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On the Net

By CHRIS H. SIEROTY, UPI Technology Correspondent

BILL TAKES AIM AT INTERNET DOWNLOADS

Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., has taken the wraps off a controversial bill that would slap an official stamp of approval on the showbiz battle to block illegal peer-to-peer online file-swapping networks. The broad new legal powers proposed by Berman, and endorsed by several other lawmakers, would allow record and movie studios hack into American's personal computers to find illegally shared music and movies. They also could try to disable or interfere with file-swapping programs. "There is no excuse or justification for this piracy," said Berman. "Theft is theft, whether it is shoplifting a CD in a record store, or illegally downloading a song from Morpheus." Berman said the bill would not allow the industry spread viruses, destroy files or hack into a consumer's personal data. The Motion Picture Association praised the legislation as a measure to curb the "explosion of Internet piracy," but cautioned in a statement "there are aspects of the bill we believe need changing." The statement, by Jack Valenti, MPAA's president and chief executive officer, decline to identify the group's specific complaints with the legislation. Messages left with Alan Davidson of the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington were not returned. Other sponsors of the bill include Reps. Howard Cobel, R-N.C., Lamar Smith, R-Texas and Robert Wexler, D-Fla.

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DELAY OF NEW WEB RADIO FEES INTRODUCED

A day before the House left for its August recess, almost a dozen lawmakers co-sponsored legislation that would delay imposition of a royalty schedule for Web casters, especially small Internet broadcasters who could be driven out of business. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., is the primary sponsor of the bill, which would allow Internet radio ventures with less than $6 million in revenue a year to delay payment of the Library of Congress-authorized fees until a new set of royalty negotiations could take place next year. The LoC established a rate of 0.07 cents per listener per song in June, which means small Web casters like KPIG.com and broadcast giants like Clear Channel Communications Inc. would owe 70 cents per song played to an audience of 1,000 listeners. That decision caused KPIG.com last week to end "streaming" of its station over the Web. The Digital Media Association, which includes Internet stations, said the bill "provides reprieve from bankruptcy for thousands of small Internet radio companies and that corrects significant problems with the royalty arbitration process that imposed a devastating high cost on the nascent Internet radio industry." Opponents of the measure say the bill would prevent musicians from getting fair pay for their work. "This bill would create an industrywide exemption for Web casters that would let them deliver all the music they want without paying anything to (the) creators," said John L. Simson, executive director of SoundExchange. "When will the recording artists and those who invest their time, energy and considerable resources ... be allowed to receive fair compensation for their creations?" The bill will be referred to the Small Business and the Judiciary committees.

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IVILLAGE.COM ELIMINATES POP-UP ADS

IVillage Inc. announced Monday it would eliminate pop-up advertisements from its network of sites by Oct. 1. The move was based on a company survey that found 92.5 percent of women considered pop-up advertising the most frustrating feature of the Web. In addition, although research on pop-up advertising effectiveness shows the ads can generate high brand awareness, it is not always in a positive way. "We have built iVillage by listening to what women want, and our move to eliminate pop-up advertising is a direct example of this," said Nancy Evans, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the company, located in New York City.


LINUX PUBLICATION TO CEASE OPERATIONS

LWN.net, a Web site that chronicled the fortunes of the Linux operating system, will shut down Aug. 1 after failing to find a way to finance its operations. LWN.net, in a statement on its Web site, said: "Over the last several months we at LWN have looked at numerous ways of funding this operation. What LWN is offering is not what the market is willing to pay for at this time. The end result is that next week's LWN Weekly Edition ... will be the last." The publication, originally called Linux Weekly News, was founded in January 1998. Some parts of LWN may continue to exist "in a different form," LWN said, "but this particular journey is coming to an end."

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WEB SITES FOR TRADITIONAL STORES ENJOY SUCCESS

Summer sales and preseason fall promotions drove Web shoppers to brick-and-motor e-tailers during the week ending July 21, according to Internet audience measurement service Nielsen/NetRatings. For example traffic to Office Depot Inc.'s Web site jumped 120 percent to 456,000 visitors. CompUSA also featured sales, increasing traffic 58 percent to 224,000. Apparel sites also drew large number of Web shoppers, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. Nordstrom.com drew 253,000 Web surfers, rising 53 percent from the previous week, while Gap Inc.'s Old Navy increased 34 percent to 422,000 visitors. Nike Inc.'s site was also a big draw, attracting 182,000 visitors to its site, a 32 percent increase.


S&P REVISES AOL OUTLOOK

Standard & Poor's has revised its outlook for AOL Time Warner Inc. to "negative" from "stable" because of weak operating performance at the America Online unit. The credit rating agency also affirmed the "BBB-plus" corporate credit rating, its third lowest investment grade for AOL. S&P said it is concerned that America Online's deteriorating advertising sales could crimp profits and increase the burden on the company's Time Warner divisions to make up the shortfall. It added that the Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry into America Online's accounting practices add to investor uncertainty, and may distract management significantly from improving the entire company's operating performance.

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BID4ASSETS TO CONDUCT INTERNET HOME SALE

Online auction site Bid4Assets Inc. has teamed up with San Bernardino County to advertise and auction approximately 1,300 tax-defaulted properties. The online auctions, which began Monday, will close on Aug. 8 and 9 on the Bid4Assets Web site. Bidding begins at $100 for each property. San Bernardino joins Kern, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, San Diego and Siskiyou counties in California to sell tax-defaulted properties online through Bid4Assets. "Our number one goal for a tax sale is to get properties back into taxpaying status so our schools and local governments have revenues to provide vital services," said Dick Larsen, San Bernardino County treasurer-tax collector. Larsen said the properties offered for sale include residential, commercial and agricultural lots located in Twenty-nine Palms, Joshua Tree and unincorporated areas throughout San Bernardino County. Tax information, maps, photos and other due diligence materials are available for viewing at Bid4Assets, the county said.


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