"Sequel" Website to MegaUpload Announced

[ddrxero64]

http://yilb.com/kim-dotcom-announces...of-megaupload/

In relevance to the FFR/SM community I thought I'd post an article I just wrote about the recent announcement made. A lot of people in simfile communities were affected by all the MU links that went dead due to the takedown of MU earlier this year. Key facts about the new Mega:

-Every file will have a encrypted key with it, presumably a copy-paste key to download the file. This makes files initially private, with keys being shared at the users' discretion. This exempts the website from responsibility, supposedly.
-Kim Dotcom (founder of MU) says content owners may have access to their users' uploaded files, as long as they agree not to hold Mega responsible for their files (online "I agree" type statement). For example, Administrator account A could host a huge folder of packs, and certain people could add to the folder and upload multiple links to it. Community B,C and D could update their packs while Administrator account A has access to all of them without the need for encrypted keys.
-Me.ga has its .ga domain in African country Gabon, further protecting users from action by the FBI.

The site is due to be up January 20th 2013.

[igotrhythm]

I don't expect any of the old MU links to work once this new domain is up and running, but this is still cool.

Of concern is the fact that he's abusing a loophole in the wording of his affidavit. One can't help but wonder whether he did this on purpose, and whether we're going to see more SOPA-like acts to try to close it in the future.

In any case, I'd hold off on uploading those 8 gigs worth of horse porn (or what have you).

[ddrxero64]

From what I'm reading, which includes like 6 sources so far, Kim has a lot of people on his side. The U.S. abused a lot of loopholes, the person that sums it up best how abusive the Department of Justice was is Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple). He sums it up well in an old statement he made about it:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-574...th-kim-dotcom/

So the U.S. is definitely pissed with Kim. But then there's also something that Ira (attorney overseeing MU) said about it which makes it hard for the U.S. not to step on toes if they take action.

"Any new technology business started from scratch such as Me.ga does not appear to be addressed in the affidavit which was specific to Megaupload as the 'business as is alleged.' If bail conditions are implicated then approval of the New Zealand authorities will be sought by [DotCom's] New Zealand counsel...Kim Dotcom is innocent, is presumed innocent, and is entitled to innovate and work in technology like any other innocent New Zealander. Indeed, Me.ga may help stimulate further cloud storage innovation in New Zealand and the rest of the world and that should not be something the DOJ, if well intentioned, should complain about."

[dragon890x]

It appears Kim takes the opportunity to poke fun at the FBI a few times through his Twitter account as well. Earlier this week he tweeted “Countdown on Kim.com ends in 1 hour. Expect our new Mega domain and a splash page with information.” After a few retweets Kim DotCom mentioned his servers being overloaded from people flocking over to the site to see what the buzz was about. Shortly after he tweeted “All the FBI agents pressing reload hahaha…We see their IP address. LOL!!!”

lol

[Arntonach]

I read about this and I'm glad they're able to work something out. Still, it won't stop web hosts from blocking the site anyways.

[Ohaider]

everyone just moved to mediafire

Honestly have no idea how this will hit off

[Izzy]

If mediafire allowed for files up to 1gb like megaupload had then there would be no reason to use anything else, but they limit it to 200mb and it is bothersome.

[Crashfan3]

but but but all my animu download links from 2004-06 ;~;

Oh well, it's still nice to see that the site is coming back up, especially with cyberlockers disappearing left and right across the internet (or just blocking access to US customers).

[qqwref]

Yeah, there are way too many file-upload-y sites disappearing and creating needless restrictions. I hope this helps stem the tide, and maybe if they do things right we might even get a bit of a revival in that type of site. The tech community needs more ways to easily share large files, and I don't just mean illegal/copyrighted stuff.

Originally Posted by igotrhythm

In any case, I'd hold off on uploading those 8 gigs worth of horse porn

how did you know

[ddrxero64]

One thing I read about is that Kim DotCom seemed to have raised enough funds to make this happen. I think he had announced previously about his MegaBox service, a music sharing service? I don't know, not as important to me. The relevance is that he might've made some money through there and other funds, he says he will be trying to keep Mega free as long as possible. So this may mean that there are no distinctions in premium accounts, which may raise the question, are there "premium" benefits to all accounts? Is there a similar limit or will many people be benefiting from a fast download speed and large file size limits? I doubt it will be as gracious as the previous premium advantages, but if Mega can provide appealing speed and maximum file limits it might just get back on the map. From his comment on "keeping it free as long as possible" that might happen.

If you need the source for where he said that I can go find it if my word isn't enough. I looked through several sources when I wrote this article so I didn't include every little detail.

[ddrxero64]

Follow up article.

http://yilb.com/dont-mess-with-kim

The new Mega is being launched tomorrow. There's a lot of amazing details about the way it works; the storage size for free accounts and prices for pro users are enticing. I have faith in this one, new mega links with encryption keys provided might be the new way to go. Thoughts?

[Senip]

I'll admit, fairly excited about this. Hope it doesnt fail.

[Coolboyrulez0]

Originally Posted by Senip

I'll admit, fairly excited about this. Hope it doesnt fail.

Agreed. 2048 bit encryption sounds amazing! Go, Kim.

[AlexDest]

neat

[Crashfan3]

I managed to get the site to load for about 1 minute, but it stopped connecting when I tried to upload something (a <1kb txt file, just as a test). http://www.isup.me/ says it's not on my end. The servers must be overrun with people eager to try out the new Mega.

Here's another article I enjoyed reading, mostly regarding Mega's terms of service and privacy policy: http://torrentfreak.com/mega-is-bril...nymous-130118/

[Izzy]

This is very interesting news. Reading through the articles it seems like there isn't a whole lot of privacy, but I guess that doesn't matter too much if your IP is just associated with the downloading and uploaded of a bunch of random encrypted bits.