bot

Last year, Italy officially implemented the ‘Piracy Shield‘, a system that aims to deter and decrease live sports streaming piracy.

Since then, Piracy Shield has blocked access to thousands of IP-addresses and domain names associated with unauthorized broadcasts.

Despite overblocking concerns, the massive blocking operation is seen as a key success by the authorities and many participating rightsholders. The same is true for the updated copyright law in general, which introduced fines of up to €5,000 for pirate consumers.

Study Reveals Piracy-Shield Impact

While there is no shortage of opinions on these measures, hard data on the impact of the increased anti-piracy efforts is less common. Initial data indicated that the Piracy Shield had little impact on legal subscriptions, but thorough research is lacking.

This week, new data from IPSOS adds more context. The IPSOS survey and report have been published annually for several years in collaboration with local anti-piracy outfit FAPAV. The most recent version covers 2024, which is the first year Piracy Shield was active.

A quick glance at the headline numbers suggests a trend going in the right direction. In the span of a year, overall piracy rates decreased, especially among teens. The same is true for piracy volume, which dropped significantly.

Piracy Trends in Italy: 2023 vs 2024

Metric2023 Survey Data2024 Survey Data**Overall Piracy Rate (adults)**39%38%**Teen Piracy Rate (10-14 years)**45%40%Pirates Converting After Block45%47%**Piracy Volume (Total Acts)**319 Million295 Million

Data sourced from the FAPAV/Ipsos surveys.

As shown above, pirates are increasingly converting to legal services after encountering a block. Nearly half of all pirates who ran into a blocked site or service reportedly sought legal options, which is a notable success. However, since the piracy rate only dropped a single percentage point in a year, piracy remained prevalent.

This brings us to some of the seemingly disappointing outcomes of the survey, including the prevalence of live sports streaming piracy, which is the main target of the Piracy Shield program.

The report finds that in 2024, 15% of the population had used pirate live sports streaming services at some point, which is the same figure as a year before. In other words, sports piracy did not decrease after the Piracy Shield launched.

When compared to 2023, prevalence of most types of piracy remained relatively stable, with a few single percentage point drops here and there. Of the researched content categories, film piracy was the most common with 29% of the population admitting to have pirated something in 2024.

Comparison of Piracy rate by Type

Type of Piracy2023 Rate2024 Rate**Overall Piracy (any type)**39%38%Film Piracy30%29%Series Piracy22%23%Software Piracy21%22%Live Sports Piracy15%15%Illegal IPTV Use23%22%

Percentage of the adult population in Italy that engaged in each type of piracy at least once during the year.

These percentages mostly apply to online piracy, but also include physical piracy and indirect piracy. The latter refers to receiving pirated content from another person, such as via a USB drive or by watching someone else’s copy.

Volume Down, Damages Up

While there was no drastic decrease in the piracy rates, the positive note is that the overall piracy volume dropped more significantly. The reported 295 million piracy ‘acts’ in 2024 represent an 8% drop compared to the year before.

On the flip side, however, the reported financial damages increased. Across all sectors, the study estimates the loss in turnover at €2.2 billion, a substantial 10% increase year over year.

The most dramatic increase is reported in the live sports streaming category. These losses were estimated at €285 million in 2023 and €350 million last year, a 23% increase. That’s despite the Piracy Shield measures, which are aimed at sports piracy.

Awareness

Piracy Shield definitely didn’t go unnoticed by the public at large, as the survey reveals that 70% are aware of the new anti-piracy law, which also introduced financial penalties for individual pirates.

For now, the law’s looming punishments lack deterrence, as 42% of the population doubts its effectiveness. At the same time, only 56% of the self-proclaimed pirates believe they risk being punished.

The Piracy Shield fares much better on this metric as an impressive 79% (of those who are aware of it?) believe that the anti-piracy blocking system is effective.

All in all, the IPSOS study indicates that there is still plenty of work to be done before online piracy is seriously tackled. With extensive piracy blockades and serious fines already in place, it will be interesting to see what comes next.

—

More details and information on the 2024 FAPAV/Ipsos study, released in Rome on Tuesday, is available here.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

From TorrentFreak via this RSS feed

Image: The Verge

I jumped on the smartwatch bandwagon a bit late, but now I can’t go a day without mine. Beyond delivering helpful notifications, it’s perfect for setting timers, tracking workouts, and monitoring my sleeping habits (which are terrible). If you haven’t yet joined the smartwatch party or you’re looking to upgrade, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 7 is down to $199.99 ($100 off) in the 40mm / Bluetooth configuration at Amazon and Walmart. If you prefer a larger display, the 44mm model is on sale at Amazon starting at $229.99 ($100 off).

While the Galaxy Watch 7 isn’t as flashy as other Samsung wearables, its more simplistic approach is part of its charm. It retains the signature circular design and slim profile of prior models, which remains a stark contrast to the adventure-ready Galaxy Watch Ultra. It’s comfortable to wear while sleeping and working out — as our own Victoria Song noted in her review last year — and it comes with a selection of welcome features, including heart rate tracking, an Energy Score for gauging recovery, and FDA-approved sleep apnea detection.

One of the new marquee tools of the Watch 7 is its AI-powered wellness insights, which provide personalized suggestions to help you hit your health and fitness goals. There’s also a 3-in-1 BioActive Sensor that can measure metabolic health thanks to an experimental advanced glycation end products (AGEs) metric, though both features were rather hit or miss in our testing. Of course, the wearable also offers a range of basic smartwatch features, such as the ability to stream music, send texts, and take calls when your phone is nearby.

Despite its slimmer design, the Watch 7 offers around 24 hours of battery life with the always-on display enabled, though if you upgrade to the 44mm Watch 7, you can eke out a few additional hours. Samsung’s wearable also runs Wear OS 5, as of now, though we’re expecting the Gemini-powered Wear OS 6 to arrive via an update later this year. All that being said, the timing of these deals could indicate that a Galaxy Watch 8 is on the horizon. Samsung typically holds an Unpacked event in mid-July, and this year it may introduce a refreshed lineup of foldable and wearable devices.

Other deals to check out

Amazon’s Fire TV Soundbar Plus is down to an all-time low of $174.99 ($75 off) at Amazon. The 37-inch soundbar features three speakers, three tweeters, and two woofers, providing a nice upgrade over your TV’s built-in speakers. Plus, it supports Dolby Atmos for richer, more three-dimensional sound. A dedicated center dialogue channel promises you’ll actually hear what people are saying as well, allowing you to turn off closed captions, while its relatively compact size makes it a great option for smaller setups.The Anker 3-in-1 Cube with MagSafe is available from Amazon and Anker (with code WS7DV2DYGOBA) for $103.99 (about $46 off), matching its best price to date. The 3-in-1 charger is perfect if you own multiple Apple devices, allowing you to simultaneously charge an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods. The primary wireless pad delivers 15W of power, with an adjustable viewing angle of up to 60 degrees. The Apple Watch charger, meanwhile, features a convenient slide-in and slide-out mechanism, while the AirPods charging pad can be accessed by angling the main charger. It also comes with a 30W USB-C charger and a 5-foot USB-C cable, so you’re ready to go out of the box.The Soundcore Select 4 Go is back down to its all-time low of $19.98 (about $15 off) at Amazon in select colors. The diminutive Bluetooth speaker is perfect for listening to your favorite playlist while relaxing by the pool, at the park, or in the bath. It features IP67 waterproofing, allowing it to withstand immersion in up to 3.3 feet of water for up to 30 minutes, thus providing peace of mind when used outdoors. A handy lanyard also lets you attach it to your bag or your bike’s handlebars, while the speaker’s 20-hour battery ensures it can keep the party going during all-day events.

From The Verge via this RSS feed

The Final Fantasy Magic: The Gathering set is here, and there's never been a more perfect assemblage of Magic cards. The set features cards taken from every mainline Final Fantasy title, including the two MMOs, so there's something for every generation of Final Fantasy lovers. And while Magic has featured other video game crossovers in the past (hello, Assassin's Creed and Fallout!), with the way this set is constructed, from card mechanics to art, you can tell this one is a developer favorite, sure to appeal to the massive chunk of people who love both games.

But what if you don't inhabit the center circle in the Venn diagram of Magic and Final Fantasy lovers but are still interested in experiencing this set for yourself? Magic: The Gathering is an intimidating game, even if you're a seasoned player like myself. There are so many ways you can play, both in person and online, that it can be overwhelming to figure out the best way to jump in. So here's a few tips and tricks to playing the Final Fantasy Magic set.

Be warned, though: this is the best-selling set in Magic's 30-plus-year history, and you will pay for the pleasure of this experience - if you can find the product to …

Read the full story at The Verge.

From The Verge via this RSS feed

hangin in panama, hunting for crocs, living the dream.

From bit of a Rambler via this RSS feed

It has been six years since Ring Fit Adventure, the Nintendo Switch fitness game that asked players to defeat monsters (and a sexy dragon) through exercise. The workout game used the Joy-Cons’ accelerometers to measure your movements and translate them into fitness attacks on screen. It’s weird, it’s wacky, but it worked.

I played quite a bit of Ring Fit during the COVID-19 lockdown. What can I say: Nintendo kept me active at a time when I wasn’t doing much else. And it didn’t take long for me to notice that I felt stronger. Exercises like squats or leg lifts, which were incredibly difficult in my first week, got easier.

Even now that the world has opened up again, as a chronic miser, I hesitate to join a gym or a yoga studio. At the end of the day, I can’t help but think: We have Ring Fit at home. (I don’t endorse this mindset, but I do own it.)

But as the years have gone by, a creeping fear has grown in the back of my mind. And now, in the early weeks of the Switch 2’s release, it seems undeniable: They’re not making a Ring Fit 2, are they?

Nintendo should make Ring Fit 2

Ring Fit Adventure was a blockbuster game for the Nintendo Switch. During the pandemic, desperate players snatched the game off store shelves or overpaid for it on eBay. In 2022, it was one of Nintendo’s best-selling games.

The same was true of Wii Fit for the Nintendo Wii, which reportedly sold out in stores even before it was released. But its follow-up, Wii Fit U, didn’t do so hot — it didn’t crack the top 10 titles for the beleaguered console.

Maybe this is what Nintendo is trying to avoid. But the Switch 2 isn’t comparable to the Wii U when it comes to sales. There are 3.5 million units in the wild right now, but scant few console exclusives. I can’t complain that most Switch games are playable on the Switch 2 (including the original Ring Fit Adventure, more on that later), but it seems reasonable that an audience for a new fitness game exists.

Part of the charm of Nintendo’s fitness games has always been their visual quirks. In some Wii Fit exercises, your bean-shaped Mii is the on-screen avatar, and they do step exercises onstage in front of cheering crowds. The avatars in Ring Fit Adventure are more sophisticated, but the narrative is full of cartoonish characters and scenarios.

The lighthearted aesthetic, and Ring Fit Adventure’s low-commitment model, make working out feel more fun than a chore. It only takes about 10 minutes to complete a level. While you can certainly do more in a session, I can’t tell you how many times I convinced myself to get off the couch and work out because “it’ll only be 10 minutes!”

Nintendo hasn’t completely abandoned fitness games. In December, it released Fitness Boxing 3 for the original Switch. As an exercise game, it’s definitely functional. But its laser-focus on boxing and a more straightforward gym setting doesn’t quite scratch the itch that Ring Fit Adventure did.

@polygon

Is Nintendo ever gonna give us Ring Fit 2? #gaming #nintendo #gamingontiktok

♬ original sound – Polygon

Theoretically, you can play Ring Fit Adventure forever. Once the main quest is over, you can essentially do a New Game Plus run by crafting custom workouts. Armen B. at CGI Coffee did an entire year of Ring Fit Adventure, and reported that the hardware holds up, even after hundreds of reps.

It feels wrong to be asking — nay, begging — Nintendo to let me give them more money, when they’ve already released an expensive console and populated it with select $80 exclusives. But even if Ring Fit Adventure is a forever game, surely Nintendo left something on the table?

A second installment of Ring Fit’s narrative could bring lapsed players like me back to the fold — and introduce new ones to the fitness game. Please, my atrophying thigh muscles are begging for it!

Ring Fit 2 would need new hardware

The good news is that Ring Fit Adventure is still compatible with the Nintendo Switch 2. But the hardware isn’t. In its compatibility guide, Nintendo notes that the new Joy-Cons won’t fit in the Ring-Con or the leg strap. Players can still use the original Joy-Cons to play, which is great. But given how susceptible they are to drift, it’s not exactly fun to imagine buying a whole new console and still possibly needing to shell out for replacement controllers for the old one if they break, just to play a fitness game.

It would be great to see a new Ring Fit Adventure, built for the Nintendo Switch 2 and its upgraded hardware. I have always appreciated Nintendo’s commitment to fitness, and I hope we won’t have to wait too long to see what it could do with the Nintendo Switch 2.

From Polygon via this RSS feed

Wizard of Legend 2 is about as good as roguelikes get. It’s a shame then that I’ve spent more time trying to play Wizard of Legend 2 than I’ve spent actually playing Wizard of Legend 2.

The original Wizard of Legend, developed by Contingent99, quickly amassed a cult following, due to charmingly minimalist vibes and a deep, creative combat system. For the sequel (that’s also a remake), Contingent99 stepped back from the series, passing the buck to Children of Morta developer Dead Mage. Wizard of Legend 2 has been in early access on Windows PC since October 2024, but just last week was released in full, alongside versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

The bones of the game are nearly identical: This is still an isometric action roguelike in which you choose a series of attacks (in the form of magical spells) to fight your way through a series of dungeons, getting stronger as you go. Even many of the same spells have moved almost one-to-one from Wizard of Legend to Wizard of Legend 2.

But the sequel has received a cosmetic overhaul. Gone are the pixelized graphics, replaced with a visual style reminiscent of a graphic novel. There’s something resembling a narrative now, replete with voice acting and character designs and quippy dialogue. Trawl the series’ subreddit and you’ll see no shortage of fans weighing in, on both sides, about these changes. A common refrain? Many refer to it as “Hades lite” (derogatory). Another common refrain? Many refer to it as “Hades lite” (complimentary).

The comparisons are fair, if a little obvious. But Wizard of Legend 2 has one thing Hades lacks: co-op. In fact, co-op is arguably the entire point of Wizard of Legend — the distinguishing feature it flourishes to stand apart in a rapidly crowding genre.

So it’s too bad the co-op is busted.

As of this writing, Steam and Xbox reviews cite broken multiplayer functionality as the rationale behind lower scores. And while an early patch targeted some of these issues, like lag and improper animations, it has not addressed all of them. While playing or trying to play local co-op on Xbox, I’ve run into many of these issues myself. In some instances, one player can navigate menus, able to customize builds and choose new power-ups, while the other cannot. In other instances, if one player is moving their character, the other player cannot. Over the past week, I’ve been able to get the game to function properly a grand total of [checks notes] three times. (I’ve lost count of how many tries it took.)

But when Wizard of Legend 2 works, it works.

At the start of each run, you and your co-op partner select a handful of spells. Maybe one person opts for fireballs, while another chooses a set of giant stone boxing gloves that go thunk thunk thunk when you spam the melee attack. From there, you’ll step into a portal, which takes you to a dungeon. Your goal is to use the spells you’ve chosen to eliminate waves of enemies who are trying to stop you from reaching a portal on the other side of the dungeon. Every few levels, you’ll face a boss. And if you defeat the final boss, you and your teammate become wizards of some sort of iconic, renowned, dare I say, legendary status. Pretty simple stuff (that’s the name of the game!!!), but the speed at which runs go by compels “let’s just try one more time.”

With each run, you’ll earn a currency that allows you to permanently unlock more spells, opening up even more customization for builds. OK, so fireballs and that giant stone fist don’t mesh well together. But what if one person chooses an ice storm that can freeze enemies in place while another picks up the electric hammer that shocks enemies? There’s a delight to mixing and matching spells with your teammate, followed by a thrill in seeing how your plans play out — or don’t.

Your characters are fragile in Wizard of Legend 2; a few hits and you’re down for the count. Health is also vanishingly rare, appearing just once per level (and rarely at an amount that’ll fully heal you). When you run out of health, you become a ghost, but if your teammate can defeat enough enemies, you’ll come back to life. The message is clear, at least in multiplayer: You can’t get through this alone.

Most roguelikes cast you as a singular savior, a near-godlike entity tasked with saving the world/underworld/universe/you name it. These games give you superpowers or super weapons. But they forget the one thing that’s colloquially unbeatable in high fantasy: friendship. Wizard of Legend 2 does not. And it proposes that if those bonds of friendship are strong enough, you can eventually overcome any adversity — even a multiplayer mode that only works 0.0017% of the time.

From Polygon via this RSS feed

I wouldn't have preordered a Nintendo Switch 2 just for myself. The price is high, there's no new Smash Bros. or Metroid Prime (yet), and I've got a perfectly good original Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck that keep me plenty busy. At first, I could only justify the $450 because I write about gaming tech for The Verge.

But two weeks in, I can almost justify the cost one additional way: the Switch 2 is turning out to be an upgrade for my whole family.

I'm not primarily talking about hand-me-downs, though yes, you could absolutely hand your original Switch down to a kid while basking in the glory of the Switch 2's larger, faster screen. Mom and dad always get the best seats in the house, right?

But no: I'm talking about how Nintendo's new features are helping me share the delight of gaming with my 8-year-old kid like never before.

We bought my daughter a Switch Lite last Christmas, with Animal Crossing and Let's Go Pikachu, and that's pretty much all she played. All other gaming monopolized the living room TV, where she and her younger sister often clash over what to watch next.

But two weeks ago, my eldest suddenly realized that we could now magically beam any of my old purch …

Read the full story at The Verge.

From The Verge via this RSS feed

The music industry's nightmare came true in 2023, and it sounded a lot like Drake.

"Heart on My Sleeve," a convincingly fake duet between Drake and The Weeknd, racked up millions of streams before anyone could explain who made it or where it came from. The track didn't just go viral - it broke the illusion that anyone was in control.

In the scramble to respond, a new category of infrastructure is quietly taking shape that's built not to stop generative music outright, but to make it traceable. Detection systems are being embedded across the entire music pipeline: in the tools used to train models, the platforms where songs are uploaded, the databases that license rights, and the algorithms that shape discovery. The goal isn't just to catch synthetic content after the fact. It's to identify it early, tag it with metadata, and govern how it moves through the system.

"If you don't build this stuff into the infrastructure, you're just going to be chasing your tail," says Matt Adell, cofounder of Musical AI. "You can't keep reacting to every new track or model - that doesn't scale. You need infrastructure that works from training through distribution."

The goal isn't takedowns, b …

Read the full story at The Verge.

From The Verge via this RSS feed

28 Weeks Later

Nearly 22 years after Danny Boyle shook up the zombie genre with 28 Days Later, the director makes a return to the saga of the infested with this week’s 28 Years Later. As the title implies, it’s been a long time coming.

After making future Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy a breakout star and earning over $70 million worldwide on a paltry $8 million budget, 28 Days Later earned a sequel, 28 Weeks Later. But by the time 20th Century Fox wanted to produce it, Boyle was off making his cult sci-fi film Sunshine. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (Damsel) was recruited by Boyle to write and direct the film, which expanded the scope and polished the filmmaking with a studio sheen. But 28 Weeks Later didn’t go over well with audiences, and between negative reviews and meager box office, momentum for the would-be franchise was all but gone. Though over the years, Boyle was always quick to mention interest in coming back for a second sequel.

So why didn’t we get 28 Months Later?

When I ask Danny Boyle and 28 Years Later writer Alex Garland — who penned the original script as well — they can only laugh.

“Once we finish this trilogy,” Boyle jokes, nodding to current plans for not one but three 28 Years Later films, “[28 Months Later] will be the prequel.”

“It’s a trick George Lucas taught us,” Garland snarks. But there was a time when Months was absolutely on the table.

While Garland eventually wrote a script that was teased in the press as 28 Months Later, the timeline for producing such a movie never made a lot of sense. The issue started with Boyle and Garland’s working relationship, which imploded after the two worked together on Sunshine. In a recent interview with Empire magazine, Boyle described it as a “falling out” after clashing over how much needed to be explained to the audience.

“Sci-fi. Fucking Christ,” Boyle said. “You are really inventing the world in every single precious detail. I remember becoming obsessed with that. I wrote a prologue to try to explain it all and [Alex] said, ‘If you fucking put that in the film, I’m off.‘”

Still, the idea persisted. Even in 2007, around the release of Sunshine, Boyle was open to the possibility — even while being completely down on the idea of sequels.

“There is an idea for the next one, something which would move [the story] on. I’ve got to think about it, whether it’s right or not,” he told MTV. “I’m not particularly keen on franchises. I find it really depressing that they’re so successful. It used to be, when I started, that a sequel would only make 60 percent of what the original movie did. Now, of course, the sequels are much more successful than the originals. I’m more interested in doing originals. If you can come up with good enough ideas, people will come and see original films, rather than the rehash, you know?”

Boyle and Garland eventually reconciled when the latter began his own directing career with 2014’s Ex Machina. And as the story goes, around that time, they discussed the possibility of a second sequel to 28 Days Later. Cillian Murphy wanted in too. “Every time I do bump into Danny or Alex I always mention it,” Murphy said while doing press for 28 Days Later’s 20th anniversary in 2022. But at the time he conceded it would be tough to do 28 Months Later, considering he was 20 years older.

Garland and Boyle hinted in interviews throughout the mid-2010s that they had actually stumbled on to the hook that would lure Boyle back to the director’s chair for a sequel, but it was always in the context of a proposed 28 Months Later. Time may have had its way with the pair’s plans; between the acquisition of 28 Days Later studio Fox by Disney and the ultimate decision to independently produce a sequel (which was eventually sold to Sony Pictures), the process of bringing a 28 [TBD] to screen was slow and arduous.

Neither Boyle nor Garland were willing to share what, if anything, made it from drafts of the scrapped 28 Months Later into 28 Years Later, but the completed film seems to share a perspective with the original idea: Boyle wanted to make another movie set completely in Britain, that centered on a British family of survivors. 28 Years Later is exactly that, sidestepping the ending of 28 Weeks Later with expositional opening text.

Garland tells Polygon it was a relief to pivot to 28 Years Later: A large passage of time opened up all kinds of world-building possibilities and what-if questions to explore. And Boyle says it gave him the chance to do a movie that still felt like a totally original project versus “the rehash” he feared he would make coming off of 28 Days Later. But the director isn’t completely done with the past either: He confirms Cillian Murphy — as his 28 Days Later character Jim (or something else entirely?) — is a “very important feature of the trilogy.”

So maybe they did learn a few lessons from George Lucas after all. But don’t hold your breath for 28 Months Later.

From Polygon via this RSS feed

The E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse in Washington, DC.

The future of the internet will be determined in one building in Washington, DC - and for six weeks, I watched it unfold.

For much of this spring, the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse in downtown Washington, DC, was buzzing with lawyers, reporters, and interested onlookers jostling between dimly lit courtrooms that hosted everyone from the richest men in Silicon Valley to fired federal workers and the DOGE-aligned officials who terminated them. The sprawling courthouse, with an airy atrium in the middle and long, dark halls that spring from it, is where cases involving government agencies often land, and that meant it was hosting two of the most consequential tech cases in the country, all while fielding a flurry of unprecedented lawsuits against President Donald Trump's administration.

Between mid-April and late May, Judges James Boasberg and Amit Mehta respectively oversaw FTC v. Meta and US v. Google, a pair of long-running antitrust lawsuits that seek to split up two titans of Silicon Valley. Over the same period, several DC judges - including Boasberg - had a full docket of cases related to Trump's first 100 days in office, covering the administration's attempt to mass-depor …

Read the full story at The Verge.

From The Verge via this RSS feed

When Amanda Smith learned at the age of 25 that she had late-onset Type 1 diabetes, she considered the diagnosis a death sentence.

The nurse, from London, Ont., had a particularly dim view of the disease because she grew up watching her mother struggle with it. Her mother would slur her words and lose consciousness when her blood sugar bottomed out. Once, Ms. Smith’s grandfather had to break a window to reach her mother, who was passed out in her home holding a banana she had tried to consume to raise her blood sugar.

From The Globe and Mail via this RSS feed

From Today - Ninn Salaün via this RSS feed