The DVD retailers from the Good Earth Plaza are now dispersed in Quiapo and adjacent areas. Here are some text msgs from the DVD girls of Good Earth Plaza:
5 Sep 2008
"mga suki my mga bgo kming dvd blue ray,c malou 2?lumipat na kmi sa emerald second floor stall N7."
30 Aug 2008
"Mga suki c malou 2 ung suki nyo sa dvd,lumipat na kmi sa shoppers gold,hrap nang good earth.second floor stall N 7.d2 nlng kyo pumunta,marmi kmi bgong blue ray,slamat"
30 Aug 2008
"ngbkaz n kmi sh0opersgold... jehan 2"
27 Aug 2008
"Hi kuya god pm musta c lyn poh e2 lumipat n poh kame sa NBI dhil sunug na ung robnson"
08 Aug 2007
"Kuya dun kmi li2pat odeon mall kz nasunog ang g0odearth.."
Monday, August 25, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
BitThief
BitThief
A Free Riding BitTorrent Client
BitThief is an ongoing project of the Distributed Computing Group at ETH Zurich.
The project deals with incentive problems in peer-to-peer filesharing systems. The lack of incentives to upload potentially results in a total collapse of the network, implying that it is essential for a completely decentralized system to incorporate protocols that ensure a fair sharing of resources. We developed a BitTorrent client that free rides on BitTorrent, that is, it downloads from BitTorrent swarms without contributing any resources itself which illustrated that the BitTorrent protocol currently fails to prevent uncooperative behavior as it does not provide any countermeasures against free riding clients.
We argue that the BitTorrent protocol has to be modified in order to effectively prevent selfishness.
Our proof-of-concept client BitThief is a byproduct of our HotNets-V paper "Free Riding in BitTorrent is Cheap".
Note that, as it is a scientific project, we require measurements of the performance of our exploits. For that purpose, the client occasionally transmits data to our webserver. The transmitted data merely contains information about the time required to download files of any size. In particular, only a hash of the info hash is transmitted, which means that it is not feasible to determine what has actually been downloaded which is not of our concern. However, we advice all testers not to download any copyrighted material.
http://dcg.ethz.ch/projects/bitthief/index.php
Download your BitThief here:
http://dcg.ethz.ch/projects/bitthief/download.php
A Free Riding BitTorrent Client
BitThief is an ongoing project of the Distributed Computing Group at ETH Zurich.
The project deals with incentive problems in peer-to-peer filesharing systems. The lack of incentives to upload potentially results in a total collapse of the network, implying that it is essential for a completely decentralized system to incorporate protocols that ensure a fair sharing of resources. We developed a BitTorrent client that free rides on BitTorrent, that is, it downloads from BitTorrent swarms without contributing any resources itself which illustrated that the BitTorrent protocol currently fails to prevent uncooperative behavior as it does not provide any countermeasures against free riding clients.
We argue that the BitTorrent protocol has to be modified in order to effectively prevent selfishness.
Our proof-of-concept client BitThief is a byproduct of our HotNets-V paper "Free Riding in BitTorrent is Cheap".
Note that, as it is a scientific project, we require measurements of the performance of our exploits. For that purpose, the client occasionally transmits data to our webserver. The transmitted data merely contains information about the time required to download files of any size. In particular, only a hash of the info hash is transmitted, which means that it is not feasible to determine what has actually been downloaded which is not of our concern. However, we advice all testers not to download any copyrighted material.
http://dcg.ethz.ch/projects/bitthief/index.php
Download your BitThief here:
http://dcg.ethz.ch/projects/bitthief/download.php
Friday, August 8, 2008
Good Earth Plaza: After the Fire
I'm re-posting Senor Enrique's blog on Good Earth Plaza Fire here. You can view more photos of the building at http://senorenrique.blogspot.com/2008/08/good-earth-plaza-after-fire_08.html
Those who grew up in Manila during the '60s will remember that Good Earth at the corner of Avenida Rizal and Bustos Street was the largest and first department store along Avenida that boasted having escalators in the building.
My brothers, cousins and I used to go to its coffee shop for a late morning merienda after attending mass at the nearby Sta. Cruz Church. I always ordered the shrimp salad sandwich served on toasted white bread.
However, I don't remember having bought anything at Good Earth. Ready-to-wear clothing was not popular back then as they are now; the trousers and button-down polo shirts I had were custom-tailored with fabrics purchased separately at Central Market. Also, my eldest sister who was then studying in Chicago used to send me Banlon and other knit shirts.
The building that was once Good Earth is now Good Earth Plaza which houses several establishments, including a motel on the sixth floor; unlike when it originally opened as just one huge department store. And at dawn last Monday, it was gutted by a fire.
According to a PDI article, it took firefighters nearly 22 hours to put out the blaze; finally extinguishing it at 3:00 am, Tuesday. The arson investigation division of the Manila Fire Department suspected the fire stemmed from pieces of rubber in the first floor of the building. Chief Inspector Myra Bico roughly estimated damages to property at P26 million.
The fire destroyed several stores inside the building, including Robinsons Supermarket and several stalls selling electronic items, cell phone accessories, pirated DVDs, and jewelry.
Although only the ground floor and basement of the eight-story building were damaged in the fire, thick smoke and intermittent rains made it difficult for firemen to battle the blaze. The fact that most of the stalls inside the building were closed made the job even more arduous.
The building's close proximity to the LRT's Carriedo Station forced the LRT 1 that runs above Avenida to suspend operations, then cut in half. Full operations only resumed the following morning, Tuesday.
Meanwhile, according to a GMA News report, the office of DOTC Undersecretary Guiling Mamondiong is considering filing a P700,000 damage suit against the owner of the Good Earth Plaza building. The P700,000, Mamondiong said, represents the amount of lost income for the disruption of the Light Rail Transit Line 1's operations.
On Tueday afternoon when these photographs were taken, many stall owners were in the vicinity to ask the authorities when they could possibly enter the building to collect whatever undamaged property and inventory they might have left. And sadly, many who used to work in the building also milled around to learn about the status of their employment.
My brothers, cousins and I used to go to its coffee shop for a late morning merienda after attending mass at the nearby Sta. Cruz Church. I always ordered the shrimp salad sandwich served on toasted white bread.
However, I don't remember having bought anything at Good Earth. Ready-to-wear clothing was not popular back then as they are now; the trousers and button-down polo shirts I had were custom-tailored with fabrics purchased separately at Central Market. Also, my eldest sister who was then studying in Chicago used to send me Banlon and other knit shirts.
The building that was once Good Earth is now Good Earth Plaza which houses several establishments, including a motel on the sixth floor; unlike when it originally opened as just one huge department store. And at dawn last Monday, it was gutted by a fire.
According to a PDI article, it took firefighters nearly 22 hours to put out the blaze; finally extinguishing it at 3:00 am, Tuesday. The arson investigation division of the Manila Fire Department suspected the fire stemmed from pieces of rubber in the first floor of the building. Chief Inspector Myra Bico roughly estimated damages to property at P26 million.
The fire destroyed several stores inside the building, including Robinsons Supermarket and several stalls selling electronic items, cell phone accessories, pirated DVDs, and jewelry.
Although only the ground floor and basement of the eight-story building were damaged in the fire, thick smoke and intermittent rains made it difficult for firemen to battle the blaze. The fact that most of the stalls inside the building were closed made the job even more arduous.
The building's close proximity to the LRT's Carriedo Station forced the LRT 1 that runs above Avenida to suspend operations, then cut in half. Full operations only resumed the following morning, Tuesday.
Meanwhile, according to a GMA News report, the office of DOTC Undersecretary Guiling Mamondiong is considering filing a P700,000 damage suit against the owner of the Good Earth Plaza building. The P700,000, Mamondiong said, represents the amount of lost income for the disruption of the Light Rail Transit Line 1's operations.
On Tueday afternoon when these photographs were taken, many stall owners were in the vicinity to ask the authorities when they could possibly enter the building to collect whatever undamaged property and inventory they might have left. And sadly, many who used to work in the building also milled around to learn about the status of their employment.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Good Earth Plaza Fire
Mall fire disrupts LRT
Update: I received a text from one of the DVD maninindas this morning. "Kuya dun kmi li2pat odeon mall kz nasunog ang g0odearth.." The DVD retailers will be moving to Odeon Mall (formerly Odeon Theater) near LRT2 Recto Station. I was informed that it would take around one week to set-up their stalls at Odeon Mall.
Philippine Star - Tuesday, August 5The big blaze that hit a shopping mall in Sta. Cruz, Manila near the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 station disrupted rail line operations yesterday, causing inconvenience for thousands of passengers and revenue loss anew for the LRT Authority (LRTA).
The fire of still undetermined origin razed the eight-story Good Earth Emporium building, which housed the Robinson's Supermarket and the Paradiso Hotel located at the corner of Bustos street and Rizal Avenue.
The building, now owned by Colony Investors Inc., was built in the '60s and was once a famous landmark in the Sta. Cruz district. It had undergone several renovations, but old-timers still refers to it as the Good Earth building.
The fire, which reached the fifth alarm, started at the ground floor at around 5:22 a.m.
Melquiades "Mel" Robles, LRTA administrator, said they were forced to bypass the Carriedo station in the middle of LRT Line 1's morning operations at 9 a.m. when thick black smoke billowing from the burning mall made the loading and unloading of passengers impossible at the said station.
Robles said that the situation worsened at around 10:30 a.m., forcing them to implement "half-line" operations at the rail line.
The implementation had LRT operating only at the southern end of the line running from the Baclaran station in Parañaque to the Central station in Manila and back. The Monumento to Carriedo line was closed.
"In times like this, the safety of our passengers, as well as rolling stock - our trains - is of paramount consideration," Robles said.
As of 1 p.m., Robles estimated the revenue loss for the rail line disruption to be at P.7 million.
"We expect it to go higher since it seems that the fire will not be controlled any time soon," he said.
The rail line also suffered revenue losses when a fire hit the Puregold shopping mall near the LRT Line 1 Libertad station in Pasay City last July 17.
Robles called on the owners of buildings and establishments near LRT stations, to look into their electrical wirings and other potential fire hazards to avoid such incidents.
"We urge them to attend to fire prevention measures in their respective establishments so we can avoid such unfortunate incidents. It is also for their own good," Robles said. - Rainier Allan Ronda With Nestor Etolle/Philstar
Update: I received a text from one of the DVD maninindas this morning. "Kuya dun kmi li2pat odeon mall kz nasunog ang g0odearth.." The DVD retailers will be moving to Odeon Mall (formerly Odeon Theater) near LRT2 Recto Station. I was informed that it would take around one week to set-up their stalls at Odeon Mall.
Philippine Star - Tuesday, August 5The big blaze that hit a shopping mall in Sta. Cruz, Manila near the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 station disrupted rail line operations yesterday, causing inconvenience for thousands of passengers and revenue loss anew for the LRT Authority (LRTA).
The fire of still undetermined origin razed the eight-story Good Earth Emporium building, which housed the Robinson's Supermarket and the Paradiso Hotel located at the corner of Bustos street and Rizal Avenue.
The building, now owned by Colony Investors Inc., was built in the '60s and was once a famous landmark in the Sta. Cruz district. It had undergone several renovations, but old-timers still refers to it as the Good Earth building.
The fire, which reached the fifth alarm, started at the ground floor at around 5:22 a.m.
Melquiades "Mel" Robles, LRTA administrator, said they were forced to bypass the Carriedo station in the middle of LRT Line 1's morning operations at 9 a.m. when thick black smoke billowing from the burning mall made the loading and unloading of passengers impossible at the said station.
Robles said that the situation worsened at around 10:30 a.m., forcing them to implement "half-line" operations at the rail line.
The implementation had LRT operating only at the southern end of the line running from the Baclaran station in Parañaque to the Central station in Manila and back. The Monumento to Carriedo line was closed.
"In times like this, the safety of our passengers, as well as rolling stock - our trains - is of paramount consideration," Robles said.
As of 1 p.m., Robles estimated the revenue loss for the rail line disruption to be at P.7 million.
"We expect it to go higher since it seems that the fire will not be controlled any time soon," he said.
The rail line also suffered revenue losses when a fire hit the Puregold shopping mall near the LRT Line 1 Libertad station in Pasay City last July 17.
Robles called on the owners of buildings and establishments near LRT stations, to look into their electrical wirings and other potential fire hazards to avoid such incidents.
"We urge them to attend to fire prevention measures in their respective establishments so we can avoid such unfortunate incidents. It is also for their own good," Robles said. - Rainier Allan Ronda With Nestor Etolle/Philstar
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Quiapo DVD Map
Here are some Quaipo DVD maps uploaded to our eGroups a few years back. These maps may be outdated but i'm sure these would be of help to Quiapo newbies.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Best Version: Middle-classness and Consumption of Pirated DVDs
EASA Conference 2008 Experiencing Diversity and Mutuality
Performing copyright: the politics of creative practice and the poetics of technology
Date and Time, 28th August, 2008 at 09:00
"Best Version": performing middle-classness through the consumption of pirated DVDs
Trina Joyce Sajo Agena
Third World Studies Center
Short Summary
Taking further the claim that DVD piracy is a simulation of middle-classness, I draw on theories of performativity to analyze the consumption fake DVDs in the Philippines.
Abstract
Amidst the staggering poverty, mass-market consumption reeks everywhere in the Philippines. Malls loom large in urban landscapes and modernizing provincial areas. And then there are alternative sites of counterfeit commerce in street corners, rundown buildings, and overpasses, where fashion, food, music and electronics are sold at cheaper prices and with supposedly lesser quality compared to those in malls and licensed shops.
The globalizing commercial landscape is no less a testimony to Filipinos' penchant for buying. This paper takes special interest on an alternative form of consumption. Despite the government's crackdown on piracy, Filipinos continue to patronize bootlegged goods. Among these are DVDs. How can the popularity of such low quality—and least of all prohibited—form of entertainment be explained?
Noted Filipino scholar Roland Tolentino interprets DVD piracy consumption as the simulation of middle-classness. Most Filipinos desire to have the "fineries" of the good life, but only a few have gainful access. Pirated goods are representations of the desired middle-class life, but they are "as real as the real itself."
Taking Tolentino's claim further, this paper considers the consumption of fake DVDs as performance. I draw on theories of performativity to analyze the consumption of pirated DVDs in the Philippines.
http://www.nomadit.co.uk/easa/easa08/panels.php5?PanelID=322
Performing copyright: the politics of creative practice and the poetics of technology
Date and Time, 28th August, 2008 at 09:00
"Best Version": performing middle-classness through the consumption of pirated DVDs
Trina Joyce Sajo Agena
Third World Studies Center
Short Summary
Taking further the claim that DVD piracy is a simulation of middle-classness, I draw on theories of performativity to analyze the consumption fake DVDs in the Philippines.
Abstract
Amidst the staggering poverty, mass-market consumption reeks everywhere in the Philippines. Malls loom large in urban landscapes and modernizing provincial areas. And then there are alternative sites of counterfeit commerce in street corners, rundown buildings, and overpasses, where fashion, food, music and electronics are sold at cheaper prices and with supposedly lesser quality compared to those in malls and licensed shops.
The globalizing commercial landscape is no less a testimony to Filipinos' penchant for buying. This paper takes special interest on an alternative form of consumption. Despite the government's crackdown on piracy, Filipinos continue to patronize bootlegged goods. Among these are DVDs. How can the popularity of such low quality—and least of all prohibited—form of entertainment be explained?
Noted Filipino scholar Roland Tolentino interprets DVD piracy consumption as the simulation of middle-classness. Most Filipinos desire to have the "fineries" of the good life, but only a few have gainful access. Pirated goods are representations of the desired middle-class life, but they are "as real as the real itself."
Taking Tolentino's claim further, this paper considers the consumption of fake DVDs as performance. I draw on theories of performativity to analyze the consumption of pirated DVDs in the Philippines.
http://www.nomadit.co.uk/easa/easa08/panels.php5?PanelID=322
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
TWSC: Consumption of Digital Piracy
Here's a letter that i received for being a really good pirata hahaha
Dear respondent,
The Third World Studies Center of the University of the Philippines-Diliman, with research funding from the Southeast Asian Studies Regional Exchange Program (SEASREP), is conducting preliminary research on the consumption of digital piracy. The aim is to develop a full-blown proposal on globalization, digital piracy and everyday life in the Philippines and Indonesia.
For this purpose, we are inviting you to participate as a respondent in this research project. We would like to ask you to share your knowledge and experience as a consumer of digital materials in the Philippines. Since this project deals with everyday life, the interview will be done through pakikipagkwentuhan or storytelling, with questions to guide our conversation. (The questions are attached below).
The interview will be at your most convenient time and place. Trina Joyce Sajo Agena will be in touch to arrange and conduct the interview. Or you can contact through email at consumingpiracy@gmail.com or at telephone number (02) 920-5428.
Thank you very much for helping us to explore this topic, 'consuming piracy', in relation to globalization.
Sincerely,
Maria F. Mangahas, PhD
Project Leader and Case Study Researcher-Writer
Trina Joyce Sajo Agena
Case Study Researcher-Writer
Dear respondent,
The Third World Studies Center of the University of the Philippines-Diliman, with research funding from the Southeast Asian Studies Regional Exchange Program (SEASREP), is conducting preliminary research on the consumption of digital piracy. The aim is to develop a full-blown proposal on globalization, digital piracy and everyday life in the Philippines and Indonesia.
For this purpose, we are inviting you to participate as a respondent in this research project. We would like to ask you to share your knowledge and experience as a consumer of digital materials in the Philippines. Since this project deals with everyday life, the interview will be done through pakikipagkwentuhan or storytelling, with questions to guide our conversation. (The questions are attached below).
The interview will be at your most convenient time and place. Trina Joyce Sajo Agena will be in touch to arrange and conduct the interview. Or you can contact through email at consumingpiracy@gmail.com or at telephone number (02) 920-5428.
Thank you very much for helping us to explore this topic, 'consuming piracy', in relation to globalization.
Sincerely,
Maria F. Mangahas, PhD
Project Leader and Case Study Researcher-Writer
Trina Joyce Sajo Agena
Case Study Researcher-Writer
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