The world’s most popular file-sharing website is to delete all torrent files in a bid to become more resistant to being shut down
The Pirate Bay has confirmed that all torrent files being shared by more than 10 people will be deleted on February 29. The decision is causing a small panic among the site’s users, but in reality little will change as all files will remain available through magnet links. The Pirate Bay crew told TorrentFreak that this is merely a “step forward in technology” and confirmed that the site is here to stay.
magnet bayFor half a decade The Pirate Bay has been the leading BitTorrent site, but soon its users will no longer be able to download .torrent files.
The first step in this direction will be taken on February 29, the Pirate Bay announced today.
Instead of deleting all torrent files at once, the Pirate Bay crew will start with all files that have more than 10 peers. This is to guarantee that people will still be able to download less popular files, which tend to start slower through magnets.
While there are fears that this is the end of The Pirate Bay, nothing could be further from the truth. For users of the site the upcoming switch is expected to go smoothly.
People will be able to download all files as usual, but instead of using a .torrent file downloads will be initiated through a magnet link. The actual content of the .torrent file will then be downloaded from other people instead of the Pirate Bay’s servers.
Although it might take a little longer for less popular downloads to get started, all files will remain available. Also, users will still be able to upload .torrent files, which will be converted into magnet links by The Pirate Bay.
The Pirate Bay team told TorrentFreak that the transition to a magnet site is “a step forward in technology,” and one that will make the site more resistant to being shut down.
Without torrents it takes less bandwidth to host a Pirate Bay proxy site which are used to circumvent ISP blockades in countries like Italy, Ireland, The Netherlands and Belgium. In addition, the Pirate Bay will become much more portable and thus easier to move around.
How easy it is to carry a copy of a torrent-less Pirate Bay became apparent last week, when a user reduced the entire site to 90 megabytes – small enough to fit on a tiny thumb drive. The Pirate Bay team likes the idea of a “portable” backup of the site and told TorrentFreak that they are considering releasing an official version in the future.
It’s quite remarkable to see how The Pirate Bay has transformed in recent years. The site is no longer hosting a tracker, and soon .torrent files will be entirely replaced by magnet links. Despite these changes the iconic file-sharing site is picking up new users every week.
The Pirate Bay crew told TorrentFreak that users can be assured that they have no intention of going anywhere in the near future. With or without torrents, the site is here to stay.
University of Santo Tomas was hoping to win another double championship for the second straight day, this time in football.
But out came Far Eastern University and La Salle to spoil the fun as they win the 72nd UAAP men’s and women’s football titles, respectively, at the expense of the Tigers during their winner-take-all matches at the Ateneo Erenchun Field in Quezon City.
The Tamaraws, who lost three key players including top striker Jason Cordova to suspensions, leaned on a surprising goal late for a stunning 1-0 victory while the Lady Archers ended a string of disappointment to dethrone the Tigresses by the same score.
Both teams won their eighth title overall in their respective divisions while denying the Espana-based campus’ bid to make this weekend an all-Tiger celebration after winning the men’s and women’s volleyball championships yesterday.
Rookie Dexter Jae Chio, a Cotabato native, became the unsung hero for FEU in this bruising affair when he scored a surprising strike in the 75th minute from about 20 yards.
That score came after Filsan Akut’s shot was stopped by UST’s John Vincent Villanueva enabling Chio to recover the ball and kick it past Tigers’ goalkeeper Johnson Lee and into the center of the net.
“That was a surprise goal, nakapaganda,” said winning coach Rodolfo Alicante. “Masyado siyang outside nun so it made difficult for the goalkeeper to stop.”
FEU then came away with key stops in the dying minutes that saw them get a lucky break when Mario Clarino missed a header that sailed way past the goalpost minutes after Chio’s shot to eventually their second title in three years.
“It was a great championship for us, in spite of the absence of our key players so we’re very happy to win it,” said Alicante.
The Morayta-based booters were considered as heavy underdogs in this match after Cordova, the tournament’s Best Striker, was suspended for this game after committing two yellow cards during Thursday’s 1-0 win that forced a rubber match. Ironically, the former national team scored the game’s solitary goal in the 22nd minute.
Two other FEU players were bannered during the contest after Joshua Almenar at Romnick Jover each suffered their second yellow card of the season, which meant a one-game suspension according to league rules.
But the Tamaraws got a lucky break as well as the Tigers likewise played shorthanded after Rookie of the Year Christian de Juan was also suspended for this contest for committing the same infractions made by Almenar and Jover.
“We were able to make some big adjustments, especially on offense. Si Jason (Cordova) malaking striker yun so ang ginawa namin nag-assign kami ng maliit na striker,” Alicante said.
Senior Jake Hugo, one of eight players who played their last game with FEU, was adjudged as the league’s Most Valuable Player.
http://www.ubelt.com/blogs/post/feu-la-salle-takes-uaap-football-crowns/
