In a pivotal move, Apple, the tech giant renowned for its walled-garden ecosystem, is poised to open the gates. The buzz in the tech community is palpable: sideloading, a term that might sound like jargon, is set to become a household word among iOS users in the European Union. But what exactly is sideloading, and why is it stirring up such a commotion?

You are ready to rock in your home office, but then you realize that you need a webcam to interact with your clients, colleagues, family and friends. Unfortunately, all the best webcams are out of stock because almost everyone is working from home and just like you, they suddenly realized…

Be prepared for a series of virtual hand slaps if your ISP is saying that you downloaded copyrighted or infringing material or files. A “graduated response” program, aimed at cutting down on illegally downloaded files, was rolled out at the beginning of July and has drawn widespread criticism for both its intent, and execution. Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) CEO, Cary Sherman, is at the helm of a new initiative that aims to punish those accused of illegal downloading.

If you find the term “PTHC” anywhere in a computer message, text message, web search, or any other Internet communication, you may have cause for concern. PTHC typically stands for one of two things: either “Percutaneous Transhepatic Cholangiography” or (and more likely), “preteen hardcore”.

Is your ISP interfering with your downloading and your bandwidth? If you are legitimately using a torrent service, is your ISP interfering with your connections by doing some peer-to-peer busting? Or, maybe, is your ISP is limiting or even disconnecting your VoIP calls, such as if you use Vonage, or even Skype? How would you know? By using Switzerland, the new Net Neutrality-sniffing program from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

A class action lawsuit against the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) claims that the RIAA has used extortion and rackateering practices in the witch-hunt-like way that it has gone after people whom it claims have downloaded music illegally – “defendants” who include children, people who don’t own computers, and even dead people (downloading from the afterlife requires a heck of a strong wifi signal!)

While it remains to be seen whether the Microsoft Zune will be the iPod killer that they hope it to be, there is one way in which it has already taken the lead: Zune hacks. The Zune can be hacked (i.e. modified) in many ways, while most are afraid to hack their iPod at all.

Musician and parodiest Weird Al was scheduled to have his new video, “White and Nerdy” enjoy a world premiere through AOL. Unfortunately, somebody found and leaked the video on the popular YouTube site, and enough people had already viewed it that AOL decided to pull the plug on the premiere.

Patricia Santangelo may become the first victim of the RIAA to achieve martyr status. Unwilling to admit to something that she did not due, Patricia Santangelo is standing up to the RIAA and defending herself – literally – in court.

“Star Wreck: The Pirkinning” is an indie Star Trek parody which is spreading like wildfire through free movie downloads, with the producers’ blessings. Turpakäräjiin!

Movies may be available simultaneously in the theaters and on DVD as studios contemplate earlier release dates for DVDs in an effort to get the jump on movie pirating. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the Motion Picture Association has gotten an open search warrant for the entire city of New Delhi, India.

Downloading MP3s illegally really does take money directly out of the artists’ pockets, it turns out. This article lays it out on the table, with the real facts, from an industry insider.

Security experts are reporting that a new worm called Hagbard.A is posing as a pirated version of the popular and now scandal-plagued game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Riding the wave of publicity which Rockstar Game’s Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has received in the past weeks due to the…

The body of Grokster was barely cold in the grave, when this press release came across Aunty’s desk: WASHINGTON – As part of its continued efforts to promote legal online services, educate fans about the right and wrong way to enjoy digital music, and enforce its rights through the legal…

The Internet world is abuzz with talk about today’s Supreme Court decision in the Grokster case, as it was with the Napster case before it. “Studios Win Big in Grokster Case,” reads one headline; “Hollywood Wins Internet Piracy Battle,” says another. “Court Sides with Entertainment Biz in Grokster Case,” reads…