First of all the entire site has been moved to a vBulletin and Wordpress mashup. We had been using vBulletin for years to power the forum, and a homemade CMS (content management solution) for the rest of the site. This was something we had come up with in 2002 and patched up since then, and just wasn’t cutting it for where we wanted to take the site. Wordpress is really flexible and customizable, and played nice with vBulletin so we went with that as the main CMS and left the user management in vBulletin.

The sidebar has really evolved a lot. We are highlighting new posts, popular posts, new comments, downloads, screenshots, oh my! Give all the tabs a click, you will hopefully enjoy all the info we have put in there for you guys. Program pages have gotten a massive facelift, check out Azureus or LimeWire. The top box houses the download link for the program, the rating widget, screenshots, and related programs. We need you guys to really voice your opinion on the programs you like best (or not at all!) or sorting by rating gets really tough

Links have grown to be a really big part of the site, with over 100 new sites added daily (yes there is a lot of spam in there). The bittorrent links section lists sites that have torrents available for download, and the tv links section has sites that stream all kinds of video content. Again, sort of useless unless you guys voice your opinion about what is good and what is BS.

The forum really looks amazing. The new versions of vBulletin have so much social functionality its crazy, I hope you guys take the time and explore all it has to offer.

So to say thank you to you guys and also in hopes of getting you to play with the new site, we are giving away an Xbox 360 with all the trimmings. Not a refurb, a brand new console, the pro edition with the 60gb hdd and two free games. Just ordered it off Amazon tonight, I will take some pictures when it gets here.

For full contest details check out the official:

Participation Contest Rules

Last month, Zeropaid reported on the new version of eMule in Beta Testing. Just days after our report, we reported on the responses from the community. It seems as though the new version was very well received and resulted in an extended beta-testing phase.

Now, Some Support has made an anticipated announcement on the development of eMule – a final version was released.

“we are happy to present you yet another updated version of our beloved eMule.” Some Support said, “If we would name our versions instead of giving them plain version numbers, the name of the 0.49 series would be something like “Kad Love”. Well probably not, because it doesn’t sounds very imaginative, but I hope you get the idea: eMule 0.49 concentrates on improving Kad making it more stable, reliable and future proof.”

He also noted the major improvements in the new eMule:

• Major Kad protocol improvements, like kad obfuscation, better NAT handling, direct callbacks, flood protections, etc.
• Several changes to the message system to get rid of spammers (by Captchas) and stay in touch with friends with dynamic IPs
• Several GUI improvements like storing searches between eMule sessions, a searchfilter for shared files and easier access to the comment filter
• And as always fixing bugs and adding other small changes

A changelog was also posted and can be found with the main announcement. The latest improvements certainly make eMule an even more promising BitTorrent alternative since, not only are older and rare files present on the network, but now the client is more encrypted than before.

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/tech_news/eMule_Version_0_49a_Released’;

There have been reports on vnunet and Shanghai Daily among other sites. A large “theater website” from China is suing the major US movie studios for damaging their reputation when they filed a lawsuit against them in the first place.

The reports are suggesting that an MPAA spokesperson was quoted in saying that services like Jeboo make a profit off of copyright infringement. They say that they undermine legitimate online services with their activities.

Jeboo was accused of pirating movies like Pirates of the Caribbean 2, a claim flatly denied by Jeboo. Additionally, Jeboo reportedly claimed that they only settled to get the lawsuit out of the way as quickly as possible.

Holeywood reporter says that Jeboo could not be reached for comment on the matter. Meanwhile, Shanghai Daily offers the following:

However, the five US movie giants and the MPAA issued statements on MPAA’s official Website saying Jeboo.com had stopped its infringement and apologized for its illegal activities. The address also quoted Frank Rittman, Vice President and Asia-Pacific Regional Counsel for MPAA as saying: “Services like Jeboo have profited from copyright infringement and undermined the development of legitimate online services.”

Jeboo.com said the address was untruthful and violated the agreement signed by the two parties. Jeboo.com said the address severely harmed its honor and its image as the biggest Chinese authorized online media provider.

The reports seem to lean towards suggesting the story is legitimate. If such a lawsuit is successful, chances are, it’ll force the major studios to be more careful about what they say when issuing anti-piracy statements at the very least.

As it stands for now, it is not perfectly clear, even if likely true, if this report is legitimate.

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/tech_news/Reports_MPAA_Sued_for_Defamation_Over_Piracy_Lawsuit’;

The report contains the following:

A draft consultation suggests internet service providers would be required to take action over users who access pirated material via their accounts.

But the government is stressing that plans are at an early stage and it is still working on final proposals.

The Times suggested that broadband firms which failed to enforce the rules could be prosecuted, and the details of customers suspected of making illegal downloads made available to the courts.

The above in particular has had some suggesting that the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) in the United States at least protected ISPs from such a predicament and therefore, allowed for safe havens – particularly with newsgroups. Unfortunately, such thoughts may be a little premature given that many things in recent months have happened that put into question the safe harbor provisions.

Last month, Zeropaid reported on AT&T saying that they would filter the internet for unauthorized traffic. People like Tim Wu have wondered if the major telecom company which controls more than half the telephone lines across the United States. What safe harbor provisions? Either way, as ZeroPaid also reported, it had Verizon saying that they would simply not follow suit in such business practices.

Though while it may seem all voluntary in the United State over whether or not a provider chooses to utilize the safe harbor provisions, there is also a case going on that might tst the safe harbor provision yet. This case, which ZeroPaid also reported on, is the Warner vs. Seeqpod case has brought into question on how one could qualify for the safe harbor provisions in the first place. Among the complaints Warner had against the company, there was the following:

SeeqPod aims to capitalize on the illegal use of “free” music to grow its user base rapidly and inexpensively.

Almost sounds like half of all the ISP advertising features with the ideas of “fast downloading”, or, ‘getting music quickly’, or ‘fighting with slow connections’, etc. While the case has yet to be played out in the courts – and some suggest that it’ll likely fall back onto the Google vs. Perfect10 case – it is likely to be a case to potentially put the safe harbor provisions into question in the first place. Could UseNet providers be on the hook in the future? At this point, who knows?

Meanwhile, back in Britain, the report arrives on the heals of the U2 band manager saying that ISPs should employ a ‘three strike’ system for copyright infringement. It is currently unclear whether, as of the drafts current iteration which was only leaked and not officially released, this would consist of being kicked off of only one ISP or ending up being banned from all the British ISPs. As it stands right now, the current version is said to be taking the U2 suggestion and proposing to employ it at this point.

The report also continues with the following:

Technology that allows internet providers to monitor what content is being downloaded is becoming more effective, said James Bates, media director at consultants Deloitte.

There is no shortage of criticism over network filtering being effective by any stretch of the imagination. One of the criticisms of network level filtering came from the IIA (Internet Industry Association of Australia)

One thing is for sure, trying to make ISPs in Europe turn into the copyright police is nothing new. A Spanish music group tried and failed to force an ISP to divulge the identities of alleged copyright infringer’s in a manner similar to the United States.

Unfortunately, also last month, the Europe also proposed that ISPs should be the ones fighting copyright infringement over the internet. It seems as though that Britain may be the first to try and take the European Union up on their proposal.

Open Rights Group, and advocacy group for consumer rights in the digital world, were able to find get a few tidbits of the proposal:

“Users suspected of wrongly downloading films or music will receive a warning e-mail for the first offence, a suspension for the second infringement and the termination of their internet contract if caught a third time, under the most likely option to emerge from discussions about the new law.

“Broadband companies who fail to enforce the ‘three-strikes’ regime would be prosecuted and suspected customers’ details could be made available to the courts. The Government has yet to decide if information on offenders should be shared between ISPs.”

The Open Rights Group said, “Any serious move towards disconnecting offenders is likely to play havoc with the Government’s ambition to foster an e-enabled society.”

“What’s more, as soon as law enforcers start snooping for IP addresses to pass on to ISPs for disconnection,” said the group, “hardcore filesharers will simply start using encryption to obfuscate their identities. Then they’ll develop software that makes it easy for non-technical people to do the same. And then industry will be back to square one.”

One thing is for sure, things are bound to get interesting if any of these ideas are followed through.

Sceneban is a site that offers DIRECTLY LINKED DOWNLOADS from 3rd party upload sites, eliminating the need for P2P or file-sharing program configurations, and also any concerns for getting busted by the MPAA or other copyright holders. All the “heat” is placed on the site, giving the end user a degree of comfort and safety not afforded by other download options.

Like the site says, it’s “Free downloads , no ads , no popups , no BS.”

The lack of annoying advertising and associated banner ads and popups sets the site apart from many others out there, TorrentSpy being a notable example.

The purpose of the site reads as follows:

This site is to eliminate what others have brought to the table by eliminating the most annoying things like advertisement “so people can cope with the monthly fees” , registering over and over for stuff , making you click on stuff that isn’t any good to your computer, making you pay for things that can be put for free up to a certain level.
We don’t host the files at all we simply upload them to another host that is offering free space and bandwidth and we put it there , if that owner gets complaint for being copyrighted they will mostly take it down and remove from their servers. We try to find the best file web hosting site to put the links up , we look for upload , download speed , space , retention etc.

What’s great about the sit is that due to the fact that a dedicated 3rd party server is the one acting as the uploader, users get great average download speeds, oftentimes greater than what a popular BitTorrent tracker may offer. A friend of mine who tested the most recent offering on the site managed average speeds of 340 KB/s. Not too shabby.

Now it doesn’t have a large selection of content offerings, and the upload links are obviously time-sensitive but, overall it’s another great content download site that should earn a place on everybody’s list of go-to sites.

It offers movies in addition to TV shows, making the site an even greater find. An “Alpha Dog” DVDRip, a “Disturbia” CAM, and a “The Hitcher” DVDRip are a few of the movies that are up right now and ready to download.

They also apparently solicit requests, though I have been unable to match up individual requests with any actual fulfillment of them specifically.

Moreover, probably the coolest part of the site is that it offers content downloads in a way that systematically bypasses any of the usual shared network security features whereby ones P2P and file-sharing activity is closely monitored for illegal activity if not outright throttled or blocked.

In today’s atmosphere of RIAA and MPAA file-sharing crackdowns, a site that offers essentially WORRY FREE downloads, downloads that can’t be monitored for illegal activity, is truly a wonderful thing indeed.

Plus, as I’m sure many of you are aware, the reason why the MPAA and teh RIAA are able to sue file-sharers in the first place is due to the sharing or the UPLOADING of content. It’s this “distribution of coyrighted material” that causes one to run afoul of the law. If you’re merely DOWNLOADING content well, then there’s nothing for them to go after you for.

I urge you to check out sceneban, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

CHECK OUT SCENEBAN

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/tech_news/Sceneban_offers_worry_hassle_free_TV_show_and_movie_downloads’;

Looking for more stuff to watch or download?
3 Quick Ways to Watch Movies for FREE!
3 quick ways to watch TV shows for FREE
BitTorrent torrent sites & search engines
Azureus – A Beginner’s Guide to BitTorrent Downloading
Watch South Park for FREE on-demand!
Watch Lost for FREE on-demand!!

I’m going to give you all some links to the new programs and the many new sections, over 10 in total. So go check them out and enjoy them because they are all freely available for review and download right here at the home of P2P – Zeropaid.

● Personal Firewall Section – Full of the latest and modern Firewall software!

● CD / DVD Tools Section – All the essential tools to make the most of your drive!

● Codecs Pack Section – Play all that downloaded media with the correct codecs!

● MP3 Tools Section – Harness the sweetness of MP3 with these helpful tools!

● Antivirus Section – Stop all those annoying intruders with these Antivirus programs!

● Compression Section – Open up those downloads with the compression tools!

● Disk Cleanup Section – Cleanup your computer with ease using this software!

● Internet Browser Section – Browse safely and securly in your browser of choice!

● Photo Editors Section – Its the new ages of images, explore and be as creative!

● Registry Section – One of the most important parts of your computer, keep it clean!

● RSS Readers Section – RSS Feeds are the future and here are some great choices!

The BitTorrent, eDonkey, FastTrack and Multi-Network sections have also been updated as well as the other sections in the File Sharing, Tools and Audio & Video so go and check them all out!

If you have any new programs you would like to be advertised here and added to the site, please don’t hesitate to contact me with the programs information and I’ll gladly review it and add it to the site.

Contact me at ZP II Skype Me!

~ Auggie2k

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Installation
Testing Your Sound Settings
Adding to Your Contact List
Making Outgoing Calls (to ANY phone number)
Adding Friends Phone Numbers to Skype Contact List

Installation

Let’s started by downloading Skype if you haven’t done so already. < Windows | Mac OS X | Linux | Pocket PC.>

Now let’s begin the installing protocols.

Okay, so now that we’ve completed the installation phase of the Skype program, it’s time to set up our account and create the ubiquitous username and password.

As you can see, a valid e-mail address is required, and a few additional options are available to choose from at the bottom of the menu. I hate adding new spam to my e-mail so I refused to select the first box. The second box is important so you don’t have to keep entering your username and password every time you start Skype. As for the third, I recommend keeping startup programs to a minimum(only the most essential in fact) so that you don’t have to wait on an number endless programs to open up every time you startup your PC.

The final box at the bottom is a mandatory check off so that they can ensure you’re aware of their rules and regulations.

NOTE: As the following screen states, filling out these fields is optional. The information placed in here is merely to enable other users to find you on Skype.

Providing your full name is the first step. I have never felt comfortable putting my full name on anything on the internet because I feel that it unnecessarily adds more data about yourself onto the internet, a place where personal data lives on in perpetuity. So I usually choose pseudonyms unless absolutely necessary, like for things such as online banking accounts. The last three items, optional still of course, could allow others to find you based on it if they wished to find your username and contact you. The choice, once again, is yours. Lastly, by adding your e-mail address at the bottom it makes it so that others can search for you based on this info as well.

Skype greets you with “Hello” on the next screen as the process moves forward.

Testing Your Sound Settings

The next process is to test your PC’s sound settings to make sure they’re working properly.

Start by clicking on the SKYPE TEST CALL tab.

Then click on the green DIAL button. You will receive a prerecorded message from Skype saying that things are “A-OK” (all well.)

Adding to Your Contact List

The following prompt will ask you to add contacts to your Contact List. (I’ve included a snapshot below this one so you can get a better idea of what they look like).

Select the “Add a Contact” from the “Contacts” list.

Then simply add them using either their Skype name, full name, or e-mail address as shown below.

Then, as the pictures of course show, select their icon tab and press the green telephone “dial” button.

Making Outgoing Calls (to ANY phone number)

For the advanced feature that makes this new announcement even cooler, you can now make Skype “outgoing” calls for free. To receive “incoming” calls, aside from the mere text messaging as has always been free, select the “dial” button from the tab in the middle of the screen.

Then all you have to do is dial the phone number of the soon to be amazed person that you wish to call where it states “Type Skype Name or number with country code.” They’ll think you’re either an “uber” geek who spends way too much time on the PC, as my girlfriend did when I made a practice call to her, or “uber” cool. Be sure to dial the country code “+1″ before the number you are to dial. Remember it’s only calls placed to destinations in the U.S. and Canada that are free to make. Any other countries, and that includes receiving incoming calls cost money to do so. For the rates see the Skype web site for details. This offer of free outgoing calls is a limited time offer unfortunately, and here’s a statement taken verbatim from their site, “Calling any phone within the US and Canada is free until the end of the year.”

To make a demonstration call, I typed a fake number here so that yo get an idea of what you should be seeing on your own PC. By clicking the green “dial” button when done, it will start to attempt connecting to that number entered.

Now as you can see, the call did indeed connect correctly and the verbiage has begun.

Adding Friends Phone Numbers to Skype Contact List

In short, this newly announced trial basis by that crack team of scientists at Skype has made the PC an even more important component of instant communication, perhaps even convincing some to purchase the plan at the end of the year when this trial basis expires. Either way, I have found the ability to make phone calls while doing other tasks on the PC even easier. Give it a try.

NOTE:
You must dial as follows > +1 (area code) phone number

EXAMPLE: Billy Joe Sue (234) 567 – 8901 = +12345678901