. I was interested by how surprised everyone was that this sort of thing happens, of course Apple want you to upgrade to a later model.
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Post by Slinger on Jan 10, 2018 17:05:53 GMT
So Microsoft is playing the Apple iPhone game. I was interested in how surprised everyone was that this sort of thing happens, of course, Apple wants you to upgrade to a later model. That doesn't really seem to be the case, Paul. There is no upgrade path, your machine just gets slower. |
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Post by MartinT on Jan 10, 2018 17:09:30 GMT
Memory sticks that contained malware. Priceless!  |
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Post by MartinT on Jan 10, 2018 17:17:01 GMT
So Micorosft are playing the Apple iPhone game. The actual mechanism of the hardware vulnerability is convoluted and involves the processor switching between Kernel and User modes where cached data (such as passwords) could be left accessible using well crafted code. Since it affects Intel, AMD and ARM processors, it certainly isn't a Microsoft problem alone. The slow-down is caused by the workaround code ensuring that no cached data is left behind, thus the reduced efficiency. This depends on many factors including the number of threads running and the 'pipeline' of processes. It's not really anyone's fault, it was just never foreseen. |
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Post by Slinger on Jan 17, 2018 13:41:51 GMT
Stifling a sneeze by clamping your nose and mouth shut can cause serious physical damage, doctors are warning.
Medics in Leicester treated a 34-year-old man who ruptured his throat while trying to stop a high-powered sneeze. With nowhere to escape, the pressure ripped through the soft tissue, and although rare and unusual, they say people should be aware of the risks.
Trapping a sneeze could also damage the ears, or even rupture a [pre-existing] brain aneurysm, they warn in the 'BMJ Case Reports' journal.
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Post by MartinT on Jan 17, 2018 15:26:49 GMT
Something to remember when I feel a sneeze coming on...
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Post by ChrisB on Jan 17, 2018 18:47:02 GMT
I saw that and it worried me a bit because I have an extraordinary capacity to produce cataclysmic sneezes with seismic consequences. I have been known to sneeze so hard that it's knocked me off my feet!
Someone I knew as a teenager used to have sneezing fits for no apparent reason - little dainty ladylike sneezes, but lots of them in machine gun-like rapid succession. I think her record was over 200.
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Post by Slinger on Jan 18, 2018 13:46:30 GMT
Manuel's 'hamster' was innocent!
Rats were not to blame for the spread of plague during the Black Death, according to a study.
The rodents' and their fleas, were thought to have spread a series of outbreaks in 14th - 19th Century Europe, but a team from the universities of Oslo and Ferrara now says that the first Black Death can be "largely ascribed" to human fleas and body lice.
The study, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, uses records of its pattern and scale.
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Post by Slinger on Jan 23, 2018 14:27:56 GMT
Microsoft has halted some of its patches for the 'Meltdown' and 'Spectre' vulnerabilities as it was 'bricking' AMD-based machines. They've also admitted that the fix could slow your machine down by 2% to as much as 14%. They say that this should not be significant for "average computer users." Gaming platforms and cloud services, on the other hand, will feel the pinch. I rather thought that cloud services were pretty much 'average computer user' fare these days. FFS! Intel is now telling us NOT to apply the patches as they can severely slow down or even "brick" machines. They add that they now know what caused the problems and are developing fresh patches that will work better. Better late than never boys, but if these are the same patches that Windows 10 has already automatically installed...  |
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