January 26th - Winnipeg Free Press
Five Great Alternatives to MegaUpload
THE swift and massive multi-country raid and shutdown of file sharing giant MegaUpload caught a lot of people off guard last week. Everybody knows that digital lockers like MegaUpload were used to get around piracy laws and contained content with questionable copyright. But on the other hand, it was a very effective tool to store, share and send large files whenever you needed to. Caught up in this takedown were people who were using the service for what it was intended for. Hopefully most people were not storing a lot of valuable files and information on the site, because as part of the FBI lead raid, all the servers are currently offline and no one has access to their accounts. If you still need a way to store, share and access your files online, Lifehacker takes a look at five alternatives to MegaUpload. From old-school solutions like YouSendIt to more obvious choices like RapidShare and MediaFire. It will interesting to see the game of cat and mouse between website operators and the government after this Pandora’s box has been opened
Shorty Awards 2012
IT’S awards-season time and the web is no different. The annual Shorty Awards “honour the best of social media, recognizing the people and organizations producing real-time short-form content across Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, Foursquare, and the rest of the social Web.” With dozen of categories to register that cover everything from entertainment to sports to activism to special awards like Foursquare Location of the Year to industry awards such as Best Branded YouTube channel, there will be at least a few categories you should be interested in. You still have time to register your vote. If you don’t spend a lot of time surfing the social web, The Shortys are a good way to discover new spots and content worth checking out.
iPad Board Games
IF you are a new to the tablet world and recently got an iPad, this site can help you navigate through the seemingly endless supply of board games that have been reformatted or created specially for Apple’s ubiquitous device. From classic crossword puzzles to slick new games that make the most out of your new device, iPad Board Games is a great resource to check before you start blowing your cash in the iTunes app store.
Sundance Film Festival Streaming Online
WHILE local filmmakers Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky are making the most of their first time at Sundance with their project, Indie Game: The Movie, picking up an option from HBO, that includes Scott Rudin — the producer behind The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Moneyball, among other films — signed on to the project. While you won’t be able to stream the movie online, it will premiere in Winnipeg on Feb. 3. In the meantime, nine short films that are part of Sundance this year can streamed on-demand. Covering a wide range of topics from documentaries like Aquedettes, which is described as “a meditation on life, death and synchronized swimming,” to the The Arm, which follows a guy involved in a texting relationship and finally Henley, which centres around a nine-year-old “budding motel manager and roadkill entrepreneur.”
