Awards season, mini phones and Pirate Bay drama
This week, our ol' chaps from over the pond (that is what they're called, right?) check in to speak of the unspeakable drama going on at The Pirate Bay. Not unspeakable because it's dramatic, scary or obscene, but it's just unspeakable because... well... explaining the situation gives us a bit of a headache. We'll let Duncan expound on how pirate visitors to The Pirate Bay actually might have a better shot at getting away with it.
Also, Dan chimes in on a notable trend, specifically the trend toward creating a "mini phone." In essence, the netbook / laptop relationship has extended to the mobile space, where less expensive smartphone handsets are starting to roll out in tandem with their bigger brethren. Phones like the Pixi and the Palm Pre, among others. What's with the fad, and is it worth buying into?
Lastly, it's award season over at Pocket-Lint, and besides the requisite champagne dreams after winning a Pocket-Lint-ie (that's not what they're called), the guys explain some of their favs including a piece of software getting some U.K. buzz that soon could be coming stateside.
Also, give us feedback if you've got it. pocketlintshow@techvi.com. We'd love to hear what you think of the show.
Guests:
- Dan Sung , Pocket-Lint
- Duncan Geere , Pocket-Lint
Study shows music pirates buy the most music
It turns out that people stealing music actually love it, or that's what a new study from the UK says. People who illegally download music wind up spending 75% more for music than people who get their music legally. A researcher points out that file-sharers are out there to discover music and therefore spend more money on music that is worthwhile. Unsurprisingly, the music industry does not agree with the study's findings.
UK ISPs may be asked to suspend accounts of file sharers
The UK is making moves to allow regulator Ofcom have UK ISPs suspend accounts of subscribers found to be sharing files online. As was the case in France and Singapore after the "three strikes law" was proposed, UK ISPs have actively refused to take on the role of the police, and even the press has raised that this move is influenced by recording label Geffen.
Judge halts RealNetworks’ RealDVD sales
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A San Francisco judge has ruled RealNetworks can no longer sell RealDVD because the company violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in removing DVD copy protection.
Windows 7 crack already blocked
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The OEM license key that is currently being used to validate pirated versions of Windows 7 has already been blocked. According to Microsoft, it has already suited its newest version of Windows with enhanced forms of anti-piracy measures, and all users of the previously-legit key from Lenvo will get flagged by the Windows Genuine Advantage Tool.
Blogger sentenced for leaking Guns N’ Roses songs
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Kevin Cogill, the blogger who pleaded guilty of leaking Guns N' Roses songs on Internet, has been sentenced to two months of home confinement. Cogill escaped the possible maximum of one year in federal prison and a $100,000 fine for the offense, but will also be on probation for one year and must appear in an anti-piracy commercial.
The Pirate Bay returns from the dead as Open Bittorrent
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The Pirate Bay hasn't officially been sold, but a new project aims to keep one of the most relevant parts of the site alive. A "tracker" is a part of BitTorrent where all the information about files is stored, but doesn't actually transfer any data. The Pirate Bay's tracker is seen as a vital part of the bittorrent community, as it is one of the largest trackers around. Since the site is being sold, there's mounting speculation about what'll happen to the tracker. Open Bittorrent's new tracker aims to be a tracker for anyone, and instead of hosting .torrent files, it allows any bittorrent file to be inserted into its tracker, but won't provide original .torrent files; an approach the people behind the company hope separates them from legal threats.
The Pirate Bay: Holes in the sale?
We find it kind of odd, to say the least, that The Pirate Bay, the most notorious and belligerent BitTorrent tracker and site on the planet, was sold to a Swedish video game company for around $7 million dollars. Call us skeptical, but looking in the past with sites like Napster, piracy-to-legit transformations don't often work out the way the founders' hope, but you never know.
We talk to Doug Aamoth from CrunchGear and JG Mason from Gadgetell.com about the situation. They're as perplexed as we were. Doug maintains the game maker is buying The Pirate Bay to simply gain a marketing foothold with the piracy-friendly 18-34 gaming set. JG thinks it might just be one big shell game, wherein the founders sell off the current company just to prep another on the side. Whatever the case may be, the situation is odd, and it seems like the average pirate's go-to destination is going to be extinct soon enough.
Guests:
- Doug Aamoth , CrunchGear
- JG Mason , Gadgetell.com
EA: Sims 3 leak not the end of the world
The CEO of EA, John Riccitiello, was polled on his thoughts on the mass piracy of its new game The Sims 3, which was leaked before its release. Because of the game's deep ties with internet collaboration and downloadable content, Ritticello hopes the piracy of the game leads to it working like a large-scale demo, where users enjoy what they already have so much that it drives pirates into purchasing.
Harvard Prof, “File sharing is fair use”
Charles Nesson, a Harvard Professor of Law and defendant's attorney in a file swapping case involving the RIAA, argues that sharing files peer-to-peer is a form of fair use. Nesson contends since there's no way to quantify damages in this case, the $150,000 per infringement authorized by law isn't an appropriate substitute. Should the judge agree, it could be a landmark case in copyright law nationwide.