Check out this video of the first Xbox 360 firmware hack. Also, more details here.
Results tagged “piracy” from The Daily Nugget
Let me take you back in time. Back to a time when 386 computers were cutting edge, DOS 5.0 had just been released, and Windows was still but a glimmer in some Seattle programmer’s eye. Years before Netscape would bring the Internet to the masses. The year was 1991.
QRU: The BBS
I was the enforcer for a small pirate BBS in Los Angeles called QRU. It was the enforcer’s job to enforce the rules of the bulletin board, a private club accessible through a single phone line which was attached to a single PC sitting in my friend’s house. The board was simply a server, running specialized software, and attached to a phone line. Damn, I still remember the number, (310) 642-0976.
In order to access the board, members had to dial the BBS with a modem and a terminal program. Many times the board was busy because it was a single phone line and only one person could be connected to it at a single time. Once the board answered, the member was asked for a username and password to access the board. As a member of the bulleting board, you could leave private messages for other members on the board, post public messages for all to see in forums, chat with the sysop, and upload and download files.
Although messages were exchanged and posted, the reason for the board’s existence was to trade files with other members. In order to perpetuate the board’s existence and guarantee a steady stream of files for all members, each member had a download/upload ratio that he had to maintain, which was usually 4 to 1. This meant that for every 1MB uploaded a member could download 4MB.
QRU: The BBS
I was the enforcer for a small pirate BBS in Los Angeles called QRU. It was the enforcer’s job to enforce the rules of the bulletin board, a private club accessible through a single phone line which was attached to a single PC sitting in my friend’s house. The board was simply a server, running specialized software, and attached to a phone line. Damn, I still remember the number, (310) 642-0976.
In order to access the board, members had to dial the BBS with a modem and a terminal program. Many times the board was busy because it was a single phone line and only one person could be connected to it at a single time. Once the board answered, the member was asked for a username and password to access the board. As a member of the bulleting board, you could leave private messages for other members on the board, post public messages for all to see in forums, chat with the sysop, and upload and download files.
Although messages were exchanged and posted, the reason for the board’s existence was to trade files with other members. In order to perpetuate the board’s existence and guarantee a steady stream of files for all members, each member had a download/upload ratio that he had to maintain, which was usually 4 to 1. This meant that for every 1MB uploaded a member could download 4MB.
Continue reading BBS, Warez, and Demos.
Starting next week, UC Berkeley students will receive a stern warning from the university about the perils of music file sharing. They'll be warned they can lose their Internet access or get slapped with a costly copyright infringement lawsuit if they aren't careful about uploading and downloading files using programs like Kazaa. University of California officials sent a memo advising all chancellors to send a message to all campus communities. Stanford sent a similar message to faculty and students in May. According to most school officials, the RIAA is playing hard ball and the universities are warning students "for their own good."
Well, about a thousand people across the United States have been served federal copyright infringement cases by the RIAA and many of them have been in California. This probably comes as no surprise, since California has been the hotbed of technology in the United States for years.
Many file swappers around the country, and locally, are now running scared and hiring lawyers to combat the RIAA in federal court. This story also talks about another user, an 67-year-old man was served papers because of the downloads of his 23-year-old daughter. Damn, even parents and grandfathers are being served!
Well, if you are (or were) a Kazaa user and your ISP has little or no backbone, you'll probably get a letter. Luckily, many universities are resisting the RIAA and not releasing the names of students involved in music swapping. Unfortunately, Verizon has already folded to RIAA pressure in court and now so has Comcast cable. And if Earthlink and SBC (formerly Pacific Bell) lose to the RIAA people will be fucked, especially in San Francisco.
So far, the RIAA has only served about 1,000 of the 60 million active Kazaa users in the United States. It seems pretty insignificant compared to the size of the problem, unless you are one of the users dealing with a federal lawsuit. One thing is certain, this is a lottery that you do not want to win.
Many file swappers around the country, and locally, are now running scared and hiring lawyers to combat the RIAA in federal court. This story also talks about another user, an 67-year-old man was served papers because of the downloads of his 23-year-old daughter. Damn, even parents and grandfathers are being served!
Well, if you are (or were) a Kazaa user and your ISP has little or no backbone, you'll probably get a letter. Luckily, many universities are resisting the RIAA and not releasing the names of students involved in music swapping. Unfortunately, Verizon has already folded to RIAA pressure in court and now so has Comcast cable. And if Earthlink and SBC (formerly Pacific Bell) lose to the RIAA people will be fucked, especially in San Francisco.
So far, the RIAA has only served about 1,000 of the 60 million active Kazaa users in the United States. It seems pretty insignificant compared to the size of the problem, unless you are one of the users dealing with a federal lawsuit. One thing is certain, this is a lottery that you do not want to win.
Who still uses floppies anyway!?
I had completely blocked this from my memory. The SPA actually created this video (Windows Media, 16.5MB) to deter kids from copying computer games. I think this encouraged more kids to become crackers for 0-day warez groups than anything. It is so excruciatingly bad that I am almost too embarassed to post it. Even more scary is the fact that the SPA still sells the video for $15. Big ups to Defective Yeti for link.
I had completely blocked this from my memory. The SPA actually created this video (Windows Media, 16.5MB) to deter kids from copying computer games. I think this encouraged more kids to become crackers for 0-day warez groups than anything. It is so excruciatingly bad that I am almost too embarassed to post it. Even more scary is the fact that the SPA still sells the video for $15. Big ups to Defective Yeti for link.
Disney announced today that it will start renting "self-destructing" DVDs to the public that do not have to be returned. The DVDs will change color due to a chemical reaction to oxygen once the packaging is opened. This chemical reaction will turn the DVD surface from red to black in 48 hours. During that time, the DVD will be able to be played, or even copied, just like a regular DVD. Now the only hurdle is to get the public to accept this new technology.
(Spoofing For Pirates sounds like a band name.)
The recording industry apparently has hired a company to create fake music files that have a snippet of the song or just static. This new practice, known as spoofing, is being done to frustrate music pirates into stopping their illicit song-swapping practices. This won't work. If you are patient enough to download a song you like instead of paying for it, you are probably patient enough to download it two, three, or as many times as needed until you have it in your collection.
The recording industry apparently has hired a company to create fake music files that have a snippet of the song or just static. This new practice, known as spoofing, is being done to frustrate music pirates into stopping their illicit song-swapping practices. This won't work. If you are patient enough to download a song you like instead of paying for it, you are probably patient enough to download it two, three, or as many times as needed until you have it in your collection.
Napster went down in a highly publicized court room battle that included major artists, including Metallica, speaking out against the service. Well, the RIAA eventually won the court room battle and Napster, as we knew it, was gone. However, Metallica became the subject of ridicule for their part in the saga as portrayed in this classic cartoon.
By the way, if you want to get free music and have the drive space, use Kazaa Lite--it's Kazaa without the Spyware. Get it soon because Kazaa has been going postal and trying to stop Kazaa Lite since April.
By the way, if you want to get free music and have the drive space, use Kazaa Lite--it's Kazaa without the Spyware. Get it soon because Kazaa has been going postal and trying to stop Kazaa Lite since April.
