R5 DVD Release Dates For September, October & November 2010 (Updated)
Posted on: September 01, 2010Lots of people seem to be interested in getting to know movie DVD release dates in advance. Usually, this information is easily obtainable from stores that sell DVDs, both online and offline. But how about guessing when a movie will leak online? Although movies don’t have an official ‘leak-to-P2P date’ scheduled by publishers, you can pretty much guess when some movies will appear on file sharing networks if you know their DVD Region 5 (R5) release date. The R5 format was first introduced to...
Share Files with Courier on Mac OS X
Posted on: September 01, 2010
A new file sharing utility for Mac OS X that lets you quickly and conveniently share files on your Mac to multiple online services has been released by Realmac Software .
The application is designed to enable you to share files over different web services easily. The basic idea is… You select the services you want to upload your files to, and it does the rest.
Courier's interface revolves around "envelopes," which are really templates for sharing to multiple services at once. For example, one envelope might be designated for your business's Twitter and Flickr accounts, while another might be for your personal Flickr and Facebook accounts. Once you've created at least one envelope, you simply drag-and-drop the files you'd like to share onto the envelope and click Deliver.
Adding to its appeal, Courier integrates your envelopes with the Mac OS X Services menu (available via right-click or the current application menu), making it easy to share items from anywhere in Mac OS X.
A demo that allows five deliveries is available. Courier is priced at $20 as a limited introductory offer and requires Mac OS X 10.6 running on a 64-bit Mac. It currently supports Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Ember, Amazon S3, Vimeo, and FTP/SFTP, with more services on the way.
http://www.p2pon.com/2010/09/01/share-files-with-courier-on-mac-os-x/ Post LinkGGF wants to buy Demonoid, Demonoid doesn't want to be purchased
Posted on: August 31, 2010 |
Last year, Global Gaming Factory (GGF) tried to buy The Pirate Bay but failed to come up with sufficient funds. The story had a particularly bad ending since the CEO, Hans Pandeya, even had some of his personal assets seized. However, GGF is now back... |
Disney and WB React Desperately
Posted on: August 31, 2010
Trying to keep their work away from the file sharing site/service moles, Disney and Warner Bros. ?make desperate efforts and have sued an ad firm called Triton Media for providing advertising services to a series of sites that the studios feel facilitate copyright infringement.
They claim that the sites in question ”have posted, organized, searched for, identified, collected and indexed links to infringing material that is available on third-party websites, otherwise provided access to infringing material, and/or hosted infringing material”, therefore, no trace of hosting or transmission of copyrighted material.
These sites just allow users to post links. ?But even so, it seems that they are a real threat for the Disney's folks so they are trying everything they can to stop advertising on pirate websites.
All of these websites could themselves be liable for a contributory infringement claim, but the studios have instead decided to reach out even further by taking action against a larger business in Triton.
The two studios aren't the first to attempt to crack down on piracy by targeting so-called facilitators. Adult entertainment publisher Perfect 10 sued Mastercard and Visa in 2004, alleging the two credit card companies provided "crucial transactional support services" to pirate websites. A district court dismissed the case, and later the Ninth Circuit upheld it, determining that Perfect 10 had failed to support any theory of liability against the defendants.
It appears that Warners and Disney, represented by the anti-piracy experts at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, want to take a shot at being the very plaintiff that might expand the definition of contributory copyright infringement.
The studios are seeking unspecified monetary damages as well as an injunction that would prevent Triton from doing business with these websites.
http://www.p2pon.com/2010/08/31/disney-and-wb-react-desperately/ Post LinkSerial Copyright Infringers, Entirely Banned
Posted on: August 26, 2010
New Zealand parliament approves of new file sharing pirate law that would impose a 6 month internet ban along with hefty fines. Copyright lobbyist aren't satisfied though, they want worse punishment.
The Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Bill, which allows for large files and six month Internet suspensions, has already passed its first reading in the New Zealand Parliament. However, according to copyright advocates, it doesn't go far enough. Instead of simply disconnecting repeat infringers, they are calling for a heavier punishment that would take people's right to Internet access away.
One of the most radical proposals is that? if the current draft is insufficient to deter serial infringers from downloading music and movies without consent from copyright holders, instead of simply suspending the account of infringers, it was suggested taking offenders’ right to Internet access away entirely.
“This would remove uncertainty about how infringement notices are issued, clarifying whether copyright owners or ISP’s are responsible for dealing with issues where infringement notices are challenged, and removing restrictions on the Copyright Tribunal’s ability to award costs.”
However, it looks like not all the copyrights sustainers see in the measure the best way to solve the problem. “A disconnection penalty is a response way out of line with the harm caused by infringing file sharing. People are using the Internet for a huge range of important economic and social tasks. Cutting off their accounts is akin to banning someone from using the postal system because they were caught posting copied music CDs”.
http://www.p2pon.com/2010/08/26/serial-copyright-infringers-entirely-banned/ Post LinkP2P Community Welcomes a New Meta-Search Engine: TorrentFuse
Posted on: August 25, 2010
TorrentFuse is a brand new p2p meta-index site that has an impressive database of torrent links. Clean and with a nice layout, TorrentFuse currently supports 33 popular file sharing sites including Alivetorrents, The Piratebay, Kickasstorrents, Extratorrent, Btmon, Torrentdownloads, Bitsnoop etc (you can check out the entire list of torrent site at the end of the post).
A feature appreciated by any downloader is the fact that the guys at TorrentFuse verify their torrents so that no fake ones make their way to your computer (“We have bots constantly checking Piratebay for takedowns so if it's down on their site it's down on ours”).
In their own words:
“With our automated TV Recommendations System you will never lose track of which season/episode you are watching. When you login your episode downloads are tracked (to your account) so we can present you with a list of episodes you've not downloaded yet. This is also great for a quick check to see the latest releases of TV shows.”
Your searches fall under 8 categories – TV shows, movies, music, software, games, anime, books, adult. Some torrents also have short previews of the content you might want to download and there’s a huge Download from recommended site button on top of all the search results from various sites (from what I verified, invariably The Pirate Bay).
While the tag cloud displays the most popular searches of the last 7 days you can click for a larger search cloud.
TorrentFuse joins the rich list of BitTorrent search engines extending the range of torrents indexed on the Web.
Fight on the File-sharing’s Bill Definition
Posted on: August 25, 2010The concern that the Bill's definition of an internet service provider could be too wide, capturing universities, libraries and other businesses that provide internet access to employees or customers determined the organisations to keep track of alleged copyright infringement by their users, with the attendant increase in workload and the possibility of stigmatising the wrong user.
In their submissions they suggest the definition of an ISP under the new Section 122A created by the Bill be modified to apply only to organisations that allocate IP addresses to their customers. If an ISP allocates a group of fixed addresses to a company and the company simply lets its users log on to whichever address is free at the time, the user company will not have to keep track of who is logged on where or be concerned about having infringement notices served on it.
The definition of "file sharing" in the current Bill can be read as also covering simple download of material, so it overlaps with the other provisions in the Act, TCF suggests. The pressure going on peer-to-peer file traders has led many to shift to obtaining material through simple downloading services such as Rapidshare TCF states.
http://www.p2pon.com/2010/08/25/fight-on-the-file-sharing%e2%80%99s-bill-definition-2/ Post LinkThe Bully Becomes the Bullied: File Sharing Lawyer Sent to Disciplinary Tribunal
Posted on: August 24, 2010
The news is quite refreshing considering how fast and to what extent the file sharing threatening letters have increased in number. A solicitor accused of harassing internet users with warnings over file-sharing claims should be investigated by a disciplinary body, legal regulators think.
The solicitor in question is Andrew Crossley, an attorney at ACS Law Solicitors, a firm that kept itself pretty busy with sending people letters demanding compensation payments for their illegal downloading activities.
Consumer group Which? which has been struggling from 2008 to expose this wicked practice was very happy with the decision by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (and they’re not the only ones).
“We welcome this decision because we’ve received so many complaints from consumers who believe they been treated appallingly by this law firm. We also believe that it’s time for the profession to take action against law firms, and those responsible for them, which behave in a way we believe most right-thinking people would view as both aggressive and bullying”,? said Deborah Prince, the legal head for Which?.
150 complaints have been forwarded to Which? by members who had been sent warnings from ACS:Law threatening with lawsuit unless the receivers paid ?500 to have the file sharing investigations suspended. If we do a little math we come up with quite a huge amount (considering the number of recipients) – about ?3 million.
http://www.p2pon.com/2010/08/24/the-bully-becomes-the-bullied-file-sharing-lawyer-sent-to-disciplinary-tribunal/ Post LinkGGF's Offer Refused: Demonoid Not for Sale
Posted on: August 23, 2010After failing to acquire Pirate Bay now Hans Pandeya also steps away from Demonoid
In 2009 there was a lot of fuss around Global Gaming Factory’s (GGF) announcement that it was going to pay $7.8 million to acquire The Pirate Bay.
Eventually, it proved to be much ado about nothing as CEO Hans Pandeya didn’t manage to raise the necessary money in due time. The idea was to turn all those illegal file sharers that had become loyal users or members of the file sharing site into honest customers through a legal media store that TPB was to become. I guess that just didn’t happen!
However, Pandeya’s ambitions seem in no way shorter (or they do?) as the entrepreneur didn’t give up his intentions of buying a popular torrent tracker and is now trying to acquire semi-private Demonoid tracker. Finally, he did manage to put aside some funds for such an acquisition:
"I have finally managed to get some funds in place and want to acquire Demonoid and some other sites to execute my plans. I lost a year and a fortune due to Aktietorget’s [the equity marketplace] acrobatics during my attempt to acquire The Pirate Bay in 2009 but I think it is still not too late to acquire and convert torrent sites."
But however big Pandeya’s plans might be with converting file sharing site into a profitable business, Demonoid, on the other hand doesn’t put itself up for sale. According to TorrentFreak, the site’s owner doesn’t fancy the idea of selling Demonoid which makes us curious just what’s the next door Pandeya will be knocking at.
http://www.p2pon.com/2010/08/23/ggfs-offer-refused-demonoid-not-for-sale/ Post LinkNew File Sharing Virus Destroys Files, Replaces Them with Manga Images
Posted on: August 21, 2010
A 27 year-old Japanese computer hacker has been arrested on suspicion of creating a computer virus that wipes out all the files on the infected systems and replaces them with homemade manga images of squid, octopuses and sea urchins.
According to Asashi, Masato Nakatsuji, of Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture, who had been previously arrested for violating copyright laws by writing malware that replaced data with an anime image, said to the police: "I wanted to see how much my computer programming skills had improved since the last time I was arrested."
A police department specialized in cybercrime said Nakatsuji was held in relation with the Ikatako (squid-octopus) virus, which got spread via the Winny file-sharing program (the most popular p2p client in Japan) in May, disguised as a file for anime songs.
The virus gets its name because infected files are replaced by manga images of a squid, octopus or sea urchin. If the virus is left unchecked, all files in the computer's hard disk become infected. When a user tries to open a file, all the individual can access is a manga image of a marine invertebrate.
Ikatako also is programmed to send all the files in the infected computer to a server Nakatsuji is believed to have created as well. According to police he had told them that the server contained data collected from about 50,000 people. So far, police have confirmed that the virus has made about 20,000 victims.
http://www.p2pon.com/2010/08/20/new-file-sharing-virus-destroys-files-replaces-them-with-manga-images/ Post LinkRIAA, Google’s Next Buddy?
Posted on: August 21, 2010
photo credit: wholetruthcoalition.org
Just recently we reported about Google’s newly adopted stance towards net neutrality which did raise some heavy controversy. But how could have the RIAA miss out on any attempt to choke net neutrality?
With the hope of eradicating file sharing at the level of telcos and ISPs always vivid the organization wrote a letter to Google CEO Eric Schmidt in search of an anti-net neutrality commando.
"The music community we represent believes it is vital that any Internet policy initiative permit and encourage ISPs and other intermediaries to take measures to deter unlawful activity such as copyright infringement and child pornography," says the letter.
RIAA’s use of child pornography as an excuse to push forward with its crusade against file sharing and net neutrality has become almost…obscene. As long as telcos and ISPs are obeying net neutrality laws as they are, they will not be able to mess with people's file sharing habits.
Another disguise used by RIAA in its attempt to impose its views on file sharing is that of a fighter for order and moral values, all endangered by this chaos the internet tends to become if not subjected to (its) control.
"We all share the goal of a robust Internet that is highly accessible, secure and safe for individuals and commerce. An Internet predicated on order, rather than chaos, facilitates achievement of this goal," the letter continues.
http://www.p2pon.com/2010/08/20/riaa-google%e2%80%99s-next-buddy/ Post LinkU2 Manager Returns to the File Sharing Debate with New Article
Posted on: August 20, 2010
An outspoken adversary of file sharing phenomenon, U2 manager Paul McGuinness who has made the headlines several times over the past two years with critics against digital piracy has recently published an article that questions the future of the music industry.
The main concern at the core of file-sharing issue is that the younger segment of music listeners have become hooked on free music they download without any sense of breaking moral values.
"We are living in an era when "free" is decimating the music industry and is starting to do the same to film, TV and books" McGuinness writes. "Yet for the world's internet service providers, bloated by years of broadband growth, "free music" has become a multi-billion dollar bonanza."
He further emphasis the difference between major artists and bands and smaller ones and why the former are not so eager to jump into a file sharing debate with a combative stance.
"Well-known artists very seldom speak out on piracy" McGuinness explained. "There are several reasons for this. It isn't seen as cool or attractive to their fans – Lars Ulrich from Metallica was savaged when he criticised Napster. Other famous artists sometimes understandably feel too rich and too successful to be able to speak out on the issue without being embarrassed."
As expected, the article was met with both approval and criticism as any time when the file sharing topic is brought up.
McGuinness also tackled the concept around the term “free” and how it has come to have a negative impact on the music industry: "I think we are coming to understand that, across all businesses that invest in and trade in creativity, "free" comes with a price – and in my business that means less investment in talent and fewer artists making a living from music. If this point really is sinking in then we are making headway. It may be that the crisis for music has now got so bad that the issue of "free" is really being properly understood for the first time."
Perhaps in the following days we’ll report about a reply coming from another figure in the music industry who points out to aspects Paul McGuinness didn’t cover and who doesn’t forget that the notion “free” is very related to that of “convenience” and “customer-concern”, something record labels forget most of the times to orient themselves towards.
You can read the entire interview at GQ.
http://www.p2pon.com/2010/08/20/u2-manager-returns-to-the-file-sharing-debate-with-new-article/ Post LinkStarCraft 2 and Blizzard's BitTorrent Paradox
Posted on: August 19, 2010 |
StarCraft 2 will probably be remembered as the top pirated game of 2010, and also the top legally downloaded game using BitTorrent technology. The reason for this paradox is that Blizzard uses BitTorrent to distribute the game to paying customers. |
"The Pirate Bay Really Sucks," Says Co-Founder
Posted on: August 19, 2010 |
Peter Sunde, co-founder of the famous The Pirate Bay torrent index site, thinks that The Pirate Bay sucks. The reason he thinks so is because nothing new has been added to The Pirate Bay site for over five years. |
New File Sharing Site for Karaoke Fans: Karaoke-World
Posted on: August 19, 2010
A new niche BitTorent tracker has recently launched under the name karaoke-world.co.uk which pretty much suggests what it has to offer. Japanese or not, file sharing fans who are also passionate about expressing their underrated musical talent can now share content for that particular purpose.
In order to have access to the site’s torrents you have to register here. In terms of lay-out and fonts Karaoke-world is rather disappointing but we do hope some changes will be made in the future (some other colors, for instance, would be much appreciated).
The site is organized in several major categories displayed at the top of the each divided in sub-categories: there’s Networking (with Social groups, Member blogs, Member albums, IRC), Forum & Games, Community (with Forum home, New posts, Today’s posts, Search in forums, Forum rules), Torrents (with a comprehensive list of sub-categories – also the site rules require users to read all personal messages before being able to browse torrents!) User CP, Top 10 (users, torrents, peers, countries, forums), Games etc.
Karaoke-world uses a upload-download ratio system and points out that you have to “distinguish between your overall ratio and the individual ratio on each torrent you may be seeding or leeching.”
Currently, the site lists 920 members; 1,154 torrents; 2,841seeders; 113 leechers; 2,954 peers; 103 threads; 484 posts.
For those willing to help out the Karaoke-world’s team in the most pragmatic way, there’s a button where they can place their donations to the site.
Game Dev: Sometimes It's OK to Steal My Games
Posted on: August 19, 2010 |
President and lead programmer of Spiderweb Software says that in certain cases users are allowed to pirate his software. These cases range from not having access to a retail version or having no money to afford it. |
uTorrent Promotes Hip-Hop Artist through Downloads
Posted on: August 18, 2010
Over the last two years, releasing music albums and even movies via BitTorrent has become almost a trend. Whether they created their own websites to give away their works for free or used different file sharing sites and specialized music portals as distributing platforms, artists have definitely embraced new views of perceiving music distribution and ways to do it, probably inconceivable for many a decade ago.
With some previous successful examples such as The Pirate Bay and BitTorrent distribution platform Vodo which were a genuine source of inspiration in terms of marketing, BitTorrent Inc. has decided to make this step itself launching its own marketing campaign through which to help aspiring artists to distribute their music via its platform. Therefore uTorrent is now promoting the mixtape debut of PAZ, titled Young Broke & Fameless.
“We want to continue to build on the successes that we have already seen with Pioneer One and the Yes Men. In both cases, their creations were wildly downloaded and consumers showed their enthusiasm by opening their wallets and donating to these creators so that they can continue to make future content,” TorrentFreak quotes BitTorrent Inc. spokesperson Jenna Broughton.
With PAZ as the first musician to benefit from uTorrent’s promotion service, BitTorrent Inc. hopes to make way for a series of future fruitful collaborations.
While some artists choose this way of distributing their works to reach a broader audience, for most of them who decide on using BitTorrent to release their material, this could be their best shot at gaining recognition.
Download PAZ’s Young Broke & Fameless (“a cocktail of rock, hip-hop and dance”)
(via TorrentFreak)
http://www.p2pon.com/2010/08/18/utorrent-promotes-hip-hop-artist-through-downloads/ Post LinkMore File Sharers Get Sued by Lucas Entertainment
Posted on: August 18, 2010
Last month we reported about adult movie company Lucas Entertainment’s determination to start a battle against illegal file sharers by suing 65 John Doe infringers who allegedly used Bittorrent site gay-torrents.net to make the film Kings of New York available for free download.
Meanwhile, understanding perhaps that in file sharing lawsuits the number is all that matters, Lucas Entertainment added 132 new John Does on the list of alleged copyright infringers in an amended complaint filed on Monday.
The case was passed on from a district court judge to Magistrate Judge Jeff Kaplan who shortly after granted August 13th's motion for discovery of (at that time) the file sharing suspects.
We’ll keep you posted with the unfolding of the story.
http://www.p2pon.com/2010/08/17/more-file-sharers-get-sued-by-lucas-entertainment/ Post LinkFile-sharing and Spending Less: No Connection, Says Report
Posted on: August 17, 2010
A new report called "Despite Industry Fears, Consumer Spending Cuts Do Not Impact Piracy" released yesterday by Interpret wants to put some of the industry's fears at rest (as hard as that could be) – there’s no real relationship between consumers spending less money and their tendency to engage in file-sharing via p2p networks.
In their own words Interpret is “a leading entertainment, media and technology measurement and market research firm that applies proprietary, cutting edge methodologies and extensive category knowledge to help companies plan, test, and measure their business strategies.”
The report which was an investigation of the link between cutting back on spending due to the economy and the probability to resort to illegal downloads from file sharing sites revealed no connection worth mentioning. It seems that consumers who have reduced their spending are less likely than the average consumer to fancy physical media (DVDs, CDs, etc) and much more likely to flirt with digital media using streaming and downloading sites. According to the study, among file-sharers, the one to account for most of the activity is music. To follow some numbers – 86 percent of file-sharers have downloaded music illegally, compared to only 31 percent each for TV and films.
Michael Dowling, CEO of Interpret LLC pointed out :"The good news for content creators and providers is that the struggling economy does not appear to have increased filesharing. While filesharing is still a legitimate concern, there are several mitigating steps the industry can take to actually enhance its opportunity with consumers."
http://www.p2pon.com/2010/08/17/file-sharing-and-spending-less-no-connection-says-report/ Post LinkKickassTorrents is Back!
Posted on: August 17, 2010
Last week we reported the shutdown of the highly-popular BitTorrent site KickassTorrents which was pulled offline by Ukrainian authorities but we also expressed our hope that it will manage to relocate and be back online in a short time. Well, that happened and this time we’re glad to report the return of KickassTorrents to all of you who love a fancy, nicely organized file sharing site.
Welcome back, guys!
http://www.p2pon.com/2010/08/17/kickasstorrents-is-back/ Post LinkThe Pirate Party Becomes The Pirate Bay's New Host
Posted on: August 15, 2010 |
The injunction against the bandwidth provider of the The Pirate Bay site has sparked support from the Pirate Party. From now on, the Pirate Party will be responsible for The Pirate Bay's connection to the internet. The famous site remains online... |
Hurt Locker torrenters: prepare to get sued
Posted on: August 14, 2010 |
Although the film "The Hurt Locker" won six Oscars, it only generated a disappointing 16 million dollars at the theaters. Voltage Pictures and the US Copyright Group intend to gain some additional revenue from digital pirates. |
The Pirate Bay Goes Down Following Legal Pressure
Posted on: August 14, 2010 |
A judge has ordered the ISP of the famous The Pirate Bay to stop making the site available online. The Pirate Bay team acted quickly and already has a new ISP now. The site was down for no more than a few hours because of this. |
Verizon and AT&T Ban BitTorrent On Wireless Networks
Posted on: August 13, 2010A recent Net Neutrality proposal from Google and Verizon has dominated the news this week, with opponents claiming that the deal would kill Net Neutrality on wireless (cellular) networks. What hasn't been mentioned thus far, however, is that BitTorrent and other types of evil traffic have already been banned for years by Verizon, AT&T and others.
This week, Google has been bashed by dozens of self-respecting news outlets on the Internet after it published a joint proposal with Verizon that aims to preserve Net Neutrality. Most of the critique is aimed at the suggestion of limiting the proposed rules to wired networks for now, while leaving wireless networks untouched.
Although the proposal is far from perfect, we are even more surprised by the misplaced outrage towards Google. How can it be that thousands of reporters and activists claim that the Google / Verizon deal will kill Net Neutrality if there's no such thing in the first place?
Next week marks the three year anniversary of the story that Comcast was preventing BitTorrent users from uploading content to others after they had finished downloading. Rightfully so, Comcast's practices led to a thorough FCC investigation and the ISP was eventually punished for its interventions.
But Comcast was not the only one who play(ed)s foul.
Despite Net Neutrality being in the spotlight for nearly three years due to the Comcast debacle, nobody seemed to pay attention to the fact that wireless broadband providers such as Verizon and AT&T were completely banning BitTorrent traffic on their networks.
In the spring of 2007, months before Comcast's BitTorrent blocking practices were revealed, we already reported that Verizon was not allowing any BitTorrent traffic on its wireless networks. In the years that followed the company slightly changed the wording of its Terms of Service, but up until today BitTorrent users are still not welcome.
Verizon isn't the only wireless carrier with such a policy either. The Terms of Service at AT&T for example, includes the following section under the heading Prohibited and Permissible Uses.
While most common uses for Intranet browsing, email and intranet access are permitted by your data plan, there are certain uses that cause extreme network capacity issues and interference with the network and are therefore prohibited. Examples of prohibited uses include, without limitation, the following: (i) server devices or host computer applications, including, but not limited to, Web camera posts or broadcasts, automatic data feeds, automated machine-to-machine connections or peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing.
That doesn't sounds very neutral does it?
For years nobody gave a cent for Net Neutrality on wireless networks, but this all changed a few days ago when Google and Verizon presented their plans. The thousands of reports, calls for protests, petitions and random Google bashing that followed were mind-blowing to say the least.
Although we're not backing the proposal, we can't help but note that Google's proposal is in essence very similar to the (widely praised) Net Neutrality regulations that were suggested a few month ago by the FCC. On several points it's actually an improvement, as the EFF also noted.
Even the most troubling part of Google's proposal – that wireless networks would be excluded for the time being – is not much different from what the FCC suggested. In fact, buried in their proposals the FCC also acknowledged that wireless networks needed special treatment.
“We seek comment on the application of the principles to different access platforms, including how, in what time frames or phases, and to what extent the principles should apply to non-wireline forms of Internet access,” the FCC wrote in their proposed rulemaking (pdf) a few months ago.
Despite this vagueness about how the rules would apply to wireless networks, the majority of the Net Neutrality proponents hailed the FCC proposal. Take this comment from Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press for example:
“After years of hard work, we are pleased that the FCC has begun this crucially important rulemaking on Network Neutrality. A well-crafted Net Neutrality rule can ensure that the open Internet continues to serve as a great force for economic innovation and democratic participation for all Americans.”
Then compare that the statement Free Press released a few hours ago, when it rallied support for a protest at Google's offices.
“In the week since news of Google’s deal with Verizon broke, more than 300,000 people have signed letters calling on Google to abandon the proposal, which threatens to destroy Network Neutrality – the fundamental principle that keeps the Internet open and free from discrimination.”
Seriously, we don't understand where all the hatred towards Google comes from. The proposal is not going to destroy Net Neutrality, simply because Net Neutrality doesn't exist yet.
In our view, the proposal is a great step forward to Net Neutrality on wired networks, something that doesn't yet exist. Of course it still leaves the door open for BitTorrent throttling, but so did the FCC proposal.
The reality is that the Internet would be better off with the rules put forward in the Google / Verizon proposal than with no rules at all. That said, wireless networks need to be neutral in the long run of course.
Whether running a lot of BitTorrent downloads on a Wireless network is wise thing at the moment is doubtful though. George Ou of the Digital Society told TorrentFreak that “a single BitTorrent user would ruin the experience on the entire cell tower. There are just too many random packets being flung into the air.”
I guess the take home message is that you can't kill something that isn't there. So, if all the people who are so outraged at Google's proposal could also organize protests at the offices of Verizon and AT&T to demand the right to use BitTorrent on their wireless services, we'll stop complaining.
Article from: TorrentFreak.
http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/yJWw5gBMKRk/ Post LinkKickassTorrents Shut Down, Relocation Expected
Posted on: August 13, 2010KickassTorrents, one of the top torrent sites on the BitTorrent scene which P2PON recommended in a number of occasions has been made unavailable by the Ukrainian authorities.
The ascension of the file sharing site was quite a joy to follow. In no more than one year it has managed to become hugely appreciated by the p2p communities. P2PON has always kept you posted with the latest updates of the KickassTorrents crew (which happened quite often and were always innovative and useful).
While trying repeatedly to access the site today, no response followed so I thought something must be wrong. Very soon I found out what and unfortunately it was as suspected – KickassTorrents had been pulled offline. TorrentFreak was the first to report about the shut down.
“Kickasstorrents.com main web server was shut down by the hosting provider after it was contacted by local authorities. We don’t have many details right now but it seems that there was no direct threat or order to shut down the site, just ‘concerns’ about the site’s activities,” the site’s founder told TorrentFreak.
“One way or another I’m afraid we must say goodbye to Ukraine and move the servers to other countries,” he added.
So far no official statements have been made by Ukrainian authorities.
It seems that Ukraine joins the list of countries where hosting file sharing sites is no longer trouble-free due to copyright issues. However, we do hope, as probably all our readers, to see KickassTorrents team return and resume its marvelous work.
Stay tuned.
Box.net Announces Updates for iPad & iPhone Apps
Posted on: August 12, 2010
Box.net, a business-oriented file sharing service we covered in previous posts, has just announced important updates to its iPad and iPhone apps.
The service makes it easier for users to collaborate on work projects, allowing them for example to assign tasks and post comments and has as strong selling points security through encryption and customizable permissions.
With the latest improvements, Box.net wants to offer the ability of offline file access – due to a solid support for file caching, users will be able to read documents beyond the range of wireless networks. The updates will also make it possible for users to sync a saved file with another version from a colleague without the risk of overwriting.
Among changes unique to the iPhone app there is support for iOS 4 and fast app switching. Additionally, improvements are being made to graphics for the iPhone 4's Retina Display and soon the upgraded apps will be available for free in the App Store.
LimeWire Asks for Jury Trial in Music Publishers’ Lawsuit
Posted on: August 12, 2010
Recently accused of copyright infringement, LimeWire requested a jury trial in a separate lawsuit filed by music publishers which represent the four most important record companies, Warner, Vivendi SA’s Universal Music Group, Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd.’s EMI Group and Sony Corp.’s Sony Music Entertainment, but also smaller independent labels.
“Thousands upon thousands of American songwriters have been harmed by the illegal activities of Lime Wire,” wrote emphatically in an email David Israelite, the president of the National Music Publishers. “We look forward to their day in court,” he added.
Back in May U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood ruled that the popular file sharing service was guilty for inducing copyright infringement on 30 recordings by enabling p2p users to make them available online without any license from the music industry. After one month publishers filed a lawsuit against LimeWire.
“They seek to claim copyright or intellectual property rights as to works that are in the public domain and therefore not protected,” Tonia Ouellette Klausner, one of LimeWire’s lawyers, underlined in one of the 23 defenses listed in today’s filing.
Wood set a January trial to establish the amount of money LimeWire should pay as damage compensation but the file sharing service also risk being permanently shut down and its founder, as record labels hope and push for, Mark Gorton could have his assets frozen.
The cases are as follows: the publishers’ case – EMI April Music Inc. v. Lime Wire LLC, 10-04695, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan) and the labels’ case is Arista Records LLC v. Lime Wire LLC, 06-05936, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
http://www.p2pon.com/2010/08/11/limewire-asks-for-jury-trial-in-music-publishers%e2%80%99-lawsuit/ Post LinkUS Students Kept Away from File Sharing
Posted on: August 12, 2010
Back in 2008, Congress passed the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), which included sections were every school benefiting from federal funds was required not only to notify its students about copyright infringement issues but also to come up with plans to address them.
Now those plans have become reality. On July 1, 2010, the rules went into effect and every college and university was reminded via e-mail by the Department of Education on June 4 about the aforementioned obligations.
Several US schools were prompt to satisfy the demands.
Baylor University, for example, is determined to prevent its students from using p2p (peer-to-peer) networks. As ArsTechnica reports, “A BlueCoat PacketShaper locks down bandwidth to students, and all inbound ports are blocked by the campus firewall to keep "computers from acting as servers or super nodes in peer to peer networks."”
Illinois State has employed a packet shaping device dubbed the Packeteer, built to identify P2P traffic and be restrictive with its available bandwidth to make sure it will not interfere with other, more important uses of the campus network. Besides this, the intrusion prevention system the school uses, was designed to block P2P traffic in both directions at the campus border, though only if it originates from residence and wireless hotspots; apparently, faculty and staff are trustworthy when it comes to using P2P applications in a responsible way.
The examples continue and you can read further at ArsTechnica blog which points out that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) lobbied quite a bit for these measures to be enforced and got away just fine with its secret data on campus piracy being wrong by a factor of three or that college campuses account for relatively little P2P use (the rules do not apply to off-campus students). Members of Congress didn’t seem bothered by these details.
http://www.p2pon.com/2010/08/11/us-students-kept-away-from-file-sharing/ Post LinkBearshare 9: New Look, New Features
Posted on: August 11, 2010
It’s been a long way for Bearshare, one of the elite p2p file sharing applications but the program has reached version 9.0 and apparently this one offers better functionality.
BearShare thought it was time to come up with some social features and an improved design (yet, it remains loyal to a straightforward interface). Users can create a profile page in the BearShare People network, discover and invite friends, instant message, leave wall comments and more. A very nice feature is the ability to browse and download from users’ music libraries.
You’ll find all the user options organized near the top of the client in clearly-labeled tabs. The program offers a family filter to allow parents a greater control but also the setting up of a visual content filter which hides most films, pics, etc. There’s a host section where the country’s flag will be shown as an icon if it’s available when BearShare is connecting to various networks worldwide. The app also offers a built-in music player that makes it possible to listen to your music library easily, with playlist functions similar to iTunes.
Bearshare's features as published by the official site:
New Library
Slick visuals and a simple layout make browsing your music and videos easier than ever before!
Your library has never been this organized.
iPods and MP3 Players
Connecting an iPod / MP3 player is as easy as plugging it in.
You can transfer songs to and from your iPod manually, or have BearShare automatically sync
your library with your device each time you connect it.
Color Schemes
Get your BearShare looking just the way you want it to with these
slick new color schemes.
From Sky Blue to Hot Pink, there's something for every desktop.BearShare DJ
Enter the name of a song, artist, or mood, and BearShare will
automatically create a playlist full of music you'll love.
Meet New People
Share and listen to music together,
upload photos, and much more.
HD Videos
BearShare handles HD videos with ease in its new video modes.
Play HD videos inside BearShare, pop them out to float mode,
or go full screen.
BearShare uses the Gnutella network and has a very large scale community.
Torrentreactor Renames and Donates Money to Russian Town
Posted on: August 10, 2010
If you’re a passionate file sharer then you are probably familiar with Torrentreactor.net. The popular file sharing site which emerged on the BitTorrent scene in 2003 has made recently a rather surprising announcement – that it has bought the rights to rename the city of Gar, a rural Russian town of 214 people in Siberia, for about $148,000.
"Technically, we have not finished renaming procedure," said Paul Ivanko of Torrentreactor, as quoted by PCWorld. "Unfortunately there are a few more proceedings that need to be done by Russian authorities. The documentation package is being approved at a federal level in Moscow."
"We will be able to provide more details as soon as the deal is done," Ivanko added. "Some government officials are worried that all this media buzz might influence the deal in a negative way."
According to Ivanko, the Torrentreactor crew had already helped the town with some money, and they plan to spend $30,000 for a broadband connection for the town, which now only has three computers. Some money will be offered to villagers and the rest used for the local school, to repair roads and to help villagers acquire their much needed agricultural equipment.
Gar which is about 500 miles north of Kazakhstan's border in eastern Russian was apparently one of several thousand "godforsaken places around the world that are close to operating nuclear reactors" that the torrent site came across when searching for a candidate to rename.
"The list was numbered and a random number was picked by a generator," says a Torrentreactor's post. "The number 377 was a lucky one for Gar village. We think it was a good choice since Gar citizens are very kind and generous people."
http://www.p2pon.com/2010/08/10/torrentreactor-renames-and-donates-money-to-russian-town/ Post LinkBitTorrent More BitTorrent Reviews and Articles Comming Soon
Azureus More Azureus Reviews and Articles Comming Soon
Bitcomet More Bitcomet Reviews and Articles Comming Soon