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Tag: CNET

  • ViacomCBS Sells CNET for $500 Million

    ViacomCBS Sells CNET for $500 Million

    ViacomCBS has sold legendary tech news site CNET to South Carolina based Red Ventures LLC. The company announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire CNET Media Group from ViacomCBS for $500 million. Red Ventures purchased Bankrate in 2017 for $1.24 billion and Healthline Media for an undisclosed amount last year. Red Ventures CEO Ric Elias told WSJ that CNET’s value is due to the fact that digital technology has spread to many sectors of American business.

    Technology news leader CNET paved the way for CNET Media Group, a portfolio of digital media brands that advise consumers across leading consumer tech, business tech, gaming, and entertainment. Their brands include ZDNet, Gamespot,  TVGuide, Metacritic, Chowhound and several others.

    “Red Ventures believes in the power of premium content from trusted brands that help people make better life decisions,” said Ric Elias, Red Ventures CEO and Co-Founder. “Over the last 25 years CNET Media Group has built a dynamic portfolio of brands with well-earned authority on such topics as consumer tech and gaming that play an increasingly important role in people’s lives. Red Ventures is eager to invest in CNET Media Group’s growth with more personalized consumer experiences that will reinvigorate CNET Media Group’s brands and unlock unprecedented opportunity for all.”

    “I am incredibly excited about CNET Media Group’s future. I believe that the combination of Red Ventures customer experience platform and CNET Media Group’s rich content and deep editorial expertise greatly benefits both our audiences and our partners,” said Mark Larkin, Executive Vice President and GM of CNET Media Group. “Red Ventures shares our vision and is committed to realizing the full potential of our portfolio of world-class brands.”

    Red Ventures was formed in 2000 as a performance marketing startup and has since grown to include more than 100 digital brands with more than 3,000 employees across 10 US cities, the UK and Brazil. It has two sides to its business – one is a sophisticated, partner-centric platform for performance marketing, and the other is a robust, consumer-centric platform for digital brands. Red Ventures’ existing brands operate in the Home Services, Health, Finance, Travel, Education, and Entertainment verticals. The acquisition of the CNET Media Group accelerates Red Ventures’ entry into new verticals, including Consumer Tech and Gaming.

    “Every aspect of our lives – from our homes to our jobs, our income, and our well-being is impacted by the technology around us, so the content we consume and the brands we choose are highly personal,” said Marc McCollum, President of Red Ventures’ Media & Technology group. “Adding CNET Media Group to our portfolio will further advance our mission to help people make some of the most important decisions of their lives. It will be a win for our teams, for our businesses, and most of all, for visitors and fans of the CNET Media Group’s brands.”

  • SoftBank May Sell or IPO Arm Holdings

    SoftBank May Sell or IPO Arm Holdings

    SoftBank is considering selling off Arm Holdings, or taking the chip designer public.

    Arm designs the chips used in a wide array of phones and tablets, including Apple’s iPhone and iPad. Apple recently announced it would transition the Mac from Intel to its own custom silicon, based on ARM chips.

    While Arm Holdings was originally a joint venture between Apple, Acorn and VLSI Technology, the company eventually went public before being acquired by SoftBank in 2016 for $32 billion. SoftBank has had its own share of troubles lately, exemplified by the WeWork debacle. As a result, according to CNET, the company is looking at a sale or IPO of Arm.

    At this point, nothing is certain, and SoftBank may not even proceed with any plans. Should it move forward with a sale, however, Apple would certainly have the resources and the motivation to buy the company, as its entire hardware lineup is about to be tied with Arm’s future.

  • Uber Taking LADOT to Federal Court

    Uber Taking LADOT to Federal Court

    Uber is taking its battle against the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) over customer data to federal court.

    While Uber already shares location data for its electric bike and scooter ride-sharing services with many cities it operates in, the LADOT has required that Uber share real-time, or near real-time, data with the agency. The data would include start and end points, as well as the route taken. Uber has fought the ruling and ultimately had its license for its scooter business pulled.

    The company appealed the ruling, which was heard by David B. Shapiro, a lawyer who has handled multiple city departments appeals. Shapiro sided with LADOT, but noted that neither side had made very compelling arguments. Uber had not given evidence that real-time data was being abused, or that customers’ privacy was negatively impacted. At the same time, LADOT did not adequately show why it was so important to receive real-time data.

    Now Uber is taking the next step, suing the LADOT in federal court. According to CNET, the company is continuing to claim that customer privacy will be negatively impacted.

    “Real-time in-trip geolocation data is not good for planning bike lanes, or figuring out deployment patterns in different neighborhoods, or dealing with complaints about devices that are parked in the wrong place, or monitoring compliance with permit requirements,” states the lawsuit. “What it is good for is surveillance.”

    The outcome of this lawsuit will likely have far-reaching repercussions for a variety of industries, and determine the degree to which local governments do or don’t have the right to require real-time location data.

  • TCL Phone Will Have Slide-Out Screen, Doubles As Tablet

    TCL Phone Will Have Slide-Out Screen, Doubles As Tablet

    Mobile World Congress 2020 was cancelled due to the coronavirus, robbing vendors of one of the best launch events of the year.

    It appears TCL was planning on unveiling a head-turning new smartphone design that doubles as a tablet. According to leaked photos provided to CNET by a trusted source, TCL’s design features a type of slide-out mechanism to transform a somewhat traditional looking smartphone into a tablet form factor.

    The design is a major departure from foldable phones, such as those from Samsung and Motorola. Exactly how the mechanism works is unclear, but CNET’s Jessica Dolcourt makes the following observations:

    Image Credit: CNET
    Image Credit: CNET

    “Poring over the photos, the design of this TCL concept phone appears to use one continuous display, with curved screens on either side. Between the center of the phone and the dual front-facing camera along the right side, there’s a break in the chassis where you can pull the two sides apart to expose the surplus screen. It’d be much like sliding back the sides of your dining room table to add a leaf that seats more guests.

    “It isn’t clear exactly how the mechanism inside would work, but my best guess is that one portion of the flexible display bends or wraps behind the other. This might make the phone a little thicker than usual.”

    Hopefully there will be an official announcement, along with specs and pricing, available soon. TCL’s innovative take on the design is likely to win a fair share of customers.

     

    Image Credit: CNET

  • Microsoft Responsible For Latest Google Chrome Feature

    Microsoft Responsible For Latest Google Chrome Feature

    Once bitter rivals in the browser wars, Microsoft and Google are now cooperating like never before, with a major Chrome feature originating with Microsoft, according to The Verge.

    Microsoft recently moved its Edge browser over to Chromium, the open-source rendering engine that serves as the basis for Chrome. Since the move, Microsoft has been responsible for some 1,900 changes and improvements to Chromium, according to CNET.

    While many of these changes are under-the-hood, the latest is a very visible one. CNET says “the tab management feature in Edge lets you right-click on a single tab or a group of tabs you’ve selected then send them to a new or different Edge browser window. It’s useful if you like to group related tabs into a single window.”

    The feature caught the eye of Google software engineer Leonard Grey and, as The Verge points out, “now Microsoft is helping bring it directly to Chromium and Chrome.” This is an excellent example of the overall benefit that comes from tech companies working together around open standards and open-source software.

  • NJ Bans Clearview; Company Faces Potential Class-Action

    NJ Bans Clearview; Company Faces Potential Class-Action

    Facial recognition firm Clearview AI is facing a potential class-action lawsuit, while simultaneously being banned from being used by NJ police, according to separate reports by the New York Times (NYT) and CNET.

    The NYT is reporting that Clearview has found itself in hot water with the New Jersey attorney general over its main promotional video it was running on its website. The video showed Attorney General and two state troopers at a press conference detailing an operation to apprehend 19 men accused of trying to lure children for sex, an operation that Clearview took at least partial responsibility for.

    Mr. Grewal was not impressed with Clearview using his likeness in its promotional material, or in the potential legal and ethical issues the service poses.

    “Until this week, I had not heard of Clearview AI,” Mr. Grewal said in an interview. “I was troubled. The reporting raised questions about data privacy, about cybersecurity, about law enforcement security, about the integrity of our investigations.”

    Mr. Grewal was also concerned about the company sharing details of ongoing investigations.

    “I was surprised they used my image and the office to promote the product online,” Mr. Grewal continued, while also acknowledging that Clearview had been used to identify one of the suspects. “I was troubled they were sharing information about ongoing criminal prosecutions.”

    As a result of his concerns, Mr. Grewal has told state prosecutors in NJ’s 21 counties that police should not use the app.

    At the same time, CNET is reporting an individual has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois East Division and is seeking class-action status.

    “Without obtaining any consent and without notice, Defendant Clearview used the internet to covertly gather information on millions of American citizens, collecting approximately three billion pictures of them, without any reason to suspect any of them of having done anything wrong, ever,” alleges the complaint. “Clearview used artificial intelligence algorithms to scan the facial geometry of each individual depicted in the images, a technique that violates multiple privacy laws.”

    It was only a matter of time before Clearview faced the fallout from its actions. It appears that fallout is happening sooner rather than later.

  • Verizon Launches OneSearch, A Privacy-Focused Search Engine

    Verizon Launches OneSearch, A Privacy-Focused Search Engine

    Verizon has announced the launch of OneSearch, a brand-new search engine focused on privacy, according to a press release.

    Privacy is increasingly becoming a major factor for tech companies, governments and users alike. The European Union’s Genera Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy law went into effect in 2018. As of January 1, 2020, California implemented the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPR), the most comprehensive privacy law in the U.S. The increased regulation, not to mention increasing consumer demand, has created both challenges and opportunities for tech companies.

    Verizon’s solution seems to be a search engine, powered by Bing, that caters toward privacy-conscious users. According to Verizon’s press release, “available for free today on desktop and mobile web at www.onesearch.com, OneSearch doesn’t track, store, or share personal or search data with advertisers, giving users greater control of their personal information in a search context. Businesses with an interest in security can partner with Verizon Media to integrate OneSearch into their privacy and security products, giving their customers another measure of control.”

    The search engine has additional advanced features, such as temporary link sharing. When Advanced Privacy Mode is enabled, any links to search results will expire in one hour.

    Users will still see ads when searching, but they will not be customized or based on the person’s search or browsing habits.

    “To allow for a free search engine experience, OneSearch is an ad-supported platform. Ads will be contextual, based on factors like search keywords, not cookies or browsing history. For example, if someone searches for ‘flights to Paris,’ they may see ads for travel booking sites or airlines that travel to Paris.”

    OneSearch does use some personal information. For example, a person’s IP address does provide general location information that can be used to provide location-specific results. Personal data is obfuscated and is never shared with search partners.

    While it is always nice to see tech giants embrace privacy, it’s hard to see the benefits of OneSearch over DuckDuckGo. DuckDuckGo has a long-standing track record of providing private search. As CNET points out, the move is also interesting coming from Verizon Media, the branch of the telecommunications company “that runs an extensive ad network with more than 70,000 web publishers and apps as customers. While the search engine aims to attract users by turning on privacy features by default, OneSearch will also let Verizon Media hone its ad-matching powers on a search engine it owns. (Verizon also owns the Yahoo search engine.)”

    It will be interesting to see what becomes of OneSearch and if it lives up to its promise of respecting people’s privacy. In the meantime, most users will probably be better off using DuckDuckGo.

  • CES 2020: Verizon Plans To Release 20 5G Phones In 2020

    CES 2020: Verizon Plans To Release 20 5G Phones In 2020

    Verizon has set a bold goal for itself with plans to release 20 5G phones in 2020, according to CNET.

    Verizon Wireless CEO Ronan Dunne announced the company’s plans during an interview at CES 2020. At four times the number of 5G phones the company released in 2019, 20 represents a significant uptick. In spite of that, Dunne told CNET “he had to turn down vendor partners wanting to build 5G phones.”

    Currently, mmWave is the fastest 5G available—with speed measured in gigabits rather than megabits—but has very limited range and building penetration. T-Mobile and AT&T have both opted to build out low-band 5G networks, in addition to their mmWave offerings. Low-band is slower, but has far better range and penetration. Verizon, however, is focusing almost exclusively on mmWave. As a result, their 5G network does not have the nationwide coverage T-Mobile currently has.

    Since device manufacturers build phones that will appeal to the widest audience, it makes sense that many would prioritize phones that take advantage of the low-band spectrum. As CNET points out, the fact that Verizon has already had to turn down vendors is especially reassuring given their focus on the mmWave variety of 5G.

  • Fisker Ocean Electric SUV Debuts At CES, Beats Tesla’s Price

    Fisker Ocean Electric SUV Debuts At CES, Beats Tesla’s Price

    According to Roadshow, by CNET, Fisker has debuted its Ocean electric SUV at CES 2020, undercutting Tesla’s price.

    Anticipation for the electric SUV has been building for months, with one of the biggest features being its sub-$400 lease price. The official debut didn’t disappoint, with an MSRP of $37,499 and a lease price of $379 per month. With federal tax credits, the price drops to $29,999.

    As an added bonus, Fisker has very favorable lease terms. According to a statement Fisker gave Roadshow, lessees “can return the vehicle in one month, eight months, 22 months or several years.” There are “no long-term contracts, with 30,000 miles per year included.” In addition, “Fisker will pick up and return vehicles when maintenance is required, or service is requested,” the company said.

    While specific, comprehensive details have yet to be announced, the Ocean “will be powered by an approximately 80-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. The company is targeting an electric driving range of somewhere between 250 and 300 miles.”

    For observers and consumers who have wanted more competition in the electric vehicle market, the Fisker Ocean debut is welcome news. In combination with the news that Rivian recently raised $1.3 billion, as well as inked deals with Amazon and Ford, the electric vehicle market is beginning to heat up.

  • Google Nest Hub and Xiaomi Cameras Give Window Into Strangers’ Homes

    Google Nest Hub and Xiaomi Cameras Give Window Into Strangers’ Homes

    CNET is reporting on the latest example of security cameras exposing the very people they’re supposed to protect.

    According to the report, Netherlands resident Dio clicked on the Xiaomi camera feed on his Google Nest Hub, expecting to see a blackboard he had the camera pointed at for test purposes. Instead, he saw a stranger’s kitchen. Repeated attempts showed a random collection of other people’s cameras, only occasionally displaying his own.

    At this point, no one is aware of the cause of the issues or whether it is on Google or Xiaomi’s end. In the meantime, Google has disabled Xiaomi integration until a fix can be implemented.

    “We’re aware of the issue and are in contact with Xiaomi to work on a fix. In the meantime, we’re disabling Xiaomi integrations on our devices,” Google told CNET, although they did say they were not aware of other instances of this happening.

    Ring has been under fire recently over a number of hacking incidents, and security camera maker Wyze suffered a high-profile data breach. These incidents continue to demonstrate the need for IoT companies, especially ones in the security market, to place a greater emphasis on security protocols and testing.

  • AT&T Expands 5G Options, Still Lags Behind T-Mobile and Verizon

    AT&T Expands 5G Options, Still Lags Behind T-Mobile and Verizon

    AT&T has been expanding its 5G network, adding coverage in both its low-band and millimeter wave (mmWave) flavors, according to CNET.

    Like Verizon and T-Mobile, AT&T has been racing to deploy its 5G network. The carrier has adopted a similar strategy as T-Mobile, deploying both low-band 5G and mmWave simultaneously. Low-band 5G offers speeds only marginally faster than 4G LTE—in T-Mobile’s case, a maximum of four times faster—but has the advantage of long range and excellent building penetration. mmWave, on the other hand, offers terrible range and building penetration, but provides speeds measured in gigabits instead of megabits.

    In addition to the 10 cities AT&T initially launched low-band in, the company has added nine new ones. The cities include, Baltimore, Buffalo, Bridgeport, Detroit, Las Vegas, Louisville, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington DC. Boston is also listed on the company’s coverage maps, although no announcement has yet been made.

    Similarly, AT&T has added mmWave service in Baltimore, Detroit, King of Prussia and West Hollywood, bringing the total to 25 cities.

    In both cases, however, AT&T lags well behind its competitors. T-Mobile has launched its low-band network nationwide, covering 200 million people, rather than a mere 19 cities. Similarly, Verizon has been pushing to deploy mmWave as quickly as possible, recently passing its 30 city goal for 2019, well beyond AT&T’s 25.

  • Verizon On Track For 5G In 30 Cities In 2019

    Verizon On Track For 5G In 30 Cities In 2019

    CNET is reporting that Verizon has turned on its 5G network in Los Angeles, Des Moines, IA and Hoboken, NJ, putting the carrier on target for 30 cities in 2019.

    According to CNET, “Verizon’s 5G network is already live in Dallas, Omaha, Atlanta, Detroit, Indianapolis, Washington, DC, Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Providence, Boston, Houston and Sioux Falls.”

    Verizon is taking a different approach than T-Mobile and AT&T, as it has been focusing heavily on the faster, short-range mmWave 5G spectrum. T-Mobile, in contrast, recently activated its nationwide 5G network—based on the slower, but longer-range low-band spectrum—while slowly rolling out mmWave in select cities.

    Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Little Rock, Kansas City, Memphis, San Diego and Salt Lake City are all slated to receive Verizon 5G before the end of the year, leaving the company just under two weeks to meet its goal.

  • T-Mobile Suffers Breach, Sensitive Prepaid Data Exposed

    T-Mobile Suffers Breach, Sensitive Prepaid Data Exposed

    T-Mobile announced it has suffered a data breach, exposing prepaid customers’ sensitive information to hackers.

    T-Mobile has not said when the attack occurred, but they have confirmed that financial data was not compromised. That means that credit card and back account information, as well as social security numbers, were not impacted. The company also stated that no passwords were compromised.

    “The data accessed was information associated with your prepaid service account, including name and billing address (if you provided one when you established your account), phone number, account number, rate plan and features, such as whether you added an international calling feature. Rate plan and features of your voice calling service are ‘customer proprietary network information’ (‘CPNI’) under FCC rules, which require we provide you notice of this incident.”

    The company has not said how many customer accounts were exposed, although a spokesman did tell CNET that the number was a “very small single digit percentage of customers.”

    T-Mobile says all affected customers have been, or shortly will be, notified. If customers have not received notification, it likely means they were not impacted.

  • T-Mobile Will Turn On Nationwide 5G December 6

    T-Mobile Will Turn On Nationwide 5G December 6

    T-Mobile has rolled out 5G in six cities but, according to CNET, the company is about to unveil nationwide 5G on December 6.

    Many 5G deployments fall into two types: low-band and high-frequency. High-frequency 5G offers the highest speeds, but at the cost of range and ability to penetrate obstacles, such as trees and buildings. Low-band 5G, in contrast, is not as fast but offers far superior range and penetration, while still be significantly faster than 4G.

    T-Mobile’s deployment-to-date has used high-frequency, millimeter-wave spectrum, the same kind of 5G that Verizon and AT&T are deploying. On December 6, however, the network T-Mobile will be activating will rely on their low-band spectrum. That difference will allow the company to provide service to upwards of 5,000 cities and towns throughout the country. It will also give T-Mobile an edge when it comes to building penetration in those cities.

    T-Mobile has assured customers that existing plans will automatically have access to the new 5G service—with compatible phones—without any additional fees or plan changes.

    Initially, the only two phones supporting the new spectrum are the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G and the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren, but it’s a safe bet that other manufacturers will be quick to incorporate support in their next models.

  • Microsoft, Apple Are Most Visited Computer/Electronic Sites

    Just as how you go to the grocery store when you want to find food, a new Nielsen report shows that when the people want to find some information about electronics and computers, it comes as no surprise that they turn to websites of companies that specialize in electronics and computers.

    Microsoft’s website welcomed 93.8 million unique visitors from the U.S. in September 2011, more than any other computer and consumer electronics brand online during the month. Visitors spent an average of 42 minutes perusing the site. In comparison, Apple saw 68.7 million unique visitors but their they were more likely to spend more time on their site as the average visitor remained on their website for 62 minutes per visitor. “Adobe, Mozilla, and CNET rounded out the top five brands, with 24 to 28 million visitors going to their sites and spending 2 to 6 minutes each on average. CNET was the only news website among the top 5 in this category overall.”

    Amazon had the third-highest amount of unique visitor traffic with 72 million unique visitors, each spending an average of 29 minutes on the site. Amazon was leaps and bounds the most visited mass merchandiser website, easily dwarfing the traffic for and time spent on rival sites like Walmart, Target, and Overstock.com. Consumer traffic at Walmart “followed as the second-ranked site, where 34.5 million visitors spent an average of 13 minutes per person on the site. Target, Shopathome.com, and Overstock.com rounded out the top five most visited mass merchandiser websites.”

    One stand-out factoid about Amazon: 1 in 3 people in the United States visited the site in September 2011.

    Demographically speaking, women were more likely to both categories of websites. 3 out of 4 Internet savvy women visited consumer electronics sites during September 2011, compared to 7 out of 10 men. “Women were also 7 percent more likely to visit mass merchandiser sites. Young people aged 18-34 were slightly more likely than the general population (4 percent more likely) to visit consumer electronics sites.” Additionally, those in the middle income bracket were also more likely to visit computer and consumer electronics websites (guess that makes sense that they’d visit it more than low income consumers, and those 1%ers probably just hire people to do their comparative shopping for them).

    Nielsen suggests that interested readers take a look at their State of the Media: Consumer Usage Report for additional insights about these consumer habits.

  • RealNetworks Plays The Role Of Internet Bully

    While researching this topic, something occurred to me: who uses RealPlayer anymore to begin with? And so, after a quick jaunt over to RealNetworks Twitter page, I noticed they only have about 3700 followers. By comparison, Winamp, a RealPlayer competitor from those Internet days of yore, has over 7000.

    Apparently, Winamp is still whipping the llama’s ass, if the llama in question is the oft-maligned RealPlayer.

    As you well know, these are small amounts in the grand scheme of Twitter, and it should clue you into just how popular the service is. Granted, they’ve expanded from the days of being known as the streaming video player that brought the word “buffering” to popularity, but even with the new services, they can’t escape their past, something Oh Internet expands on quite nicely.

    Now, as if to add to their sterling reputation, RealNetworks is suing a Dutch webmaster because he had the audacity to link to a free alternative to the RealPlayer, called Real Alternative. The webmaster in question runs a software downloads site, but instead of hosting these files, he simply links to places they can be downloaded.

    Naturally, RealNetworks’ complaint has to do with trademarks and copyrights, but the question is, if they are truly worried about that, why not go after the developers of the Real Alternative instead of some webmaster who doesn’t have the same resources to defend himself?

    Obviously, the answer lies in the question.

    Instead of going after companies like CNet’s Download.com, a site that apparently hosts the program in question and Google, who has more links for “Real Alternative” than the webmaster being sued, undoubtedly, RealNetworks goes after the little guy, much like a bully who picks on the weaker of the bunch.

    Apparently, going after the little guy is safer than getting your collective ass handed to you by Google’s legal team. That being said, we’re throwing down the gauntlet at WebProNews. This is us linking to a site that links to Real Alternative downloads, essentially the same thing the Dutch webmaster did. This should also give some insight into the lead image, which is defiance in the face of RealNetworks’ bullying strategy.

    RealNetworks’ problem is with the developers of Real Alternative, not the people who link to the download. Considering the fact that RealNetworks have been around since 1995, you’d think they’d have a little bit more Internet/business savvy than…

    Sorry, that last part of the article hasn’t downloaded yet because of buffering issues.

  • Who is Responsible for Illegal P2P Downloading?

    Who is Responsible for Illegal P2P Downloading?

    Don’t hate the player, don’t hate the game – hate the messenger?

    In the latest round of who-can-we-sue, disgruntled “victims” of file sharing have taken aim at CBS’s CNET, specifically their software downloading site cnet.download.com.

    Entrepreneur, FilmOn Founder and “eccentric billionaire” Alki David has filed a lawsuit against CNET alleging that they aided in copyright infringement by distributing P2P clients, most notably LimeWire but also Morpheus, iMesh and FrostWire.  Of course, LimeWire is already in its own mess.

    Joining Mr. David as plaintiffs are a number of rappers and R&B artists that include members of 2 Live Crew, Pretty Ricky and Ying Yang Twins.  Fifteen plaintiffs are listed in all.

    Whose fault is copyright infringement, if anybody’s? Is it the person who shares the files, the makers of the client, or in this case do you agree that CNET shares some responsibility? Tell us what you think.

    Part one of the argument is that CNET is guilty of copyright infringement because they allowed users to download software that was used for copyright infringement.

    The CBS defendants have been the main distributor of Lime Wire software and have promoted this and other P2P systems in order to directly profit from wide-scale copyright infringement…the CBS Defendants’ business model has been so dependent upon P2P and file sharing applications that entire pages of Download.com are designed specifically to list and categorize these software offerings.

    So, blame Dick’s Sporting Goods for selling the hockey stick that was used to bludgeon someone to death with.  Got it.  Maybe we should sue Google for providing search results linking to CNET.  Actually, let’s just sue the internet.  Let’s sue Al Gore.

    All ranting aside, the fact remains that while CNET was distributing LimeWire, is was a legal product. Limewire does not inherently have to be used for “copyright infringement.” File sharing does not necessarily equal copyright infringement.  Of course, P2P clients are used for the sharing of copyrighted files – nobody can deny that.

    But I simply don’t know if we should sue the tackle shop for selling the bobber used to snag and keep the fish from the catch-and-release pond. Should we?

    But I digress.  The second part of the argument is that along with hosting downloads, CNET also wrote reviews for products like LimeWire, thus instructing users specifically how to break the law.

    The CBS Defendants have not just distributed and profited from software applications used to infringe copyrights on a massive scale.  They also furnished articles and other content that explained how users could use P2P software to infringe.

    On cnet.com, Download.com and other website, the CBS Defendants offered videos, articles and other media that instructed how to use P2P software to locate pirated copies of copyrighted works and remove electronic protections placed on digital music file sin order to prevent infringement.

    Or as I call it, the Anarchist Cookbook argument.

    Part 54 of the lawsuit provides my personal favorite complaint, simply for its leave-no-stone-unturned approach:

    As part of their review process, the CBS Defendants tested the software that they reviewed and, in the case of P2P clients, infringed copyrights to do so.  In a video that Download.com posted to its website, the CBS Defendants again reviewed LimeWire, but this time demonstrated how it worked to Download.com users.  The message of the video is clear: LimeWire is really great at infringing copyrights.

    The lawsuit seeks damages as well as an injunction barring CNET from offering P2P client downloads.

    Here’s a video of Alki David ranting against CBS, thanks to Ars Technica.  David says that CBS “finds itself publicly exposed as an irresponsible hypocrite, that has ruined the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in the creative community and created copyright infringement damages into the trillions of dollars.”

    “Hypocrite” is most likely a reference to past legal dealings between CBS and David’s site FilmOn. Last fall CBS along with Fox, NBC and ABC won a restraining order against U.K. based FilmOn in the U.S. The networks argued that because FilmOn was rebroadcasting their content over the internet, they were in violation of copyright law. Although the merits of Alki David’s lawsuit against CBS deserve a fair debate, it is not a stretch to see this current lawsuit as some sort of retaliation for previous actions.

    CBS has responded to the lawsuit, saying:

    “This latest move by Mr. David is a desperate attempt to distract copyright holders like us from continuing our rightful claims. His lawsuit against CBS affiliates is riddled with inaccuracies, and we are confident that we will prevail, just as we did in the injunction hearing involving his company.”

    Also, does anyone see the awesome irony in Dentron Bendross of 2 Live Crew suing someone for copyright infringement, considering his group was part of one of the more famous fair use lawsuits ever?

    Oh well.  It shouldn’t be too hard to discern where I land on the issue.  But what do you think? Let us know in the comments.

    CNET Limewire Torrent Freak Report

  • Google Panda Update Helps Local Search Results

    Google Panda Update Helps Local Search Results

    As we continue to look at the fallout of the Google Panda update (more so since its international roll-out), we have yet more data to sink our teeth into.

    Have you noticed an increase in local results since the Panda roll-out? Let us know.

    CNET has now released some data, as it compiled about 100,000 Google results, testing Google.com in March, and then last week, just after the new update. The data reflects earlier reported data from SearchMetrics in terms of news sites benefiting and Demand Media’s eHow sliding.

    One interesting element CNET’s data brings to the table, however, is that of Google’s localization and its relationship to the update.

    “We also tested what happens if you connect to Google.com from an overseas Internet address. We picked one in London. We performed the same searches on the same day–the only variable that should have changed, in other words, was our location,” explains CNET chief political correspondent Declan McCullagh. “The results? Google engages in significant localization efforts, as you might imagine, with Yelp.com being the largest beneficiary by far.”

    “In searches originating from the U.K., Yelp appeared only twice,” he adds. “In U.S. searches, by contrast, it was the ninth-most popular Web site, with both its topic and individual business pages weaved seamlessly into the main search results.”

    SearchMetrics’ data did show yelp.co.uk as having a 29.59% boost in visibility.

    Yelp picked up 45 first-page appearances for generic searches like “chocolate,” “cleaning,” “food,” “lights,” “laundry,” “tv,” and “weddings,” from a Califronia address, according to McCullagh, while Davidsbridal.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and Walgreens.com also benefited in the U.S. from localization.

    It’s not all just big brands though.

    Local-based results won big too, based on CNET’s testing. Not just local locations for big brands or local businesses, but locally-themed results.

    “For our U.S. tests, we used an Internet address near Palo Alto, Calif., which prompted Google to rank nearby businesses and municipal Web sites near the top of search results,” McCullagh explains. “The City of Palo Alto’s Web site appears in the first page of search results for terms including ‘adventures,’ ‘art,’ ‘business,’ ‘gas,’ and ‘jobs.’ PaloAltoOnline.com makes repeat appearances (‘budget cuts,’ ‘restaurants’), as do Stanford, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, and Mike’s Bikes.”

    It’s no secret that Google has put a great deal more emphasis on local in recent times, but it’s interesting to see how this is playing out in light of the Panda update, which was seemingly unrelated (based more on content farms).

    We saw how news sites and video sites appeared to come out as big winners, but this research does seem to indicate even more wins for local.

    The benefits to Yelp are interesting, considering the tension there has been between Yelp and Google, regarding Google Place Pages and their use of Yelp reviews. Google’s own reviews system – Hotpot – has now found its way into Places, and right into organic search results themselves.

    If you’re interested in what Google has had to say about local search relevance factors, read this.

    Google is also finding more ways to improve its local listings themselves. See the “open now” and local product listings, for example. Oh, and by the way, Google just launched Map Maker for the US, so users can add their “local knowledge” to the map.

    Interestingly enough, as Google focuses more on local, the competition for local eyeballs is already heavily increasing. This is not just about search in the traditional sense. You have to factor in entities like Groupon, LivingSocial, Facebook, Foursquare, and others in these companies’ respective spaces (the lines between which are getting blurrier).

    The more ways people obtain the information related to local businesses from sources outside of Google, the less they’ll need to search for that information with Google.

    Are Google’s results better now? Tell us what you think.