Digital Interactif

All U C - The new 'TV-Links'

It's been a few months since UK authorities shut down the website TV-Links.co.uk for hosting pirated content via embedded video players from websites such as Chinese Todou.  I, along with many others, was a big fan of TV-Links and I have never found a suitable replacement.  I tried finding content myself on Todou a couple times but it proved problematic. The trouble with Todou, as you'll quickly notice, is that it's in Chinese and very difficult to navigate. 

That's where alluc.org steps in! (Thanks for the tip Tom)

'All U C' is a German website hosted just north of Hamburg.  Though not as pretty as TV-Links, 'All U C' provides interesting functionality such as voting on which versions of a movie are the best quality.  You can also comment on the specific versions, which users appear to be doing quite often. 

Essentially, 'All U C' trolls Chinese websites, such as Todou, and directs users off of the 'All U C' site and onto the Todou site to watch the videos.  I am not 100% on the legal issues that brought down TV-Links, but I suspect that 'All U C' may be playing by the rules since it directs the users completely off of it's site.  Also, 'All U C' provides the following disclaimer before you watch the video:

Disclaimer

The author is not responsible for any contents linked or referred to from his pages - If any damage occurs by the use of information presented there, only the author of the respective pages might be liable, not the one who has linked to these pages.
Allfg.org and Alluc.org doesn't host any content

All Allfg.org/Alluc.org does is linking to content that was uploaded to popular Online Video hosting sites like dailymmotion.com/Youtube. All youtube/dailymotion users signed a contract with the sites when they set up their accounts wich forces them not to upload illegal content. By clicking on any Links to videos while surfing on Allfg.org you leave Allfg.org, Allfg.org cant take the responsibility for any content hosted on other sites.

If in the past couple of months you've found other suitable alternatives to TV-Links, drop a line in the comments section below.

Live Sports Streamed on the Internet

Thanks to my friend Bohgie in Poland, I present to you Myp2p.eu

After downloading an application (I downloaded Sopcast because it works for the majority of the baseball games) you simply click a feed and you are watching a live streaming game.  The quality depends on the stream, but since it is free, it really can't be beat! 

Myp2p.eu will no doubt give rise to rival websites in the future, most likely based outside of North America and as far away as possible from American Corporate lawyers.  This website has been in operation since 2005 but with MLB.com's rapid revenue growth, there will definitely be lawsuits in the next couple of years aimed at Myp2p.eu and similar websites. 

Out-Foxed by a Techie

Smokin Joe links to a Fox News report on Internet hackers, take a look:

Considering that Fox News Network has been outed by Wikiscanner as hacking Al Franken's Wikipedia entry, the above video is too funny/sad/hypocritical(?).   Regardless, I can only shake my head and laugh. 

The Boston Globe wrote a great article on Wikiscanner and it's creator Virgil Griffith.  Griffith's creation allows people to scan Wikipedia edits based on IP addresses and has cast a welcomed spotlight on the Wiki-craze.  Essentially, it allows a person to see what edits people have made using computers at CIA/FBI/FoxNews/Diebold/ect buildings.  With the spotlight cast upon Wikipedia's editors/contributors, there is a great wealth of information to be analyzed pertaining to how Wiki's are being used to distort/promote truth on the Internet. 

Give it a go and find the next public relations implosion before it hits the press!

Steal This Identity

Say for instance, a past employer (Lotus) gets bought out by another company (IBM) and the company that you never even worked for (IBM) keeps your employment records but manages to lose them 16 years after you stopped working for the company they acquired (Lotus).  Sound far fetched? It's not.  This is the exact scenario that happened to I've Been Mugged:

Was I angry? You bet! The feeling is that I am now inconvenienced due to nothing I did, but due to the carelessness of somebody else. My attitude was (and still is), “You lost my data. Find it! And if you can’t, make it right somehow.”

As I've Been Mugged's blog illustrates , there is no effective way to protect yourself once an identity thief has your personal information such as name and social security number but there are steps you can take to reduce your chances of becoming a victim.   

It wasn't until today when I read a recent I've Been Mugged post that it occurred to me that my facebook/myspace profile could help a thief steal my identity.  Once upon a time, having someone's name and social security number might have presented a criminal with an opportunity but to steal an identity would have required a large amount of additional work (such as locating birth date, employment, and other personal information).

But not anymore:

"More and more consumers are signing up to these sites every day and chances are they'll put on their date of birth, location, email, job and marital status.

"Fraudsters can use this information to steal an individual's identity and open accounts in their name."

The group said people should think twice before putting their full date of birth on the sites, as well as the names of children or pets as these are often used as passwords.

Without even realizing it, we are handing out our personal information to identity thieves.  I used to think that if I found out my Social Security number was compromised that I would take down all my person information from social networks.   

These days, as happened with IBM and I've Been Mugged, corporations won't tell you for 2.5 months!  IBM sat on the knowledge that it's data tapes had been lost and didn't alert any of the victims.  Not only is this shameful of IBM to act (or in this case not act) in such a manner, but it underlies the fact that as humans we are as powerless to the rapid flow of information on the Internet as we are to the strongest currents in the ocean.