sweden

Days after four defendants in the high-profile Pirate Bay case were found guilty of violating copyright law, the Web site implored fans to stay calm, not to send donations, and to stay united.

In a blog posted to Thepiratebay.org, the controversial BitTorrent tracker said the "verdict has already been appealed by us and will be taken to the next level of court."

Administrators of the court in Sweden did not immediately respond to requests to confirm the filing of the appeal. On Friday, the court convicted Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij, and Carl Lundströ… Read more

Immediately following the enactment of a new Swedish antipiracy law on April 1, Internet traffic in Sweden plummeted--and it has yet to return to prior levels.

According to Netnod, an organization that measures Internet traffic on access points between Swedish and international networks, traffic went down from average data speeds of about 160 gigabits per second to about 90Gbps and has remained so since the day the new law went into effect.

Netnod has declined to make the connection between the new antipiracy law and the traffic drop since it only measures traffic without identifying what sort of activity is … Read more

A verdict in the much-watched Pirate Bay file-sharing trial is due to be announced in Sweden early Friday. Erik Palm and Mats Lewan, two Swedish journalists spending several months as exchange reporters at CNET News, talk about the case, as well as its broader implications.

That, and other headlines of the day, on Thursday's CNET News Daily Podcast.

Today's stories:

Waiting on the Pirate Bay verdict

U.S. PC market shows some resilience amid continuing decline

Apple patent filings hint at iPhone evolution

Ning hits 1 million social networks

Hey, Twitter guys, quit teasing us!… Read more

Open a new text message, enter your Social Security number and a security code sent to you by mail, and zip it off to the Department of the Treasury. Your income taxes are now filed.

Sound like a dream? It's not.

This is how lots of Swedish people will file their income taxes in May, as they have for the last five years. So what's the downside?

What Swedes actually do with their cell phone is sign a tax declaration that has already been prepared by the country's tax authority, officially called Skatteverket. It already knows everything … Read more

We're not talking about a team of dancing zombies; we mean a team of friends to form her Zombie Preparedness task force. Because it is Zombie Preparedness Day. We also bring it with some open-source good news for DVR builders, and the Linux folks talking tough to Microsoft.

Time Warner rationale for bandwidth caps doesn’t add up http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/04/get-ready-for-metered-broadband-texas.ars

Verizon promises 4G wireless for rural America http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-12261_7-10209933-51.html

MPAA: Box office up, but 'sober epic' underway in home video … Read more

The same day a new antipiracy law went into effect in Sweden, Internet traffic took a dive and five audio book publishers went after an alleged illegal file sharer in court.

The so-called IPRED law, which went into effect Wednesday, requires Internet service providers to reveal subscribers' Internet Protocol addresses to copyright holders in cases where a court finds ample evidence of illegal activity.

As of 2 p.m. local time Wednesday in Sweden, Internet traffic was down about 30 percent from the day … Read more

File swappers in Sweden, land of the world's largest bittorrent sharing site, The Pirate Bay, are facing a tougher future.

The so-called IPRED law, scheduled to go into effect Wednesday, will in some instances require Internet service providers to reveal subscribers' Internet Protocol addresses to copyright holders--including the film, music, and game industries--that charge users with illegal file sharing.

The Swedish law stipulates that property rights holders can take their grievances to a court, which will examine the evidence, including the extent of the file sharing, and decide whether the IP address will be released. The copyright holder then … Read more

Swedish police on Friday reported making a major Internet piracy bust.

Authorities said they seized computer equipment belonging to a Stockholm-area man whom they suspected of violating local copyright law. The police, who carried out the raid on February 9, only disclosed the news Friday.

"We made a bust. A server and computers have been taken and are being analyzed now," said Mats Johansson, a precinct commander in Stockholm, told CNET News in an interview.

Johansson said the man, whose identity was not disclosed, was questioned and subsequently released. He is now the target of an investigation by … Read more

Jeff is back to prove that father truly does not know best, but we're happy to welcome him back to the show. The OG crew is finally back together, so we get right back into the mix with stories about video game energy conservation, YouTube cheat tactics, Christian Guitar Hero, the weekend box office, and Jeff regales us with tales of the forgotten country of Canada.

Welcome back Jeff! Last week seemed to last forever without you buddy, and while guest hosts are always a good time, The 404 is almost too positive without your brand of bitter hatred for everything under the sun. So now that you're back and you've brought your gray cloud with you, we can get back to all things "normal" on the show. We're all about new and old movies, so I must recommend Let the Right One In, a new movie that takes an original look at vampirism. The story is about a young boy ostracized by his peers who finds friendship in a young neighbor...who also happens to be a blood-sucking vampire preying on other members of his community. It's an indie flick, so don't expect to see big budget explosions or crazy CGI, but the story is well-told and emotional. The movie is all in Swedish, so don't forget your reading glasses. I also just read that an American remake is in the works that will undoubtedly butcher the original. Just check out this one; I give it The 404 Seal of Approval, arf arf you won't be disappointed!