Tag: trial
Pirate Bay trial begins in Sweden
The four operators of the Pirate Bay, the internet’s premier Bittorrent tracker, began their trial today in Sweden, accused of 33 cases of copyright infringement. According to charges filed by the public prosecutor, they’re “promoting other people’s infringements of copyright laws”, a reference to the fact that the site simply links to copyrighted content – it doesn’t actually host anything itself.
Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde Kolmisoppi and Carl Lundström face a fine of £100,000 and up to two years in prison, but the real effect will be on the future of file-sharing on the internet. A victory for the Pirate Bay would set back the cause of content-owners world wide.
The Pirate Bay is calling the event a “Spectrial” – a cross between a spectacle and trial. They’re trying to make the reporting of the case as open and transparent as possible, with audio and video streams available in multiple languages.
The Pirate Bay has launched a blog – http://trial.thepiratebay.org/ – though it’s currently struggling under heavy traffic, and it’s encouraging people to use the #spectrial hashtag when discussing it on Twitter. Blogs like ZeroPaid and TorrentFreak are also covering the trial in fine detail.
What I find most baffling about the whole affair, though, is that the authorities think that they can make a dent in file-sharing volumes by shutting down the Pirate Bay. If that was to happen, then 99.5% of its users would just move to another site and carry on as if nothing had happened.
Even if Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde Kolmisoppi and Carl Lundström go to jail for this, it’s highly unlikely that the site will go down for longer than 24 hours or so. I strongly suspect that the operators have backup plans in place just for that very event.
Still, I suppose the Swedish government has to appear as if its doing something to placate the content-owners whose business is crashing all around them. I just hope that they have some sense of reality about the game of whack-a-mole that they’re playing.
Speak Swedish? Speak English? Want to help The Pirate Bay live-blog its imminent copyright trial via Twitter?
Then step right up! The Pirate Bay, the mega piracy portal which always goes to great lengths to point out it doesn’t actually host the files it catalogues, is going to court very soon – charged with, well, you can probably guess. Letting the world watch Quantum of Solace without having to go to the cinema or HMV.
A live audio feed of the Bay’s trial will be made available online, but the problem is it’s all being conducted in Sweden. In Swedish. And with the best will in the world, Swedish could never be described as the language of the internet. We’d imagine it’s only the third most popular language even in Sweden…
Be Broadband steps up to the challenge, trial doubles 24Mbps service to near-match Virgin Media
Not to be outdone by Virgin Media’s 50Mbps broadband announcement yesterday, Be Broadband has completed its trials of speed-doubling technology which would take the current 24Mbps broadband up to 48Mbps – almost the same as Virgin Media’s theoretical top speed.
The trial ran at the London Paddington exchange, with Be customers reporting real download speeds of between 30-45Mbps.
Be is keen to point out that its service will run through standard BT phone lines…
Zattoo offers 30 days of free broadcast quality terrestrial TV via Internet
Zattoo, the live TV streaming service that launched back in April, is running a special Christmas promotion where all registered users can get free access to broadcast quality versions of four main UK terrestrial channels plus one digital channel.
For thirty days from today, live BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4 and BBC News 24 will be streamed at 576×528 pixel, 1.5Mbps bitrate via the Zattoo service…
BUT STILL THEY COME: Trials of ID cards starting next year at two UK airports
The government’s amazing idea of making us all pay loads of money for a laminated bit of plastic with our name on it continues to unfold, with officials announcing the date for a trial run of the national ID card system.
Around 200,000 staff at Manchester and London City airports and associated suppliers will be issued with the ever-so-slightly controversial cards from Autumn of 2009, according to the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, with the plan being to roll this out to all UK airport staff – and maybe even us lot – 18 months or so later…
Government says Phorm is phine – the spying ad software can be rolled out in the UK
The UK government has said the incredibly controversial Phorm software can be rolled out in the UK – but users must be told first and allowed to opt-out if they wish.
The Phorm system, which anonymously tracks your internet usage so it can offer you targeted advertising, was secretly tested on a small group of BT users without their knowledge, creating uproar among the sort of people who like to create uproars about privacy issues. The EU then got involved, asking for clarification about the hows and whys of Phorm, thinking that it might be a BAD THING.
So, the UK government investigated and has decided it’s OK and that Phorm is fine. Here’s what it told the EU investigators about its Phorm phindings and how users will be put in charge of turning it on and off…
German Wikipedia trials approval system in attempt to thwart vandals
Think of Wikipedia and what comes to mind? Articles containing less than accurate information, personal opinion, propaganda, and vandalism, perhaps?
Vandals have long plagued the open editing system that underlies the Wikipedia system. The strength of allowing contribution from the masses is also a downfall as people hijack articles for their own causes or amusement.
Now, the German version of Wikipedia wants to fight back, and is to begin trials of a moderation system that will keep page edits private until a “checker” reviews and approves it…
Virgin Media trials complicated new traffic management policies, touting "efficiency". Uh-huh?
Virgin Media has been throttling its customers’ broadband speeds for at least a year now, but it seems that the traffic management policy wasn’t complicated enough for them, so they’ve started trails of a new one.
Oh, it nicely messes up our Virgin Media Speed Throttling FAQ, too. Thanks Mr Berkett.
From now on, if you’re unlucky enough to be a Virgin Media broadband customer in Preston, Wigan, Blackpool, Camden, Dalston, Enfield and Haringey, you’ll have to get your head around some new policies. Here goes my attempt at explaining it. Let’s see if I get there before my brain numbs…
BBC Trust backs high definition channel
The BBC Trust has provisionally backed plans for the BBC to establish a more permanent high definition channel, after the success of the trial version available to satellite and cable viewers. Offering programmes from across the BBC's existing channels, it…
Virgin Media to trial 50Mb broadband in Ashford, Folkestone, and Dover
While many of us hobble along on 8Mb or lower broadband speeds, three towns in Kent are set to experience 50Mb broadband, courtesy of Virgin Media. The pilot scheme has already been running in Ashford, with every resident capable of…
