LAW WOULD IMPOSE FINES FOR CABLE NET DISRUPTIONS

Law would impose finesfor cable Net disruptions
ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Lawmakers in a suburban Washington, D.C., county may impose stiff penalties on cable television companies that do not quickly fix customer problems with their high-speed Internet access.
The legislation is one of the nation's first attempts by a local government to regulate cable modem service.
The Montgomery County plan calls for cable companies to restore Internet service within 24 hours of an outage or be forced to give consumers significant rebates. It also allows the county to impose fines on cable companies for violations. The regulation does not impose penalties for problems with the quality or speed of a connection.
"No one should have to pay for a service that isn't provided," county council member Marilyn Praisner said.
The county council is scheduled to vote on the proposal July 27, but cable companies are trying to attach amendments that would weaken the legislation. They say lawmakers are exaggerating the number of customer complaints about cable modem service.
"It's a regulation in search of a problem," said Brian Edwards, a spokesman for Comcast.
There are doubts about whether the county could even regulate cable Internet services.
Though local governments have long regulated cable television, the Federal Communications Commission has defined cable Internet as "an information service," breaking it away from cable regulations.
New video game putsplayer down on the farm
DALLAS -- Video games usually play out in spaceships, dungeons, battlefields or athletic fields. But farm fields?
"John Deere American Farmer" is a new computer game that lets players sow digital crops, milk computerized livestock and raise virtual barns.
It's the first game licensed by Moline, Ill.-based Deere & amp; Co., makers of the green and yellow tractors and farm equipment.
A Deere & amp; Co. spokesman said the game provides a unique way to learn more about the importance of agriculture in the U.S. economy.
The $20 title simulates market prices, weather, farmhands -- and the occasional plague.
There are 11 modes of play, including one where you have to raise 10,000 hogs. In "Fixer-upper" mode, you have to dig your way out of $200,000 in debt and repair a dilapidated farm within five years.
"It's the most authentic farming experience available besides working the fields yourself," said Paul Rinde, chief executive of Destineer, the game's publisher.
U.S. wants Australianextradited in piracy case
SYDNEY, Australia -- An Australian man accused of running a global software piracy network is one step closer to being extradited to the United States.
If he is turned over to U.S. law enforcement authorities, Hew Raymond Griffiths, 41, would be the first Australian extradited to the United States over alleged breaches of copyright law.
U.S. authorities describe Griffiths as the ringleader of an Internet group, "DrinkOrDie," which authorities say had illegally copied and distributed more than $50 million worth of pirated software, movies, games and music before investigators shut it down in 2001.
DrinkOrDie was part of the so-called "warez scene" in which participants known as suppliers obtain access to copyright files, often before the titles are available to the public.
The group, founded in Moscow in 1993, gained worldwide notoriety when it released a pirated version of the Windows 95 operating system two weeks before it was released by Microsoft.
Griffiths faces U.S. charges that could result in up to 10 years in jail and fines of $500,000.
A federal court ruled July 7 that Griffiths should be extradited and gave him 15 days to appeal.
Associated Press
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.