piracy

BitTorrent: We don't deal in pirated content

It's pretty well established that torrent files can be used for downloading pirated music, movies, games, and more. But, the company BitTorrent wants it to be known that it has nothing to do with such piracy.

The company's vice president of marketing Matt Mason penned a blog post on Tuesday saying that while BitTorrent built the open-source, peer-to-peer technology used for content sharing, it does not endorse piracy in any shape or form.

"We don't host infringing content. We don't point to it. It's literally impossible to 'illegally download something on BitTorrent,'" Mason … Read more

The 404 1,289: Where Alex Winter gets us Downloaded (podcast)

Our guest on today's episode is Alex Winter. You might recognize him as Ted from "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure," but you might not know that he's also a documentary filmmaker. His latest project is a story about the rise and fall of Napster called "Downloaded."

It traces the history of the file-sharing service but it also looks at the industry waves it caused in its aftermath, leading up to Spotify and iTunes as it exists today.

We'll talk with Alex about the road to making the movie, his introduction to Sean … Read more

That was quick: Adobe's Creative Cloud already pirated

Adobe's Creative Cloud platform, which moves its Creative Suite applications from "perpetual license" to subscription-based payment plans, was designed to reduce piracy. Unfortunately for Adobe, that effort doesn't appear to have succeeded.

According to tech site PetaPixel, a torrent link was uploaded to The Pirate Bay on Wednesday, allowing users to illegally download Adobe's Creative Suite applications included in Creative Cloud for free. Those who have downloaded the software from The Pirate Bay say that it appears to work just fine.

Adobe's Creative Cloud platform was deployed earlier this week. The company had hoped … Read more

The 404 1264: Where we try and stay Glassy (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Public's first reaction to Google Glass summed up by SNL.

- Can you really make money online by playing competitive games?

- Busting online piracy group has led to increase -- in piracy.… Read more

Aereo throws punch in streaming battle by publishing ad in NYT

Live-television streaming service Aereo is revving up its fight against major U.S. broadcasters.

The company took out a full-page ad in the front section of The New York Times on Tuesday, making a case as to why its business isn't breaking copyright law.

"People have enjoyed the right to access over-the-air broadcast television using an antenna for over 70 years," the ad says. "About 54 million Americans use some sort of antenna to watch TV. This is not piracy. This has been part of the American way since the beginning of broadcasting."

Aereo is … Read more

Crave Ep. 116: Bubba Watson's BW1 hovercraft golf cart

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Oakley and golf champ Bubba Watson have teamed to build the world's first hovercraft golf cart. A physicist invents a way to write e-mail using a guitar, and a "Star Trek" phaser rifle from the original series sells for a staggering sum. … Read more

Porn piracy tracked to computers in Vatican City

Even the residents of Vatican City need to be entertained, but are they pirating porn?

The blog TorrentFreak recently compiled a report alleging that computers located in Vatican City are downloading pornography. A recent tale of Irish priests enjoying first-run hits at their home movie nights piqued the blog's interest to see what the residents of Vatican City have been downloading.

TorrentFreak recruited the help of ScanEye, a Web site that tracks and analyzes this type of online activity. ScanEye's data found that computers inside Vatican City were downloading films like "Love Actually" and TV shows … Read more

The 404 1,244: Where we take a spa day (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Microsoft may announce the next generation of Xbox on May 21.

- Chinese people burn Apple products to pay respect to the dead; Americans do it just because.

- Here's a list of porn currently being watched in the Vatican.

- The season finale of "Alf": could it have been done differently?… Read more

The 404 1,221: Where it's the fungus that kills us (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- The Valve Steam Box is coming.

- How HBO will tackle "Game of Thrones" piracy.

- The Last of Us has a unique plotline with clicking mushroom people.… Read more

The Pirate Bay sets sail for Norway, Spain after Sweden sinks ship

The Pirate Bay has broken its operation in two after an organization backed by the music and movie industries took aim at its backer.

According to TorrentFreak, The Pirate Bay today shifted its operational duties to Norway and Spain. Previously, the Swedish Pirate Party was providing it with the bandwidth it needed to operate its site. However, the Rights Alliance, an organization backed by the biggest music and movie companies, threatened to sue the Swedish Pirate Party over its support. That lawsuit could have cut off the Swedish Pirate Party's ability to pay for The Pirate Bay's bandwidth … Read more