::: Star Weekend Magazine :::

Info-Tech

Pirates Beware!
Anti-piracy Software is Here

Imran H. Khan

"If you do not share, you will die!" No, this is not Robin Hood's line to the wealthy as he relieves them of the contents of their bulging pockets. It is a cyber term and a motivator to keep millions of people online sharing files. Nothing is sacred, music, movies, videos, e-books, software, games it's all fair game. And how do these cyber junkies do it? With the help of popular software such as BitTorrent, Limewire and Azureus, which connect vie peer-to-peer networks to share these information around the clock.

Sharing may be a thrilling experience but what is the consequence of this? For musicians and performs it is the loss of huge revenue in the form of royalty due to copyrights infringement and music piracy. Since the work and labels of musicians and performers become fair game in the cyber world, this is proving to be a massive headache. As it often happens, the people who own the music or the copyright content are sometimes totally oblivious to the fact that their items are being broadcast over the net.

This is where Auditude Inc. comes into play. They are a tiny Los Angeles based company whose founders claim to be the solution to this cyber bug. They basically provide accountability for the media, both on and off the Internet. Nicholas Seet, co-Founder and CEO of Auditude Inc. has worked as VP Engineering of WolfeTech, a wireless media company. Seet, who holds a double-major in engineering and economics from Harvey Mudd College and has an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, is currently supervising technical development at Auditude Inc.

TigerIT Bangladesh Ltd. is working in collaboration with Auditude Inc. for a business intelligence software solution which will help the media broadcast industry to monitor as well as to track down unauthorised usage of audio and video materials. The software is capable of identification of media in almost any format. TigerIT's software received excellent feedback from popular broadcasting companies such as Sony Music, EMI Music Publishing, MTV Networks, NBC and Paramount Pictures after initial demonstrations. Currently, these companies are using this software to hone their search to track down users violating piracy laws.

The software uses some advanced frequency processing techniques to extract a characteristic signature, commonly known as an Audio Thumbprint, from the audio waveform. Auditude then compares that signature against its mammoth content database, which contains everything that has run on television and cable in recent years, including a database of over 3.5 million songs. Using this passive identification technology, much like a human fingerprint technology, the media does not need to be modified in any way before it is tracked. This way the owners can easily find out the whereabouts of their materials. The software can also identify media within streams or broadcast signals, at blazing speeds, using a compact code footprint. This powerful technology has been tested to withstand numerous types of distortions, such as background noise, speed and pitch changes and quality variations. The technology has already been validated in applications such as Broadcast music, advertising and program tracking, cell-phone based music identification, CD and MP3 identification, anti-piracy and copyright enforcement.

The Auditude offshore team in Bangladesh is led by Sohel Ahmed Zulker (Vice President, TigerIT Bangladesh Limited) who has extensive home and abroad experience in ICT Industry. Other members of the team include Rakebul Hasan, Khairul Kabir, Imran Ahmed and Mahmuda Rahman. Mahmuda has been in charge of testing and documentation while the rest of the team members are all processional Software Developers. TigerIT Bangladesh Limited is an offshore technology campus of TigerIT, USA, with its corporate headquarters located in Northern Virginia. Through TigerIT's 'TigerClient' web-based project management tool and a US-based project manager, they utilise the Internet to remove obstacles of working with remote resources. TigerIT Bangladesh Limited is currently competing for CMM L-3. TigerIT also has well-known sister concerns, including Therap (BD) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Therap Services, Connecticut, USA. It provides cost effective communication and technology services to provider agencies in the US working with people with developmental disabilities.

Though TigerIT, Dhaka, is an offshore centre, it has more than 60 developers and technical staff, in contrast to only 20 developers and technical staff in the Virginia office. With such a company employing the IT masterminds of our country, it is not only helping to build a reputation for the local software industry, but paving a potential highway for more investments in the IT sector. The future of IT in Bangladesh could yet be a promising venture.

Nokia Leading the Mobile Revolution

Nokia has launched N77, a multimedia computer that gives access to DVB-H based mobile TV via Nokia Mobile Broadcast Solution release 3.2, was also launched at this year's congress. With its dedicated TV application, users can select, purchase, and consume mobile TV programs.

The other features that come with N77 include: replay of TV programs; set reminders via the programme guide; enjoy TV and music with high quality stereo speakers; 1500 songs with you on a optional up to; 2GB memory card.

Another new arsenal in Nokia's line-up is 6110 Navigator. Using the new 6110 you can find your way by car or on foot: the phone has a built-in voice-guided 3D GPS navigation system and local maps pre-installed on the memory card. Access maps and location information quickly and easily with the dedicated Navigator key, users will also be able to download maps quickly and surf the web via high-speed 3.5G. Features like taking snapshots of places using the 2-megapixel camera with panoramic mode are there; this new phone will also let you listen to your text messages, and your emails will be read aloud to you by your phone with Message Reader.

--SWM Desk
Photo Curtsey: Nokia Bangladesh