Boxing torrents and more - your 7 alternatives
Posted by Scout on January 26, 2010
Boxing torrents can be hard to come by, especially now. I’m sure fight fans are among those disappointed by Mininova’s demise, but fret not. There are other sites out there that can pick up the slack, as well as provide you with other interesting finds.
1. Isohunt.com
One of the more popular torrent sites, it was only natural that people would naturally gravitate towards Isohunt. They have a wide selection of torrent files across a broad range of categories, from software to comics and everything in between. Boxing torrents you found in Mininova are all likely in here as well. The downside is that because of their popularity, Isohunt is probably the next to fall. Enjoy it while it lasts.
2. EZTV.it
The closest thing to heaven for people who follow US television series and then some. Usually, they make new episodes available for download just a few hours after they air - a blessing for non-US-based fans who typically had to wait as much as a year to watch the newest seasons. When the Mininova announcement was made, EZTV was flooded with traffic that their server couldn’t keep up.
3. NyaaTorrents.org
If you’re an anime addict, this site’s for you. Choose from raw or subbed videos, as well as raw or scanlated mangas from several dedicated fansub groups. Uploads are timely and encoded in various formats.
4. MVgroup.org
Founded by a visionary with the motto “Education in P2P”, MVgroup is a community that specializes in the distribution of educational media, especially documentaries. They are open for registration.
5. LinuxTracker.org
Like legally free software? Get them guilt-free on LinuxTracker. Hardcore Linux users and newbies who want to survey what’s available can browse the site for the latest releases.
6. LegalTorrents.com
What? Legal and torrents in the same sentence? Well, of course. Torrents are given bad publicity (or good, depending on where you stand), but at the core, the underlying architecture is ideal for content distribution of any kind of file, whether it has copyright or not. Check out the environmental documentary “Home 2009″ and the “Make” TV series.
7. Demonoid.com
The prime source of many great torrent files, everybody wants to get into Demonoid. The challenge is that registration is closed most of the time, so you have to be very vigilant to know when it’s open so you can get in. Either that, or ask someone that’s already a member to give you a membership code. Sounds hard? Yes. Worth it? Definitely.
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Hard drive gig - what you need to know
Posted by Scout on January 20, 2010
In 1980, a 26MB drive would cost you $5,000, equivalent to $193,000 per hard drive gig (1GB=1000MB). Now, 30 years later, a 1TB drive can be yours for less than $100, which puts the cost per hard drive gig down to under $0.10 (1TB=1000GB). Of course, back in the 80’s, the thought of selling GBs to consumers was probably deemed ridiculous. Today, personal movie collections could gobble up several terabytes in a snap.
As we have seen, capacity has sky-rocketed while prices have taken a big plunge, but just how low can it go?
mKomo has an great article on the history of storage prices containing a table of prices from 1980-2009. From these data, a formula for estimating the cost hard drive gig on any given year was obtained:
Using this, we get a value for the year 2020 - a decade from now - of roughly $0.0002/GB . That means 1TB would cost $0.20, 100TB about $20, and assuming technology has enabled us to reach the capacity, 1PB (1petabyte = 1000TB) would be available for $200. What on earth would we need it for? Lots and lots of 3D movies, perhaps.
Another estimate, this time more subdued, is offered by Seagate’s former Chief Technology Officer Mark Kryder. In a paper, he wrote that by 2020, up to 14TB can be fitted to a 2-plate 2.5-inch disk drive, and it would cost $40. Assuming that 3.5-inch drives at that time would have twice the capacity for the same price, then we could hope for 28TB for $40, or $0.0014. This is 7x more expensive than what we earlier predicted, but still quite cheap.
By 2020, the scenario will probably be something in between, with technological breakthroughs pushing capacity up, and economic realities keeping the prices from falling too fast too soon. The important take away from this is not that film buffs will have cheap and virtually unlimited storage someday soon, but that it’s indicative of the price decline for other computer parts. Ten years from now, how cheap will netbooks be? How much easier would it be to equipt our public schools with adequate computer facilities?
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HD Designs: 720p MKV on an Atom netbook
Posted by Scout on December 7, 2009
HD DESIGNS
If you’re a netbook owner, you learn to be generally forgiving. After all, these machines were designed to handle low-power tasks, not gaming or video editing. Sometimes, though, you can’t help but try to squeeze the most out of these little computers. For example, how about playing 720p HD content without lags? Most files I tried on my EEE PC 1000H work just fine with Media Player Classic and proper decoders, except for some high-quality .mkv files. I could almost hear my netbook begging for mercy, stuttering and even crashing.
After reading through every forum and experimenting with various players, I’ve found the exact combination does the job right: KMplayer + CoreAVC + Haali Media Splitter + a few tweaks. This step-by-step guide is a modified/simplified version of those listed in Project HTPC.
1.) Install the latest version of The KMPlayer
2.) Install CoreAVC H.264 software video decoder
3.) Install Haali Media Splitter (untick ALL checkboxes)
4.) Open up KMPlayer, right click on the screen and go to Options > Preferences General > Playback > Work Priority > Tick Enable SuperSpeed
5.) Go to Filter Control > Decoder Usage > Internal Video Decoder > Untick H.264 and AVC1
6.) Now go to Filter Control > Decoder Usage > External Video Decoder > Set H.264 Video and AVC1 Video to System Default
7.) Click the “c” next to H.264 to display the CoreAVC settings > Tick Preferred decoder
8.) Still within the KMPlayer settings go to: Filter Control > Splitter > Select System default for Matroska
9.) Go to Filter control > Source Filter > The Rest tab > Tick Matroska
10.) Go to Video Processing > Renderer tab > Choose Overlay Mixer > Close to save settings
You can now open your favorite 720p MKV video and play it on full screen. Hook up your netbook to a bigger monitor to make it even better. Just be sure to turn off Aero in Appearance settings to optimize performance. Also, close all other applications to dedicate all resources to video playback. That’s it! Enjoy!
» Filed Under News | 2 Comments
Into Convert: Youtube videos to MP3 with 2CONV.com
Posted by Scout on December 4, 2009
There are some really good videos on the Web that make you wish you could play them over and over. A few tools are already available to download these on your PC, but what if you just want to extract the audio and enjoy it as an MP3 file? Getting the original FLV file then using a converter app to do the extraction is a little cumbersome, especially if you intend to convert a lot of videos.
A good alternative is to use 2CONV.com - a website that does all the conversion for you, from video to DIVX, MP3, and other formats. What’s nifty about it is that you just need to provide it with a link to the Youtube video, for example, and it does all the rest.
2CONV downloads the video to its own server (so no worries about your bandwidth) and converts it there. You can choose the settings for audio frequency and quality, or let it run on default settings (64kbps, 22kHz). You may also specify the file of the output file at this point.
This service is FREE with certain limitations. Files have a maximum size of 100MB and the site will only accept videos from YouTube, Veoh, Dailymotion, Myspace, Facebook, and Metacafe. Officially, you can use it just 5x a day, but I was able to use it at least 20x, so maybe it depends on how busy their server is, among other factors. Downloading the MP3 file can reach 5mins, which isn’t fast but it’s not that slow either if you’re not in a hurry. Sometimes the service becomes unavailable due to high of requests. Just try to go back a few hours later.
Of course, if you have some money to spend, you can purchase a PREMIUM account with them so you won’t have to wait for your turn. It comes with server priority, online storage, up to 1GB max file size, more format options, a wider ranger of accepted video portals, unlimited conversions, and online tech support. Choose from $7, $16, or $39 per month, if you’re so inclined.
2CONV.com also has an offline version via the MConverter desktop application, available for free download. It’s suitable for converting large files, has tons of options, and does the job much faster than its online counterpart. However, it does seem to be just a 15-day free trial, after which you have to register to continue using it.
» Filed Under Reviews, software | Leave a Comment
Free ebooks on Philippine history
Posted by Scout on February 23, 2009
In my last entry, I outlined some steps to turn your netbook/laptop into an ebook reader. After writing that post, I did a bit of searching around Project Gutenberg, and I’m happy to say that I found lots of interesting ebooks for budding scholars and curious bookworms alike (in short, nerds like me). I didn’t realize until recently that PG has a treasure trove of Philippines classics, for example:
Doctrina Christiana - The first book ever to be printed in the country in 1593(!). Doctrina was probably second to the Bible in terms of religious importance to the early Filipinos, if not more. While I’m not at all religious, I’m glad at least a copy of this survived for future generations to study. The text is available in Spanish, English, and Tagalog.
True Version of the Philippine Revolution - Written by Emilio Aguinaldo himself. Why did he need to publish a book with such a dubious title? This book was dedicated to the Americans, and published just when the Philippine-American War was starting. In it, he defends himself against issues about his conduct as president, justifies our revolution against the Spaniards, and basically tells the US that he wants to be friends. Hmmm.
Decalogue for Filipinos - Written by Apolinario Mabini, also known as the brains of the revolution. It’s a short list of “10 commandments” for Filipinos to follow to show their patriotism, and was an accompaniment to a draft of a constitution which he prepared as well for the young Philippine Republic.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 - A 55-volume work, compiling notes from some of the earliest Spanish conquistadors that have set foot in the country. The books detail their observations of the people, as well as the changing religious, political, and economic landscape in a span of four centuries. It’s safe to say that only the most determined scholar would read it in its entirety, but isn’t it wonderful to know that it’s out there?
Catalogue of Violent and Destructive Earthquakes in the Philippines - Written by Miguel Saderra Maso and published in 1939. If you like watching the National Geographic channel, you’ll probably like this. At least I think my geologist friend will.
The Woman and the Right to Vote - A speech by former senator Rafael Palma in 1919, in which he urges his colleagues in the Senate to pass the bill for women’s suffrage. That is, finally giving women the right to vote. Inspiring. Sometimes, politicians can be statesmen, too.
Of course, there are also several works of Rizal:
The Indolence of the Filipino - A book in which José Rizal gallantly defends our race from accusations of laziness, among other things, from foreign observers.
Noli Me Tangere - Available in English as The Social Cancer, and in Dutch as Noli me tangere Filippijnsche roman.
El Filibusterismo - Ibarra comes back ass the grittier Simoun in El Fili, available in English as Reign of Greed.
» Filed Under Freebies | 3 Comments
How to turn your netbook into an ebook reader
Posted by Scout on February 19, 2009
Amazon has just released the Kindle 2 - a sleeker, better version of their original ebook reader. At $359 (PhP18K), however, it still feels impractical for a dedicated reading device. For the same amount of money, one can buy a decent netbook which can act as a fully-functional PC, and is sufficiently light to carry around as an ebook reader. All you need to do is follow some very simple steps:
1. Get free ebooks online.
There are tons of sites on the web where you can legally download free ebook copies. These are either old works that have defaulted to the public domain, or new works by contemporary authors who have made their books free accessible. Examples are classics by Homer, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, to modern suspense thrillers, self-help books on computer programming, Internet marketing, and just about every subject under the sun. Some of the more popular sites are Project Gutenberg, Free-ebooks.net, e-Book.com Australia, PlanetPDF, and the eBook Directory.
2. Download an e-reader software.
Ebooks come in a variety of formats, but the most common are .txt, .html, .pdf, and .cbr. Different ebook readers have been optimized to make reading onscreen a little easier for each of these. FBReader is good for text and webpages, while Adobe Reader is obviously for PDFs, and ComicBookReader is the prime choice for comic page scans. All of these are available for free, as are many other altenatives.
3. Install EEErotate.
Reorienting displays is not new, but the problem is that it’s incredibly frustrating to navigate when your trackpad inputs clash with the screen orientation. EEERotate enables you to flip the trackpad readings along with the screen, making it much, much easier to navigate in Portrait Mode. This program was originally developed for Asus EEE PCs, but they should work fine for other netbooks and notebooks. Check if your video driver supports display rotation, though.
4. Press the magic keys, voila!
Launch your reader application, load your favorite ebook, and press the following simultaneously:
ALT-CTRL-RIGHT: Rotates display 90 degrees clockwise.
ALT-CTRL-UP: Rotates display back upright.
Here’s what my EEE PC 1000H looks like, when I’m reading Japanese manga. Sugoi!
» Filed Under Netbooks | 1 Comment
Philippine anti-piracy drive to go after downloaders next
Posted by Scout on February 17, 2009
After all the raids on Quiapo and Greenhills shops, and even corporate offices in Makati, the anti-piracy suits are aiming squarely at end-users. The Inquirer has reported that the Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team (PAPT) will be going after those individuals downloading music, movies and software over the Internet, even if they do so for personal use.
Were talking hundreds of thousands, or maybe even millions of folks here. My question is, do they have enough legal funds to keep their lawyers happy? Do they have the patience to see all these potential court cases through in our painfully slow justice system? Even the RIAA, which did a similar campaign in the US suing music downloaders left and right, has changed its tactic because 1) it didn’t work, they weren’t able to scare people from downloading, and 2) it was costing them a fortune.
Another thing going against them is that currently, there’s no law that categorically says these downloads are illegal. The country’s Intellectual Property Code is silent on the issue, as well as the more recent E-Commerce Law. They’ll have to lobby in Congress for this one. However, even if they do manage to amend these laws, that fact is that people’s perceptions and expectations when it comes to digital content has changed, especially the younger generation. Companies can still make money out of them, but they’ll need to evaluate their business models to keep up with the times. A little creativity on their part is called for. Beware: beating people into submission will only earn you enmity.
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64GB SSD drive now available in CD-R King
Posted by Scout on February 15, 2009
Early this morning, I saw this picture on the front page of CD-R King’s website: a re-branded external 64GB SDD drive, with SATA and USB 2.0 interfaces. It looks like they’re experimenting on putting out affordable solid state disk drives, which is a move I welcome. I haven’t even seen SSDs being offered on Gilmore shops, but maybe I wasn’t looking hard enough.
Price is the number one reason this type of drive isn’t popular yet locally, but recent significant price drops mean we’ll probably be seeing more of these later in the year. The website lists the drive as selling for P5,800, which seems reasonable, but it’s still more than twice the price of conventional spin-type hard drives. Does the promise of more ruggedness, speed, and power-saving justify the premium?
Not much info is listed on the product page for now, but I do hope someone buys it and put up a review soon. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for this one.
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Sun Cellular now offering unlimited 3G for as low as P799 per month
Posted by Scout on February 10, 2009
Sun is known for their budget-friendy mobile services, and with their entry into the 3G business, things were bound to get interesting. They have recently upgraded their wireless broadband network to reach speeds of up to 2Mbps, putting them on par with Smart and Globe. Better yet, they are now offering different unlimited 3G plans designed to encourage mass adoption. The table below breaks down the three subscriber options.
The two versions of Plan 799 seem very reasonable and the choice I guess depends on how much you can pay upfront. Personally, I would much rather pay the P2,500 one-time charge (presumably the subsidized cost of the USB 3G modem) than be locked in for 24 months, when other better services might have already come up. Commitment is great with relationships, but not so with telecom subscriptions.
Plan 999, meanwhile, lets you get both a 3G modem and a lower-end cellphone for free, in exchange for P200 more monthly. Not bad if you want to hit two birds with one stone, or to be kind to the birds, hit two scoundrel politicians with one jail sentence.
Currently, Sun’s high-speed 3G (or 3.5G) network covers Makati, Manila, Mandaluyong, Quezon City, Las Pinas, Paranaque, Pasay, and Pasig, but they will make it available in all of Metro Manila very soon. So, if you live in the province or travel quite often, you may be better off with Smart’s nation-wide 3G coverage. However, if you largely stay in Metro Manila in the aforementioned areas and looking for a cheap solution for broadband Internet without needing a landline phone, Sun 3G is the way to go.
Good on you, Sun. Here’s hoping Smart and Globe drops their unlimited 3G plans to compete. Shouldn’t take long now.
» Filed Under News | 1 Comment
Dutch study says that file sharing is good for the economy - no argument here
Posted by Scout on February 6, 2009
Torrent users should find this research interesting. The Netherlands government commissioned a study of the social and economic effects of peer-to-peer downloading. The results were published in Ars Technica.
These are some of their findings:
- downloaders buy as much paid content as nondownloaders; for games, downloaders shell out even more
- for music, unpaid downloads can be thought of as “samples” - the downloaders might eventually purchase a song or album if they like what they hear
- sampling doesn’t work as well for movies, as once they have been watched, people are unlikely to want a repeat viewing
- buying rates for previously downloaded content are low for music, movies, and games; unpaid downloads do not translate into lost sales in anything close to a one-to-one ratio
- still, the study concludes that the effects are strongly positive because consumers get to enjoy desirable content and also get to keep their cash to buy other things; because the consumers save much more money than the producers lose, the net economic effects are positive
- the report makes a number of recommendations like supporting the development of new economic models for rights holders, not criminalizing file sharing for personal use, and others
Personal Thoughts
In developing countries, software piracy is probably the most beneficial to its citizens (I’m sure Microsoft and the OMDB would beg to differ). Students in particular, get the chance to use otherwise expensive programs and learn skills that would make them competitive in the job market. These kids nor their parents can’t afford a licensed Windows OS worth hundreds of dollars - they’d sooner buy rice and pay the bills. Knowing how to use Photoshop is a great thing, but the package costs thousands of dollars, enough to buy a used car.
Of course, open-source alternatives exist, and I hope they grow in popularity here in the country and around the world. Their features, stability and user-friendliness are starting to rival paid applications. Once user adoption picks up, maybe the big software companies will think twice about their hefty price tags.
» Filed Under News | 2 Comments
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