RIAA targets students again. Announces a new Campus Lawsuit Strategy
February 28, 2007
The RIAA has announced that it has sent over 400 “pre-lawsuit notices” to Universities and ISPs which will then be forwarded to their students and customers. With this notice, RIAA is serving a nice reminder to university and ISP officials to turn over the names of file-sharing students tied to the suspected IP address.
In a press conference call hosted today, RIAA chairman and CEO Mitch Bainwol, President Cary Sherman, and General Counsel and Executive Vice President Steven Marks annouced this new initiative which comes with the added twist in that it allows the students, universities and ISPs now get a chance to settle with the RIAA at a “discount” without getting involved in costly law-suits.
Slyck News goes behind the mechanics of this latest round of the RIAA lawsuit engine. “An agent of the RIAA such as Media Sentry downloads a file from an unsuspecting file-sharer. A screenshot is made of the individual’s shared directory, or several files are downloaded to ensure a viable case. The individual’s IP address is then obtained. The RIAA then subpoenas the file-sharer’s ISP requesting the personal information asssociated with that IP address when the alleged upload occured.”
The RIAA has mailed out this first round of 400 pre lawsuit notices to 13 different universities which include Arizona State, Marshall University, NC State, North Dakota State, Northern Illinois University, Ohio University, Syracuse University, UMass Amherst, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, USF, University of Southern California, University of Tennessee at Knoxville and the University of Texas at Austin. Each university is expected to receive around 20 to 37 letters each with Ohio University accounting for the most at 50. The RIAA said it would sue individuals who fail to settle or don’t respond within a few weeks.
Once the accused students get these notices, they are given the option to settle within 20 days over the phone or on P2Plawsuits.com at a “substantial discount”. The RIAA also said it intends to sue more students and others on campuses in the next three months than it has in the past three years. The RIAA has already sued 1,062 computer users at 130 universities so far in the last three years.
According to Mitch Bainwol, CEO of RIAA
” The theft of music remains unacceptably high and undermines the industry’s ability to invest in new music. This is especially the case on college campuses”
Under this new settlement deal offered by the RIAA, students would have to pay the fine and then sign a statement promising that they would no longer download music illegally. The average settlement in past cases has ranged between $4000 and $4500. So students, put away that beer money stash because it might be the RIAA knocking on your dorm door and not your buddy.
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At some college campuses, Students prefer in-house entertainment
February 25, 2007
West Virginia University freshman Ruben Sintel says he spends his Friday and Saturday nights at his school’s student union, the Mountainlair. “I’m a regular. I like the place,” he said. And he says he’s not the only one. “A lot of people go often, I usually see the same people there,” he said.
What draws them there isn’t surfing the Web in the computer lab, studying in the lounges or an unnatural group affinity for tiled floors and institutional wallpaper. It’s the Velcro climbing walls, alcohol, free food and other party-esque offerings at the weekend WVU-sponsored on-campus club, “Up All Night.”
WVU and some other schools have essentially entered the nightclub business. Motivated by student boredom and drinking, these schools have taken the on-campus concert and bar idea a step further.
“I think other schools recognize that if they’re a resident campus they have to provide this for students or the students will say, ‘Hey don’t yell at us about drinking,’” said John Harlow, coordinator of HUB Late Night at Penn State, which the school created in 1996.
The events at on-campus clubs move beyond dancing and (in some cases) drinking. WVU turns its union into an entertainment-plex, hosting simulated sumo wrestling, movies, a make-your-own video stage, alcohol for those over 21 and free food, among other attractions. HUB Late Nighters take part in such activities as casinos, holiday parties, ballroom dance lessons, movies, concerts, dance, magic shows and comedy shows. The events last from about 10 p.m. to 1 or 2 a.m. on weekend nights. WVU’s Up All Night is open on Thursdays also, from 9 p.m. to midnight.
“Variety is the bottom line,” Harlow said. “It’s important to keep that variety.”
Low-cost entertainment for students means high-cost programs for the schools. Everything at WVU’s Up All Night is free to the students except beer, bowling and billiards, at a cost to the school of about $8,000 per weekend, said Mary Collins, assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs at WVU. And Penn State’s HUB Late Nights budget is about $125,000 per year, Harlow said.
Enough students attend the club programs to justify the effort and dollars put into the clubs. Collins said WVU’s Up All Night, which has been in existence since fall 1998, sees an average 4,000 students a night and 1,000 for breakfast. Harlow says HUB Late Nights’ attendance has steadily increased each semester.
Harlow said Penn State’s upper administration is very happy with HUB Late Nights’ success. “As far as job security, I won’t have anything to worry about for 100 years,” he said. “The University has worked so hard to build this initiative and it’s something that won’t be retracted.”
WVU works at determining what Up All Nighters want. The school has even set up a telephone “Idealine” for them. “We talked to students about what would make them come back,” Collins said. “Over and over we heard free food.” The midnight breakfast (free to students) was so popular, students started bringing friends, so WVU now charges $3.00 for guests, she said. HUB Late Nights doesn’t serve food.
Alcohol was also a popular draw at WVU’s Up All Night. Collins said students said they were “tired of beer-soaked clothes in the basement” at house parties. The school views serving alcohol as a way to help the students can model responsible drinking. “The students say they know they can’t get drunk and you have to be 21,” Collins said.
But it’s simple for underage students to sneak alcohol, Saintel said. “If you’re my friend and you’re not 21 yet, but I am, I would show my ID, get the alcohol, then bring it to you,” he said.
Penn State avoids this issue altogether; the school has a dry campus and HUB Late Nights is no exception. “We’re not sure if we’re having any effect on the drinking behaviors of Penn State students,” Harlow said. “Maybe we are in a small way, maybe not. We’re at least providing a place for students who have no intention to drink in the first place.”
Even though these student unions get dressed up for the weekends, they’re still student unions: who else but freshman would spend a Saturday night at the union? Collins said all classes, including the graduate level, are equally represented, each making up about 20 percent of the population. Saintel agrees. “All the grades go there…it’s not cheesy, you’re always looking forward to it.”
But some students aren’t interested. WVU student Liz Dougherty said even if she didn’t work on weekends, she wouldn’t go to Up All Night. “I’d rather go to a club,” she said. Just for the music and the dancing.” She said she doesn’t know much about Up All Night, either. “Not too many of my friends have every really talked about it. I guess I think people go there if the club thing isn’t for them, the drinking thing isn’t for them,” she said.
Jenn Johnson, a freshman liberal arts student at Penn State, has heard of HUB Late Nights, but never gone. “I’m just going out other places…usually to a friend’s place to party, something like that.” She says they hang out and occasionally drink.
If you liked this article, click here to buy me a beer!Things guys should do for their female partner when living together
February 25, 2007
Relationships are a little like glaciers, under various pressures for most part. They are always moving and changing, gathering all kinds of debris. But after sometime, they move so slowly, it’s easy to forget that they are there, particularly when you live together. To use a more familiar metaphor, one day your relationship is a wild ride, all loops and corkscrews, and then, out of nowhere, it’s mellowed and straightened out. It’s actually much worse than that. So, how do you right the boat. Well, here are our top tips on how to get your love boat rocking again.
1. Bring her Breakfast in Bed
A classic gesture, breakfast in bed is the proverbial “oldie but goodie”. Get up early on a Saturday or Sunday morning and prepare breakfast just the way she likes it, with toast, fresh fruit, cinnamon buns, whatever. Then surprise her by serving it to her in bed. Another great way for her to start the day. Still not convinced, watch this video.
2. Order In
Order in for dinner and have it waiting for her when she gets home. Create a romantic setting by recreating a restaurant feel on the dining room table, on the patio or wherever else you think might work, complete with plates, silverware and cloth napkins.
For an extra romantic touch, add candles and a small vase with some flowers. Learn how to set a formal table and surprise her with your impeccable tast. Remember: the little details matter most.
3. Start a Fire
In the winter, get a fire going in the fireplace(if you have one obviously). Then, set up some pillows and blankets, and uncork a bottle of wine. If you want to take things to the next level, have a romantic dinner sitting in front of that otherwise uneventful fireplace.
4. Pack her lunch for work
Surprise her by making a lunch for her to take to work. It’s an opportunity to be both romantic and thoughtful. You can also slip in a love note or a flower. Furthermore, you can buy an individual slice of cake or pie from the grocery store, or some other dessert you know she likes.
If you liked this article, click here to buy me a beer!The Top 25 Music Piracy Universities in the United States according to RIAA
February 22, 2007
Some of the major Universities now have their names in a top 25 list but unlike a top school list, this is something which the Universities might not exactly brag around. The RIAA has recently named the top 25 music pirating Universities in the United States based on the 14,500 copyright notices they have sent out during the 2006-2007 school year. This number represents a jump of 3 times in the notices sent our from last year. The RIAA credits new and improved tracking methods and tools for this increase in the number of lawsuits they are able to send out.
Some of the top schools in this list include the Ohio University, Purdue University and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln which round out the top 3 Universities, the worst offenders whose students received the most number of notices.
According to a report on Ars Technica, not all schools react the same way to the copyright notices, however, and some appear to take it more seriously than others. Michigan State University forces two-time offenders to watch an anti-piracy DVD by the RIAA, and three-time offenders could face suspension for a semester. Ohio University requires two-time offenders to face suspension, probation, or possibly a homework assignment on the topic (much worse than suspension). Among the most aggressive, the University of Tennessee turns off Internet connections for second-time offenders until they physically take their computers to a lab where their music-sharing programs are deleted for them.
Purdue, on the other hand (my not-so-proud alma mater for today), seems to be taking the “don’t worry, be happy” approach to sitting pretty at the number two spot. The school almost never even notifies the students—of copyright infringement, or much of anything, in my experience. Purdue spokesman Steve Tally told the Associated Press, “In a sense, the (complaint) letter is asking us to pursue an investigation and as the service provider we don’t see that as our role.” This attitude expresses either extreme pompousness on Purdue’s part or extreme ignorance. Is that not the whole reason why the RIAA cannot pursue potential infringers individually? The students are currently allowed to hide behind the ISP—in this case, the university—with the understanding that the ISP will investigate infringement accusations. If Purdue and any other schools who express this attitude don’t feel the need to investigate, then they put themselves at risk of being sued by the RIAA.
The Top 25 Music Piracy Schools in the United States. The number of the right hand side represents the number of notices each school received
1. Ohio University - 1,287
2. Purdue University - 1,068
3. University of Nebraska at Lincoln - 1,002
4. University of Tennessee at Knoxville - 959
5. University of South Carolina - 914
6. University of Massachusetts at Amherst - 897
7. Michigan State University - 753
8. Howard University - 572
9. North Carolina State University - 550
10. University of Wisconsin at Madison - 513
11. University of South Florida - 490
12. Syracuse University - 488
13. Northern Illinois University - 487
14. University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire - 473
15. Boston University - 470
16. Northern Michigan University - 457
17. Kent State University - 424
18. University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - 400
19. University of Texas at Austin - 371
20. North Dakota State University - 360
21. Indiana University - 353
22. Western Kentucky University - 353
23. Seton Hall University - 338
24. Arizona State University - 336
25. Marshall University - 331
How to use Telnet to send email over Port 25 using SMTP
February 21, 2007
A popular request coming in is from students who wish to become more proficient in general computing topics. For this, we at AskStudent will be writing a series of articles such as this article where we will talk about the Telnet command and how you can use it to access your mail server using Port 25 and sending an email to someone using nothing but your command prompt.
How to send Email using Telnet command over port 25 using the SMTP protocol
Telnet: TELNET (TELetype NETwork) is a network protocol used on the Internet or local area network (LAN) connections. It was developed in 1969 and standardized as IETF STD 8, one of the first Internet standards. Read more about Telnet in the Wikepedia article here
SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is the de facto standard for e-mail transmissions across the Internet. Read more about SMTP in this Wikipedia article here
Step # 1: First, open a command prompt. To open a command prompt window, click Start, Run and then type in cmd and press Enter. You can also press the
Step # 2: You need to know a remote mail server. If you are still in school or working, there is the excellent opportunity to use your University mail server or your company’s mail server for this.
type in telnet RemoteMailServer 25 at the command prompt. The Remote mail server here in this command is the mail server of your school or company. It is usually mailhost.
Step # 3: Introduce yourself to the mail server. Play around a bit.
type in helo mailhost at the command prompt. The mail server responds back with something like this
250 RemoteMailHost. Hello
Step # 4: You can now enter your email address.
type in mail from: your email id @ blah.com
The mail server responds back with a 250
Step # 5: You can now enter your receipient’s email address
type in rcpt to: recipient email id @ blah.com
The mail server responds back with a “Recipient OK” message
Step # 6: Now, you are ready to type in the body of the email message.
type in data and press enter.
Now, type your message and then finally press Enter. To end your message type in a single period “.” . Your message is now in the queue
Step # 7: To complete and finish the process, type in quit and press enter. The mail server responds with a “Bye” after which you see a “Connection to host lost” message displayed.
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How to Unlock any Nokia based Cell phone and get its unlock codes absolutely FREE
February 19, 2007
This article was first published on one of our Editors Ajit Gaddam’s personal blog. You can check out the original article here. Following is a reproduction of that article on how to Unlock your cell phone and get unlock codes for free
I recently lost my Cell phone while travelling abroad. Fortunately for me, I had an brand new cell phone which I got from T-Mobile for free when I renewed my contract with them, a Nokia 6010 hanging around. In most countries, there are pre-paid options for phones where you pay a provider some cash and you get a SIM card which you can plug into your phone and you are all set. However, the Nokia phone I had was locked to T-Mobile and I could not use my SIM card. This led me to go online and see if there are any methods out there to help me unlock and use my cellphone. Now, there are plently of sites out there which give you the unlock codes for your Nokia Cell phone. However, most of them charge anywhere from $9.99 to $65 to provide you with the unlock codes. Also, some of them only take payment in Euros. So, in this post, I will introduce you to two sites who provide you with unlock codes for your Nokia Cell phone absolutely FREE.
Site # 1: Unlock.it
This site is the most popular free site for unlocking any Nokia based Cell phone and most of the cell phones out there. Some of their other brands for which they provide unlock codes include Siements, LG, NEC, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Motorola based phones. The procedure for unlocking your Cell phone is as follows: 1. Start your phone without your new SIM or any SIM card in it 2. Now hit *#06# on your cell phone. When you do it, your IMEI number, a unique global serial number for your cell phone shows up. Your IMEI number should be 15 digits. 3. Now, choose the model of your Cell phone. If you don’t know your cell phone model number, you can always find out by removing the cell/battery of your phone. The model number along with the IMEI of the phone should be present. 4. Now, select the country and the operator the phone is locked to. For example “USA- T-Mobile” 5. You are now given the unlock codes for your cell phone. A lot of people have a problem punching in the alphabet p and w while entering the unlock codes. To enter the codes, here is a visual guide below as well as the step by step procedure [Read more]
How to organize a successfull PotLuck party including a Potluck theme and recipies
February 15, 2007
Today’s potluckers are as likely to be sitting on inflatable furniture while listening to Alanis Morissette as on metal chairs in the church basement.
A potluck, also called potluck dinner, or covered dish supper, is a gathering of people where each participant is expected to bring a dish of food to be shared among the group.
Steaming fresh bread nestled beside braised salmon, escargot a l’orange and mesculun greens; sushi rolls beneath a tall glass of champagne; chocolate mousse drizzled in raspberry glaze. No, this isn’t a kaleidoscopic flashback from Hunter Thompson’s restaurant acid trip — this is a meal at a potluck, a mosaic of colors, tastes and textures.
Don’t let the name throw you off. The word “potluck” may conjure up images of blue-haired church ladies sharing their family meatloaf recipes. Or, worse yet, suburban Dick and Janes, flaunting Jell-O salads in the new line of Tupperware in their Better Homes & Gardens yards. But once a student has tired out the kegger, the cocktail party and the dinner date, it’s time to try their luck at the potluck.
Students are getting into potlucks because they provide not only quality, un-freeze-dried food, but also occasions for socializing. And what better common thread for a social occasion than food, a conversational topic perfect for just about anyone feeling less comfortable in a social situation?
Those still skeptical might like to try some potluck enhancement strategies.
A good potluck invariably involves good food, but also requires good company and a sense of mystery. Don’t order food from your friends as if you were in a restaurant. Surprises taste better. Who knows when you might end up eating escargot and lime sauce instead of boring old scalloped potatoes? Or maybe somebody has a secret recipe for a tuna casserole so tasty and creamy Martha Stewart would decorate her home in particle board furniture just to get her hands on it.
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Not-So-Lucky Potluck Themes
While creativity spices up any potluck, some themes are better left unexplored. Here’re our top ten unlucky potluck picks.
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