downloading

A German court has found that a mother and father are not responsible for the extensive filesharing activity of their 13-year-old son. The finding could set a precedent for other such court cases around the world. Back in 2007 record producers found ... that more than 1,100 of their copyright-protected songs were downloaded by a single IP (Internet Protocol) address. Further investigation revealed that the downloading had been the work of a single 13-year-old boy. A search of his computer turned up several filesharing programs, including 'Morpheus' and 'Bearshare.' (Source: computerworld.com ) ... (view more)

Imagine being fined almost $2 million dollars for illegally downloading two albums' worth of music. Minnesota single mom Jammie Thomas-Rasset couldn't believe such a decision, and neither could a U.S. District court judge, who recently cut the fine ... down to $54,000. Original Fine $200K, Upped to $1.92M Thomas-Rasset's case is a long and prolific one, dating back almost four years. It was in 2006 that a case was brought against her on behalf of the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA), for the illegal downloading of 24 songs. At the conclusion of that trial, Thomas-Rasset, who is a ... (view more)

The British government is considering plans to force Internet service providers (ISPs) to cut off any users who illegally downloading files. They are looking at a range of possible systems to force ISPs to stop customers downloading; the most likely ... to become law is a three-strike system under which ISPs will email warnings to customers they suspect of downloading movies or music without the copyright holder's permission. If the customer continues to do so, they'll face a suspension. A third offence will see their account cancelled. Internet firms which refuse or otherwise fail to enforce the ... (view more)

As peer-to-peer file sharing programs are coming under fire abroad, as the American courts are taking a chunk out of one of the Internet's biggest download networks. As of Thursday morning, Reuters has announced that Sharman Networks, owners of the ... file-sharing web site Kazaa, have reached a legal settlement with a conglomeration of music industry representatives. The result will see Sharman pay EMI Group, Universal Music, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, and Warner Music a combined $100 million in compensation. In addition, following in the footsteps of the original bad boys of file-sharing ... (view more)

It is a civil (and in some cases criminal) offense to file share over the Internet. And as of Tuesday, June 27th, this is reality for thousands of downloaders in Spain. Recently, the country's Congress passed legislation banning unauthorized ... peer-to-peer sharing of files. The difference between North American crackdowns and those in Spain lies in the aggressive nature of the Spanish legislation. It is a criminal offense for P2P (Peer to Peer) networks to allow downloading, and a civil offense for anyone to engage in this downloading, even for personal use. (Source: tmcnet.com ) Long History ... (view more)

Synopsis: Are you a download-a-holic? Do you suffer from slower than average download speeds? Do you often get disconnected in the middle of a download? Do you use Internet Explorer and wish there was a way you could resume a broken download (and ... avoid having to start from the beginning)? Do you have trouble remembering where your last downloaded file was saved to? If you answered 'Yes' to any of these questions, then you'll definitely want to find out why PC Magazine bestowed the Editors' Choice Award to Conceiva DownloadStudio for best Internet Download Manager -- but only if you read ... (view more)

Synopsis: What's the best way to archive your favorite web pages and web media permanently? Answer: MetaProducts Offline Explorer! Using a clear, intuitive and convenient user interface, Offline Explorer downloads Web and FTP sites (up to 500 ... simultaneously!) at the highest possible speed so you can browse, search, export to CD or perform other operations on downloaded sites. Among its many awards, Offline Explorer is a ZDNet.com 5-star winner! Offline Explorer: Screenshots Click to view: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4. 10 Reasons why you should be using Offline Explorer (1) A Powerful, ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Deanna K. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thank you for your wonderful newsletter and relentless dedication and support for computer newbies (like myself)! I have been carefully following your recent discussions concerning SP2; however, I ... have a question that I cannot seem to find the answer to. I understand that I can get Windows XP Service Pack 2 CD for free from Microsoft. Subsequently, a number of tech articles that I've read recommend that I get the Service Pack 2 CD instead of downloading SP2 from the Internet. Can you explain why this is so? " My response: I've ... (view more)

Recall -- Back in late January of this year, Infopackets Reader David J. asked me if I knew of a program was capable of archiving web pages from web sites for offline reading. I responded by providing instruction on how to use Internet Explorer's ... built-in web page archiver ( article here ), but then asked Infopackets Readers if they knew of a better solution. Infopackets Reader Michael O. writes: " Dennis, it's funny you should ask about Webpage archiver programs... I was just thinking (a few days ago, in fact), 'I haven't seen many of them around, I wonder if people just don't have a ... (view more)