RapidShare Fighting Piracy By Slowing Download Speeds 154
An anonymous reader writes "File hosting sites have been under increased pressure since the shutdown of Megaupload — both from law enforcement and from the sudden influx of new users. RapidShare, already dealing with a reputation as a facilitator of piracy, has now instituted a policy they hope will drive pirates away: download speed caps for its free service. According to TorrentFreak, 'RapidShare says that there is a direct link between free users of file-hosting services and copyright infringement. Those who like to pirate prefer not to pay, the company believes, not least because they want to avoid connecting their personal payment details to a copyright-infringing cyberlocker account. Now, there will be those who say that however RapidShare dress it up, the company will be aware that the restrictions will drive users to their premium services to get better speeds. But interestingly RapidShare is now offering ways for users to get faster download speeds without paying a dime — providing those uploading the original files they’re trying to access do some work.'"
nominal payment (Score:4, Interesting)
I wonder then if requiring all users to pay a 10c charge would stop piracy completely for site such as this.
Re:nominal payment (Score:4, Interesting)
But then their payment information is connected to piracy in a verifiable way, which would scare most of them off due to possible legal problems.
Re:nominal payment (Score:2, Interesting)
I'd still rather pay 10c for a fast and simple criminal service that treats me with respect than pay $10 for a legitimate fiddly DVD that treats me like a criminal.
Of, if you DON'T pick just new releases... (Score:5, Interesting)
...you'll find a whole bunch of stuff well under $20. Two of the most popular releases from 2010 - The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Two-Disc Special Edition) [amazon.com] is $7.78 for the two-disc set and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 [amazon.com] is $4.99. (In fact, it was that price even before December - I bought it as a Christmas present.) New releases are going to be more expensive - you can't blame a for-profit industry from trying to make a bit more money from those people who've gotta have stuff now and are willing to pay a premium instead of waiting six months, can you?
I know people love to whine about how over-priced movies are, and how that justifies your piracy, but seriously, these are two block busters from 2010 for the price of a McDonald's meal. What's it going to take to stop you pirating this stuff?
As I commented in a previous story [slashdot.org], people are bringing this on themselves, and also ruining the internet for the innocent bystanders like me.
Re:Alternative career for RapidShare execs (Score:2, Interesting)
Mine was stolen right after I bought it. Who knows who the bastard was that used it? Always a work around
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)