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Tag: mpaa

the facts of downloading

Note: This article is incomplete and will be updated as needed.

Do you download music online? So do I. In case the RIAA or MPAA have scared you away from downloading any kind of music or movies, I’m going to reassure you that it’s still as possible to do it as it’s ever been. There are, however, still threats out there that might cause you grief and worry, the foremost being the threat of being sued by the Nazis at the RIAA or MPAA.

I am going to give you some facts about downloading so that you know where you stand:

First, almost all of the people sued were using Kazaa or another related software to download AND upload their music. Bittorrent users are just now starting to become a more major target as well. But, the Nazis aren’t going after people who download music. They are suing people who upload and share their collection with others. Turn off the ability to share/upload your music, the Nazis at the RIAA and MPAA will almost definitely leave you alone.

Second, there are millions of people downloading all the time. You’re literally one in a million and the RIAA is verrrrrrry unlikely to find you. It IS possible, but not too likely that you’ll be sued. Besides, they are mostly targeting students at universities.

Third, you might hear talk about how many people have settled the crazy lawsuits for thousands of dollars. But, as stated in a recent article, only a very small percentage of people have actually chosen to settle with them. Of MOST of the people who were sued, their lawsuits have been dismissed.

For those of you who want some more legitmate underground ways of downloading, you might be intersted to check out sources such as EasyNews. There is a lot of good info about how to run a Usenet application on your computer, but this is basically a Newsgroup that you and millions of other people subscribe to and upload and download just about ANYTHING that you want. It’s $10 a month and it’s been recommended to me by many different people.

So should you still download more music or movies or televisions shows now? That’s your decision. I just wanted to share a few facts.

No more SuprNova

Yesterday, the owner of the SuprNova network pulled the plug. This means that this site is completely dead, gone. No more downloading. For those who have never heard of SuprNova, it was a website used for the purpose of linking to downloads for movies, tv shows, games, software, and other Internet related download material.

I am very saddened by this because I used this site as Tivo. What do I mean exactly? Well, I don’t own a Tivo nor will I anytime soon…probably. The reason I don’t own a Tivo system or anything similar is because $300-400 is too much money for me to just give up on some system which really isn’t worth the money in my current financial situation. I would love a digital video recorder (DVR) such as Tivo, but I won’t talk myself into buying one.

SuprNova, thus, became my own personal Tivo. If I missed an episode of my favorite TV show, I would go to SuprNova and download the missed show. It was easy, it usually took from only a couple of hours to a day get that missed episode, and I could watch it on my own time. It was great!! Once I had the downloaded show on my computer, I would then s-video it to my TV and watch it as though it was just another show on TV. Then, once I was done watching the show, I would immediately delete the episode because I had no reason to keep it.

It was convenient, easy to use, and required no effort on my part! My top reasons for using this site are the following.

1. The shows I downloaded were high definition (HD) quality, usually meaning they were wide screen with 30% extra picture than your regular TV shows you. It was AWESOME! In fact, there were times that I would purposely MISS the show JUST so I could download it and watch a perfect, clear, HD quality TV show! Seriously, it was THAT nice!

2. I didn’t have to worry or get upset about missing my favorite TV shows. When I realized that I missed an episode, I would go to SuprNova and the website would usually have a hyperlink to download the show.

3. If there was an album or songs that I wanted to preview before buying a CD (theoretically), I could probably find it on the site and listen to it once I downloaded it!

4. Other reasons that just don’t really matter now.

It’s really sad that the MPAA are taking drastic measures like the RIAA are also doing. It’s sad. I am pretty much never going to buy a brand new CD again until the RIAA decides to come to its senses and get with the times (instead of suing college students every three weeks). I am tempted to do the same with the MPAA but as of yet, I’m not doing anything.

For more information on the closing of SuprNova, read the SuprNova FAQ.