FBI charges Megaupload operators with piracy crimes - Page 9

mr ploppy · 01-20-2012, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjtorres

MSNBC has a partial bio on this hero of the internet.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46076072...mall_business/
Keep some soap handy, you might want to shower any slime that splatters off the screen.

Never mind the piracy empire; he's got a history of insider trading, pump-n-dump fraud, embezzlement...

(With--sorry!--hints of bribery.)

Talk about a hatchet-job. They even chose a photo that makes him look really ugly. Usually that sort of treatment is reserved for disgraced 1970s pop stars.

fjtorres · 01-20-2012, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xg4bx

i won't post a link so i don't violate MR's terms but megaupload is back. they don't have a domain name just an IP address but they're back.

although if i were a pirate i'd be a tad gunshy at uploading anything to a site that is under a microscope.

Or that might be a honeypot.

Them feds ain't dumb...

Over at CNET one of the columnists was wondering if the timing of the Megauploads arrests (right after the SOPA blackout) wasn't intended to tweak the internet anarchists (anonymous, etc) into doing something rash to counter the honorable image of the blackout proponents.

fjtorres · 01-20-2012, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

They even chose a photo that makes him look really ugly.

At 6ft7in 300-plus pounds they'd probably have to go back to his baby pictures to find one that made him look cute-n-cuddly.

Personally, I think his looks in the pic match his lifestyle and attitudes. Especially towards women.

Brainphart · 01-20-2012, 06:14 PM

Santa put a PogoPlug Media Sharing Device under my tree.
The wired version has been marked way down.

http://www.jr.com/pogoplug/pe/PGG_POGOB01/

Pogoplug is a multimedia sharing device that lets you connect any external hard drive and then access and share your content over the internet.

Do you have the power? The power of storing and sharing your media to those you select us here. Plug in with Pogoplug. It's the achievement of virtually unlimited power with virtually no effort.

Works well with any type of file.

Fbone · 01-20-2012, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Or that might be a honeypot.

Them feds ain't dumb...

Over at CNET one of the columnists was wondering if the timing of the Megauploads arrests (right after the SOPA blackout) wasn't intended to tweak the internet anarchists (anonymous, etc) into doing something rash to counter the honorable image of the blackout proponents.

A NZ Chief Inspector has said Mr Dotcom has been under investigation since last summer. They evidently were aware of some of his activities.

Andrew H. · 01-20-2012, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

Talk about a hatchet-job. They even chose a photo that makes him look really ugly. Usually that sort of treatment is reserved for disgraced 1970s pop stars.

Given his multiple felony convictions, I think he was the one holding the hatchet.

Also, Kim is a girl's name.

AnemicOak · 01-20-2012, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xg4bx

i won't post a link so i don't violate MR's terms but megaupload is back. they don't have a domain name just an IP address but they're back.

Be careful apparently there are some phishing scams going on claiming to be Megaupload.

Shaggy · 01-20-2012, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Perhaps the authorities felt that the site was only paying lip service to discouraging piracy, rather than taking active measures to do anything about it.

They were apparently responding to thousands of DMCAs a day. Doesn't sound like "lip service" to me.

Shaggy · 01-20-2012, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Or that might be a honeypot.

Them feds ain't dumb...

That was my first thought.

Quote:

Over at CNET one of the columnists was wondering if the timing of the Megauploads arrests (right after the SOPA blackout) wasn't intended to tweak the internet anarchists (anonymous, etc) into doing something rash to counter the honorable image of the blackout proponents.

I don't believe the timing of this was an accident.

Shaggy · 01-20-2012, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Victoria

Absolutely...and the argument is also groundless fear mongering.

It's easy to applaud this type of action when the owner of the business is a sleaze ball and the site itself has a bad reputation. But the exact same draconian laws could easily be used to go after a lot of other sites.

kiwipippa · 01-20-2012, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

Talk about a hatchet-job. They even chose a photo that makes him look really ugly. Usually that sort of treatment is reserved for disgraced 1970s pop stars.

Is this a better one? Hey, he even looks like a 1970's pop star

Victoria · 01-20-2012, 08:12 PM

[It's easy to applaud this type of action when the owner of the business is a sleaze ball and the site itself has a bad reputation. But the exact same draconian laws could easily be used to go after a lot of other sites.]

I agree we should not be complacent, or take our rights or liberty for granted. We should scruitinze and critique public actions and decisions.

But its quite a stretch to argue that legal action against corporate piracy is just one step away from charging citizens who repeat what someone else said on a bboard. As they say, imitation is the highest form of flattery. I may be naive, but I think that if there has been a mistake in this case, it will be caught through the court process.

Indio777 · 01-20-2012, 11:14 PM

I too wonder at the timing of this, coming right after the "SOPA blackout" by Wikipedia, etc.

While Megaupload did host legitimate files, there is no doubt that they also hosted files of copyrighted material, even if they did remove "some" of those files (I suspect it was a rather low percentage).

If Megaupload had not hosted any of the files on US-based servers, would the US have had a case?

What about all of the files on servers in China? Those appear to now be off limits as well.

What I find a bit troubling about this is that many other sites could also be taken down if they are hosting copyrighted files.

For example, DropBox. I have used it to share photographs (my own) with family and friends. But what if I ripped a bunch of my copyrighted CDs and put them up on DropBox and then set up a music blog with links to those files? Not that I have any intention of doing so! But I guess DropBox could technically be found guilty of hosting copyrighted materials and shut down?

This is all a game of "whackamole." People will just move their files to other sites, who will be more than willing to pick up the slack. Look what happened when the SuperNova torrent site was shut down several years ago; Pirate Bay stepped in. Okay, perhaps that is not the best example, since Pirate Bay glories in being, well, pirates. But I think something similar will happen in this case.

Piracy will always be with us. But it can be lessened if content providers offer consumers legitimate files to download. I think the average person would prefer to download easily accessible "clean" files (preferably with no DRM) at a reasonable price as opposed to spending time looking for files from questionable sites that are often of dubious quality and might contain unwanted "surprises" such as trojans and viruses.

SneakySnake · 01-20-2012, 11:30 PM

Bring on the hacker backlash! That should make things interesting. Bluddy stoopid ANZUS treaty.

kiwipippa · 01-21-2012, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SneakySnake

Bring on the hacker backlash! That should make things interesting. Bluddy stoopid ANZUS treaty.

Didn't us kiwis put put a spanner in the ANZUS treaty a while ago when we refused to let nuclear subs into our harbours? Or is it still going strong?

Happy Birthday Kim Dotcom, hope Mt Eden Prison puts on a good party for you (38 today).

01-20-2012, 08:12 PM	#132
Victoria Wizard Posts: 1,013 Karma: 19767610 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Nova Scotia Canada Device: ipad, Kindle PW, Kobo Clara; iphone 7	[It's easy to applaud this type of action when the owner of the business is a sleaze ball and the site itself has a bad reputation. But the exact same draconian laws could easily be used to go after a lot of other sites.] I agree we should not be complacent, or take our rights or liberty for granted. We should scruitinze and critique public actions and decisions. But its quite a stretch to argue that legal action against corporate piracy is just one step away from charging citizens who repeat what someone else said on a bboard. As they say, imitation is the highest form of flattery. I may be naive, but I think that if there has been a mistake in this case, it will be caught through the court process. Last edited by Victoria; 01-20-2012 at 08:15 PM.

01-20-2012, 11:14 PM	#133
Indio777 Addict Posts: 208 Karma: 1503568 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Washington, DC Device: Mobile Phone, Kindle (rarely), but mostly still read paper	I too wonder at the timing of this, coming right after the "SOPA blackout" by Wikipedia, etc. While Megaupload did host legitimate files, there is no doubt that they also hosted files of copyrighted material, even if they did remove "some" of those files (I suspect it was a rather low percentage). If Megaupload had not hosted any of the files on US-based servers, would the US have had a case? What about all of the files on servers in China? Those appear to now be off limits as well. What I find a bit troubling about this is that many other sites could also be taken down if they are hosting copyrighted files. For example, DropBox. I have used it to share photographs (my own) with family and friends. But what if I ripped a bunch of my copyrighted CDs and put them up on DropBox and then set up a music blog with links to those files? Not that I have any intention of doing so! But I guess DropBox could technically be found guilty of hosting copyrighted materials and shut down? This is all a game of "whackamole." People will just move their files to other sites, who will be more than willing to pick up the slack. Look what happened when the SuperNova torrent site was shut down several years ago; Pirate Bay stepped in. Okay, perhaps that is not the best example, since Pirate Bay glories in being, well, pirates. But I think something similar will happen in this case. Piracy will always be with us. But it can be lessened if content providers offer consumers legitimate files to download. I think the average person would prefer to download easily accessible "clean" files (preferably with no DRM) at a reasonable price as opposed to spending time looking for files from questionable sites that are often of dubious quality and might contain unwanted "surprises" such as trojans and viruses. Last edited by Indio777; 01-20-2012 at 11:20 PM.

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01-20-2012, 06:14 PM	#124
Brainphart Compost Power Posts: 79 Karma: 62238 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chattanooga, Tennessee Device: Nook ST-1 Sony Reader PRS500(retired but still kicking)	Santa put a PogoPlug Media Sharing Device under my tree. The wired version has been marked way down. http://www.jr.com/pogoplug/pe/PGG_POGOB01/ Pogoplug is a multimedia sharing device that lets you connect any external hard drive and then access and share your content over the internet. Do you have the power? The power of storing and sharing your media to those you select us here. Plug in with Pogoplug. It's the achievement of virtually unlimited power with virtually no effort. Works well with any type of file.

01-20-2012, 11:30 PM	#134
SneakySnake I'm watching you! Posts: 6,113 Karma: 22344652 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Sunny Coast Qld, OZ Device: Sony PRS-900(unused lately) iPadAir2, want me Kindle Oasis	Bring on the hacker backlash! That should make things interesting. Bluddy stoopid ANZUS treaty.

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