RIAA wins one

RIAA Copyright Fine Totals $1.92 Million

One music fan out there could be paying $80,000 for a Green Day track—whether he or she likes it or not.

The Recording Industry Association of America won a major victory June 18 in Minnesota federal court, which ruled that Jammie Thomas-Rasset was guilty of copyright violation for downloading 24 songs using the Kazaa file-sharing network.

The court fined Thomas-Rasset $1.92 million, which translates into $80,000 per song. It represents the first time a filing-sharing case has successfully gone to trial. The downloaded artists in question included Green Day and Sheryl Crow.

$80,000 a song? how the hell did they come up with that number. I am going to have to google around to find out where that number came from.

mirasol displays

How MEMS-based IMOD Technology Works

The Interferometric Modulator (IMOD) element is a simple MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical system) device that is composed of two conductive plates. One is a thin film stack on a glass substrate, the other is a reflective membrane suspended over the substrate. There is a gap between the two that is filled with air. The IMOD element has two stable states. When no voltage is applied, the plates are separated, and light hitting the substrate is reflected as shown above. When a small voltage is applied, the plates are pulled together by electrostatic attraction and the light is absorbed, turning the element black. This is the fundamental building block from which Qualcomm® mirasol displays are made.

Just because I am an incredible geek, I think this is fascinating.

The Cranberries - Zombie - Live!

One of my all time favorite songs

This will not end well