Out With a Whisper - The Pirate Bay

The Pirate Bay has been a mainstay in the news for almost the entire duration of its existence.  Constant skirmishes over copyright violation meant frequent downtime and drops in service as this pirate torrent site, which only served to showcase its resilience.  It's like The Pirate Bay could not die, as the authorities played an almost comical game of whack-a-mole attempting to shut them down in countries around the world.

For many casual users who visit torrent sites to share media this was expected.  There seems to be this  causal understanding that the content being shared is obviously not being shared with means that are fully above board, but that it is our God given right to have access because we found it on the internet.  The internet is open to all, I just found the content here.  If anything, we're just users.  Nobody weeps for the guy delivering the content, they just get angry when it inconveniences them.  So I think for most people, when TPB goes through a raid or scare like the one earlier this week (that seems to have shuttered the service for good), we shrug and move on with our lives, maybe cursing under our breath in mild annoyance.

I guess we shouldn't be surprised then that nobody seems to be saying much about the possibility of no more of The Pirate Bay.  It's like everyone was expecting it to happen, as they cling loosely to the remains of the service that was always there to count on.  It just all seems very relaxed, and I'm wondering why I haven't seen more outrage from the community.  The perspective that scares me, and the reason I was always relieved to see The Pirate Bay revive itself each time, is that it always seemed to be the tentpole for the whole community of torrent users and sites.  Without The Pirate Bay, who will be the scapegoat in this witch hunt for infringement?  Will this be the end of torrent sites as we know them?  Will another site rise from the ashes of The Pirate Bay?  Time will tell.

I'm not sad to see The Pirate Bay go, but I am interested to see how this ecosystem reacts in the wake of its departure.

Opinion

So, I'm currently really interested in diving into some iOS development and just spending some time tinkering around with Xcode both for personal and professional reasons, and I'm really feeling the hurt of not owning a Mac.  I need someone to talk me into just biting the bullet and spending the money - because that's what it is.  Apple's precious gated community with a thousand+ dollar fee to get in.

I've debated the Mac Mini route, the cheapest buy-in, but I'm also limping by on my old HP ProBook in terms of a laptop, so I feel the need to upgrade there.  I contemplated the Macbook Air, but I normally rely heavily on using hardwired Ethernet in my home, and I would appreciate the additional power and the Retina display.  So basically now I'm talking myself up from like $500 to $1,500.  Plus, I'll have to spend another hundred to publish apps for iOS...

So this is where I am.  Fed-up with my current situation and too strapped for cash to want to take the plunge into the Apple ecosystem.  What do I do internet?  Give me answers!  Or cold hard cash would be great as well.

To make this not just about me, I just want to comment and say that Apple is in a position where they can do this - and while it is pretty shitty to an outsider - I've only heard good things from devs on the other side of the gate.  So I guess I might just have to pony up and pay the fee.