I received a joint press release from the RIAA and DiMa (Digital Media Association) pushing digital music gifts for the holidays, and specifying seasonal offers from iTMS, Live365, Napster, and Rhapsody. The same old chestnuts are roasting over an open fire of hyperbole: Licensed services are easier to use than file-sharing apps (far from true is some cases), they offer higher sound quality (definitely not true in many cases), they don't transmit malware (true for the online services, though most definitely not true anymore with CDs), and they don't expose children to porn (right; only to morality-torching lyrics).

Then, this surprise: "Legal services offer other advantages over illegal file sharing services such as Kazaa and Limesire…" Well, I'll be damned. I follow the scene pretty carefully and I had no idea Limewire had been ajudged illegal in any court on earth. (GIven the hilarious proceedings in Australia, I'll cut slack about KaZaA.) What is meant, of course, and what is purposefully hidden in all such sleazy statements that infest RIAA/DiMA/IFPI announcements, is that some uses of Limewire might be found illegal if any specific challenge ever reached trial.