Slashdot readers notice first that “Popular BitTorrent Search Engine Site Torrentz.eu Mysteriously Disappears“.
Bummer!  This was my torrent search engine of choice … And this is just days after I’ve upgraded my Internet connection.
I’m sure there is a replacement out there, but habits are so difficult to change. Â I still hope this is a temporary issue.
Lifehacker reports some good news for movie loving owners of Android devices:
Movie streaming service Popcorn Time has had some trouble staying in business (for obvious reasons), but it’s back on Android with a free, open source app that streams movies directly to your device.P
The service works by downloading torrents in the background while you watch. As with any service like this, both legal films as well as illegal, copyrighted movies show up, so it’s up to you to decide how you use it. Unlike the web-based versions of the last couple months, though, it won’t be as easy to pull the plug on an open source app.
Here is the direct link to Popcorn Time on Google Play Store.
One of the websites that helped me change my opinion on movie piracy recently was Take.fm . Â Something tells me that it will be shut down and humiliated by authorities when it will grow, but for as long as it is open, I think that it is a good example of how movie access should be.
Take.fm is a cross between the famous American video-on-demand service Netflix and the well-known pirated content exchange website The Pirate Bay.  Take.fm brings the best of both worlds.  Netflix, from what I hear, has an excellent selection of content and very user friendly interface.  Too bad it is not available outside of the United States.  And unfortunately to some – it is a commercial service.  The Pirate Bay, on the hand, is free and offers pretty much the same content.  However, most of this content is buried in tonnes of noise, porn, SPAM, and such.  It’s not easy to find what you want, and when you get it, nobody can guarantee you the quality of the downloaded material.
Take.fm has a very easy, straight-forward interface. Â You can browse or search for movies. Â Poster thumbnails are a great help. Â Once you find something interesting, you can check IMDB rating which is integrated with the website (finally, somebody did it!), select your option for either DVDRip or BDRip (yes, Bluray), and click “Download Torrent File”. Â I don’t see how it could have been simpler, really.
While the selection of titles might be not as great as you’d find on Apple TV or Netflix, there is enough for everyone.  They have new releases, old movies, and classics.  They have movies in all genres.  The quality of downloads is awesome.  And the download speeds are amazing.  At least my ADSL line is maxed out every time I get something from there. And the best part is that you don’t even have to register.  You can, but you don’t have to.  I, for one, am not registered yet.
If the movie industry wants me to change my opinion back, they have to come up with something as good or better as Take.fm – an excellent example to follow.
For today I have a few Bittorrent links. We all have to do our peer-2-peering once in a while, don’t we?
These were shared bookmarks for del.icio.us user tvset on 2005-08-28.
I know that everyone is waiting for it, so I’ll break out the good news – Fedora Linux Core 4 is out. I am currently downloading it from one of the mirrors, but the speed is dicreasing. Hopefully I’ll have it before everything stops completely. I will upload all 4 CDs to Thunderworx FTP as soon as I have them. Meanwhile, you can read the Release Notes.
Update: Fedora Linux Core 4 is available via bittorrent.
Update: Official announcement.
Update: Fedora Linux Core 4 ISOs are uploaded to Thunderworx FTP. You can get them from here.