Month: November 2015

The main Popcorn Time fork operating from the PopcornTime.io domain name shut down its servers late October citing internal problems.

A few days later the MPAA took credit for the fall, announcing that it had filed a lawsuit against several of the developers in Canada. In response some developers backed out.

Faced with an abrupt ending several Popcorn Time users were keen to revive the defunct application. The effort has been a success, with a fully working fix now circulating on Reddit.

The fixed version uses new APIs so movies and TV-shows now show up again. Instead of using YTS as a movie provider the revived application uses TorrentsAPI, and the TV-show feed has been replaced by a custom API.

The Reddit fix is only the start. Users of VPN.ht, the VPN service associated with Popcorn Time, were also alerted about a new update to the movie streaming application recently.

“VPN.ht Movies API FIX installed,” the message read, prompting users to restart the application.

It turns out that the VPN provider made several changes which allows users to access the Popcorn Time website and client without any issues.

Popcorn Time alert

After the fix is applied Popcorn Time becomes fully operational again, filled with the latest movies as if nothing has happened.

For now the general public can’t use their old Popcorn Time client without manually applying a fix, but this may change in the near future.

Popcorn Time developer Wally, who also founded the VPN.ht service, informs TorrentFreak that he could revive Popcorn Time to its full glory.

“I am still considering a full comeback, I just do not want to release a half working version,” Wally says.

The developer, who controls both the official Twitter account and mailing list, first wants to make sure that all domain names are out of the MPAA’s reach. This is a concern, as the Canadian lawsuit is still ongoing.

Wally is not listed as a defendant in the Canadian lawsuit but his name was mentioned in the complaint. In addition, the VPN.ht company was mentioned in both the claim and injunction.

Instead of fighting Popcorn Time, Wally believes the MPAA should embrace its concept and technology.

“The popularity of Popcorn Time should be an example for the MPAA to a build a future streaming platform that will be open to the entire world,” Wally says.

Lawsuits or not, it’s clear that the technology is hard to stop. Even now that the original sources no longer work, people can still use the application as a basic torrent streaming client, manually loading torrents into it.

The MPAA is not going to be pleased with the plans to relaunch the popular Popcorn Time fork. However, neutral spectators may want to get the popcorn out, as this saga is far from over.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

Garmin is probably best known as a maker of GPS products, but the company has also branched out into fitness trackers, action cameras, and other products in recent years. Now it looks like Garmin is getting ready to launch a TV stick. The Garmin Vivohub 2 showed up at the FCC website recently, and it’s […]

Garmin set to launch an Android media stick is a post from: Liliputing

The ECS Liva X is a small, fanless, low-power desktop computer that measures about 5.3″ x 3.3″ x 1.6″ and which is compatible with Windows or Linux (although it takes a little work to install the latter). The computer has an Intel Celeron N2807 Bay Trail processor, HDMI and VGA ports, WiFi and Bluetooth, Gigabit Ethernet, […]

Deals of the Day (11-17-2015) is a post from: Liliputing

Fujitsu’s latest Windows tablet is an enterprise-class device with a 12.5 inch display, an Intel Skylake processor, support for up to 512GB of solid state storage, an optional digital pen, and support for laptop and desktop docking stations. The Fujitsu Stylistic R726 will be available starting in February, 2016. The company is also launching a […]

Fujitsu launches Stylistic R726 tablet, Lifebook T936 convertible ultrabook for business users is a post from: Liliputing

The idea is a relatively simple one. Every day millions of pirates are downloading content online without permission, so tracking them down and asking them to pay a fine should enable rightsholders to make a few extra bucks.

Of course, there are countless millions of infringements every day so those small payments soon add up, an attractive proposition for people doing business with Rightscorp, the US-based anti-piracy company hoping to turn piracy into profit.

There’s little doubt that Rightscorp’s clients are making at least some money from the deal. To date the anti-piracy company reports closing more than 230,000 cases of infringement, so at $20 and more recently $30 a shot, that’s a bit more than chump change.

However, as Rightscorp’s most recent filing reveals, the numbers in the whole package simply don’t add up.

For the three months ended September 30, 2015 the company generated revenues of $215,196, that’s 13% down on the $248,387 it made during the same period last year.

Not great, but since copyright holders get roughly 50% of collected revenues, Rightscorp paid them $107,598, a nice little return for doing very little. That said, it’s less than the $124,194 they received during the same period in 2014.

After paying out 50% of its revenues, Rightscorp not only has to run a business with what’s left, but also turn a profit. To date the company has not been able to do that. Its latest filing reveals a continuation of that trend and a set of issues that could hinder the company on a long term basis.

The rot starts with the company’s basic running costs. For the three months ended September 30, Rightscorp’s bill for wages and related expenses stood at $345,449, an amount way in excess of its total revenues for the same period. That, however, is just the beginning.

As previously reported Rightscorp has managed to get itself bogged down in several legal battles and they are costing the company dearly.

“Legal fees related to various matters totaled $295,865 for the three months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $90,552 for the three months ended September 30, 2014,” the company reports.

Overall, Rightscorp’s general and administrative expenses for three months ended September 30, 2015 amounted to $1,116,589. That means that the company recorded a net loss of $424,168. Bad, but certainly an improvement over the same period last year when it lost $894,241.

The totals, however, paint a dismal picture. Although revenues were up in the first nine months of 2015 versus the same period last year ($756,916 vs $688,801), the company’s costs ($1,355,407 on wages, $3,967,527 general and admin) meant the company managed to lose substantially more money.

“During the nine months ended September 30, 2015, we recorded a net loss of $3,120,197 compared to a net loss of $2,299,522 for the nine months ended September 30, 2014,” Rightscorp reveals.

As noted above, legal fees are a major problem. After spending ‘just’ $326,985 in the first nine months of last year, during the same period in 2015 Rightscorp burned through $1,058,188.

But the costs incurred are only part of the problem. Rightscorp says the time being spent on legal matters is having a negative effect on its core business.

“The decrease in revenues [during the last quarter] was due to a disproportionate amount of time being spent by the Company supporting clients in legal matters,” the company says.

Overall, Rightscorp’s position this year thus far can be boiled down to one sad statistic – for every dollar paid in fines by pirates, Rightscorp loses $4. That’s definitely not turning piracy into profit.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

Google’s first venture into the wearable computer space never quite made the jump from expensive, niche gadget to consumer device. But early adopters of Google Glass did find some uses for the computer-on-headband that floated a display in front of your eyes in commercial, medical, and other professional contexts. Now the team behind Google Glass […]

Google Glassless: Some next-gen wearables from Google might be audio-only is a post from: Liliputing

Ein virtueller Luxusschlitten kostet bis zu 25 Euro: Ursprünglich sollte das Rennspiel Forza Motorsport 6 ohne Mikrotransaktionen auskommen. Nun hat das zu Microsoft gehörende Entwicklerstudio eine Kehrtwende vollzogen. (Rennspiel, Microsoft)

Pushbullet is a service that lets you share content between your computers and mobile devices. Want to see your smartphone notifications on your desktop? Pushbullet can do that. Want to copy a link or a line of text on your PC and paste it on your phone? Pushbullet can do that too. It’s been about […]

Pushbullet Pro offers more ways to connect your smartphone and desktop (for a fee) is a post from: Liliputing

Der Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband fährt eine Kampagne gegen die Einbaupflicht für intelligente Strommesssysteme. Die Pressemitteilungen strotzen nur so vor Fehlern und werfen alles durcheinander. (Smart Grid, GreenIT)

The NVIDIA Shield Tablet is an 8 inch tablet designed for gaming… and just about anything else you could do with a tablet. It launched last year with a list price of $299, but NVIDIA issued a recall this summer due to battery problems. Now the tablet is back, but this time it has a new […]

NVIDIA Shield Tablet K1 is back, and this time it’s $200 is a post from: Liliputing