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		In this issue we tackle the important question of copyright.  Many people have asked me about the legality of downloading music, movies and games.  Well here it is in a nutshell.  I also have some free downloads for you - some you may have had before, but I am responding to requests. First of all, I have had an iPod for some time and was recently making a few notes in it when my friend asked me what I was doing.  He was surprised that an iPod is also a voice recorder, so I wondered how many other people don't know the possibilities of their iPods. So here is a very short explanation. iPod The iPod was introduced by Apple Computers in 2001 which defined it as a portable music player.This is true:  it is a portable music player, but it is much more. Three million iPod users can tell as much.  So what else is it? Models There are three types of iPod:  The Nano, the Mini and the Standard. The first, or what I call <i>standard<i>, iPod is about the size of the palm of your hand, or a deck of cards, the Mini about half that size and the Nano about the size of a memory stick.  The nano also has a colour screen and a stop watch!  Great for joggers! It also uses Bluetooth technology to allow it to play-back using wireless technology. Audio Books You can use iPods for information, language courses and audio-books.  You can download entire books from i-tunes to your iPod.  It can also be used to display photographs, with space to store 30,000 photos.  In-car Various types of car mountings are available, some for dockable iPods, and others which fit to dashboards and vents. They can be played remotely using remote control units available at from £20 upwards. I have come across a company called Griffin International (griffintechnology.com) who supply a range of auto ancillary equipment for iPods such as the iTrip which gives you FM reception, the iSqueeze, a cup-holder cradle and Garageband which allows to connect a guitar or keyboard for top quality recording. I have no financial connection with Griffin:  they do not run an affiliate scheme, so am not trying to sell by bringing them to your attention.  You can check that out on their website if you want. Voice Recording Your iPod can also be used as a voice recorder.  Use it for memos, or for making verbal notes during research or reading. There are many other uses for your iPod which I am sure most owners are aware of, but it is amazing how many people own an iPod and believe them to be useful only for playing music downloaded from iTunes Music Store.  Nothing could be further from the truth. Now copyright.  Are you breaking the law by downloading?  The simple answer is that you probably are.  But read this article I wrote on the subject before you panic. COPYRIGHT - IS IT 'RIGHT'? Copyright is the right of the originator of an original expression of an idea to have a limited monopoly on the reproduction, distribution and display of their idea or work. This is generally limited to the lifetime of the author, and/or a specified period time, varying from country to country.  Examples of materials which can be copyrighted are articles, books, movies, songs, photographs and TV shows.  It is only the content which can be copyrighted so that, for example, the idea of a specific game show cannot be copyrighted, but the content of it can.  You can, for example, use the general idea of Trivial Pursuit for a quiz game on your website, but cannot use the board design which is copyrighted. It is not necessary today to register copyright for your original work.  It used to be the case, but now applies automatically. When you buy a copyrighted work, you have limited use of it, but not the right to distribute it, either for payment or for free.  You can read your book, or listen to your CD, but you cannot copy it and give it to a friend with permission from the copyright holder.  This permission is sometimes given, and more likely to be given if payment is involved.  You may sing a song or play the tune on a musical instrument,  but you cannot do so in front of an audience without permission. Although it may be legal to make a back-up of a CD or DVD for your own use, it is not Ok to give it to a friend or offer it over a P2P file sharing network.   It also illegal to download copyrighted materials for your own use without payment to the copyright owner. The term “fair use” is often quoted.  This allows to use a piece of copyrighted material in your own work so long as you give credit to the original source.  However, the source you use must be legitimate, so while you can play a track from a CD you own for  educational purposes, you cannot do sop if the CD has been downloaded from a P2P network. P2P File Sharing You cannot have any copyright material on your hard drive, or any other storage device, that you have not paid for. In the USA penalties can be as high as $150,000 for each violation of this. This applies to music, movies and even TV shows which can be recorded with a CCR or DVD recorder.  Generally no action is taken against individuals recording Movies and TV shows for their own use, such as to view at a more convenient time, but these individuals cannot pass on their recording to friends, even if not for profit.   It is up to the copyright owner whether or not to press the charge, and while some may be lucky.  The copyright owner can decided whether or not to allow their work to be distributed on P2P networks.  In fact this is used frequently by new artists as a means of getting themselves and their work known worldwide, and it is not unusual for the copyright to be invoked once the artst has achieved the desired level of fame. The copyright holders frequently hire companies to log in to such as Limewire or Bearshare to identive IP addresses of computers being used to download copyright material. These addresses can identify the computers sharing illegal files.  The action taken then depends on the copyright holder, though initially would normally be a warning and instruction to remove the offending material.   Occasionally, an example will be made of individuals. The choice is yours.  Most people decide that the chance of being caught is very small, given the countless millions who use these networks. Over 60 million Americans use P2P systems. Many believe that the recording companies are really after those who download thousands of tracks for sale as pirated CDs and DVDs.  It is a massive industry in the orient, as anyone visiting eBay should know.  Listings are full of pirated films on DVD, most emanating from China, Hong Kong and the like. In my opinion, these are the people the recording and film industry should be targeting, not the high school student downloading half a dozen tracks of his favourite band.  We are all fed up having to pay over the odds for a CD with only a couple of decent songs, the other tracks being substandard ‘fillers’.  The cost of movie DVDs are also exorbitant, and until the music and movie industries can give us good affordable alternatives to the rip-off prices currently being charged for CDs and DVDs, people will continue to download from P2P networks. Instead of bleating about how kids are using modern technology to rip them off, they should be using that same technology to give these same kids what they want.  Affordable tracks at affordable prices.  Some are now looking at this, but the prices being charged, even for individual tracks, are ludicrous.  Let’s not forget that downloadable material does not command the high overheads costs of tangible CDs which also have high hardware and distribution costs.     We are being ripped off by these companies and have been for many, many years.  Now that the boot is on the other foot, they cannot respond in an intelligent way by using download technology themselves to give consumers what they need.  Good affordable products which they can download to whatever media they want to use to replay their product, whether than be a computer play-back system, and iPod, a conventional MP3 player or even conventional CD or DVD player. The situation is improving, but they still seem to think that we are willing to pay the same high costs of DVDs and CDs as for downloading to our computers.   Napster charges 68p per track in the UK, which equates to £6.80 ($12.25) for a 10 track CD.  Audio Lunchbox focuses on independent artists and starts at $9.99 a month.  A bit higher eventually than the relatively low lifetime memberships for most P2P network services, but completely legal. The P2P services are, of course, completely legal systems, or they would not be allowed to continue and we would be able to advertise them.  However, it is difficult to see how they can be satisfactorily used legally, since the vast majority of tracks found are copyright protected and you have to exercise self control to stop yourself from making that click to download a current chart hit. <p> So, what are your choices for music downloads?  Simple really. 1. Don’t download.  Go to your nearest music or video store and buy a CD or DVD.  Costs a fortune, but completely legal. 2. Pay a lifetime membership for one of the P2P shareware systems we offer:  then: a)  Stay legal and download those you find which are not copyright protected.  Many up and coming artists offer this on P2p networks.<br> b) Illegally download copyright protected tracks or movies and hope that you are not caught.  The chances are very slim, but it is possible.<p> 3. Register for a system such as Audio Lunchbox and download network tracks from independent artists.  Some of these are really excellent.  Pay as you go, or pay by subscription.<p> 4. Register with a company like Napster who have agreements with the major recording companies, and listen to or download tracks from the top recording artists. Napster UK are similar, and Canada also have their own napster. 5. Buy online:  I priced Christina Aguilera’s Back To Basics CD at between £7.99 and £10.99 online. That’s equivalent to $14.98 - $19.78.  It pays to shop around. You can also buy individual tracks and full CDs from iTunes iStore.    Finally, and I have said this before many times.  The worst thing that can happen to an artist is obscurity. Obscurity comes when visibility reduces, or when they never become visible in the first place.  With  P2P systems obscurity is difficult.  Many new artists get known to the end user rather than being rejected by the recording studios before they can be heard. Existing artists can retain popularity rather becoming unknowns after a couple of years in the limelight.  They should not complain now about losing a few dollars through P2P downloads since it may be that they will welcome such attention in the future.  Many people download a track or two of an artist they are unfamiliar with, like it, then go out and buy the album.  The same can happen with older artists:  they can be re-discovered by younger consumers and have a new lease of life. Stop complaining – what’s hurting you slightly right now may save you in the future. =============================================================<p> Now some free downloads for you.  I have been asked for the link to dbPoweramp again, well HERE IT IS, and you will also find the CD Writer, Audio Player and Portable Audio to download free as well.  dbPoweramp is fab for converting files from one format to another. I use it a lot to edit MP3 files by converting them to WAV, editing, then back to MP3 again. Download some great FREE arcade games HERE These will take you back a few years, at least if you are my age they will!  You can click below to get access to the back issues.
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