G$earch

Owning MegaUpload is apparently extremely lucrative

Posted by Harshad

Owning MegaUpload is apparently extremely lucrative


Owning MegaUpload is apparently extremely lucrative

Posted: 06 Jun 2010 07:47 PM PDT

Owning MegaUpload is apparently extremely lucrativeTF has put out a bio on file-sharing giant MegaUpload's owner Kim Schmitz, and it is apparently very lucrative to own the site.

Schmitz, who has been convicted in the past of insider trading, computer fraud and embezzlement, has just purchased New Zealand's most expensive home, for $20 million USD.

"Kimble," as he is sometimes referred to, was born in 1974, and by 1998 had been given two year's probation for hacking into corporate networks. In 2001, Schmitz scammed stock traders by announcing he would invest 50 million euro in the verge-of-bankruptcy company Letsbuyit.com, although he did not have the money to do so. He did, however, hold hundreds of thousands of shares at a low price. The scam netted Kimble $1.5 million in profits, and an insider-trading conviction a year later.

Schmitz has also pulled multiple PR stunts such as faking his own death and offering $10 million for the capture of Osama Bin Laden. He has also admitted to bribing police officers, driving at 240 km/h on public roads in Belgium, and even smashing a friends car off the road during a race.

Kimble owns a Rolls-Royce Phantom with the license plate GOD.

It will be interesting to see how long the record labels and movie studios let Schmitz continue his high-rolling days.

Permalink | Comments



iPhone OS market share triple that of Android?

Posted: 06 Jun 2010 07:06 PM PDT

iPhone OS market share triple that of Android?Nielsen has released their latest smartphone OS market share numbers, and despite previous reports, it appears that the iPhone OS still has a clear lead over Android.

Year-over-year, smartphone ownership went up from 16 percent to 23 percent of overall mobile consumers.

RIM BlackBerrys were still the clear leader, at 35 percent, but quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) the OS lost 2 percent share.

The Apple iPhone was in second at 28 percent, seeing strong 2 percent growth QoQ. Microsoft's struggling Windows Mobile platform lost 2 percent to 19 percent, but still good for third place.

The up and coming Android platform grew 2 percent, as well, to 9 percent and continues to see strong growth since its launch in late 2008.

iPhone users were the most loyal, with 80 percent saying their next phone would again be an iPhone. 70 percent on Android owners said their next phone would be an Android device again. The numbers get lower from there.

Permalink | Comments



MetroPCS gets first Android device

Posted: 06 Jun 2010 06:20 PM PDT

MetroPCS gets first Android deviceAndroidGuys has reported today on the first sighting of MetroPCS' first-ever Android smartphone offering.

The device is unnamed, so far, but looks similar to the Motorola Cliq, and the source has four images.

Motorola's upcoming device will run on Android 2.1, have a MOTOBLUR UI layer and have a 600MHz CPU.

It will also have a full slide-out QWERTY keypad and a 3.2MP camera.

Oddly out of place is a giant "Home" button surrounded by a purple circle. It is unclear what the circle's use is.

MetroPCS offers a $50 unlimited voice, text and data plan, the cheapest in the industry.




Permalink | Comments



Reminder: AT&T ending $30 unlimited data plans tonight

Posted: 06 Jun 2010 04:10 PM PDT

Reminder: AT&T ending $30 unlimited data plans tonightLast week, AT&T announced that they were dropping their $30 unlimited data plans for smartphones and netbook new users, while creating cheaper plans at the same time.

Existing subscribers can keep the unlimited plan but anyone signing up with the carrier after tonight cannot sign up for the $30 all-you-can-eat package.

The cheapest new plan is $15 per month, but will only include 200MB of data. If customers go over the limit, they will be charged $15 extra for every 200MB of data, a very expensive proposition.

A more reasonable plan is $25 per month and will give smartphone, tablet, netbook users 2GB of data for the month. For every 1GB over the cap they go, they will be charged $10, another expensive proposition.

The carrier says, however, that 65 percent of smartphone owners use less than 200MB of data per month, and 98 percent use less than 2GB. For the most part, the only people who need unlimited are iPhone users, a significant number of which will surpass 2GB monthly.

It should be interesting to see the horror stories coming from iPad and iPhone users when they have to pay over $50 per month for bandwidth.

Permalink | Comments



RIAA wants LimeWire shut down for good

Posted: 05 Jun 2010 11:07 PM PDT

RIAA wants LimeWire shut down for goodCNET is reporting this weekend that they have uncovered documents revealing that the music trade group RIAA wants LimeWire shut down for good.

The RIAA has requested that a Manhattan District Court give them a permanent injunction against the P2P client, effectively shutting it down in the United States.

Write the RIAA lawyers: "Every day that Lime Wire's conduct continues unabated guarantees harm to plaintiffs that money damages cannot and will not compensate. The scope of the infringements that Lime Wire induced...boggles the mind."

Last month, Judge Kimba Wood found the once-extremely popular file sharing service liable of copyright infringement in a 4-year-old lawsuit brought against them by the RIAA. The decision was seen as the final nail in the company's coffin.

Kimba will now meet with LimeWire and the RIAA's representatives, where the judge can grant the injunction and seal the service's fate.

Responded LimeWire: "We are looking forward to an opportunity to address the Court for the first time in two years and show that as a matter of fact and law there is no support for this motion."

Permalink | Comments



0 comments:

Post a Comment