Dotcom posts screenshots of his new file sharing service, launching Jan 20
UPDATE / Nov 8: Kim Dotcom has posted a series of screen shots for Mega, the new file sharing service he plans to launch on January 20 (the anniversary of his arrest).
They suggest the the entrepreneur and accused pirate is already using a beta version of the service himself (or at least wants to have some fun with the GCSB).
While many who lost files when Megaupload was shutdown by the FBI might be wary of signing on for the new "Mega", Dotcom says its one-click encryption, and distributed file storage (which could see one file stored in many locations through hosting partners) will encourage people to sign on.
The service will initially be free, but late introduce some form of monthly charge. Dotcom also sees ad revenue from Megabox, a parallel service that will give artists and/or their record label or movie studio a cut of ad revenue (unlike Megaupload, which offered cash rewards to uploaders rather than rights holders).
The screen shots (click any to zoom):
Given the runaway success of Megaupload - which, whatever its ethics or legality, had many innovations in everything from file sharing to ad serving -, you've got to assume Kim and his crew have again created a slick, user-friendly service. Dotcom is especially proud of the one-click encryption, which he says is a ground breaker.
The question now is whether the Megaupload hordes will come back.
Suspended by Gabon, Dotcom reveals new home for Mega domain: NZ
Nov 12: On Twitter, Kim Dotcom has announced the new home of the Mega domain: New Zealand.
His tweet posted this evening:
New Zealand will be the home of our new website: Mega.co.nz - Powered by legality and protected by the law.
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) November 12, 2012
Last week, a plan to host the Mega domain in Gabon (allowing for the URL Me.ga) had to be dropped after the tiny African nation suspended the account. Kim Dotcom blamed US pressue.
Registering an address in a given country doesn't mean a website or service has to be hosted in that country. Kim Dotcom has proposed Mega as a file sharing service distributed all around the world. He has also mooted the possibility of hosting many Mega files at a New Zealand data centre should a second cable to the US be laid, and a supermassive server farm be constructed (read: Dotcom's cable - fact or fantasy? Kim makes his case).
The question now is whether any party will lean on the adminstrator of the .co.nz domain, InternetNZ, and/or the New Zealand government before Mega's launch, set for January 20 (the anniversary of Dotcom's arrest).
Last week, Kim Dotcom told NBR - and an InternetNZ rep - that he would like to see the New Zealand government pass a safe harbour law that would allow the country to become the Switzerland of data.
But as of today, with the Crown acting for US authorities in his extradition case, Kim Dotcom and the government are some distance from a shared agenda.
New Zealand web addresses are managed by the Domain Name Commission, a wholly-owned subsidiary of InternetNZ.
Domain Name Commission head Debbie Monahan told NBR simply that Dotcom had as much right as anyone to register a local domain. ".nz domain names are registered on a first come, first served basis so if the domain name requested is in one of the 'open' second level domains, and is available, the person is able to register it."
Setback for Dotcom's new Mega service as Gabon suspends domain
UPDATE Nov 7: There has been a setback for Kim Dotcom's proposed Mega service today, with the tiny French-African nation of Gabon suspending the web address "Me.ga" (which Mr Dotcom fashioned by utilising Gabon's "ga" domain).
Russian media outlet RT quotes Gabon Communication Minister Blaise Louembe saying, "I have instructed my departments… to immediately suspend the site me.ga. Gabon cannot serve as a platform or screen for committing acts aimed at violating copyrights, nor be used by unscrupulous people."
On Twitter, Dotcom said it was a "witch hunt" that demonstrated the reach of the US government and Vivendi (a French conglomerate with media interests).
He pleged to find an alternative domain.
Dotcom launches splash site for new file-sharing service Mega, seeks investors
UPDATE Nov 1: Kim Dotcom has launched a registration-of-interest page for his proposed new file sharing service Mega - which he says will launch on the anniversary of the January 20 arrest.
On Twitter this afternoon, Dotcom promoted the URL Me.ga (".ga" is the domain for the African nation Gabon) which redirects to a page on his Kim.com site that collects emails from anyone interested in news, and forms for thos interested in becoming a third-party developer, hosting partner or investor.
Although it was only a splash page, it appeared as if it had been overwhelmed by traffic as it went live early afternoon.
"Millions of users hitting at once. I'm delighted by the interest. But servers can't handle it.The new Mega will," Dotcom tweeted, later adding that Mega needed "60 state-of-the-art portal servers" before it went live.
The splash page includes an explainer about how Mega will work.
Key features include one-click file encryption (with the "key" to each file held by the uploader so Mega staff won't know what's in it), and a distributed server system. Where Megaupload was hosted at a server farm in Virginia, Mega will is seeking hosts all around the planet - be they a couple of servers in a garage, or a large data centre. Multiple copies of the same file will be held on different servers in different territories, making the service hard to take down.
ABOVE: With its "make us an offer" line, Mega's "Become A Hosting Partner" page suggests a business model still under development, or at least loosely structured. Click screen shot to zoom.
The investor section of the splash site says, "We have raised sufficient funds to cover the launch, but we would like to provide Mega free of charge for as long as possible." In another tweet, he claimed he was seeing interest from un-named Arab investors.
Last weekend, Dotcom outlined new measures he says should reassure potential users amid a US Department of Justice threat to lay new charges if Mega launches (see below).
Today the entrepreneur was not about to crimp his style, despite the new drive to attract partners.
As Mega came under traffic stress, he merrily taunted US law enforcement, tweeting "All FBI agents pressing reload hahaha..... We see their IP addresses. LOL!!!."
DOJ trying to scare people off Mega, set to launch on anniversary of raid - Dotcom
Oct 27: Accused pirate Kim Dotcom has vowed to launch a file sharing service, Mega, on January 20 next year - the anniversary of the raid on his mansion.
He has told NBR ONLINE the US Department of Justice is already trying to scare people off Mega with a threat to lay new charges if the launch goes ahead - but also outlined reasons he thinks will reassure people, and see them come onboard regardless.
Dotcom announced the move on Twitter (below) and earlier detailed Mega in an interview with Wired.
He told NBR that Mega would have all non-US staff, but "we will be open to US users." (Megaupload's key staff were non-US too, of course, which didn't stop US authorities going after them - albeit aided by the fact the file sharing service's servers were located at a Virgina data centre.)
You've got to admire Kim's moxie.
But on the face of it there are a number of problems with Dotcom's plan.
Millions of Megaupload users lost files when Dotcom's original service was taken offline by the FBI.
These included many regular folk and small businesses who used Megaupload to store everyday files online. After all, Megaupload had been recommended in the same breath as Dropbox by the mainstream tech press.
But having been burned by Megaupload (or the FBI, if you like), will these people flock to Mega?
Dotcom summed up the situation neatly in a January bail affidavit, saying:
It is likely that users would consider any new iteration of Megaupload as inherently unreliable as it could be subject to a further incident in which the US government takes action to close the site down and thereby prevents users from having legitimate access to their data.
Moreover, the entrepreneur told the court he couldn't reanimate Megaupload even if he wanted to.
"There is no realistic prospect or possibility of restoring the business or recommencing the business having regard to both the seizure of the requisite servers and data storage equipment and to the seizure of all funds, monies and assets held both by Megaupload and by me personally,
Dotcom has been talking up a new file sharing service for a while now (including a July interview with NBR). He recently tweeted that the code was 90% complete. Servers, and lawyers, were being geared up for the Mega launch.
The US Department of Justice has taken note, and hinted at new charges if Dotcom goes back into the file sharing business.
In a filing last week against the latest attempt by Dotcom's US lawyer to get the Megaupload case thrown out in the US, a DOJ filing includes the aside:
If defendant Dotcom intentionally misled the court in New Zealand about his intentions and capabilities in order to obtain his release from pre-extradition confinement, it seems Defense Counsel’s representation might endanger Dotcom’s bail situation or even subject him to additional charges.
It's not immediately clear the DOJ has a strong legal case. Dotcom said in his affidavit that he couldn't relaunch Megauplaod at that point, not that he wouldn't.
Nevertheless, the mere threat, plus people's wariness, is surely enough to derail the new Mega?
People put off?
Does Dotcom think the DOJ threat will put people off?
"That's maybe one of the reasons why they are threatening us," he told NBR.
"But after the launch, when the new Mega has been understood, everyone will see that there is no reason to worry. We are confident that users are going to embrace the new Mega."
"The new Mega is significantly different from Megaupload with new features and innovations that make cloud storage safer and more affordable.
"The DOJ hasn't seen the new technology yet and is already issuing threats. It just demonstrates how trigger happy the prosecution is and it's not going to stop us from innovating. The law and the progress of society are on our side."
Dotcom didn't immediately reply to a follow up on a query about how he would monetize Mega - though his use of the world "affordable" implies a subscription fee of some kind (Megaupload charged $US9.99 a month for a premium account that offered faster file downloads, and the ability to watch a video longer than 60 minutes. It also made money from an inhouse-developed ad-serving system. Controversially, it also had a rewards system that saw cash payments to people who uploaded files that proved popular, which critics said incentivised piracy. Youtube - often cited in debates about Megaupload, gives users a cut on ad revenue around popular clips, including copyright-violating clips - says people doing a silly dance to a copyrighted song at a wedding - if the rights holder agrees to split revenue)
Mega's two key features
One key element of Mega will be that files will be encrypted. The person who uploads a file will control the "key" to unencrypt it.
The second is that Mega will be atomised.
Where Megaupload was hosed on a single server farm in the US, Mega will be distributed across, well, whoever wants to participate.
“We’re creating a system where any host in the world — from the $2,000 garage operation to the largest online host — can connect their own servers to this network,” Dotcom told Wired. “We can work with anybody, because the hosts themselves cannot see what’s on the servers.”
Given Mega will be distributed on servers all around the world - each with a unique copy of a file - it will be extremely problematic for any one government to raid the new service.
And even if it does, in any given location, it won't be able to read any of the encrypted files.
Dotcom sees this setup giving potential users peace of mind.
But if Mega does launch, and takes off, and is accused of harbouring pirated files ... well if I was in US law enforcement, faced with Mega being spread across computers in dozens of countries, I dare say I'd try and cut to the heart of the matter. Say, by asking the NZ police to mount another raid on Dotcom Mansion.
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Comments and questions49
I hope Dotcom has realised that all the judicial bodies (except the NZ courts so far thank goodness) and associated agencies that have blundered like fools from before the raid will be plotting as we speak as to how to undermine this venture. Planting evidence, sting operations and any nefarious activity or method the imaginative folk paid for by Hollywood can dream up will be brought to bear.
Kim Dotcom for Mayor
Dotcom for president I say...which means we'd have to become a republic
Very brave move. I wish you all the best Mr Dotcom.
NZ needs to have a better IP protection policy than China.
It will not be good for us as a country if Dotcom is here because culturally we dont mind knicking peoples software/images/music/videos.
I support the US governments attempts to curtail him and I think he should front up in the US.
It was not long ago this guy was mocking everyone and showing off for being a pirate ie celebrating pinching other peoples stuff.
Krikey this happened how many months ago and you still dont get why Kim is so popular?
Maybe Unkle Sam will be grateful for your loyalty. Green Kards are free on the internet if you want one.
Maybe I do get why hes popular and Im warning us all that its not good. How will we sell our own IP if we pinch everyones elses. The worlds a small place.
My point is not about the US its about the sustainability of his attitude to other peoples stuff.
The US didn't have any qualms about destroying Dotcom's IP and company without a trial.
Im not talking about the US Im talking about Dotcoms attitude to other peoples property.
I think its questionable and most probably illegal.
What about all the millions of musicians and film makers IP that he has undermined knowingly?
Now we can only speculate on his integrity but given that he was making and publishing videos celebrating being a pirate ie someone who takes other persons stuff against their will and against the law, he leaves himself open to criticism.
If we were to quantify Mr Dotcoms efforts with respect to chattels of equivalent value, how many tv sets, cars, houses has he facilitated the "ill just wander in and take that thanks".
Put it this way... if he were operating in just Auckland on that scale on real property he would be hunted down by the very people who disagree with me because its IP.
This guy has you by your stupid stick NZ. Move on.
Au Contraire its you who are facilitating a fiction. Explain why some of Dotcoms most ardent supporters are some big name musicians? You can hang onto your own stupid stick for now thanks. Enjoy.
I know what you are talking about but I doubt you do. If cloud computing is legal then so was Megaupload. If ISPs are not liable for distributing copyright violating material why should cloud providers be?
You dare talk legality when the FBI violated not only Dot Com's legal rights but that of hundreds of thousands of legitimate users of his service? Such extraterritoriality of American attempts at corporate control needs to be nipped in the bud before the American's start trying to deport all and sundry for dubious American legal "conveniences".
Wake up! They have to be stopped here before you hear a knock on the door in the middle of the night. Such is the Slippery Road to Tyranny.
Kim Dotcom, you're the MAN!! I hope some of the big names, for the likes of Samsung will invest in your new venture and that would upset US Apples' even more. Have your servers wired up only in corruption free countries where officials can be trusted - where there's no GCSB, OFCANZ and FBI spying on you and will not be able to freeze.... I mean, steal your money and sell off your assets before trial or proven guilty lol
Well at least referring to himself as Dot Conz is honest.
But not only does New Zealand need to start having better IP protection than China, it obviously needs to up it's game to be better than Gabon.
I follow KimDotcom's Twitter feed. From all I've read, Mega will take pains to avoid any US jurisdiction. Already he's limited participation in Mega to non-US personnel. I suspect the service will be strictly closed to US users as well.
Hi Jonathan,
I put this to Kim, who replied that Mega will have "non US staff but we will be open to US users."
Megaupload's key staff were non-US too, of course, which didn't stop US authorities going after them (albeit aided by the fact Megaupload's servers were at a data centre in Virginia).
CK
I have just seen reported in the NZ Herald that the ANZ, BNZ & Westpac banks gave the police on request personal account details without a search warrant in October of last year.
This case just keeps on getting better. Like an onion every month reveals another piece of scandal.
I'm sure this is a Blake Edwards / Peter Sellars Pink Panther script.
Good reason to stop banking with those clowns. Nice of them to treat their clients in such fashion.
likely under the guise of international money laundering legislation which banks don't have much option but to oblige the authorities
Which is why a warrant is required....even for information request relating to money laundering. Even the Inland Revenue require a warrant to look at your bank balances without your permission.
I am sure it will keep on revealing. This Government's policy is money talks, due process walks
wish you the best of luck kim maybe mega should start there own bank and freeze out the corrupt westpac and national government there be plent6y of us that would use it to by pass the corrupt powewr and garrets capels and key
He doesn't have the money to do that. Capital requirements to start a bank are enormous.
Looks like the NZ Government is going to hand over a lot more data to the US tax authorities this time, with the FATCA IGA they are negotiating that will even provide balance information on your bank accounts if you are U.S. citizen, U.S. green card holder or dual US/NZ citizen.
Most dual citizens with the US have no idea they are required to file a tax return every year and report their NZ bank account details as well.
http://www.irs.gov/uac/Information-for-U.S.-Citizens-or-Dual-Citizens-Residing-Outside-the-U.S.
See the discussion going on over at interest.co.nz
http://www.interest.co.nz/news/61718/new-zealand-will-seek-negotiate-tax-information-agreement-us-over-fatca-law-nz-banks-had-
The NBR should really dive into this subject its going to cost NZ tax residents their life savings in many cases and even if this IGA isn't agreed to doesn't mean these people are safe from the long arm of the US IRS.
well done... waiting for new service
Perhaps most people are not familiar with encryption, but I am. In the new Mega, the files will be encrypted using a US-government-approved encryption algorithm that is open and available for anyone to use. In an encrypted file, no one can see the contents except the key holder, including Mega. The keys are tiny files, of which thousands can be shared on Google Drive or Dropbox or any file sharing service for free. Google and Dropbox will be able to look into the contents of the key, but all they will see is a meaningless key. They won't see what it unlocks. So who is liable for harboring piracy? Mega won't have any way to know if its service carries pirated content, nor will Google or Dropbox know if their service carries keys that unlock pirated content. Just as anyone can rent a storage locker for their stuff and put their own lock on it, people will be able to rent storage space on Mega for their stuff and lock it away. Just as the storage locker is useful to both legitimate users and evil users, so will be Mega. If an evil user rents a storage locker, do you send an armed squad after the owner of the storage locker? Or do you go after the evil person that rented the storage locker?
Can't believe this rubbish the guys a criminal ...Just leave NZ Mr Dotcom we don't want you!
Hey! I like the fact you are anonymous as if the US had its way no one would be....think on that before you so happily dispense with civil liberties.
#11 - Suggest you build a bridge and get over it! Dotcom is a NZ Residence who has contributed and will continue to contribute positively to this country. We need more people like Dotcom and his high tech connections to build our sad economy. Furthermore if you have a problem with Dotcom's Immigration status, direct your complaints to NZ Immigration, don't openly chase and put the man down, as he has as much right to live in this country as you and me....wake up and smell the coffee Kiwis!
I think that governments cannot just start shutting down things that they know absolutely NOTHING about..
The US government is extremely lucky that they have not yet been hacked and shutdown by the lead hacking group anonymous which had threatened to hack the pentagon.
I'm not a lawyer, but I can't see how this new venture of Dotcom's is illegal in its basic proposition - ie, as a place to park data.
If I own a carpark business and someone comes along and parks a stolen car in my carpark business, I somehow doubt that I am criminally (or civilly) liable for the theft of that vehicle, and most certainly the owner of the building that I rent the premises from wouldn't be.
I don't see a difference between that and Dotcom's new business venture. If somebody stores stolen data on 'his' (and they are not even his for that matter) servers, where is the criminal or civil liability for the copyright infringement for Dorcom in that?
He who dares and all that....if any investor has the gumption to go for this and it works I hope they make a fortune.
He had better get good legal advice before he starts soliciting money from investors. The laws on that are clearer and tougher than on IP.
The government will do its damndest to paint Kim Dotcom as a villain. Okay, quite an easy guy to caricature, that must be siad. But the fundamental crux of this particular story, and there is only a couple of points that actually needs to be made, is the following
1. The media beatup is what it is: a beatup. It's to distract you from the real between-the-lines issue, which is ...
2. An illegally executed warrant for an illegal raid that involved an offshore law enforcement agency, that supposedly took place without the knowledge of the supposed head of the country.
3. Having been found rather more than wanting, the story moves up a gear to discredit him further by way of continuing to paint a picture of a devious criminal mastermind, when the only actual criminality that has so far taken place in THIS country so far has been committed by the supposed lawful institutions of the land.
4. He provided a service where people could put their data. That's about it. Youtube contains masses of "illegal" stuff if we take the definition they're flogging about, is it shut down? No.
5. Lastly, as far as letting artists earn the bucks they do from movies or audio, the tactics of the "legal" operators really do need to be questioned and really what downloading is all about is essentially stripping these bloated companies from years of making a buck off the work of others, so it's pot calling the kettle black on that one. One only need to look at Prince or Radiohead and their effort to release albums direct to fans, bypassing the record companies, met with stern warnings not to do it and in Prince's case large lawsuits to try and stop him releasing his own material to his own fans.
I also have a considerable amount of scepticism about the whining artists in some cases (Metallica, take a bow) posing in front of mansions and complaing they're hard done by.
Artists, as any musician knows, make their money off tours, merchandising and collateral in the main, NOT their singles or albums. Reason? Quite simply, years of being ripped off legally by the so-called "protectors" of artists rights. It's one reason why Chuck Berry had a notorious reputation as a supposed "scrooge" and only interested in the money. It wasn't that, it was that he was interested in actually getting his dues, before the notoriously underhanded and greedy recording companies stole the majority of it. Many artists over the years have been legally shafted to the nth degree by the supposed people looking out for their interests... history is littered with examples like that, so I always have a considerably sceptical view of the people who go on about the RIAA and the like as "protecting the rights of artists".
You know that little ditty at the start of all your DVD's, where it says pirating a DVD is illegal? You know, "You wouldn't steal a handbag...". We've all seen it. Well, that track itself was stolen from the artist who made the track, by the very people railing against piracy. Go figure.
You guys are drawing parrallels between tangible goods and Intectual Property rights which doesn't stack up.In the car example,you have ownership and registration papers to show the car is yours- ie you own it it.You don't own say your copy of windows 7 or office 2010.
You have a license to use that software but the ownership is retained by microsoft.
That movie you bought on dvd..you own the rights to view the dvd but nothing else.The studio owns the media.If this were not so,you would legally be able to make as many copies as you want.But you can't.You own the rights to use that software within legal parameters.This is the basis of IP.
So if the studio owns the DVD media and I have bought the rights to view it (lets call it in perpetuity) and the studios media (method of delivery) fails to survive the rigours of my kids using it why cant I ask for a swap?
Actually some video game companies will do this. I believe blizzard are one of them. You could mail in a scratched unusable disc with proof of purchase and you would receive a new disc in return, free of charge.
But physical media is becoming a thing of the past. Online content distribution is fast replacing it. Take for example Valve's "Steam" content distribution platform. You sign up for a steam account, you purchase a game online with your CC, the title becomes affiliated with your steam account, you then download the game online. You can delete and redownload the content as many times as you like, you don't have to worry about the physical media being damaged, because there isn't any.
You own the license to use the product in perpetuity. The physical media means nothing.
It is also not illegal to download, say a copy of Windows 7, so long as you own a key for the software, and use that key to activate the software. It is illegal to share the key.
Ah well, looks like American bribes and threats are still prevalent in Africa.
How ironic that a minister in Gabon should be calling someone else unscrupulous...but perhaps he's well placed to recognise unscrupulous goings on when he sees them.
Yeah, I had to re-read the article. Couldn't believe my eyes. If this is true as reported, then this could help Dotcoms case here in NZ, by underscoring the vexatious nature of the US govt claims, against him
Apparently the Cook Islands have offered Dotcom the use of their domains:
Mega.co.ck
All I know is that I am totally tired of hearing about this guy can we talk about something else now NZ?
Me too. And do you all want him obtaining citizenship because he has lots of money. That will be in the mix-count upon it!! If he is doing nothing wrong how come he is not doing this in Germany?? Because--oh, yes, that's right. Most of us seem to have forgotten, don't we (you )?
Why not let Dotcom have a go?
Provided he complies with NZ law,what's the harm?
Time we stopped being so compliant with the US.
liberte
Re Kim Dotcom... memo to the Tui Billboard people... please remove immediately the personally insulting billboard on the Welly motorway making reference to KDC's wife and his size, believe me it's not funny, it's cruel and is brand destroying. I'm sure if we were to measure the achievements and IQ of KDC against the rude beer swilling clowns at Tui it would frankly be no contest, the life cycle of your pathetic adolescent marketing campaign has well and truly run it's course.
Completely agree. The Tui clowns seem to have gone from subtle humour to stupidity over the last year or so. My guess is they had a change of writers and the new ones don't understand the Tui humour.
Over the last few months they've even gone to the extent of attacking other brands - both ANZ Bank and Great Wall cars have come under unnecessary and non-humorous attack.
Pull your heads in, Tui. Your ever more shrill attempts at getting noticed are damaging your brand,
Defamatory as well. Dangerous territory, DB...
Interesting. Will NZ Domains bow to US pressure?
Mega will not make a profit as a FREE service - unless it attracts millions and millions of visitors each month to view the advertising.
The business model is flawed - because Mega does not have a product that it owns - and cloud storage by itself does not attract millions of new viewers each month.
Mega will not do that unless it allows copyrighted films and music to be hosted and stored and shared in clear breach of international copyrights - AGAIN.
Of course this time KDC won't be stupid enough to write about it in email to his fellow board members - showing knowledge of the breaches and intent to capitalise on them - but the model and the aim is the same - in clear breach of international IP agreements.
Have an actual look at precisely what his monetisation model is and how it works and how disruptive it will potentially, before you make a call.
Check out MegaBox - it is quite succinctly explained there.
Dotcom should look at South Africa, as their copyright laws are lenient on ISP's. Their cops are also pretty inept, and USa is afraid to threaten them as China is courting them.