Here's a story about New.net starting to sell domain names based on 20 new extensions, none approved by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). Basically, they're setting up their own domain-name system that will more or less be an addition to the current system. They plan to do this via browser plug-ins and ISP partnerships (so that the ISP DNSes query the new domain-name system as needed, making it transparent to the user). New.net already has partnerships with EarthLink, NetZero, and another ISP.

I've already said that this is a bad idea. No matter what, some percentage of Internet users will never be able to go to the New.net domains. Not only that, but it means that there will be trouble down the road when ICANN does finally allow the New.net domains, under other domain-name registries presumably. At that point there'll be a big mess...

Another article about someone planning on setting up a Napster site on SeaLand, which is on ocean platform offshore from England and it's own sovereign territory for the last 30 years. Although interesting, that's an easy one to counter: give $50 million to the backbone provider to drop SeaLand, as I doubt they have more than one landline. The other method would be just to attack SeaLand through whatever means. As long as you don't harm any people (which may be problematic) it's not like SeaLand has the backing of a real country to fall back on.

More effective would be to set up a Napster server in another country, presumably one that isn't a signatory to the Berne Convention. Or start using another P2P file-sharing solution like Gnutella or Freenet. Dave has a point: you can't stop that by blocking the network or providers. What you have to go to is new technologies. We're still a few years from being able to encode audio such that it can't be recorded (most solutions require everyone to be using recording hardware that can read the encoded information and not record certain songs, that won't work well; you need a solution that is universal, and I believe it's possible). Meanwhile the record companies have to stall until technology catches up.

For the most part though, I think it's more society's fault than RIAA's. Fair use covers a lot of reasonable copying, but people have gone way overboard. The rampant copying is tremendously greater now with computers and the Internet than ever before. It got to the point where RIAA *had* to do something, which leaves us with this antagonistic dilemma. There's a good chance that the law and technology will come down solely on the copyright holder's side, leaving us ten years from now with no technological or legal way to copy materials. And I don't think it would come to that because of some RIAA master plan, but because copyright abuses became bad enough to warrant such goals and solutions...

On to entertainment news. Star Trek series 5 seems to have been finalized to start Fall of 2001. Not sure if it's going to be set before TOS or after Voyager, but it will be on the Enterprise. The Josie and the Pussycats movie is done, from the trailer though it doesn't look all that interesting. Never did watch the cartoon, so I don't know what it's supposed to be about. A Scooby Doo movie is also in the works and they have a cast and everything. But again, the show didn't do much for me as a kid so I'll probably skip the movie.

In terms of movies that I *do* want to see, Enemy at the Gates is out this month. A nice sniper vs sniper duel in the ruins of Stalingrad, fictional though based on a real duel that happened between the best Russian and German snipers. Pearl Harbor and The Mummy Returns in May. I'm always up for a new war movie and The Mummy was pretty good. Final Fantasy and Tomb Raider in June. Final Fantasy looks to be *the* all-CGI movie of the year. Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, enough said. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back should be popular with my friends, though I don't think that one has started filming so maybe it won't be done this year. The Fellowship of the Ring should also be quite good.