Monday, 07 May 2012 16:26

Written by Julius

Pokerfest 2 was one of the biggest Poker tournaments ever to exist. The prizes summed up over 3 million dollars and all this was done in one single competition. This should not come as a surprise to anyone. Poker is a very popular game, especially online.

Tuesday, 01 May 2012 09:39

Written by Navid Iqbal

A court order blocking the popular file sharing site ‘The Pirate Bay’ in UK was handed to the UK ISPs to stop piracy and protect the contents created by the local artists.

‘The Pirate Bay’ is hosted from Sweden. Right after its beginning in 2003, the site grabbed a rapid popularity and became one of the most preferred file sharing sites. The site hosts free links to download pirated contents like films, music, TV shows etc. ‘The Pirate Bay’ maintains an active supporting base station in Sweden.

Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin, Everything Everywhere, O2 and others must block this site from now on.

The ‘British Phonographic Industry (BPI)’ chief executive, Geoff Taylor said that sites similar to the ‘The Pirate Bay’ are responsible for destroying jobs in the UK and also for the lack of investment in new artists.

He added that by branding The Pirate Bay’s operations illegal, the court has banned the site from UK.

Taylor also said these sites are exploiting the hard work of genuine artists and depriving them of the pay they deserve.

Last November, BPI requested the ISPs to block the site voluntarily. At that time the internet providers refused to take such action without a court order.

Virgin Media officials told the BBC that as a responsible and law abiding ISP the company will comply with the court orders addressed.

In April of 2009, the 4 founders of ‘The Pirate Bay’ were found guilty of breaking copyright laws and also for aiding people to circumvent copyright controls.

In 2010, the order was upheld as an appeal was made. But the site is still in function.

During the political movement in Sweden, a spin-off named ‘The Pirate Party UK’ backing the reform of copyright laws said that the ban was expected and the action wouldn’t add a single penny to the artist’s pockets.

Leaders against site blocking said that such actions are absolutely ineffective, as proxy servers and other procedure can easily circumvent them.

However, according to the principal analyst of Ovum, Mark Little, the action taken is worthwhile and it should be continued. These days, it’s a fashion to say, “Oh, it just won't work.”, but the blocking should go on, ha said.

‘Open Rights Group’ executive director, Jim Killock called the ruling “pointless and dangerous”. This kind of censorships never brings about the effects expected, only turns the criminals into heroes.