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• Samsung dual-format HD player coming soon
• France unveils anti-piracy plan
• Millions of phone numbers online
• Amazon Kindle sells out on debut

People sharing files illegally in France will face loss of Net access thanks to a newly-created anti-piracy body that has been granted wide-ranging powers. The anti-piracy body comes out of a deal brokered by French musicians and moviemakers and ISPs.

The group that brokered the deal said that the measures were intended to curb casual piracy rather than tackle large-scale pirate groups.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the deal was a decisive moment for the future of a civilized Internet.

ISPs will monitor what their customers are doing and pass on information about persistent pirates to the new independent body. Those identified will get a warning and then be threatened with either being cut off or suspended if they do not stop illegal file-sharing.

A special committee created to look at the problem of the Net and cultural protection drew up the agreement between ISPs, record companies, filmmakers and the government.

Denis Olivennes, head of the French chain store FNAC, who chaired the committee said current penalties for piracy—large fines and years in jail—were totally disproportionate for those young people who do file-share illegally.

In return for agreeing to monitor net use, film-makers agreed to speed up the transfer of movies to DVD and music firms pledged to support DRM-free tracks on music stores.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which represents the global interests of the music business, hailed the deal. However, French consumer group UFC Que Choisir was more cautious. It said the agreement was tough, potentially destructive of freedom, anti-economic and against digital history.

British phone books dating as far back as 1880 are to be published online for the first time. More than 280 million names, numbers and addresses in 1,780 British phone books will be put online following a 26-month project by Ancestry.co.uk.

The editions were published between 1880 and 1984, and include famous figures such as former prime ministers, writers and composers.

The first phone book was published in 1880 for 248 London subscribers. One for the entire country was published 19 years later, covering 81,000 entries in a single volume of just 1,350 pages.

A century or so later, the phone book had grown to 145 editions and 47 million copies were distributed. Among the millions of names and numbers online are prime minister Harold McMillan at his cottage in Chelwood Gate, composer Edward Elgar at his estate in Warwickshire and writer Evelyn Waugh at the home in the West Country where he wrote Brideshead Revisited.

The first phone book contained no numbers and callers were put through by the operator. The first person listed in that book was J.W. Alt at 14 Queen Victoria Street, East Central—a building no longer around after the remains of a Roman Temple found nearby were moved to the site and renamed Temple Court.

Early phone books offered tips on how to use the receiver: “The lips should be almost touching the mouthpiece and there is rarely need to shout” and to “announce your identity at once upon receiving a call”.

The managing director of Ancestry.co.uk, Simon Harper, said the phone books would help people researching late Victorian, 20th century family or social history as they provide solid evidence of where people lived during any given time in this period.

Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader has sold out despite scepticism about whether the device will prove popular. A notice on the Kindle pages on the Amazon web store said heavy customer demand for the device meant it would be out of stock until 3rd December.

Since its launch on 19 November the device has been widely examined but opinions about it have been mixed. It has won praise for being easy to use but many have criticised the way in which it forces people to pay for free content (blogs).

The Kindle device was on sale on the online retailer’s store soon after Amazon boss Jeff Bezos unveiled it earlier this week. Within hours, reported gadget blog Engadget, the device had sold out prompting Amazon to add a message about stocks being replenished early next month.

Overall the gadget has won a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars from those who have spent time with it. Many Amazon reviewers praised its easy-to-read screen and the size and heft of the device. Owners also like the inbuilt Amazon store and the ease with which they can load books and other documents on to it via Sprint’s EVDO network.

Amazon has remained tight-lipped on whether the gadget will be made available outside North America. However, Kindle has won negative press from many reviewers who were sharply critical of its price, the rights protection technology it used and the surcharges it adds if owners load their own documents on to it.

Joel Johnson, writing for BoingBoing, said that the $400 price tag was simply too high. He also criticized the cost of getting at blogs ($2 per month) and newspapers ($15 per month) that can be had for free via the Web.

Kindle also has some established competition in the form of the Sony PRS 505 Reader, Bookeen Cybook V3 and the iRex Iliad. However, neither gadget has so far won significant success.