The V

No, that's a different story.  I was initially answering why the songs haven't popped up online in favoured shops.

The reason the record isn't included in the Absolute edition is that DC's lawyers were played the songs and were worried that they sounded too similar to old British Sixties pop and TV shows, including the THUNDERBIRDS theme.  Fearing charges of plagiarism - as opposed to pastiche or homage - they refused to press the songs for the book.  Moore was only told this much, much later, and is pissed off, because, you know, if Oasis can do Beatles riffs without getting sued, why can't a song that pastiches Sixties pop?

So the songs are still owned and controlled by Moore and his co-composer to do as they please, as long as DC has nothing to do with it.  Moore is supposed to still control the masters and copies have not been circulated so far.

a) so copies have been made, in the same fashion as records get illegitimately leaked from rapscallions in studios and at labels before release, so that's no answer [NB: I'm happy they haven't, and wish that it didn't happen in the music business either - I'm just saying.]

b) Aside from the issue of this apparently just being typical DC cuntery to Moore rather than actual legitimate legal concerns: I'm not sure that Oasis have ever taken a Beatles riff. What songs are you thinking of? They've definitely been sued (or settled) on multiple occasions for stealing riffs, by publishers for Stevie Wonder and The Glitter Band to name two...

a) Well, i was given the impression that either the people who have copies (who are a very small number at the moment) either haven't leaked it because it can easily be traced to them or the copies might not have been in a form that makes uploading online that easy, like cassetes rather than disks or mp3s.  I don't have any details on that front.  

b) Moore probably feels it was more DC cuntery than valid legal concerns.  

As for Oasis, i remember thinking several songs on the the first two, three albums had basic 3-chord riffs that were reminscent of Beatles tunes, but in a good way (too tired to recall specifics from whether it was the main hits still being played in pubs).  I hadn't heard about Stevie Wonder or The Glitter Band going after them, but I wasn't paying attention to that at the time.  I didn't think the riffs were as obvious as, say, Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony", which landed a lawsuit from the Stones (again, memory hazy late at night, so I could have it wrong).  Oh God, I can't correct these run-on sentences...

Nah, from the UK. I'm sure I can sort it, just take some letter writing.

Bugger.  Last person I know that this happened to was Heidi.

The Verve both replayed and also actually used a short sample from the Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra instrumental cover of The Last Time; they didn't get sued by the Stones, but by ABKCO. End result: legally (and per the album sleeve), the Verve neither wrote nor perform the song, but Ashcroft does contribute "additional vocals."

That's down to it being Allen Klein, rather than any kind of standard case.

Before you type out your reply, I spent YEARS working on email systems not to mention international OSP platforms so please add some links to support any statements you may care to make about such practices...

Do you really think in this day and age that any ISP/OSP cuts off your email address simply for signing in from another country? Do you really think that anyone monitors in that level of detail without some other suggestion (e.g. massive increase of mails sent) of "hacking" as you say?

Could you imagine that the next time someone wants to go away they have to let their ISP/OSP know where they are going to go and nevermind the systems and people it would take for an ISP to record and manage such data?

Ah yes, ABKO.  I remember now.  Thanks.

Well, I would bloody hope not.  And I've checked into my gmail and AOL accounts from at least three different countries and coasts, so that's in keeping with your points.

And I remember Heidi saying she was once locked out of her account because she thought it was because she had switched locations too many times.  She was the only person I know who had been locked out before Craig.  

According to Moore's introduction to the unofficial guide to the Black Dossier, DC's legal department cleared the songs over two years ago. Then DC decided they'd just put them in the absolute. Then like the week before that went to press they told Moore they weren't going to include the record.

Yes.  I don't have any links, but he said that as the Absolute when to press, DC told him they wouldn't include the songs because they were still nervous about the plagiarism issue, but someone else told him it was more likely they just didn't want to spend the extra money pressing the vinyl disks.  He chalks it off to DC messing him about as usual.

"but someone else told him it was more likely they just didn't want to spend the extra money pressing the vinyl disks.  He chalks it off to DC messing him about as usual."

Considering The Absolute Black Dossier is apparently the most expensive book per page DC has ever put out, it's probably DC just messing with him.

Well, he's pretty convinced about that.

To be fair, credit card companies do it.

Indeed they do and one of mine is currently blocked... fuckers.

I really didn't feel the need to mention that but...

Please do tell me that you can see the difference between a bank noting use of a credit card in another currency (where they have to process exchange rates and such things) in another part of the world and an ISP simply having a login from another IP address.

Which do you think there are more of in the world. Google email addresses (or AOL or Yahoo etc etc) or NatWest credit cards (or Barclay etc etc).

Which of these carries an actual monetary value? If a credit card is defrauded someone looses money somewhere, you, , the retailer, the bank or an insurance company. If someone looses a free webmail account...well if they run a business out of it (they shouldn't it's shitty and unprofessional and they deserve what they get...) they loose some access and whatever comes with that

In other words there is A BIG FUCKING DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CREDIT CARD AND A FREE EMAIL ADDRESS!!!

I mean seriously Craig!!

Anyone know any Czech?

I was chating to a fella over the weekend who told me that there is a single word in Czech (it begins with "r" he thinks...) that pretty much translates as the hair of the dog. He said the actual meaning was more along the lines of the first beer the next day that makes everything in the world better.

Anyone know what the word is (asuming it exists!)

Ta!

Forget it, Dave. It's McGilltown.

Every time Oasis ripped off somebody, they got a co-writing credit, so it's not like they were trying to get away with it. I mean, whether that credit was legally forced on them or not on every occasion, I can't remember. Anyway, I'm agreeing with you that sounding like somebody is not in any way grounds for suing somebody or pretty much every band in this (or any) week's NME would be currently getting sued.

 What's your GMail address and who are you talking to?

I need an additional laptop. I need something less cumbersome than what I've got now, which is old and works fine, but weight approximate 742 pounds.

All ire ally need is something I can write and work on word docs on, so I'm looking for light and cheap. Doesn't have to be new.

Um, looking for recommendations, obviously.

?

The ASUS Eee (no, really). Comes in different flavours, colours and prices, from 200€ to, IIRC 400 odd. Linux or Windows. Less than 1 kg. Girl not included.

Or maybe you want a regular laptop, but lighter?

The Asus is very nice, but anyone thinking about buying one should test out the smaller keyboards to see if they're comfortable on it first.

The 10-inch models have better keyboards, but the price might not be that great.

From a few of the reviews I was reading, the small keyboard on the Eee was definitely a problem. Anandtech has a good comparison review up of the Macbook Air, the Asus Eee, and the new Dell Inspiron Mini 9. Page four is entirely about the keyboards, and has a nice picture of all three keyboards with a dime to show scale.

It boils down to how comfortable you are with typing on, say, the smaller keyboards of something like the ASUS EEE mini.  It's hard to touch-type on the 8-inch mini, for example.

I'd love to have a Macbook Air as a computer I travel with when I'm abroad or out of town, but the price is ridiculous since you can get a basic Macbook for the same price.  Also, the fact that you can't remove the battery is a problem if the battery ever dies.

Too-small keyboards drive me nuts. Client yesterday had a Japanese import tiny Panasonic laptop, and I was constantly hitting multiple keys when I was trying to hit one. So no Eee for me. I have used a Macbook Air with no problems, though, so from the size comparison I expect I'd be ok with the Dell Mini 9 too.

Much as I'd love an Air, I need actual power so if I was going Mac I'd need a Macbook Pro. And I just don't have that kind of cash to throw around right now.

Yeah, I use a Macbook Pro because of all the stuff I have to run at the same time, especially with running video.  

Also, Macbook Air users have said that when it heats up or overheats, it slows down, which would be a major hassle for anyone using it as a workhorse machine.  It's clearly not meant to be a workhorse.

If it sold for $500-600, I might be tempted, but $1800?  No fucking way.

That Dell Mini looks very tasty. Pity the lack of HD

Probably a regular laptop only lighter - while that looks appealing, I have wide hands and thick fingers and such a small keyboard would be an issue, considering how fast I type.

Usually, the more packed with high-end stuff, the heavier the computer is.

Any of the usual suspects (Asus, Dell, Ahtec, Toshiba, Sony) with minimum specs would probably be way lighter than one of their more expensive models. The market for regular sized, yet lighter laptops seems fairly limited, though. Usually people looking for light also look for small, hence the current trend.