The RIAA's trials are getting serious by Corina Ciubotaru

Finally, the RIAA went to trial with a person accused of sharing music illegally. After sending 4,000 pre-trial letters and suing 26,000 people, most of who settled instead of fighting against the system. One woman decided the fight is worth it and today she appeared in court to tell the jury, which includes an amateur musician, her side of the story. Jammie Thomas and her lawyer Brian Toder are determined to prove the RIAA wrong and they started by making the record companies prove that they actually own the songs and that Mrs. Thomas, aged 30, shared them over the network. She has a point and she knows it, agreeing to pay a lawyer instead of settling, and the judge has already dismissed some papers from the record companies after Toder argued they have been issued seven months too late. The plaintiffs are asking for up to $3.9 million and both Toder and Thomas are prepared to go all the way and not let themselves get bullied by the record companies. The trial is supposed to end Thursday and is held in Duluth, as this is the nearest city to Brainard, Minnesota, where Jammie Thomas lives and raises her two kids, aged 11 and 13. The RIAA represents Virgin Records, Capitol Records, Sony BMG, Arista Records, Interscope Records, Warner Bros. Records and UMG Recordings and is represented in court by attorney Richard Gabriel from Denver. They said they want to raise awareness a bit with these trials and that's why they have agreed to settle under the minimum limit imposed by the law.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071001/ap_on_hi_te/downloading_music;_ylt=AmnBhfX4FPeqf5B5__kamoas0NUE

by Corina Ciubotaru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

PocketNews is a new real-time news broadcaster delivering the latest and hottest news right to your pocket ! With global clients who want to be kept up to date, PocketNews is everyone's way of keeping in touch with the World.

iPhone rumors by Claudia Sonea

This long expected product of Apple, that promised a lot since the first rumor of its release, has raised numerous problems until now. It is true that the iPhone practically sell itself because of its benefits, but it is also true that various issues appeared in connection with it. Researchers found out that due to its flaws we are exposed to hackers and we can easily become targets. Moreover the most bizarre thing is that you can use it like a bomb and become a terrorist without even know it. Nowadays there is another problem, however this time everything favors the producers, so hackers are not quite sure if it's a rumor spread to scary them or if it is indeed true that the iPhone update seriously harms phones that were modified to work with other networks than the its exclusive partner, AT&T Inc. The update is supposed to give access to the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store and to fix some of the security flaws discovered after it was released. Gizmodo and Engadget among some other Web sites, including some online postings from hackers, supported the official statement saying that many iPhones after the update no longer worked, but that depending on the unlock program they used. Also in some cases the devices worked if the original SIM card with AT&T was introduced again. Still the Apple history of playing cat and mouse with hackers left some of them in doubt and with the presumption that all is a tactic to scare them off. Furthermore it is optional to use the update, so the European consumers that bought the device from US at the price of $388 and then unlocked it can stay calm. We- the Europeans- are forced to appeal to such tactics due to the fact that the iPhone will not be on our market until November. Stay connected and away from any software update if you poses an iPhone. Enjoy!

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070929/ap_on_hi_te/apple_iphone;_ylt=Alpww5efSmNoUHNrizoK06is0NUE

by Claudia Sonea for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

PocketNews is a new real-time news broadcaster delivering the latest and hottest news right to your pocket ! With global clients who want to be kept up to date, PocketNews is everyone's way of keeping in touch with the World.