Tuesday, November 30, 2010

DOT P2P, Decentralized Open Domain Name System

With the recent flurry of government take downs of piracy or torrent related sites like onsmash.com, users are revolting, in a different way, by designing a new DNS system that bypasses usual ICANN route.
The laughing matter of the project, DOT P2P, initiated by a group of enthusiasts is that the backbone of the system will be bittorrent based. And the the new domain extension will be .p2p.

“By creating a .p2p TLD that is totally decentralized and that does not rely on ICANN or any ISP’s DNS service, and by having this application mimic force-encrypted BitTorrent traffic, there will be a way to start combating DNS level based censoring like the new US proposals as well as those systems in use in countries around the world including China and Iran amongst others.”
perhaps everyone will get a p2p domain now in case the sites get closed down for right or wrong reasons. But that depends on how you look at copyrights and government control.
You can read more about the p2p TLD at torrentfreak and at the Dot-P2P project itself.

Monday, November 29, 2010

InfiniBand Marriage, Mellanox Will Acquire Voltaire for $218 Million

Cyber Monday comes in different forms to different people. But the share holders of Voltaire Ltd got a real nice present, in to the tune of cash price of $8.75 per share.Mellanox Technologies has entered a definite agreement to acquire Voltaire Ltd. for a cash value of $8.75 per share, equivalent to approximately $218 million. Providing there are no regulatory problems, the deal will close in the first quarter of 2011.
Press release by Mellanox;
SUNNYVALE, Calif., and YOKNEAM, Israel, Nov. 29 -- Mellanox Technologies, Ltd., a leading supplier of end-to-end connectivity solutions for servers and storage systems, and Voltaire Ltd., a leading provider of scale-out datacenter fabrics, announced today that they have signed a definitive agreement under which Mellanox will acquire 100 percent of Voltaire's outstanding ordinary shares for cash at a price of $8.75 per share, or a total equity value of approximately $218 million ($176 million net of cash).
The terms of the transaction have been unanimously approved by both the Mellanox and Voltaire Boards of Directors. The transaction is currently projected to close in the first quarter of 2011, subject to certain closing conditions. The combination of the two companies will strengthen Mellanox's position as a premier, end-to-end connectivity solutions provider for the growing worldwide datacenter server and storage markets. According to Gartner*, worldwide server shipments are expected to increase from approximately 9 million in 2010 to 11.2 million in 2014, and worldwide storage systems are expected to grow from approximately 1.8 million in 2010 to 3.2 million in 2014.
The combined businesses currently have approximately 700 employees and achieved revenues of $217 million for the twelve months ended Sept. 30, 2010.
Mellanox currently anticipates that the transaction will be accretive to its fiscal 2011 non-GAAP earnings by $0.02 - $0.05 or more per share. With highly complementary products, markets, customers and strategies, Mellanox expects the proposed acquisition of Voltaire to enhance its market position as a leading provider of end-to-end connectivity solutions for servers and storage systems. The combination will also help Mellanox achieve meaningful revenue and cost synergies over time, with estimated, annualized cost synergies of at least $10 million by the end of 2012.
Mellanox's Board of Directors has indicated its intention to nominate Ronnie Kenneth, the chairman and CEO of Voltaire, to join its Board of Directors at Mellanox's Annual General Meeting of shareholders, which it currently anticipates will be held in May 2011. Mr. Kenneth has indicated his intention to join the Board of Directors of Mellanox.
Mellanox and Voltaire believe that employees represent one of their most important assets, and Mellanox looks forward to combining employees from both organizations under one unified management team. Mellanox expects to run the combined business from both companies' current offices located in Israel, the United States and around the world. Further, Mellanox intends to retain both companies' existing product lines and will converge such lines in future product generations to ensure continuity for customers and partners of both companies. Through this acquisition, Mellanox expects to achieve additional scale to permit it to operate as a larger, more successful and more profitable enterprise, thus increasing value for the combined company's shareholders and customers.
"The combination of Mellanox and Voltaire will create a leading provider of connectivity solutions for our customers by leveraging the complementary strengths of our companies. Together, we believe the combined company will be a stronger business partner and system solutions provider, delivering customers a comprehensive range of end-to-end connectivity solutions," said Eyal Waldman, president, chairman and CEO of Mellanox Technologies. "We welcome the great talent from Voltaire and look forward to completing the integration of our employees to create a superior combined company."
"We believe this is a great transaction for our customers, employees and shareholders," said Ronnie Kenneth, chairman and CEO of Voltaire. "We expect the combined company to offer our customers the financial strength of Mellanox, industry-leading solutions and world-class development teams that drive innovation and enhance market opportunities."
Mellanox believes that the Voltaire acquisition will strengthen its leadership position in providing end-to-end connectivity systems and will expand its software and product offerings in the growing worldwide datacenter server and storage markets it serves.
Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Voltaire shareholders will receive $8.75 for each ordinary share of Voltaire that they hold at the closing of the transaction. The proposed acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and the approval of Voltaire's shareholders.
In connection with the transaction, J.P. Morgan acted as exclusive financial adviser to Mellanox, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch acted as exclusive financial adviser to Voltaire.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Piratebay Lose Appeal, Get Reduced Sentences And Increased Fines.

The Swedish appeals court found the founders of piratebay guilty and upheld the 2009 ruling against them that found them sentenced to a year in jail and heavily fined. The new ruling reduces the jailterms but increases the fines.

Fredrik Neij (born April 27, 1978) alias ‘TiAMO’:
Guilty of contributory copyright infringement
10 months in prison
A share of the $6.5 million in damages

Peter Sunde (born September 13, 1978) alias ‘brokep
Guilty of contributory copyright infringement
8 months in prison
A share of the $6.5 million in damage

Carl Lundström (born April 13, 1960)
Guilty of contributory copyright infringement
4 months in prison
A share of the $6.5 million in damages
"It is now time for The Pirate Bay, whose operators have twice been convicted in court, to close. We now look to governments and ISPs to take note of this judgment, do the responsible thing and take the necessary steps to get The Pirate Bay shut down." said the International Federation for the Phonographic Industry.
I wonder how many other piratebays will pop up? Or something like piratebay in North Korea!
Read more at torrentfreak