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Here's an article from Wired Magazine that is about how piracy works at the top level. It mentions how almost all things pirated originate from about 30 "topsite" servers and how it trickles down to P2P networks. In it the writer mentions how he was advised not to reveal any topsite server names as "You do not need some 350-pound hit man with a Glock at your front door." eek
Here's the article:
The Shadow Internet
Good read. Thanks for the link.
I want topsite access!
I was deep into the warez scene in teh C64 days. Not much has changed other than its FTPs instead of BBS's (which most of us in the US accessed via Tymenet or other outdial services) Those lucky brits could still bluebox....
Good read, some pretty interesting stuff in there.
Thanks for the link, good article.
Good article but these guys are just criminals. They make the theft of Half-Life 2's source code to be some sort of glorious achievement, and the year "delay for reprogramming" of the game to be the cause of the pirates' master heists. They talk about the trading scene like its some sort of amazing communist paradise but its just honor among thieves.
Wired is all about hyping shit that shouldnt be (witness their endless articles on fanciful technology that wont come out forever) but this is extreme.
Interesting article. I had heard of Anathema before, but I never could find any info on it.
Valve did more than "reprogram" after the leak. They had to finish making the game.
No shit. But read the article, and youd think that the year delay was because of the theft, and that was the reward of the valiant people that stole the code.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rumpy
Just poor research on the writers end.
Not really, its just typical Wired overblown bullshit. They are notorious for this stuff. Still a good mag, subscribed for 2 years, but they do shit like that all the time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rumpy
edit: for example, a year and a half ago or so they ran an article on synthetic diamonds, and made it all out like DeBeers would be getting raped in the ass at a moment's notice. Still hasnt happened, still isnt close to happening, still probably wont happen.
Wired is just being Wired. They write on really interesting topics but the writing is dubious.
Mind if I wander off an a tangent? I'm going to anyway but it's polite to ask first.
My favorite kind of pirate is the kind who walks into my workplace and chats about burning games with his friends. I usually ask them to either stop or take it outside, but every once in a while I get somebody who says something like "Why? I'm not stealing anything." or "I'm not taking anything from you."
I actually had a good rant at one of those people one day, it was a lot of fun. :)
Point is, if you're going to be a filthy little pirate then, like the article above apparently doesn't, you should admit to yourself that you're being a filthy little pirate. Hiding behind "It doesn't hurt anyone" or "It's not really stealing" is just wussing out on the whole thing. I've pirated before, I don't do it much at all nowadays, but at least I had the balls to know that what I was doing wasn't some glorious anti-capitalist thing but rather simple theft.
James
Piracy has gotten pretty bad these days thanks to the Internet but there's alot of piracy I support. Like ROMs, especially ROMs of titles no one plays or can find anymore and had to be translated like ToP or Seiken 3. Stuff that isn't selling now, and wouldn't even marginally sell well if it were ever re-released is just A-ok to pirate. There's no profit loss in stealing something no one wants.
That depends. I play my GENS emulator alot nowadays because my genny is broken and I admit it. I'll even play a couple games I don't have. I'm pirating a games that would go for 50 cents on ebay. Keep in mind, it's not like I re-sell any of it. I guess there are two definitions of pirating, the one mentionned in this article and the type I mentionned above.Quote:
Originally Posted by James
good article.
Personally, I'm willing to acknowlege a difference between snagging something at Home of the Underdogs, or eumlating the NES, and piracy. It was when people were emulating the N64 and PS1 while the consoles still mattered that I considered it piracy.
What's retro-gaming and what's piracy has got the potential to be a loooooong discussion. Definitely a can of worms to avoid opening. :)
James
More than a few reports on DeBeers has come out in recent times. They all say the same thing but it seems like no one cares.Quote:
Originally Posted by diffusionx
"Look at this monopoly!" It's all a scam!"
"That's nice. Can you move out of the way? I have to go buy a diamond. It'll be my wifes best friend."
I don't have anything against pirating music that comes on Mtv or the radio. If it is ever put into the public domain more than once, I say that shit is free game to go into everyone's mp3 collection, free of charge.
I fucking hate the recording industry. As long as they function the way they currently do, we will never get another Led Zeppelin, beatles, Elvis, Eric Clapton, or any other great outstanding musicians. Every album has to sell, meaning that anything groundbreaking, or really original will be cast aside for something fluffy and tasty.
If 15 year old girls pirating Britney's newest hit will help that happen, more power to pirating.
There is more diversity and freedom in music now than there ever has been. Independent labels are bigger than ever, and allow many talented musicians an oportunity to be heard. Saying that there will never be another group like those you listed is rediculous when it is now easier than ever to distribute music and grow an audience.Quote:
Originally Posted by IronPlant
I was a phreaker/runner back in the C-64 days (back when replacing a 'z' for an 's' was the only leet speak), and actually, alot has changed. Back then, you needed to have some excellent connections/knowledge to even be let on some of the better boards. The internet has allowed just about anybody with a bit of internet knowledge the ability to download any movie, song, game, piece of software ever invented. Ratio's were much stricter back then.
This "piracy pyramid" has always existed. Europe has always been the at the top of that pyramid also.
In the C-64 days, alot of the warez came from Europe, so you needed "cheap" ways to contact their boards/runners so you could import the games to the states. Also, keep in mind that a 4 disk game could take up to 4-5 hours to download, and connections weren't always reliable. Not to mention, your phone log was a running record for any Fed that had an inkling of what was going on. It's funny to think that all of the games I risked my neck over, can be had in 10 seconds on easy to access web sites now.
Piracy is so casual now (with P2P), its almost a quaint topic really.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/a...id=13363&stc=1Quote:
Originally Posted by stormy
Remember when Moriarty from AICN went off on everone that downloaded the Hulk movie workprint?
Man, that was funny.
He liked that pile?
IronPlant, uhh... he's right. Thanks to the internet more bands than ever can be heard. While this leads to crap like TV On the Radio or Go! Team getting a big audience, it also leads to very solid bands like Arcade Fire and Futureheads and Rilo Kiley getting a leg up. Do you think its any coincidence that a band like Modest Mouse, toiling away for a decade, got big this year, the year of iPod and iTMS and Indie 103.1 (station in LA) and all that?
Just because you dont like the bands that are benefitting from all this doesnt mean jack shit.
There is no question that these are revolutionary artists but there have always been great artists on the fringe outside of the mainstream--your assumption that the recording industry is keeping them back is false.Quote:
Originally Posted by IronPlant
When grunge exploded lots of random bands were getting signed under the banner of "alternative rock" and then that died out toward the late 90s. What the internet has done is allowed anyone with a modem to be able to listen to or buy an EP from obscure band X and not have to travel to a record store 2 hours away. Exposure helps these bands. Nowadays any band with a decent amount of buzz, that the internet could easily/cheaply provide, can get signed.
The record companies are trying to find the next fad band but that actually means they are taking more risks and exposing more people to less cookie cutter bands as well.
Bands also used to have a lot more freedom within their record contract as well, so Ironplant isn't too far off.
If the record industry wasn't only after $$$$ we would probably still be enjoying kickass music from Nirvana(aside from obvious reasons), Weezer, Pearl Jam, etc. They basically strangled the creativity out of these bands forcing them to stay with the contract.Quote:
Originally Posted by soundwave
It's a double edged sword. Labels will continue to sign kickass new bands and destroy them. Other kickass bands will be smart enough to use all the other avenues of making a living and creating a fanbase. It isn't up to the major labels to put out good music anymore. It's up to us to find it.
did that new weezer album ever come out? I suppose from the above post it wasn't very good, eh?
How hard/expensive is it to break a contract? They could feign artistic differences and work on "different projects" for a year and then get back together or something.
I still like Pearl Jam though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hubbitron
Binaural was a great album.
Rivers Cuomo's songwriting is way too safe to be listenable these days.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cowutopia
Well, balls.
Once they started calling Weezer "emo" and putting Rivers on TRL, I totally tuned them out--and I loved the Blue album and Pinkerton--Matt Sharp was smart to get out when he did.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Dave
I have been on a nostalgia kick lately so I'm probably gonna listen to 10 and Vs. today.
I have not heard of one of those bands.Quote:
Originally Posted by diffusionx
The imperfection is yours. Dude, the lead singer of Rilo Kiley was the chick from The Wizard.Quote:
Originally Posted by IronPlant
Maybe you don't look for the next Clapton or Zeppelin or whatever--they were different until they BECAME the mainstream.
TRUTHQuote:
Originally Posted by soundwave
I don't really call you and some of your net buddies all getting on Mirc and trading mp3s and you later ordering a few of their albums, as making it.Quote:
Originally Posted by soundwave
The recording industry controls the mass culture around music, it puts out the vibe on what people should like instead of letting them make up their own mind.
Maybe people have more freedom to share their music, but there is still a huge cap on how far they can get right now with out some super company's blessing.
Kids might start out liking the music on Clear Channel radio stations and MTV, but sooner or later they figure it out. The cool ones at least, and the cool bands know that credibility is better than millions of dollars.Quote:
Originally Posted by IronPlant
It's sad that multimillionaire record lable execs dont give out 'development' deals anymore (like the ones R.E.M., U2, and Bruce Springsteen got) which allow the artist to make an album which flops without getting dropped from their label.
Yes it is sad, and they are only shooting themself in the foot by not doing so. Most development deals have provisions for a record company to have the option of signing the artist to a full contract if the single or E.P. does well. Conversley, if the artist flops he doesn't still owe the record company 8 albums and his first born. The record companies are just afraid that if the development deal explodes, that the artist will try to jump ship and use it's new found bargaining power (hit single=mad bargaining power) to get a better deal elsewhere.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Dave