FREE ALTERNATIVE TO MP3: Slashdot is discussing a free alternative to MP3: Ogg Vorbis. MP3 almost symbolizes freedom today with its flexibility and hamper-free redistribution that allows to make unlicensed copies of songs, but it's not really wholly free because anyone who releases an MP3 encoder or decoder officially has to pay a licensing fee to Fraunhofer/IIS, a German company that helped develop the standard. Ogg Vorbis is a truly free alternative that uses a similar compressing technology. Slashdot has interviewed the creators of Ogg Vorbis and is having a discussion about the potential of the new standard. Slashdot discussion; Discuss

NEW WIRETAP STANDARD RELEASED: A new government-approved standard for telecommunications equipment potentially violates the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. The standard, released in updated form last week by the Telecommunication Industry Association, instructs telecommunications hardware manufacturers on how to build their equipment so that it complies with a federal wiretap law passed by Congress in 1994. Wired; Discuss
Source: Wired News

USA TODAY ANALYZES MUSIC-COPYING LAWS: USA Today has released an article about the reality of unauthorized music copying and redistribution and what it means from a legal standpoint. The article talks about the old-fashioned tape copying and its legal status and goes on to discuss the current state of affairs with MP3s, both de-facto and theoretically. USA Today; Discuss

DECSS CASE CLOSED: The MPAA vs. 2600 case has been closed. The defendants' brief is here and the plaintiffs' here. DeCSS is a DVD descrambling program that can be used to power non-licensed DVD players. Wired; Discuss

FBI TO RELEASE INFO ON CARNIVORE: U.S. District Judge James Robertson gave the FBI 10 working days to say when it would start rolling out records on Carnivore, FBI's recently unveiled digital communications wiretrapping system, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). CNN; Slashdot; ACLU; Discuss

CENSORWARE FLAWS SHOWN TO COPA COMMISSION: The Congressional COPA (Child Online Protection Act) Commission had a hearing about the flaws of censorware on August 3. Bennett Haselton of Peacefire, a leader in censorware resistance, testified before the commission. COPA agenda; Slashdot; Discuss

THE ONGOING STRUGGLE OF JON JOHANSEN: Wired is talking about Jon Johansen's latest testimony against the MPAA in the DeCSS case. The 17-year-old has acquired fame as a near idol of the open source and hacker community when he released DeCSS, the DVD descrambling program that can be used to power non-licensed DVD players, over a year ago. Then, MPAA promptly initiated a raid on Johansen's house and sued redistributors of the program. Wired; Discuss