Topic: Looks like cyberlockers are a thing of the past now

[iPPi]

It's hard to be sure if this is related to SOPA or PIPA at all or just coincidentally timed, but Megaupload was shut down by the FBI in a massive raid a few days ago.  Now, all the cyberlocker services such as Filesonic, Fileserve, et al are running scared by blocking US-based IP addresses, banning users who violate TOS, removing copyrighted content proactively, share functionality lock, or shutdown altogether.

Megaupload's assets were seized and I believe that they were valued at over $40 million US, so I guess this is a major crackdown on internet piracy.

Looks like the file sharing industry has come to an end.

[Cobra951]

I think it's panic over the incident with Megaupload.  Apparently, they were pretty much asking for it, with barely disguised rampant piracy that extended to the staff there as well.  I just checked, and Skydrive still works just fine for me.  I played a tune that I ripped from my Castlevania SOTN disc out of my public folder, and now I'm listening to "Far Away" from Red Dead Redemption, the whole OST stored in my Music folder under Documents in the private section.

I don't know.  Anyone who has been depending on shady business probably has good reason to be running scared.  Everyone else may just wait for the dust to settle.  If the FBI, an agency restricted to domestic issues by law, can go overseas and arrest people, they have every right to be scared.

[scottws]

I agree with Cobra.  My Dropbox account is still working fine.  I could probably try to share out files illegally via my public Dropbox folder, but Dropbox really doesn't have anything to worry about.  SOPA and PIPA have not passed and so really it is the DMCA that applies.  So long as they comply with a takedown request within the requisite time period, they don't really have anything to worry about.  It's not like Dropbox exists to host pirated files.  It's different than Megaupload.

[ren]

I would've cared a lot about this a few years ago but now that it's so much easier and cheaper to watch television shows and movies online legitimately, I don't think this will make much of a difference to me.

What I am curious about is how international this takedown was. I haven't done any reading yet to see how this works but on the surface, it seems very strange that the American government was able to go after these guys in other countries. If the Hong Kong police or New Zealand police or whatever it was did all the arrests domestically it would be fine but I find it a bit unsettling that they're being prosecuted by America.

[gpw11]

Yeah, that's an interesting question.  I looked into it a little bit, and it looks like Hong Kong had been trying to do something for years (as a result, Mega Upload blocked IPs from Hong Kong and mainland China), and New Zealand probably just went along with it.  I imagine it's like anything else where you're charged with a crime in a country and the authorities can make a request to the police where you are to apprehend you and turn you over.  It's just usually it's for far more serious shit.  It does seem strange.

[W7RE]

I would've cared a lot about this a few years ago but now that it's so much easier and cheaper to watch television shows and movies online legitimately, I don't think this will make much of a difference to me.

I don't know, I still find it annoying. I just cancelled by cable not too long ago. I watch 11 shows currently (including ones that are on long between-season breaks.) To keep up with them all, I have 2 shows on CBS.com, 1 show on MTV.com, 4 on Hulu (all delayed by 8 days), 2 are only available if you buy them on iTunes/Amazon, and 2 are not available online at all. Maybe I'm just spoiled by my DVR (which I don't have anymore), but I can't even remember what day half these shows air, or when they're starting up a new season.

It seems like you either bend over and pay for a cable/dish service, or you deal with the mess that is online viewing. If you steal it you just have to remember when there's a new episode of something you watch, and even that is easy depending on where you go. It reminds me of video game piracy: if you want people to be legit, make legit more user friendly and give it a better value. At least Hulu can send me an alert when there's something to watch (but of course, none of it is available on non-PC devices, so why would I even pay for Hulu+?)

This is turning into too much of a rant. But yea, the current cable/streaming options leave a LOT to be desired.

[idolminds]

One thing that falls under piracy I guess, theres a site called snesorama and they had TONs of roms and isos of old console games. It was actually kind of nice because a lot of it was really rare stuff including Japanese only games. Of course it was all hosted on sites like megaupload so they've lost over half of those files.

[Cobra951]

That made me wonder if emu.kulichki.net was still around.  Yup.