Why doesn't C++ provide a "finally" construct?
Because C++ supports an alternative that is almost always better: The "resource acquisition is initialization" technique (TC++PL3 section 14.4). The basic idea is to represent a resource by a local object, so that the local object's destructor will release the resource. That way, the programmer cannot forget to release the resource. For example:

class File_handle {
FILE* p;
public:
File_handle(const char* n, const char* a)
{ p = fopen(n,a); if (p==0) throw Open_error(errno); }
File_handle(FILE* pp)
{ p = pp; if (p==0) throw Open_error(errno); }

~File_handle() { fclose(p); }

operator FILE*() { return p; }

// ...
};

void f(const char* fn)
{
File_handle f(fn,"rw"); // open fn for reading and writing
// use file through f
}

In a system, we need a "resource handle" class for each resource. However, we don't have to have an "finally" clause for each acquisition of a resource. In realistic systems, there are far more resource acquisitions than kinds of resources, so the "resource acquisition is initialization" technique leads to less code than use of a "finally" construct.

Also, have a look at the examples of resource management in Appendix E of The C++ Programming Language.

This may be a case of "nobody's innocent". While the RIAA appears to have had undue influence over customs, the web site owner doesn't sound completely legit, either. "I can't help it if somebody at the (record) labels sends me music".

After a year-long seizure and six more months of secrecy, the court records were finally released concerning the mysterious government takedown of Dajaz1.com – a popular blog dedicated to hip hop music and culture. The records confirm that one of the key reasons the blog remained censored for so long is that the government obtained three secret extensions of time by claiming that it was waiting for “rights holders” and later, the Recording Industry Association of America, to evaluate a “sampling of allegedly infringing content” obtained from the website and respond to other “outstanding questions.”

In other words, having goaded the government into an outrageous and very public seizure of the blog, the RIAA members refused to follow up and answer the government’s questions. In turn, the government acted shamefully, not returning the blog or apologizing for its apparent mistake, but instead secretly asking the court to extend the seizure and deny Dajaz1 the right to seek return of is property or otherwise get due process. The government also refused to answer Congressional questions about the case. ICE finally released the domain name in December of 2011, again with no explanation.

It’s not hard to guess what some of the unanswered “outstanding questions” might have been. Dajaz1.com, was seized with much fanfare by the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division of the Department of Homeland Security over the 2010 Thanksgiving weekend. It was widely reported at the time that Dajaz1 should never have been targeted, that much of the blog’s content was lawful, and that many of the allegedly infringing links were given to the site’s owner by artists and labels themselves – including Kanye West, Diddy, and a vice president of a major record label. So, at a minimum, we imagine the government was asking the RIAA to provide some evidence that the seizure was justified in the first place.

“Why I break #DRM on e-books” A publishing exec speaks out. Is publishing getting it? DRM doesn't work. Ask the #RIAA.

It took more than half a decade, but there’s finally something we can agree on with the RIAA. After suing college students, shutting down LimeWire and pushing for draconian anti-piracy laws, the RIAA now finally admits that the best answer to illegal downloading is innovation. A milestone, but unfortunately also a message that is bundled with the usual creative statistics that have to be debunked.

The last year has been a stressful period for online locker sites. Hotfile is currently defending itself from a lawsuit by the Motion Picture Association of America. In January, the federal government shut down Megaupload and indicted its officers. While the courts have yet to decide whether either company is legally responsible for the infringing activities of their users, there’s no serious dispute that copyright infringement accounted for a significant fraction of their business.

RapidShare argues that its service is fundamentally different. The company promotes non-infringing uses of its service and actively polices its site for illegal content. On Wednesday, at an event at the National Press Club, RapidShare formalized its anti-piracy stance with a new document. Its “Responsible Practices for Cloud Storage Services” outlines the steps the company takes to fight infringement on its site.

As we’ll see, these steps go well beyond the minimum enforcement efforts required to qualify for the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s safe harbor. Yet even RapidShare’s aggressive anti-piracy approach has not satisfied piracy hawks like the Recording Industry Association of America. Ars talked to RapidShare General Counsel Daniel Raimer following Wednesday’s event.

The deal to use ISPs to shut down p2p sharing has gotten a few good people on a powerless advisory board. While strictly good, this may or may not be a good thing.

The Recording Industry Association of America announced their first overall sales increase since 2004. Total shipments for 2011 surpassed $7 billion—a “boom” of 0.2 percent when compared with the previous year.

The RIAA released the 2011 year-end statistics this week, suggesting the industry’s losing streak has finally ended.

There’s no decisive reason cited for this growth, but certainly a number of likely factors exist. Subscription music services increased their revenue 13.5 percent, supporting the popularity of services like Spotify or Rdio. Music downloads also increased, both in singles (13.3 percent revenue increase) and albums (25.1 percent). Chief responsibility there could lie with Adele, whose 21 smashed many digital sales records including “Rolling In The Deep” becoming the second biggest digital single ever (“I Gotta’ Feeling” from The Black Eyed Peas still eclipsed it as of early March. Weekend Ar(t)s weeps for America).

The RIAA’s welcomed news should still be taken with a grain of salt. The industry is still reporting less than half the total value of its high in 1999. Revenue from physical sales was down 7.8 percent overall, with CDs down 8.5 percent in particular.

CD sales still account for more than $3 billion in revenue, compared to slightly over $1 billion for album downloads. Overall digital shipments do account for half of total shipments however. Audophiles can find some solace in the rise of vinyl revenue though, up 34 percent in 2011 (accounting for $119 million in sales).

One last interesting piece of RIAA data: this marked the first year royalties from “synchronization of recorded music with other content (such as movies, TV, video games, or other media)” was included. The RIAA mined data back to 2009 in order to compare. These royalties were up 4 percent, reaching $196 million for 2011.

Taking the media company numbers seriously leads to mind-bending conclusions #MPAA #RIAA