Hosted by LL Cool J and New York radio personality Angie Martinez, the event honored the best Web sites, magazines and artists in hip-hop. The ruling Tuesday came following a case of copyright violation brought by a Karlsruhe-based firm called HitBit Software against AOL Germany. But MP3 and other audio compression formats are beginning to show promise outside the dorm room. The technology could soon replace everything from training manuals to travel guides. Thursday launched a new search engine specifically designed to locate streaming radio stations and other Internet music.
Web sites can register and get the search engine free for their own website.
The registration allows the website to co-brand the search results page with their own logo and links at no cost. Needless to say, anything this successful needs its own lawsuit to make it a full-fledged Net phenomenon. It could undermine the influence of every search engine and every Web portal. It's the biggest thorn yet in the side of record companies worried about the spread of pirated music on the Net. And it's the easiest way yet to trade pornography, even illegal child porn, over the Internet.