OzHub, the Macquarie Telecom-led cloud computing alliance, has come down firmly on the side of Optus over the copyright controversy surrounding Optus TV Now, warning that any moves to change the law "risk branding Australia a global luddite state."
The Governor of New York, David Paterson, has proposed a 4% tax on music downloads as one of 137 new fees to be levied on New Yorkers in the 2009-10 budget.
The state which is home to Wall St is feeling a bit poorly since the credit crunch began.
The state has a present $US 15.4 billion budget gap which is being attributed to a drop in the revenue raised from high-earning Wall Street financiers.
To make up the gap Governor Peterson wants legal downloaders of music to help cough up to the tune of an extra 4% on top of what they pay the iTunes Store and other providers.
This charge will also cover e-books and other "digitally delivered entertainment services" which includes videos and photographs.
The fee is contentious and is incurring the wrath of ordinary New Yorkers who resent the sting, although a precedent has been set with the state of New Jersey already imposing a similar charge.
Some sources say the tax will give further impetus for home users to abandon music stores in favour of BitTorrent and other per-to-peer download sites.
Other controversial and contentious taxes proposed include an 18% tax on non-diet fruit drinks with less than 7% natural fruit juice.
David Frost
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