Releasers and torrent racers are the select few counted on by millions to bring the latest movies, music and video games to the wider Internet in record time. One such person, a 15-year-old school kid, eventually gained access to elite piracy sites and went on to become the top uploader on one of the world’s most famous BitTorrent trackers. But how did the buzz of the elite compare to being hunted down by a Patriot Act-empowered FBI?
The music industry is changing rapidly. On the one hand there are tens of thousands of artists who use the Internet as a distribution channel and share their music online for free, but on the other side of the spectrum Big Music and Apple are tightening the bolts. We discuss the upside of the Internet and the ‘evil ways’ of the corporate interests with Benn Jordan, one of the first musicians to embrace BitTorrent and turn free music into a business.
Pioneer One, a TV-show created for and made possible by BitTorrent users, made the headlines earlier this year when the pilot was downloaded hundreds of thousands of times. The innovative distribution and funding model didn’t go unnoticed by TV-insiders either, and it won an award for ‘Best Drama Pilot’ at the New York Television Festival. Today, the second episode is released, with two more to follow in the weeks to come.
Operation Payback has been without a doubt the longest and most widespread attack on anti-piracy groups, lawyers and lobbyists. Despite the massive media coverage, little is known about the key players who coordinate the operation and DDoS attacks. A relatively small group of people, they are seemingly fuelled by anger, frustration and a strong desire to have their voices heard.
In a recent interview BitTorrent inventor Bram Cohen looked back at some of the failures his company had in the past, and how this changed their focus from selling goods and services to serving the 80 million monthly users uTorrent and the Mainline client have. Cohen also revealed what is expected to come in the future. His pet project, BitTorrent live streaming, will be released to the public soon.
While the UK Government had passed its new plans to combat illegal file-sharing, one of the country’s most prominent rock stars said he doesn’t mind people sharing his songs. Former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher used to copy music himself and says he hates “all these big silly rock stars who moan” about piracy.
PeerBlock is a tool which can control who can connect to your computer on the Internet. In addition to hindering monitoring by anti-P2P companies, it’s also capable of blocking malicious software. As the team is currently celebrating more than 100,000 downloads, TorrentFreak caught up with the creators for the lowdown.
