Don’t these people have any good books to read?
Published by Becky S January 4th, 2005 in tech, wtf?
Sometimes I feel guilty about having a weblog. As hobbies go, it’s a pretty narcissistic one, and it takes time away from worthy endeavors like paying bills and cleaning the bathroom.
However, I am heartened by the fact that some people have even sillier ways to waste time. The January 2005 issue of Wired magazine has an article about the Shadow Internet, basically the secret pirate network that is the means of distributing stolen content to the public.
The article has a good summary of the circulation process; here’s the synopsis. Remember, these people don’t get paid—they’re in it for the glory.
- An insider gets a prerelease copy of a movie, CD, or videogame
- Someone converts the stolen product to digital format. This person spends most of his free time agonizing over bitrates and compression/decompression algorithms.
- The digital file is put onto a topsite, defined as a “highly secretive site at the top of the distribution pyramid.” The name of one such topsite is Anathema, which the article’s author was warned not to mention, lest a “350-pound hit man with a Glock” come after him*.
- Once the file hits a topsite, it trickles down to slightly less super-secret sites in the pyramid. Couriers spend hours and hours copying and transferring the file all over the Internet.
- Finally, the file gets into peer-to-peer networks, where it is downloaded by Joe Q. Public.
*I always thought you’d have to witness a murder or expose a money laundering operation before being worthy of a hit man.
geek tech wtf?
It looks like somebody got photoshop for Christmas…
PS - Keep the glasses , they look good on you.
i guess ultimately blogs are narcissistic, but at the same time i totally enjoy yours so it’s altruistic as well. You are so giving to bring to me such unending delight! MORE MORE!
there–all guilt erased!
Since I’ve been rightfully accussed of reading the blog, and never posting, I’d like to share. Having recently recieved the DVD version of the Matrix Reloaded, I’ve learned that Glock makes a fully automatic pistol, the GLOCK 18, for law enforcement only (wink,wink). You can see this little gem of technology being used by lawrence fishburn during the highway chase scene.
My URL didn’t work. To see this in action:
http://www.guns4u.net/Glock%2021.mpeg
Ed. - Oh my stars and garters, it’s Superwoman’s husband! Here’s the hot version of that link for lazy people such as myself.
Thanks, jt.
Now that I have the power of Photoshop (rather, the generic version of it that came with my laptop), I cannot be stopped. For all you know, the Jesus pics could’ve been a fraud.
Hey, I clock in around 350, but sadly I have no Glock, nor have I taken any classes in firearm safety.
I suppose I will just stick to being a inward gazing blogger.
Great page. I love the design and writing. Easy to dance to. Happy New Year.