An interesting article over on TorrentFreak.com about how the MPAA, according to themselves (the MPAA), do not require evidence to convict movie pirates.

Quote from the article…

“MPAA Quote : It is often very difficult, and in some cases, impossible, to provide such direct proof when confronting modern forms of copyright infringement, whether over P2P networks or otherwise; understandably, copyright infringers typically do not keep records of infringement.

TorrentFreak Article: So, the MPAA is basically saying that is is too hard to come up with solid evidence, and because of this, they should not have to proove anything. Makes perfect sense doesn’t it? The MPAA wrote the brief in response to a request from a federal Judge last month, who called for a briefing on the claim that having files stored in “shared folders” infringes copyright.”

[ Continue Reading At TorrentFreak.com ]

Just got informed of this by TGM fan Khaled…

[Source: NewTeeVee.com]

Video-sharing startup Veoh has blocked visitors from all but 33 countries from accessing its site, a spokesperson confirmed to NewTeeVee today.

Veoh’s Gaude Paez told NewTeeVee, “The markets we are exiting collectively represent less than 10 percent of our viewer base.” She maintained that the decision was “not about saving resources but rather re-focusing those resources.” Paez was not able to immediately provide the list of countries where Veoh is still available.

[...]

Users flooded the Veoh forums with complaints over the weekend, saying they felt discriminated against for being from certain countries: “I’m from Dominican Republic, and when I saw that message I really wanted to cry… I still want to,” wrote one user, and “this is very unfair not even an email alert i just couldn’t enter, its sucks!!!” said another.

According to Wikipedia, users report being blocked from Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Indonesia, Chile, Argentina, St. Kitts and Nevis, Guatemala, Luxembourg, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Guam, Jamaica, Barbados, El Salvador, Hungary, Malta, Macedonia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Colombia, Cyprus, Romania, the Cayman Islands, Guadeloupe, Saudi Arabia, Peru, Panama, Czech Republic, Turkey, Croatia, Lithuania, Jordan, Egypt, Bulgaria, Serbia, Iceland, Bermuda, Thailand, Brunei, Honduras, the Bahamas, Nicaragua, Anguilla and Guyana.

Rob’s Opinion: Last time I checked, THIS IS THE INTERNET!  You make a site or service on the internet to get viewed all over the world.  Not only is this doing a disservice to those people that wish to view the content on Veoh’s website, this also has the potential to prevent those same people from viewing the free content that Veoh’s user-base produces. Also, since they are cutting off 85% of the countries in the world from accessing the Veoh service, that seems far more than the described “some international access”.

Recently, we wrote a quick article on YoBird and, their plan to gain as much hype as possible by using social media outlets. In specific we were focusing on their use of Twitter and the massive number of people they were following. Over the past week we have been speaking with Yobird and, conducting an e-mail based interview.

If you look at the site, you will see a countdown to their launch day. Originally, TGM was going to do an article on the company itself and, what they are about. However, things changed when YoBird posted information about their Twitter account being banned. This was when our curiosity was piqued even more. Our questions began to be a little more direct, curious as to whether Yobird was an actual company or, possibly a Twitter competitor. Or, was this a marketing experiment for another company.

Read More

I’m sick of this topic already… and I haven’t even talked about it. There’s been an awful lot of noise on the subject because of the MGS4 review embargoes story by Stephen Totilo. On one hand, I can’t complain about the fresh discussion regarding review integrity this has sparked; on the other, the signal-to-noise ratio about the MGS4 embargo as it relates to EGM’s most recent issue is distressingly low. Our MGS4 review goes up tomorrow, and I would rather any discussion of the review to focus on the merits of the game or on the article rather than being drowned out by babble about the circumstances surrounding its print companion. Thus, we nip that babble in the bud today.

[ Read The Full Story From Jeremy's 1UP Blog ]

Today on Twitter, I noticed a new follower. I also noticed this same person/people/company had followed some other TGM people. When I went to check, I noticed it was someone who is following over 63,000 people on Twitter. My first thought was how silly that is. Then, I noticed they had a statement on Twitter explaining why. ” Ok, some of you might be wondering why Yobird is following soo many people. Well it’s just an experiment to see how much it will take to…” “…make the Twitter people think about limiting the Followers and Following. Setting a limit would make the system more stable and faster.” At first, I agreed until I noticed this specific person was actually a company that has yet to launch.

“That is one of the best ideas I’ve seen in a long time!” I thought to myself, “These guys are pulling people in left and right, making them think they are trying to make a statement about the recent issues with Twitter but, they are actually generating some serious hype for themselves.” Fabulous idea!

Now, I’m stuck in the hype myself. Is this Yobird a real company? Is this an experiment by someone on viral marketing or social networking for marketing? Is this actually a new company that will “deliver top quality web services and Windows software.” (This according to their Twitter page. I think I am going to find out. As it stands right now TGM is either buying into some hype for a new company and, doing exactly what they want with word of mouth. Or, we’re participating in a giant experiment. We’ll see.

Rumors of Verizon Wireless buying Alltel have been flying for some time. As of June 4th, the rumors are put to rest. Verizon announced they had reached an agreement with Alltel to purchase the 5th largest wireless carrier in the US for $28.1 billion. Verizon’s purchase of Alltel will make Verizon Wireless the carrier with the largest amount of subscribers in the Nation. AT&T Wireless will be the second largest carrier.

Read the full story at Network World and BBC News

Candace’s opinion on this: I’ve been a very happy Verizon customer for four years now. Though I do understand the business move Verizon has made with this purchase, I’m more looking to see how this will benefit the subscribers of both Verizon and Alltel. Will I be able to add Alltel customers to my list of “in” calling? Will I be able to have all the features I’m offered with fellow Verizon customers as well as Alltel subscribers? I’ll be keeping an eye on this to see what develops.

[ Original Source - 1Up.com ]

Tomonobu Itagaki, creative director of Ninja Gaiden, announced that he would be leaving Team Ninja as well as suing Tecmo.

Quote from Itagaki’s announcment letter…

I, Tomonobu Itagaki, hereby announce that on the 14th of May 2008 I filed a complaint in the Tokyo District Court against Tecmo Co., Ltd. for unpaid completion bonuses, and against the President of Tecmo, Yoshimi Yasuda, for such unlawful acts as unreasonable and disingenuous statements made towards me, claiming damages in total of 148 million yen. I also announce that this complaint was delivered to the defendants on May 22nd of the same year. In addition, I hereby announce that I have today submitted a letter of resignation to Tecmo Co., Ltd. stating that I will resign as of the 1st of July, 2008.

Before the start of development on Dead or Alive 4, Tecmo Co., Ltd. had agreed to pay a completion bonus to me for this Xbox 360 title, which I produced. However, when the time came for the actual payment, Tecmo Co., Ltd. went against its previous agreement and refused payment. President Yoshimi Yasuda chose not only to violate this agreement, but also turned defiant, telling me ‘if you are dissatisfied with the decision not to pay the bonuses, either quit the company or sue it.’ In addition, he made demeaning remarks about me to my subordinates and colleagues, causing me significant emotional distress and worsening my personal relationships and work environment. Thus, I have no choice but to resign from Tecmo Co., Ltd.

In addition to his announcement, Itagaki also had a letter to the fans…

To All Game Fans

I truly feel sorry to all the fans of the games I have made. Ninja Gaiden 2, which will launch on the 3rd of June will be the last Ninja Gaiden I will create. I will also never be able to make Dead or Alive 5. I regret the circumstances that have forced me to leave Tecmo, where I had worked for so many years, and I regret the disappointment this will cause my fans. However, I can no longer continue to work with President Yoshimi Yasuda, a man who chooses not to honor promises even when he is able to do so. I truly hope that nothing like this happens again in the future.

1UP.com also notes that there are rumors of Ikagaki believing that Yasuda had put too much focus on making profits and less on quality.  They also suggest that the Tecmo ports of Rygar (Wii) and Ninja Gaiden Sigma (PS3) could possiable be targets of Itagaki’s anger.

[ Read the whole article on 1Up.com ]