[prateekm]

Check this KhanAcademy video which explains what's SOPA and why the law should not be passed.

SOPA and PIPA - YouTube

[Durango Dude]

I have had videos depicting my daughter's annual day dance program 'flagged' in You Tube because it matches 3rd party content and also it's not available in certain countries(not that I mind) it was mainly meant for sharing among relatives.

[Pri2]

Here is a good video which explains SOPA and PIPA

Understanding PIPA / SOPA & Why You Should Be Concerned - YouTube

[prateekm]

And this is exactly what I was waiting for!

Anonymous Message To Congress. #OpGlobalBlackout Threat To Shutdown YT Facebook Twitter UN servers - YouTube

[akshay380]

Good news?

SOPA Is Dead: Smith Pulls Bill

[JustCause]

Update:

Popular file sharing site Megaupload has been shut down by by US anti piracy officials. Other filesharing sites, in a bid to comply, have started displaying the message "You can only download files that have been uploaded by you"

link

Moreover, they are deleting files left & right without a consideration for the actual content contained in them. They have also blocked some 'premium' (read: paid service) users also.

It would be interesting to see how these sites, whose primary business is in sharing pirated stuff & minting money via premium users, survive post SOPA/PIPA.

Bittorrent network, as always, is unaffected by any of these 'methodologies'. It will go on to become the next haven for all these activities deemed 'illegal' by the US.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by JustCause

Bittorrent network, as always, is unaffected by any of these 'methodologies'. It will go on to become the next haven for all these activities deemed 'illegal' by the US.

LOL@next. Don't mind but which world are you in?

[JustCause]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

LOL@next. Don't mind but which world are you in?

Well, bit torrent's only drawback was a fluctuating speed, somewhat capped at 400kbps in India, not to mention low seeds & peers. These filehosts charged 10-15$ for full speed multithreaded downloading.

What I meant by next was that it will become the one & only way by which you can get such 'stuff' deemed illegal as of now.

As Matthew Inman, creator of the Oatmeal comic rightly put it,

"The lion had escaped the cage decades ago. Now, the law-makers are taking measures to contain the threat by killing cute little kittens"

Not that I support piracy but, I don't like getting the short end of the stick when it comes to software pricing in India. If we all got softwares/games at reasonable prices & with the promise of product support, who would download illegally?

[nitinbose]

Well, we all respect intellectual property. However the idea behind SOPA & PIPA is simply to protect the selfish interests of the movie production companies & artists, instead of them trying to improve the quality of movies, reducing the costs in cinemas etc.

Certain political and associated agencies also wish to defend their conspiracies, adding spice to the whole act.

Originally Posted by phamilyman

LOL@next. Don't mind but which world are you in?

bittorrent traffic can be stopped if the ISPs implement deep-packet inspection based solutions to regulate content that flows to and fro their networks.

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team: Please use the "edit" button if posting within 30 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by JustCause

"The lion had escaped the cage decades ago. Now, the law-makers are taking measures to contain the threat by killing cute little kittens"

LOL man.

Originally Posted by JustCause

Not that I support piracy but, I don't like getting the short end of the stick when it comes to software pricing in India. If we all got softwares/games at reasonable prices & with the promise of product support, who would download illegally?

That is an ancient canard. Android's popularity is in no small measure due to the "mostly free" app store (besides the phone for every pocket angle). Still how many people buy apps in India?

PS: Let's be clear - you cannot expect top support if you want apps priced reasonably. Excellent support exists only with highly costly apps (adobe) or big companies (MS?).

[JustCause]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

PS: Let's be clear - you cannot expect top support if you want apps priced reasonably. Excellent support exists only with highly costly apps (adobe) or big companies (MS?).

Yes, open source is one end of the spectrum. I would attribute this general 'reluctance' to buy software is that we generally don't realize the developer's sweat & blood that has gone into its development. Not until recently, I believed that an 'original' OS is a must, since it is a core component of the system. But when you see the same flaws/issues plauging original software as compared to the one the corner cyber cafe sells & uses, it feels very bad. You really want to not pay the Co. for its buggy software.

Yes, Adobe is one company that is prompt on updates & general software support & that is why I buy Adobe products. An antivirus is another item on my list of genuine products. I often think that the poor issue resolution & late patch releases are MS's way of ensuring that their original software never leaves the shelves.

There is reasonably priced software in the market (digital downloads, direct2drive), only that most on the list of 'must-haves' aren't reasonably priced, even considering what (features) they have on offer.

Enough OT, time for a quick update:

FileServe - Closing does not sell premium.
FileJungle - Deleting files. Locked in the U.S.
UploadStation - Locked in the U.S.
FileSonic - Closed!
VideoBB - Closed! would disappear soon.
Uploaded - Banned U.S. and the FBI went after the owners who are gone.
FilePost - Deleting all material (so will leave executables, pdfs, txts)
Videoz - Closed! and locked in the countries affiliated with the USA.
4shared - Deleting files with copyright and waits in line at the FBI.
MediaFire - Called to testify in the next 90 days and it will open doors for FBI
Org torrent - could vanish with everything within 30 days "he is under criminal investigation"

Courtesy- Friendly uploaders at <link sharing against forum rules>

Friends, if you have any personal files (even as a pc backup) on these sites, please download them now as you can still download the files you have uploaded on your account. Once the site is closed, the servers reclaimed, there is no way to get the data back.Even personal videos uploaded on Youtube are getting flagged & deleted for no reason at all!

[download2live]

They can't push internet back in the bottle.
As simple as that.
What did the music company get by teaching Napstar a lesson?
Has anything changed? No.

Reminds me of an episode of "South Park" where the music stars were shown as suffering because of music piracy.
There was one rapper who was crying because he could not buy an island for his kid as a birthday present. Oh the suffering.

[vij]

Originally Posted by JustCause

Yes, open source is one end of the spectrum...

...Even personal videos uploaded on Youtube are getting flagged & deleted for no reason at all!

Most of these guys have decided to close down as a preventive knee jerk reaction following the megaupload fiasco.

Note From Team BHP Support-Team: Please avoid quoting large/entire post. It may inconvenience small-screen or mobile users. Thanks!

[Bluengel180]

People. please read up on this wonderful new censorship law called ACTA

And unlike sopa/pipa this one is global and doesn't require a vote