The Pirate Bay has been purchased and is perhaps looking to go legit. Software company Global Gaming Factory X AB has shelled out approximately US$7.8 million for the site.

The acquisition appears to be the first step into turning The Pirate Bay into a legal site. The Stockholm-based piracy site is a peer-to-peer server which made video games, movies and music available for "sharing" among users. Swedish police previously raided the The Pirate Bay and those connected to the site, and the ensuing trial against the BitTorrent site's founder resulted in a guilty verdict.

According to Hans Pandeya, CEO of Sweden's Global Gaming Factory, "We would like to introduce models which entail that content providers and copyright owners get paid for content that is downloaded via the site."

Pandeya adds that while The Pirate Bay is one of the top 100 most visited sites on the entire internet, it needs to change. "In order to live on, The Pirate Bay requires a new business model, which satisfies the requirements and needs of all parties, content providers, broadband operators, end users, and the judiciary," says the GGF exec. "Content creators and providers need to control their content and get paid for it." What's more, Pandeya adds, file sharers need "faster downloads and better quality".

According to a statement from The Pirate Bay, "If the new owners will screw around with the site, nobody will keep using it. That's the biggest insurance one can have that the site will be run in the way that we all want to."

Global Gaming Factory X AB will acquire The Pirate Bay this August.

There's more: http://torrentfreak.com/the-pirate-bay-closes-its-tracker-removes-torrents-090630/
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090630/0104135410.shtml
http://www.thelocal.se/20364/20090630/
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/global-gaming-factory-x-acquisitions-of-the-pirate-bay-and-new-file-sharing-technology-p2p-20
http://www.betanews.com/article/Swedish-firm-looks-to-acquire-The-Pirate-Bay-may-take-it-legit/1246358826

NINTENDO DOWNLOAD - IT'S NO REEL FANTASY: WATER, SUDOKU AND SILVER STARS CAN BOOST YOUR SKILLS

June 29, 2009 - This week's new downloadable games include a trio of WiiWare™ titles - two built around water-themed challenges and one designed to keep your mental chops in top shape. For Virtual Console™, you'll find a memorable SEGA character making his return in a classic single-player sci-fi adventure. Rounding out the lineup is a new Nintendo DSiWare™ title that's sure to have sudoku fans reaching feverishly for the nearest stylus.

WiiWare

Water Warfare™
Publisher: Hudson Entertainment
Players: 1-8
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Cartoon Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points™
Description: Water Warfare is a comical first-person shooter that uses water guns to battle and soak opponents. A map with a particular theme - Playground, Beach, Plaza or Nature Park - is generated automatically when the game begins, so you can think up new strategies each time you engage. Game modes include Single Player Missions, CPU Match and 2-Player Split Screen. On top of that, players with broadband Internet access can use Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection to battle with up to eight players from around the world, or participate in Ranking Mode.

Reel Fishing® Challenge
Publisher: Natsume, Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Reel Fishing Challenge offers a fun and challenging experience for novice fishers and master anglers alike. Put your skills to the test and discover new types of fish in the challenging mission mode, or relax and enjoy the game at your own pace in free play mode. No matter which mode you play, the game's beautiful graphics and natural setting bring the fishing experience to life. Choose from a variety of lures to attract and hook the game's numerous fish. Each fish looks and moves like the real thing - it's the closest you can get to real-life fishing without putting on your waders.

Silver Star Reversi
Publisher: Agetec, Inc.
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Silver Star Reversi has two modes: 1-Player mode allows you to play a match against the computer opponent, and 2-Player mode allows you to play against another person. In 1-Player mode, you can choose from five different computer opponents, turn the background music on or off, adjust sound effects and access in-game help features. During each match, you can also redo your last move, save the game at any point, or resign from the game. After a match has ended, you can review each move and resume the match from any point you choose.

Virtual Console™

Fantasy Zone™ II: The Tears of Opa-Opa
Original platform: SEGA MASTER SYSTEM
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Ten years have elapsed since Opa-Opa restored peace to the Fantasy Zone. Now history is repeating itself, and the planets that make up the Fantasy Zone once again find themselves attacked by the mastermind of the Nenon planet forces. This mastermind is secretly constructing a huge fortress in the Fantasy Zone and aims to put an end to their ambitious plans. Just as he did 10 years ago, Opa-Opa must do battle to save the Fantasy Zone.

Nintendo DSiWare™

SUDOKU MASTER
Publisher: Hudson Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: SUDOKU MASTER offers 150 unique puzzles that beginners and experts alike will enjoy. A handful of tutorials will help you learn the rules and controls as you go, and handy features like Write Mode and Temp Numbers make Sudoku pleasantly user-friendly. Feeling confident? Then try your hand at Title Mode to work your way up from Rookie to Sudoku Master. All puzzles were created by Sudoku veteran NIKOLI Co., Ltd., and tips from Sudoku godfather Maki Kaji are offered between games.

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi Shop™ and the Wii™ Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Card™ can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.

Remember that both Wii and Nintendo DSi feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit www.Wii.com or www.NintendoDSi.com.

Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead by doctors this afternoon after arriving at a hospital in a deep coma, city and law enforcement sources told The Times. [Updated at 3:15 p.m.]

Jackson is in a coma and his family is arriving at his bedside, a law enforcement source told The Times. [Updated at 2:46 p.m.]

Jackson was rushed to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center this afternoon by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics.

Fire Capt. Steve Ruda said paramedics responded to a call at Jackson's home at 12:26 p.m. He was not breathing when they arrived. The paramedics performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and took him to the hospital, Ruda told The LA Times.

[Updated at 2:12 p.m.]
Paramedics were called to a home in the 100 block of Carolwood Drive off Sunset Boulevard. Jackson had rented the Bel-Air home for $100,000 a month. It was described as a French chateau estate built in 2002 with seven bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, 12 fireplaces and a theater.

The home is about 2 1/2 miles, about a six-minute drive, from UCLA Medical Center. An earlier version of this post incorrectly described the time to travel between the home and hospital as two minutes.

The news comes as Jackson, 50, was attempting a comeback after years of tabloid headlines, most notably his trial and acquittal on child molestation charges.

In May, The LA Times reported that Jackson had rented the Bel-Air residence and was rehearsing for a series of 50 sold-out shows in London's O2 Arena. Jackson had won the backing of two billionaires to get the so-called "King of Pop" back on stage.

His backers envision the shows at AEG's O2 as an audition for a career rebirth that could ultimately encompass a three-year world tour, a new album, movies, a Graceland-like museum, musical revues in Las Vegas and Macau, and even a "Thriller" casino. Such a rebound could wipe out Jackson's massive debt.

via LA Times — Andrew Blankstein and Phil Willon

MEDIA ALERT: NINTENDO DSI JOINS LINEUP AT SUMMERFEST 2009

Interactive Tour Invites Fans in Milwaukee to Play, Share and Create Using the Portable Nintendo DSi System

WHAT:
When festival goers flock to Milwaukee for this year's Summerfest, they'll have a rare opportunity to get up close and personal with a remarkable newcomer in hand-held entertainment. Appearing June 25-29 at the festival's lakefront site in downtown Milwaukee, the Nintendo DSi™ Mobile Tour invites consumers to board an interactive tour bus loaded with portable Nintendo DSi systems and software. Visitors and spectators can experience the unique features and creative fun of Nintendo DSi. With help from on-site Nintendo ambassadors, consumers can use Nintendo DSi to take and manipulate photos, tweak sound recordings and enjoy a wide variety of games. Visitors can print their original souvenir photos on the bus or store them online and download them from home.

As the latest evolution in Nintendo's popular line of hand-held video game devices, Nintendo DSi features two built-in cameras, audio recording and playback functions, and access to a wealth of downloadable games and applications from the online Nintendo DSi Shop™. Players can use 10 different interactive "lenses" to tweak photos in unusual ways and share them over a local wireless connection, or have fun with their favorite music by using different audio filters to alter recorded voices or change the tempo of a song. Since launching in April, Nintendo DSi has sold more than 1 million units in the United States.

WHO:
Milwaukee-area adults, teens, festival fans and consumers of all kinds

WHEN:
Thursday, June 25 - Monday, June 29
Noon - 10 p.m. daily

WHERE:
Summerfest
200 N. Harbor Drive
Milwaukee, WI 53202
(The Nintendo DSi Mobile Tour bus will be located near the U.S. Cellular Connection Stage at the north end of the festival site.)

NINTENDO DSI MOBILE TOUR TAKES CREATIVE HAND-HELD FUN FROM COAST TO COAST

June 22, 2009 - The portable fun of the new Nintendo DSi™ video game system will be on full display in cities nationwide this summer as the Nintendo DSi Mobile Tour rolls through festivals and special events from coast to coast.

Throughout the summer, consumers across the United States will be invited to climb aboard a customized, interactive tour bus loaded with Nintendo DSi systems and software. Nintendo ambassadors will be on hand to show visitors the variety of entertainment and creative social fun offered by Nintendo DSi. Consumers will experience the system's built-in cameras, sound-manipulation features and downloadable video games. Attendees also can enjoy access to a wealth of downloadable Nintendo DSiWare™ games from the online Nintendo DSi Shop. Visitors can print their original Nintendo DSi souvenir photos on the bus or store them online and download them from home after the event.

Some scheduled stops for the Nintendo DSi Mobile Tour include Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisc. (June 25-29), the Rothbury Festival in Rothbury, Mich. (July 2-5), the All Good Music Festival in Masontown, W.Va. (July 9-12), and the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago (July 17-19). For a full list of tour dates and details, visit NintendoDS.com/news.jsp.