Why I Love Torrent Files – It Downloads What It Needs

Revisions:
12-22-12: Initial release.

12-23-12: Added prologue text.

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Prologue: Guys, the information you will read in this article is just one very specific scenario. There are other benefits than using it to help download corrupted files of “stuff” that you may have stored on your computer downloaded from previous days. Other benefits include faster downloading, resuming capabilities, and low system overhead resources.

So a few days ago, I had a copy of Call of Duty: World at War that I had saved on my external hard drives a few years ago, as my retail disc copy got scratched and unreadable.

As I was getting ready to make a future tutorial for this game, I tried to unzip my RAR files, only to find out that I could not because it was corrupted somehow?

A Summing Up

Let us consider where our rapidly accumulating store of knowledge about the universe is leading us. That it provides satisfaction to a host of curiosity-motivated physicists and astronomers is beyond dispute. However, some view it as a humbling experience in that each increase in knowledge seems to reveal more clearly our own relative insignificance in the grand scheme of things. Thus, in chronological order, we humans have come to realise that

• Our Earth is not the center of the solar system.
• Our Sun is but one star among many in our galaxy.
• Our galaxy is but one of many, and our Sun is an insignificant star in it.
• Our Earth has existed for perhaps only a third of the age of the universe and will surely disappear when our Sun burns up its fuel and becomes a red gaint.
• Our species has inhabited Earth for less than a million years – a blink in cosmological time.

Although out position in the universe may be insignificant, the laws of physics that we have discovered (uncovered?) seem to hold true throughout the universe and – as far as we know – have held since the universe began and will continue to hold for all future time. At least, there is no evidence that other laws hold in other parts of the universe. Thus, until someone complains, we are entitles to stamp the laws of physics “Discovered on Earth.” Much remains to be discovered: “The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” That declaration allows us to answer one last time the question “What is physics?” Physics is the gateway to those magical things.

I love Physics. I love Science. Even now, when I open up a new chapter, a new topic, excitement bubbles inside of me (impatience?) to learn new things and better understand the world around me. Physics is to me like The Underground is to Versatile or  NBA is to Toughtrasher 😉

What do you like? What thing matters most to you? What is it that excites that curious little brain of yours? Share it with us, and we might be able to learn from each other! On this note, I would like to end the 1000^th article created on the Underground Blog. I would also like to use this opportunity to congratulate Versatile, Voltaire and all the other authors due to whom we have come this far! Lets spread knowledge!

Rockin’ Friday! – ’10 Inconvenient Truths’

Marty Friedman -Ex Member of Megadeth

Hello everyone! This week I will reply to this site I found about music piracy, simply titled ‘Music Piracy – Ten Inconvenient Truths.’ I found this on the ‘IFPI’ site, which represents the worldwide recording industry. Here are the 10 inconvenient truths it listed:

1. Pirate Bay, one of the flagships of the anti-copyright movement, makes thousands of euros from advertising on its site, while maintaining its anti-establishment “free music” rhetoric.

2. Allofmp3.com, the well-known Russian website, has not been licensed by a single IFPI member, has been disowned by right holder groups worldwide and is facing criminal proceedings in Russia.

3. Organised criminal gangs and even terrorist groups use the sale of counterfeit CDs to raise revenue and launder money.

4. Illegal file-sharers don’t care whether the copyright infringing work they distribute is from a major or independent label.

5. Reduced revenues for record companies mean less money available to take a risk on “underground” artists and more inclination to invest in “bankers” like American Idol stars.

6. ISPs often advertise music as a benefit of signing up to their service, but facilitate the illegal swapping on copyright infringing music on a grand scale.

7. The anti-copyright movement does not create jobs, exports, tax revenues and economic growth – it largely consists of people pontificating on a commercial world about which they know little.

8. Piracy is not caused by poverty. Professor Zhang of Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earners.

9. Most people know it is wrong to file-share copyright infringing material but won’t stop till the law makes them, according to a recent study by the Australian anti-piracy group MIPI.

10. P2P networks are not hotbeds for discovering new music. It is popular music that is illegally file-shared most frequently.

Now, I wish to to dispute a few of these comments, and add my own. Of course, I have no numbers to back me up, unlike the IFPI, and this is merely my opinion. If I’ve said anything that’s blatantly wrong, let me know in the comments and I’ll take it back. So here are my 10 inconvenient truths:

1. (Point 1) The Pirate Bay making money through advertising has little to do with the “free music” it provides/advocates. Advertising companies pay the Pirate Bay for advertising space, and therefore Pirate Bay can afford to provide free stuff. Webcomics such as Ctrl-Alt-Del sell advertising space so they can afford to continue writing their comics and hosting them. The Pirate Bay making money in such a way means that they aren’t making money at anyone’s expense.
2. (Point 3) Sure, counterfeit CDs can be sold to make money for criminals. But what money can they possibly make from free file-sharing?
3. (Point 5) Reduced revenues for record companies and therefore reduced interest in underground bands just forces these underground bands to find other ways to get in touch with the people which these record companies are further alienating through their brutish attempts to control them. An example is the Arctic Monkeys, who, although now a huge UK band, started off gaining mainstream popularity through MySpace. Underground bands don’t need record companies to get popular if they’re good. ‘Bankers’ do.
4. (Point 7) Anti-copyright movements mostly consist of the consumers who are getting more and more fed-up with the methods of organisations such as the RIAA. They may not know much about the economical aspect of the music industry, but they know a lot when it comes down to how their rights are being treated, hence the backlash.
5. (Point 10) Anti-piracy campaigners often claim that it is the underground and small bands that suffer, yet how is this true if it is mostly the popular music that is downloaded?
6. And if it is the popular bands that receive the most attention from pirates, surely they are also the ones most able to handle it financially?
7. The most money a musician or band makes is rarely from album or single sales. Merchandise and Live performances are the true money-makers for most.
8. Due to the way the consumer is being alienated by these organisations and record companies, musicians are finding other ways to get in touch, and those that don’t are losing popularity. Look at what happened to Metallica when they took on Napster. And now look at bands such as Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead, who are finding new ways to bring their music to the masses.
9. Record companies and copyright organisations are, on the whole, still not realising the potential that the Internet provides financially, and therefore, rather than embracing it, they are trying to fight against something which is impossible to control. Again leading to the alienation of the consumer.
10. The customer is always right 😉

Yeah, that’s all. Again, if I’ve made an incorrect claim, let me know. I have no agenda, just playing devil’s advocate 🙂

Rock on! \m/

Demonoid – Free Invites Underground Trading Circle

Revisions:

12-14-09: Cleaned up the entire demonoid form, and wrote a fresh new intro.

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Note: Welcome Afterdawn users!  Thanks for seeing the link, and if you have friends or you are just looking for a demonoid invite, you have come to the right place! ~ Versatile

Introduction

Demonid is back, and what better way to celebrate it than to restart the entire Demonoid invite ring?

How does it work?

I have suffered so much in the past trying to figure out the best way to make this work, and this is the solution.  All you need to do is click the google spreadsheet form below, fill out the information, and then follow the instructions on the confirmation page.

If the notes on the confirmation page is so important, why even bother with the form at all?  Well, that is a good question.  The form is there so I can track from the beginning of time how many people have used this service, and so I can tell you guys how popular this invite ring is.

Also, it helps me figure out who has invites.  If there were 1,000 people I have invited over the last year, that means I have at least 1,000 people ready to help me send out invites.  Get it?

Enjoy your Demonoid journey!  You deserve it, and this is the easiest way for me to help you out, as I have been in your shoes before.  Beaten and frustrated, but now you don’t have to suffer. All I ask is just continue to visit the blog. Thanks!

(Submit your request—–>) Demonoid Submission Form   (<—-)

First Sale Doctrine == $null? && RIAA == /diffused?

Hey faithful Underground readers. Normally I would post a life post, unfortunately it’s going to have to be delayed one week.

Currently, I am undergoing a project which collects the landmark events of digital history relating to piracy, laws on the electronic frontier, and the serious lack of competence and open minds in authority and political figures in today’s world.

I stumbled across this post yesterday, and felt it was my duty to link it and spread the news as much as possible. It’s yet again, a prime example of the ludicrous behaviors we see from the very people we entrust our sustenance and security to.

Essentially, Universal Media Group is [quoted] “saying that merely by putting some fine print on a CD, it can effectively ‘own’ that CD forever.”

I’ll let you read the article and decide for yourself.

http://svextra.com/blogs/gmsv/2008/04/uh_that_promo_copy_of_bad_we_sent_you_in_87_it_was_a_loaner_and_we_want_it_back.html

Another few day old piece of news, is posted here by the magnificent crew over at Ars Technica, about some interesting RIAA developments. This adds a great outlook on the recent Andersen vs. RIAA case from a few weeks ago:

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080402-maine-law-students-try-to-derail-riaa-lawsuit-express.html

[ Sources: Article stumbled upon @ Silicon Valley.com ; LARGE PDF file of court case – EFF.org RIAA working diffusal – ArsTechnica.com ]

God speed, and Best wishes.

¥

Mojo!

What happens if you want to share your music with friends? Gotta burn those CDs, DVDs, email those songs, whatever. Anything you do takes extra time and can potentially cost you money in the form of physical data storage. “Mojo is music sharing done right. With just two clicks, you are ready to browse, select, and download music from any Mojo user. Plus, subscribe to the playlists of other users, and Mojo will update those playlists anytime they are online. Finally, all downloaded songs will automatically be added to your iTunes library.”

That’s right. you heard correctly. rather, read it.

Taken from LifeHacker, here is some extra information:

”

Windows/Mac only: Share any song in your iTunes library and download any song from your friends’ iTunes libraries over the internet with freeware application Mojo. Essentially, Mojo makes sharing music with your friends through iTunes wildly simple, from its simple interface to its brilliant implementation. If you’ve ever used apps like previously mentioned ourTunes to download music from shared libraries, you have an idea of what Mojo does, bu you should still prepare to be amazed. I’m head over heels for Mojo, so hit the jump for a full-on screenshot tour and detailed walk-through and overview of everything Mojo has to offer.

Getting Started

To get started, you need to download and install Mojo on your computer (it’s fully ready to go on Macs, and currently in beta for Windows). The first time you run Mojo, you’ll be asked to create an account. Do that, then you’ll see the Mojo friends window, which is much like a buddy window on an instant messenger client. Granted, you won’t have any buddies in this window to begin with (unless it’s also been installed by another computer on your local network), but don’t worry, you will.Next, let’s say your friend downloads and installs Mojo as well. They give you their user name, you hit the little plus (+) sign to add them as a buddy, and they’re sent an approval request. They approve you, and voilà—you now have access to every song in their iTunes library. So what now?

Browsing and Downloading Music

To browse your friend’s library, just double-click their entry in the buddy window. Mojo will open a new window which shows every song in their library and their playlists, along with their Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, and Audiobooks. Double-click any song to play it back, and to download a song (or even video), just click the download arrow next to the song or the big download button at the bottom of the screen.
Mojo will download the song and automatically add it to your iTunes library. Additionally, it will even create a playlist in a folder called Mojo containing all the songs you downloaded from that friend.

You may be thinking: Sure, this is impressive, but what else can it do? Well, for one, Mojo automatically detects whether or not you already have a song in your iTunes library. Any song that you’ve already got displays in Mojo in a light gray color. And if your friend has purchased a song from the iTunes Music store, and it’s dripping with nasty DRM—Mojo highlights those tracks in red.

So What’s the Catch?

If you’ve already checked out the Mojo homepage, you may notice that there is a premium version of the application. Luckily for all of the cheapskates out there like me, you really don’t need to buy the premium version to enjoy most of the best features of Mojo. But let’s say you do want to go Pro. Here’s what you get:

• Unlimited friends
• Playlist subscriptions

As far as I can tell, that’s it. Playlist subscriptions, which allow you to subscribe to a playlist in your friend’s library, automatically downloads music in the playlist as your friend adds to it. Crazy cool, yes, but if you don’t want to shell out for it, it’s really not that must-have.

Right now, as I said, Mojo is available and ready for primetime on the Mac, and is currently in beta for Windows users. The app takes practically zero know-how to set up and get started with, and everything it does is near perfect. I’ve only tested it on my Mac so far, so if you give the beta a try on Windows, let’s hear how it’s working in the comments. For another detailed usage overview, check out the introduction screencast from Mojo.”

Trust us, this program is AMAZING.