After ten years of illegal file-sharing, LimeWire and its founder Mark Gorton have agreed to compensate the RIAA $105 million.
LimeWire was shut down by the RIAA in federal court over copyright infringement claims.
The case has finally been wrapped up with a jury deciding on damages against the service. The jury in this case opted to arrange a settlement between LimeWire and the RIAA legal team, which would call for LimeWire to pay $10,808 USD per track for the 9,715 tracks the RIAA claimed LimeWire infringed, for a total fine of $105M USD.
Microsoft Corp. agreed to buy Internet phone company Skype Technologies SA for $8.5 billion in cash- the most aggressive move yet by Microsoft to play in the increasingly converged worlds of communication, information and entertainment.
Buying Skype would give Microsoft a potentially valuable communications tool as it tries to make a bigger impact on the Internet and become a bigger force in the smartphone market.
The sellers include eBay and private equity firms Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz.
Skype has about 663 million users worldwide. According to documents, Skype users made 207 billion minutes of voice and video calls last year.
Most people use Skype’s free calling services, which has made it difficult for the service to make money since entrepreneurs Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis started the company in 2003
With the NBA Playoffs amongst us GWOP Magazine staff has compiled a list of the best professional athletes who have had a successful Music career. You at least need a music video to have made the list. Check the full list after the jump.
Access Industries, a holding company founded by oil baron Len Blavatnik (pictured above), won the auction to buy Warner Music Group Corp. for $3.3 billion in cash, the companies announced Friday morning. Blavatnik edged out more than a dozen other biddors including Sony Music Group, supermarket magnate Ron Burkle, Platinum Equity, Live Nation Entertainment and investment firm Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts, whose unsolicited offer late last year kicked off the auction process. Warner Music Group is the home of artists such as Green Day, Metallica and Bruno Mars.
Elite models are prospering as consumers continue to purchase luxury goods. Checkout the list of highest paid super models in the World. Pictured below is Gisele Bundchen, a Brazilian model and occasional film actress. See what other super models made the list. You won’t see any bra and pantie MySpace posing avatar pics on this list. Full List after the jump.
CHICAGO — Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose is the youngest Most Valuable Player award-winner in the history of the NBA.
The 22-year-old Rose was officially announced as MVP on Tuesday after leading the Bulls to a 62-20 record and No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
Rose got 1,182 points and 113 first-place votes from a panel of media voters, supplanting Wes Unseld as the youngest to win the award with a runaway win. Orlando’s Dwight Howard (643 points) finished second, Miami’s LeBron James was third, the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant was fourth and Oklahoma City star Kevin Durant finished fifth.
The Chicago-born point guard had a breakout third season, averaging 25 points, 7.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds. After a summer with the U.S. National team, Rose made a significant leap.
During the Bulls’ media day in September, Rose wondered aloud in front of the media why he couldn’t win the MVP award. Eight months later, Rose answered his own question. “Back in training camp when I said I wanted to be MVP, I wasn’t trying to be cocky at all,” Rose said Tuesday. “I knew that I put a lot of hard work in over the summer in the offseason, and I just wanted to push myself.”
As real estate billionaire Donald Trump sat in the audience at the White House correspondent’s dinner, President Obama took to the stage and threw a few jokes @ Trump. The President took shots like:
“Now, I know that he’s taken some flak lately, but no one is prouder to put this birth certificate to rest than The Donald. And that’s because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter. Like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened at Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?”
Allen, TX — A Texas high school is building a $60 million football stadium.
Most of the people living in Allen voted in favor of a $119 million bond for the project. Allen High School’s stadium holds about 14,000 fans but it’s a tight fit believe it or not.
The marching band has more than 600 members, which makes it the largest in the nation. The new stadium will have 18,000 seats and is scheduled to open in 2012.
The Great state of Texas (home of George W. Bush) obviously is not a victim of the recession that has hit hard in cities like Detroit, MI which is scheduled to close half of its public schools (DPS) creating classrooms with 60:1 Student to Teacher ratio for 2012 school year.