Jail-time for movie pirate

A Hong Kong man has been jailed for three months after illegally uploading movies to the Internet, reports BBC News.

Chan Nai-ming, or "Big Crook" as he likes to call himself, was using BitTorrent, a well-known file-sharing program, when he was arrested.

According to the Motion Pictures Association of America, approximately $900 million is lost each year in Asia to piracy of this kind, and Hong Kong officials hope his sentence will serve as a deterrent to others.

Although Google has been offering US mobile users mapping software for the past seven months, it now boasts an updated and easier-to-use downloadable Java application, reports MSNBC.

The updated version uses GPS to pinpoint the user`s exact location, skipping the step of having to enter this information manually.

This update, says Google, is in line with its ongoing efforts to simplify navigation and searchability in all its products.

Grokster, a popular peer-to-peer file-sharing company, has agreed to cease distribution of its software with immediate effect following a $50 million legal settlement, says CNet News.

Accused of contributing to copyright infringement, Grokster now owes substantial damages to affected movie studios, record labels and music publishers.

Although favour lies significantly with the entertainment industry, Grokster`s co-defendant, Morpheus parent StreamCast Networks, refuses to give up the fight and is not only staying in operation, but fighting the case in lower courts.

Warner Home Video has agreed to release its movies on the PlayStation Portable (PSP) compatible format, Universal Media Disk (UMD), reports BBC News.

Warner is the last of six major studios to agree to UMD and plans to initially launch eight movies in the US in this format, starting with The Dukes of Hazzard on 6 December.

PSP has been the world`s fastest selling handheld game console, with 2.2 million units sold in the US since its launch in March. Alison Biggers, Sony`s VP of worldwide marketing, is convinced that part of its success is due to the number of "good films" that have been released so far on UMD format.