Google Video

[jbrave]

long live mp3.com

Yes, as I'm sure you know, mp3.com is dead, what 2 years now? All content deleted... sad sad sad...My point was just about the licensing they had, not all of which I agreed with, but was pretty good.

It looks like from your posting that the Google license has become a bit more friendly. (Or I didn't read that line before).

Good, I'm glad.

I still believe that artists should be activists with regards to these things, and not just accept what is handed to them.

Google seems like the kind of company that tries to listen to people, so if people ask for what they want up front, they just might get it. It won't hurt to ask, and if they say no, then you can choose to accept the contract or go somewhere else. (That is, until Google completes its plans for world domination.

Joel
http://www.electronicmusic.fm

 

[Zensteve]

(That is, until Google completes its plans for world domination.

EPIC plans, one might say.

A blend of fact and projected fantasy. Can you tell where one ends, and the other takes off?

 

[CootDog]

Norwegian Hacker Cracks Google Software
Jun 29, 2:52 PM (ET)
By DOUG MELLGREN
OSLO, Norway (AP) - The Norwegian who became a hacker hero for developing software to
unlock copy-protection codes on DVD movies said he needed only one day to crack Google
Inc. (GOOG)'s new video viewer.
Jon Lech Johansen, also known as DVD Jon, posted software on his "So Sue Me" Web site
that he says modifies the viewer so that it plays videos hosted on any server. The
company's Google Video Viewer, in turn, was modified from the free VLC media player to
restrict it to playing video hosted on Google's own servers.
Johansen's modification wasn't difficult as Google already had posted its code on its Web
site. And the change won't let users break any video encryption; it only lets them view non-
Google content.
"This modification of Google's open source video viewer does not (compromise) the integrity
and security of content available from Google Video in any way," Google spokesman Nate
Tyler said in a statement.
Nonetheless, he advised users against installing the change, saying "it could result in
security vulnerabilities on their computer and may disrupt their computer's ability to access
Google Video."
Johansen, 21, became a hero to hackers at age 15, when he posted software called DeCSS
to unlock the Content Scrambling System, or CSS, the film industry used on DVD movies to
prevent illegal copying. The act made Johansen a folk hero among hackers.
After the film industry complained, Norwegian authorities charged him with data break-in,
but Johansen was acquitted at trial and on appeal.
Johansen, an advocate of the open-source philosophy of making software code freely
available for inspection and sharing, has also repeatedly posted programs that circumvent
the copy-protection technologies on Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL)'s iTunes software.
Google's shares have more than tripled to more than $300 in the 10 months since their
debut. Most of the company's income is from online advertising, although it could boost
revenues by charging for some videos in the future.
The company has been stockpiling amateur and professional videos since April, when it
asked users to submit their images, and the new viewer allows them to sample the
collection for free.
The Google Video Viewer, consisting of about 1 megabyte and still officially in a "beta" test
phase, was designed to do nothing but stream Google's videos through the Internet
Explorer or Firefox Web browsers. Its limited scope meant it wouldn't be competing with the
popular multimedia players made by Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and RealNetworks Inc. (RNWK)