French legislation that had caused an uproar for its approach to iTunes has finally entered the statute books–but the controversy continues. The law now in force is a watered-down version of a bill that had initially threatened to outlaw Apple Computer’s practice of using digital rights management technology with purchases made on the iTunes Music …

Apple Computer has refuted claims by Norway’s consumer watchdog that it uses unfair practices by making its iTunes service incompatible with rivals’ systems. Norway’s consumer council complained to Apple earlier this year that iTunes’ lack of interoperability with digital-music players other than the iPod was not in the best interest of consumers. The watchdog said consumers must be allowed to …

An analyst report calls La La a savvy new music site for helping people swap CDs via the U.S. Postal Service. But, the report notes, the company is also a highly effective way to pirate music. La La allows music lovers to find used CDs on the company’s Web site and then order them from their owners, other La La …

France’s controversial copyright law, which had threatened to mandate interoperability between Apple Computer and rival online music players’ digital rights management, has been dealt a major setback as sections of the legislation are being ruled unconstitutional. The Dadvsi law, which had initially been intended to free digital music lovers from proprietary DRM, now could be doing the opposite. Changes to …

When we reviewed the Sony RDR-HX725 hard drive/DVD recorder earlier this month, we whinged about the absence of two key features. The RDR-HX725 didn’t have an integrated Freeview tuner or an HDMI output, which didn’t make us happy. We’re smiling now though — Sony has just announced the RDR-HXD860, which fixes both those problems. Like its predecessor, the RDR-HXD860 has a …

Can’t wait for the current cycle of talentless pop music to end? Bebo Bands wants to hear from you. Social-networking site Bebo announced in early July that its 25 million members would have unlimited uploading and sharing of music files to its Bebo Bands site. In the last two weeks, more than 25,000 bands and tens of thousands of groupies …

A multimillion-dollar settlement is putting Kazaa on the straight and narrow, but it might not be enough to put the file-sharing service on the road to recovery. Once a bane of the recording industry for its popularity as a place to get music without paying for it, Kazaa now will begin using filtering technology to prevent its users from distributing …

EMI Group, as part of a larger effort to support peer-to-peer networks that allow the sharing of licensed music files, has agreed to share its digital library with P2P start-up Mashboxx. The record label, whose 1,000-plus artists include Janet Jackson, Gorillaz, the Rolling Stones and Coldplay, is not the first to license its content for use on Mashboxx. According to …

Our American counterparts have been raving about this little gizmo for ages. The Slingbox is a clever gadget that turns your home TV signal into an Internet stream that you can access from any networked PC — so you can watched recorded programming or live TV on your laptop from your hotel. Luckily, we in the UK won’t have to feel like complete technological …

Sony had a hugely impressive stand at CES, although the live music cramped our ability to film some of the new products. Sony innovated with the PlayStation Portable last year, and it’s now pushing that device with another new concept to get travellers excited. The company’s new LocationFree package is already available in the US, allowing you to send media around the world from your home. …