The RIAA sends out pre-settlement letters and lawsuits to all manner of students accused of file-sharing across the US. Some schools, as we’ve covered in our Tackling College Piracy series, have capitulated. Others, like University of California Santa Cruz, have fought back.

The RIAA has sent a number of John Doe lawsuits to court targeting a wide range of universities and individuals. over 17,000 have been confirmed, but some estimate the real number to be around 30,000. While most lawsuits are set to random, everyday people, a significant percentage have been specifically targeting college students.

It’s no secret that universities are an easier target than commercial ISPs. To universities, Internet connections are a bonus, not their main income source. They also have a wide range of topics to deal with, not just Internet related issues. So, for a few thousand students, there may only be one or two people dealing with copyright infringement, as part of their duties. They may even be unaware of the law, often being IT people drafted to do legal work.

Sometime late last night or early this morning (depending on your time zone) AC/DC's Black Ice was leaked on one of the BitTorrent sites and I'm sure it will quickly become one of the most popular downloads around. A couple of hours ago, the complete album was also uploaded to YouTube.

SonyBMG/Columbia Records are probably in the midst of attempting heavy damage control right about now as their hopes to keep the album under wraps have been forever dashed nearly two weeks before the official release date of October 20th.

Source: http://www.acdcnews.com/2008/10/black-ice-album-leaked-online.html

A friend of mine forwarded this information to me and I thought it would be interesting to share with you.  It appears that the Metallica album as been "brick-walled" before the mastering was even done.  There are some great articles about it.  Seems to be happening a lot more in recent years to compete in the "loudness war".  Its just plain wrong!  With an album that I think is pretty damn good and to ruin it by fucking with it is just bullshit.

http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/09/does-metallicas.html

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/09/18/fans-complain-after-death-magnetic-sounds-better-on-guitar-hero-than-cd

Check out the YouTube video of the sound comparison:

Pissed off?  Sign the petition:

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/re-mix-or-remaster-death-magnetic.html

For a band, being compared to the likes of Radiohead, Bob Dylan and Oasis can be a great compliment. It can also be intimidating. I'd also like to throw in names like Screaming Trees and a somewhat less happy Paul Westerberg.

To say Unknown Component is easy on the ears would be an understatement. In Direct Communication flows out of the speakers smoothly with everything in its place. Songs such as Somewhere A Light Has Gone Out paint surprising and complex pictures with unusual melodies that work oh-so-well together.

Keith Lynch's vocals are edgy & gruff bringing a harsh but not unpleasant note to the songs that plays well against the meticulously arranged bleakness. Indeed, were his vocals more in-line with the style of music, it wouldn't likely stand out as much nor sound as original or new.

Typically one-man bands will favour a single instrument while the rest are dragged along in the background. Not so with Keith. While he shines on the keys, everything is well arranged and in its proper place.

I do have to fault Keith for the sound quality. With this album being his seventh kick at the can, I feel he could have done a better job. It sounds somewhat like listening through ears stuffed with cotton balls. While this style of music does sometimes benefit from a somewhat compressed frequency range, this disc overdoes that somewhat which takes away some from the material at hand.

Overall, In Direct Communication is a welcome change. Somewhat bleak and sparse musically with wonderful melodies and Keith's almost Dylan-esque vocals make for a disc the likes of which haven't been heard in a long time.

Links:
http://unknowncomponent.com/

Researchers at software vendor CA have discovered that social networking site Facebook is able to track the buying habits of its users on affiliated third-party sites even when they are logged out of their account or have opted out of its controversial "Beacon" tracking service.

Responding to privacy concerns, Facebook has since moved to reassure users that it only tracks and publishes data about their purchases if they are both logged in to Facebook and have opted-in to having this information listed on their profile.

But in "extremely disconcerting" findings that directly contradict these assurances, researchers at CA's Security Advisory service have found that data about these transactions are sent to Facebook regardless of a user's actions.

I suggest you read the article if you enjoy your privacy and are a facebook user. It's pretty frightening.