Free online research endangers not-for-profit publishers

The Royal Society has warned against making scientific research available freely on the Web, claiming that it could harm debate. The 345-year-old UK science academy fears that a move to Internet publishing proposed by Research Councils UK (RCUK) could lead to the closure of not-for-profit publishers that have sustained the exchange of knowledge since the first peer-reviewed scientific journals were circulated in the 17th century. 'At least a third of all journals are published by not-for-profit organisations,' it said in a statement. ...more

BT Broadband turns to iTunes and iPods

New customers who sign up for BT Broadband or BT Yahoo! Broadband are being offered up to 40 free music downloads from the UK iTunes Music Store (iTMS). Apple charges 79p per track. Those who prefer the entry-level BT Broadband Basic package, however, will only be offered six tracks from iTMS. ...more

Supreme Court and p2p: Apple to be the major beneficiary?

Apple could be the major beneficiary of yesterday's unexpected US Supreme Court ruling that peer-to-peer software makers can be held liable for illegal file sharing using their applications. With observers anticipating a spate of lawsuits against the like of Grokster and Kazaa, Apple's iTunes Music Store is ideally positioned to pick up customers no longer able to download music for free. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said that the ruling 'would likely lead to a pick-up in sales for legitimate online content providers' among whom Apple has more than 70 per cent market share. ...more

US movie industry seeks cinema ban on recording equipment

The US movie industry is pushing for legislation that would make it illegal to take recording equipment into a cinema. A bill is currently being considered that would set a maximum $1,000 fine and a year in prison. Currently anyone caught videotaping a movie can be fined no more than $250. ...more

Move to Mac

New software has been released that makes it easier to switch from a Windows PC to a Mac. Though only scant details are available at present, it would appear that Move2Mac comprises two software wizards. The first wizard is launched on PC and creates a profile of all the user's settings, preferences and files. ...more