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30 Jan 2012 02:23

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Tech: Megaupload data could get deleted as soon as next week

  • 3 days until your family photos get deleted source
  • » But only if you used Megaupload to store them. Megaupload wasn’t just a place to share pirated movies; it also served as webspace for people to store their personal documents, pictures, hard drive backups, and the like. But Megaupload didn’t actually own the servers on which its data was stored–they outsourced that two other companies. Now that Megaupload’s been shut down, its assets have been frozen, and so it can’t keep paying the storage centers their fee. So, according to a letter from the US Attorney’s Office, the two data centers could start deleting the data as soon as this Thursday. That would be a shame for many, many people (although it should have been clear from the outset that Megaupload wasn’t the wisest place to back up one’s data). An attorney for Megaupload says he’s “cautiously optimistic” that they’ll be able to keep the data from being erased.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Jan 2012 22:41

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Politics: Three reasons understanding SOPA is important

  • one It could empower action against foreign websites which, let alone actively engaging in copyright infringement, merely “facilitate” it. This could place an enormous burden on proprietors for the deeds of their random readers and commenters.
  • two The definition of “facilitate?” Broadly used, “to make easier.” This is very vague, and could have serious unintended effects. For instance, does Youtube make it easier for piracy to occur? Undoubtedly. Should the site itself be liable for that?
  • three Upload a copyrighted song to Youtube that nets big viewership, and you could be in deeper trouble. Each view adds to the amount a plaintiff can accuse you of costing them, racking up heavy charges (this could result in Youtube-based felony convictions). source
  • » A great breakdown: Mashable’s dissection of the entire SOPA bill, in case you haven’t read it, does wonders in terms of clearing up what on its face is a confusing piece of legislation. It’s a solid breakdown that cuts through the legalese.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jun 2011 21:29

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Music: Bridging the piracy gap: Apple’s iCloud cleverly inverts Napster 1.0

  • We totally have to give Apple credit: The conceit around the iTunes portion of the iCloud service, while not exactly what we expected (it’s not Lala 2.0, sadly), manages to pull off an interesting trick — it creates a revenue model from a place where only piracy existed before. By upgrading your music’s quality and making it easily accessible from the cloud, it adds value inexpensively, and gets around a major sticking point for the major labels cleverly. And music industry officials see it as a positive. “It allows for revenue to be made off of pirated music in a way that consumers don’t feel that’s what they’re paying for, and that’s what I find fascinating about it,” noted Jeff Price, the CEO of TuneCore Inc., which helps independent artists sell their music online. Our music anywhere for $25 a year? Sure, we’ll pay that. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Nov 2010 11:33

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Tech, U.S.: The U.S. government gets bolder with its anti-piracy actions

  • 70+ illegal torrent sites shut down by the Feds; single tear source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Nov 2010 16:09

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Tech: The Pirate Bay’s legal troubles – better in some ways, worse in others

  • good Three of the four principals behind Bittorrent site The Pirate Bay got their prison sentences cut to under a year – the fourth was ill and will be sentenced later.
  • bad While their sentences were cut, the monetary damages to be paid to various content providers were raised – from $4.2 million to roughly $6.6 million. source
  • » But really, the thing to take from this is … Despite the legal troubles the Swedish site has faced lately, it’s still up. Can we just offer them a hand for somehow keeping this site up despite all of the trouble they’ve been facing? That’s kind of amazing.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Jan 2010 11:32

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World: Brits captured by Somalian pirates: We desperately need help

  • The pirates want $7 million. The British government won’t pay. Despite pleading from Paul and Rachel Chandler, they’re still not getting any help. Part of it is a longstanding British policy not to play nice with pirates. As a result, they’ve been captured since October. “Please help us, these people are not treating us well,” Rachel Chandler said in a video filmed by AFP. “I’m old, I’m 56 and my husband is 60 years old. We need to be together because we have not much time left.” Yikes. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Jan 2010 18:20

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Tech: A court knocks a few bucks off Jammie Thomas-Rasset’s piracy bill

  • $2 million the amount Jammie owed the RIAA based on the last court decision; that’s $80,000 for 24 songs each
  • $54,000 the amount Jammie now owes based on the new court decision; that’s $2,250 per song source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

29 Dec 2009 10:39

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Tech: Broadband customers in the U.K. may have to pay big for piracy

  • Broadband consumers shouldn’t have to bail out the music industry. If they really think it’s worth spending vast sums of money on these measures then they should be footing the bill; not the consumer.
  • Carphone Warehouse CEO Charles Dunstone (which runs the TalkTalk consumer broadband service in the U.K.) • Regarding the reported £500 million British broadband consumers will be forced to pay as part of an online piracy bill. Yes, you read that right – to fight online piracy for movie and music companies, the U.K. is working on a bill that benefits those companies, specifically, at the cost to consumers, with no real benefit to consumers. May we call bull(#$&( on this already? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Nov 2009 10:23

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Tech: Microsoft can’t sell certain versions of Windows in China? Uh, OK.

  • You mean legitimate copies of Windows sell in China? Microsoft has an odd situation on its hands. A Chinese court said that due to licensing agreements involving some fonts, the company has to stop selling certain version of Windows in the country. You know it’s a sad statement on your company – and the country blocking you – when analysts in the article talking about the agreement say it won’t have much of an effect due to widespread piracy in that country. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Nov 2009 10:49

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U.S.: Coshocton, Ohio and the MPAA are really pissed at some pirate

  • 1 movie-downloading bastard ruined the free wi-fi for EVERYBODY! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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