Music sharing pioneer Audiogalaxy returned this week, but not with the features its former users — or its founder — hoped to offer. The former Napster competitor found that, even with music-industry support, a legal file-sharing service is a long way from becoming reality. Continue reading on GigaOm.com.

Looks like mass lawsuits aren't just for Germans anymore: The Electronic Frontier Foundation is estimating that some 75,000 people have been sued for allegedly sharing pornographic movies in the US. This revelation comes as part of a new amicus brief (PDF) the civil liberties group just filed on behalf of 500 file sharers, asking an Illinois judge to squash a lawsuit against people accues of sharing videos from First Time Videos LLC, better known under the porn brand FTVGirls. A footnote of the amicus brief states:

"As of January 14, 2011, by an informal count, well (over) 75,000 people have been sued in similar (in some cases nearly identical) complaints arising from the alleged infringement of pornographic movies. This includes 4507 individuals sued in the Northern District of Illinois alone, in nine separate lawsuits. In addition, mass copyright complaints based on non-pornographic movies have also been brought against over 13,500 people in the District of Columbia."

I just wrote a story about lawsuits like these on NewTeeVee, explaining how German rights holders have filed more than half a million of such lawsuits in 2010. It looks like U.S. rights holders are well on their way to repeat these numbers, unless courts step in - which is of course exactly what the EFF wants. The group blogged on Monday:

"Friday's brief is the latest of EFF's efforts to stop copyright trolls -- content owners and lawyers who team up to extract settlements from thousands of defendants at a time. Tactics include improperly lumping defendants together in one case and filing it in a court far away from most of the accused people's homes and Internet connections. When adult film companies file these predatory lawsuits, there is the added pressure of embarrassment associated with pornography. All of these factors can convince those ensnared in the suits to quickly pay what's demanded of them instead of arguing the merits of their case in court."

It's worth noting that not everyone in the porn biz ready to sue the file sharing masses. Pink Visual's Allison Vivas told me recently that she has no intention to sue individuals, and Private CEO Berth Milton even said that piracy is promotion. Watch the entire interview with him embedded below:

German content owners have been busy pursuing alleged infringers: Local ISPs have to hand out around 300,000 names and addresses of file sharers caught in the act ever month, according to data from a German industry association. Will we see similar numbers in the U.S. soon? Continue reading on GigaOM Broadband.

Have you ever watched a TV show episode or Hollywood blockbuster on a website that didn’t have the proper licenses? Then you could be in trouble, at least if the example of Kino.to catches on. Rights holders are threatening to sue users of the now-defunct site. Continue reading on NewTeeVee.

The hardware business is a tough one. And in the smartphone space an incredibly crowded, expensive and competitive one. It’s perhaps noble then that Vodafone tried but ultimately failed with its bespoke Vodafone 360 handsets, which were based on the LiMo operating system and manufactured by Samsung. The mobile operator announced this week that while [...]

This week has been a tough one.  It has just become more and more clear that the global travel situation isn’t going to clear up until at least early in the fall.  So while we’re still very hopeful that our Namibia trips starting in September will still happen, we’ve sadly had to cancel or postpone […]

The post Cancelling/Postponing Photography Trips appeared first on Brendan van Son Photography.

velocityconf: Free webcast from our friends at @citrix 5/29 http://t.co/IOeY4U0wUP Learn to consolidate 40 load balancers and ADCs into single platform

velocityconf: LAST DAY for #velocityconf EU call for speakers http://t.co/qShofQCDPl Share your best #WPO, #Ops, and #DevOps stories.

velocityconf: New #velocityconf CA program preview is up: http://t.co/rKjf91RXdD @ariyahidayat on End-to-End JS Quality Analysis.

velocityconf: What Is the Risk That Amazon Will Go Down (Again)? http://t.co/DgnfQynjcM Thank you @bergstrom_johan for the awesome #velocityconf post.

velocityconf: RT @courtneynash: Bill Scott's #fluentconf keynote theme also rings true re #velocityconf: tech change is really about people/culture change

Police are investigating a house robbery in which a couple in Amanzimtoti, on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, believed to be in their 50s was stabbed.

This episode of Tali's Wedding Diary is proudly shared with you by Channel24 and Showmax.

South African born stuntwoman, Olivia Jackson, who was injured in a horrific accident on the set of 'Resident Evil' in 2015 has won a legal case against the company involved in the film.

You can listen to this version of the 'world's most joyous song' here.

We may not be able to go out during the national lockdown, but that does not mean that we can't attend events.

The Duke of Sussex recently launched a fitness online program for the military community.

Ciara offers pregnancy advice to expecting moms during the Covid-19 pandemic

After a long battle with cancer, Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor has died.

Meghan Markle is reportedly set to launch her lifestyle website to rival Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop.

South Africa's broadcasting regulator has approved an application from the SABC for its annual local TV content quotas to be waived because of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Little Richard, whose outrageous showmanship and lightning-fast rhythms intoxicated crowds in the 1950s with hits like 'Tutti Frutti' and 'Long Tall Sally', has died.

An alleged robber, who was wounded while his two suspected accomplices were killed in a shootout with police, has been arrested.

Five new Covid-19 cases have been recorded among prison inmates and three Department of Correctional Services officials have recovered.

Netcare St Augustine's and Netcare Kingsway hospitals have been given the green light to reopen.

A horror crash involving a truck and a tanker carrying a flammable substance has led to the closure of the N2, near the Mtunzini Toll Plaza on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast.

The Western Cape remains the epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, with 4 809 cases, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says.

The author made sense in both the argument put forth as well as in accurately describing the actual policing festive season operations on the ground in the bustling and busy city centre of Durban.

The message is clear: we must do everything to encourage direct investment in SA - failure to do so will likely see the "pot boiling over", with fiscal shortages (taxes falling short), increased hunger/poverty, civil unrest (and perhaps even civil war).

News24 asked young people to send to us their reasons for leaving and what would have to be different for them to return to South Africa, or not leave at all. The response was overwhelming.

I am requesting that you publish this letter as a response to the article so that my side of the story can be heard in order to provide a balanced view.

After Mmusi Maimane's resignation as DA leader, Buccus recycled the madcap mutterings of Herman Mashaba, warning that the DA had been captured by the "right-wing zealots of the Institute of Race Relations".

So it is difficult to imagine who would want to stop the SARB if it would help reduce load shedding and contain further job losses.A similar argument arises in providing social houses to replace our dangerous rusty corrugated iron suburbs.

What is needed is political will and proper governance in implementing these temporary measures and further planning in the event that the pandemic is prolonged or the possible eventuality of political risk in the near future.

It is at times like these that we as a country rely on the relevant stakeholders to take care of our people and put into action the promises made in the preamble of our Constitution, particularly where it is stated that through our freely elected representatives, the quality of life of all citizens is to be improved.

South Africans would do well to verify information which they receive through social media channels, and avoid re-posting or forwarding information which they have not properly verified.

Today’s buyers are getting more demanding and selling online is getting more and more complex. Both B2B and B2C customers expect a seamless purchase experience and easy access to all the information, products and services they want, on any device and in any country.

We’ve recently had the pleasure to chat with Andrei Nastasie, the affiliate program manager at Mondly Languages, an innovative language learning app that incorporates native language recordings, augmented reality and virtual reality to help people learn new languages. In this interview, he shares how Mondly started out, what it has been up to and what’s next for this creative company.

If you’re an entrepreneur nurturing your own company to a full-blown success, you are always looking for insights and ideas to take your business to the next level, right? But you’re probably super busy as well, and don’t always have the time to figure out where you should be looking for those insights.

It’s time to hang your winter jacket in the closet and change your wardrobe to warmer clothes, because “Spring Is Coming” to the Avangate Affiliate Network. Our spring contest will make your sales bloom and may even fulfill your Amazon wishlist. (Feel free to think “beyond the wall” with creative promotions!)

From smartphone-operated elevators to contactless coffee machines, businesses are trying to eliminate major touchpoints to help deter coronavirus spread in the workplace.

Rather than waiting for offices to reopen, REALTOR® associations are conducting timely, safe, and efficient ethics hearings through Zoom.

From the virtual 2020 REALTORS® Legislative Meetings, April 27-May 15

Many homeowners have built up wealth in their homes. Owners’ balance sheets remained strong in the first quarter across the U.S., a new report shows.

The Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is now limiting both the amount and recipients it will consider for the emergency loans.

Paris, France - The City of Lights

Travel Photography (interview with Chris Marquardt)

Tanzania, Africa as a tourist

Chicago, Illionois

Madrid, Spain

Vancouver, Birtish Columbia (plus Victoria, Whistler)