Last week the story spread around quickly. A woman who filmed her sister’s birthday party and a few minutes of the movie New Moon had been arrested.

Theater managers, who knew only too well that the lady faced three years in jail, insisted on pressing charges, apparently completely unable to tell the difference between a pro pirate and a happy snapper.

Fortunately, on Friday the prosecutors threw out the case against her, but now Muvico are trying to dig themselves out of the hole they dug for themselves by issuing a press release on the situation. Unfortunately for them, they have simply reinforced what many observers have already noticed – they have no minds of their own, are unable to demonstrate discretion, and have only the ability to follow MPAA orders in a drone-like fashion.

Muvico, in compliance with the anti-piracy guidelines issued to movie theater operators nationwide by the Motion Picture Association of America, followed standard procedure by referring the matter to police. Specifically, theater managers are instructed to alert law enforcement authorities whenever they suspect prohibited activity. Theater managers do not make the determination whether a crime has been committed, and it is up to the police and prosecutors to use their discretion whether or not to press charges.

What is wrong with these people? Who on earth is going to buy or download a 4 minute ‘cam’ of a movie taken on a handheld, no-tripod camera, interspersed with family outing footage of celebrations and the singing of ‘Happy Birthday’, coupled with a continuous commentary by the camera operator?

No one, that’s who. Risk of monetary loss to the movie or theater – 0%. Why not simply have a quiet word and inform the ‘criminal’ that the camera really isn’t allowed? Is it really necessary to have a customer locked up in jail for 2 days?

Supposedly Muvico’s actions were to prevent a ‘crime’ against the theater and the movie itself, yet these supposed experts can’t even tell if a crime has even been committed. Can’t they recognize ‘intent’ when they see it? Is it really that difficult to tell? Of course not, but blatantly following MPAA instructions is clearly their number one priority, no matter who it hurts, no matter who it offends, no matter how many customers they alienate.

And Muvico is absolutely unrepentant, stating that it will continue to enforce its zero-tolerance policy, noting that any recording of a movie, of any length, “is a federal and state offense that Muvico is compelled to report.”

An aggressive law, that everyone knows, was lobbied for by the MPAA.

While Muvico stands by its action in this instance, it is happy that the judicial process has reached an appropriate result and is pleased that the charges against Ms. Tumpach have been dismissed.

This press release is a complete joke – congratulations Muvico, you just made things even worse.

Say after me: “Yes, we can think for ourselves…” – or do you need me to get the MPAA to tell you?

Article from: FreakBits

GWI is reporting that a full 64% of internet users stream viral content, with 31% watching full length TV shows. They also suggest that if you spend more than three hours a day online, you are more likely to download illegal content than the user who frequents his computer much less.

This is not the first study of its kind to come to the same conclusions. Earlier this year a study was done by Music Alleys consumer research division with much the same results. They say downloading is out, streaming is the new trend.

What the Washington Post doesn’t mention is the fact that the most popular streaming sites, even Google video, hosts copyrighted content. Many of them also carry movies that are still in theaters, or in some cases, haven’t yet been released.

So is streaming not piracy?

Apparently not, according to the major news organization. Nothing was mentioned about the fact that is is much easier and faster to stream something than to download it, which is probably a major point amongst users who prefer to (illegally or legally) stream full movies and TV-shows.

So in conclusion, no. Streaming movies will not kill piracy. It will only make it less geeky and more wide-spread.

Next time, Mr. Washington Post article Writer, maybe you should do a little research on exactly what it is users are streaming before you make fantastic claims about the defeat of piracy and the triumph of all that is good and honest in this world. Because in this case, you were severely under-informed.

Article from: FreakBits

A wild statement, you say? Oh wait, what’s this? Holy Bittorrent, Batman, it is an awesome list!

1. It stops fans from buying crap

Thereby performing a sick kind of quality control. Instead of just consuming whatever crap the artists decide to put out that week, pirates make them work to create good stuff. If a movie sucks, it’s not going to get the same kind of press these days as it would before the Internet. People will tell you it sucks. When someone gets something for free and says it sucks, you can often trust them more than a paid critic who probably got comped a weekend at Disneyland to tell people that “Paranormal Activity” was scary.

2. It helps artists who are actually good

Back in the days, we would only hear a musician if he had a record contract. Today, anyone with a computer and some talent can get their work out there. While it is true that wading through piles of junk can be somewhat daunting at times, finding the gem that becomes your favorite song makes it all worthwhile. The bonus is these guys don’t mind if we pirate their stuff. They are just happy to be heard.

3. It resurrects good songs

Every now and then, a song that would have never become popular again gets linked by thousands of /b/tards involved in some sort of sick joke and gets airplay. Without being free to find and listen to such a song, Rick Astley would still be that young white guy from the 80′s who sounded like an old black man. Pirates made him famous again. You’re welcome, Rick.

4. It is a great marketing tool

Most musicians don’t make their money off the actual sales of the album they release. They make it off concerts and merchandising. The more people pirate a song, the more are likely to pay for a live performance or t-shirt. If I found out the Numa Numa kid was doing his thing at the local theater, I would be all over it. Don’t act like you wouldn’t be first in line too…

5. If given the chance, we will pay for good work

Ask Radiohead. They released their last album to the net for free and ended up making more money in donations than they would have had they sold the frickin thing. What’s this you say? Cite my sources?

Ok. But first, a pirated pic of Megan Fox in a bikini…

6. If it wasn’t free, most of us wouldn’t listen or watch it

Now that you have forgotten all about asking me for sources, I ask you this: how many of the movies you have seen in the last year would you have actually paid for? 1 or 2? Maybe 3? These people are lucky ‘we’ wasted our time on some of their crap. Without piracy, some movies just wouldn’t get seen at all. Take that, British movie industry…

7. It stops physical piracy

I know I’m not alone when I say I will never buy a pirated copy of anything on the street. Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free? If not given the digital opportunity to get things, the real pirates who make money off the stuff would be getting more and more business. Thanks to file-sharing, they get it all from anyone with a hard drive and just a little bit of motivation. File-sharers can shut them down whereas the MPAA, RIAA, or any other organization has problems even making a dent.

8. It stops violence

The aforementioned industry, selling pirated movies on the streets, can lead to people getting hurt. Just like the war on drugs, when something is made illegal and has to move to back rooms and alleyways, bad shit starts to happen. No one has ever gotten stabbed over the internet for copying a movie or song. Because you don’t have to deal with shady people. Those who advocate piracy are generally decent folks who would never hurt anyone. Unlike what the business would be without them…

9. It helps you to meet chicks

Honestly, I met the most wonderful woman in the world by helping her to get some free Nintendo games on her PC. For all you pirates out there, helping others always has its good points (even though it doesn’t necessarily help the music industry). Remember, the chick you help get some stuff for her computer today may be the one you have been looking for your entire life. It at least opens up the door to conversation whereas before you may not have had one. On that note, cue the comments….

This is the first contribution from xxoozero, FreakBits reader and cranky pirate

Article from: FreakBits

Poor Michael Jackson is only just cold and already the Hollywood money men are extracting cash from his coffin.

AEG, the company that was in charge of Jackson’s ill-fated tour, desperately needed to make their money back, so they have rushed out ‘This Is It’ in super quick time, despite the whole thing being in utterly bad taste.

Michael Jackson, one of pop’s greatest perfectionists, would never have allowed this footage to go out, but of course Sony and AEG don’t care. It seems strangely (in)appropriate, then, that this horror movie should be widely available on BitTorrent on Halloween, in all its Russian-subbed, cam-quality glory.

I’d like to say don’t download the cam and go and see it in a theater – Michael’s performances always glitter and they deserve to be seen properly – but I can’t endorse this movie in any form.

Listen to Michael’s music instead, that’s what he would’ve wanted.

Article from: FreakBits

Torrent sites cost money to run and usually this cash is provided by the site’s users by way of donations.

According to Wikipedia a donation “is a gift given by physical or legal persons, typically for charitable purposes and/or to benefit a cause” but a small number of site owners seem to have difficulty with the concept.

I joined one particular private site several months ago in order to do some research there. I didn’t find what I was looking for but ended up with an account which i’ve never used. I logged in there today by chance only to discover a sea of private messages.

Every one of those messages were from the admin and each encouraged me to give a ‘gift’ of hard cash to the site. Eleven messages, some just days apart, all essentially begging for money.

This is completely unacceptable, in every sense. It looks bad and it’s completely unnecessary – a site like this runs on less than $120 per month, an amount easily achievable by freely-given donations from generous members.

A couple of the PM’s were “one off 24 hour offers” promising anything from double upload credit and VIP treatment, to another inviting me to enter a special monthly draw where I could be “chosen at random by the system” to win a percentage of next month’s donations. Oh really.

Others offered me custom user titles or immunity to the hit and run script for a price. But perhaps the bulk $30 payment for special VIP access to a private forum where the cool folk hang out is what I should go for?

No. No thanks.

I’m not even interested in the extra invites that come with a “minimium $40 donation”. Why would I invite my friends to a torrent site where free stuff ends up costing a shit load of money due to an excessively greedy admin who also boasts behind the scenes about the stuff he buys with the money? Why would I increase the userbase on a site where it’s possible to pay money to neutralize an earlier ban for breaking the rules?

Its not the concept of handing back a few goodies to people who donate that I have the problem with, it’s with admins who just don’t know where to stop. Constantly begging for money is not cool, and what really annoyed me about this site was the tone, which was delivered with a “this site is the best so you have to pay” type of way. It’s not and I absolutely won’t.

All torrent sites are not created equal. If your site continually begs for money, find another.

Article from: FreakBits

I’m a complete sucker for racing games, so when I heard that EA were transforming the latest installment in the Need For Speed series into a hardcore sim, I was very pleased indeed.

But after shelling out the equivalent of $70.00 to get my hands on it, i’m very disappointed. I mean, really EA, this game is not even finished. The list of serious bugs being reported by customers is embarrassing and it has crashed on me at least a dozen times.

But this could be the most embarrassing fail of all.

When navigating menus today while connected to Xbox Live the game suddenly crashed again. When my rage had subsided and I got a better look at the screen, I was pretty shocked at what I saw.

Was my Xbox 360 version of Need for Speed Shift really trying to access the Playstation Store? Microsoft are not going to be happy about this.

Update: I’ve had a couple of emails asking which version of the game this is. It is an original PAL special edition version in the black rubber case.

With the right patches this game could be great, let’s hope they don’t take too long.

Article from: FreakBits

“Revenge isn’t the primary motive of individuals who blow the whistle on software piracy. Neither is money — fewer than half of the informants who report their employers for using pirated or unlicensed PC software ask about financial rewards,” reports CW, quoting information from the Business Software Alliance.

It goes on to write about the case of “Bob” who reported his former company for using a copy of unlicensed software after he was “galled by the blatant dishonesty” shown by them. His foreman told him not to update an operate system since it would “freeze up” since the software wasn’t registered.

“That was mind-boggling to me, because without that kind of software, they weren’t in business,” said Bob. In my opinion, Bob makes a valid point.  It seems fair to me that if you make money from software, you should pay for it.

But here’s the thing. Bob didn’t report his company there and then. Oh no. He waited and waited and waited until not only had he left the company, but a whole year had passed. Only then did he inform on his previous employer.

It is very naive of the BSA to state that morals are the primary reason why people turn informant. For someone who had close contacts a number of years ago with an individual who worked with tip-offs at the government’s tax office, morals rarely come into it. Jealousy and general trouble-making come high up the list;

“My next door neighbor hasn’t had a job for 10 years – how come he can afford a new car and I can’t?”

“How can my ex-wife afford a foreign holiday on the money she bleeds from me?”

etc…etc

Bob, who naturally doesn’t want to be identified (does anyone like a snitch?), took a whole year for his “morals” to kick in. They only did so after he had left the company, which of course ensured that he wouldn’t be fired for his disloyalty nor have to suffer the effects of setting the dogs on the people who were kind enough to give him a job in the first place.

If companies use software to generate profit they should pay for that software. But please, don’t portray these snitches and whistleblowers as moral crusaders – most of them have their own axe to grind.

Article from: FreakBits

Meet Sandy, a girl who was caught downloading CSI: Miami and got disconnected from the Internet by her ISP. And that’s only the beginning of her misfortune.

Flash forward another month and I get notified that I am being prosecuted for copyright infringement. Uh oh. I use the majority of my savings to retain an attorney. He advises me that we should try to cut a deal or I could end up paying millions in fines. I don’t have millions!

My boyfriend decides he doesn’t want to be involved with a criminal and leaves me. He didn’t seem to have a problem when I was downloading music for him. Hypocrite.

The rest of this horror story is posted under the pseudonym Sandy Johnson at a newly created blog. Interestingly all this drama didn’t deter her from using BitTorrent. However, she does TorrentPrivacy to protect herself now.

And that might shed some light on the origin of the author. Sandy is not real nor is the $100,000 fine she mentions. It’s an ad!

Article from: FreakBits

Ever since the Saw movies sort-of introduced ‘torture horror’ to the mainstream (it had been done before, but for smaller audiences) there have been many pretenders – the Hostel movies for example – but there is a new guy in town.

This weekend a shocked audience at the Cannes film festival saw the latest addition to the genre,  ‘Antichrist’ starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Dafoe. As far as I can make out from this summary by NYMag, it doesn’t sound particularly pleasant, unless you like sexual mutilation of course.

It’s doubtful if all the dubious scenes will make the final cinema version in various countries around the world, but that’s moot if you have a BitTorrent client and know how to search for the movie.

A decent quality DVD Screener of ‘Antichrist’ has been leaked (with an on-screen timer for those very picky downloaders) which is claiming to be completely uncensored.

Having read the review, and having seen a sample of another very recent Japanese movie called ‘Grotesque’ – which is also very sickening and yes, also available uncensored via BitTorrent, i’m wondering if bypassing the censors in this way is always a good thing.

In years gone by and mainly out of curiosity, i’ve seen many a grisly movie courtesy of awful VHS tapes and more recently P2P networks, including the notorious Guinea Pig series, Faces of Death series and others along those lines. I couldn’t resist the temptation – call it a symptom of a mis-spent youth.

But now, older and hopefully wiser, i’m sort of glad that there are people out there who can filter out some of the more extreme stuff since to be honest, I can’t un-see some of the things I viewed in those films. At the time I didn’t mind, but now I realize I really could’ve done without it – my life hasn’t be enriched by seeing those scenes.

That said, younger and more enthusiastic folk than I will likely flood to see the uncensored Antichrist to see what all the fuss is about. Let’s hope it’s not that bad after all, and no-one regrets it.

Can censorship sometimes be a good thing? For me, yes, sometimes. But only when i’ve had a chance to review the stuff myself first before someone makes the decision for me, which makes it kind of tricky.

Article from: FreakBits