Court Orders Convicted Pirate to Dump Linux and Use Windows

zekrahminator · Aug 26, 2007

Well, it looks like another pirate has been convicted and thrown in jail. However, Scott McCausland, ex-administrator of the Elite Torrents Bit Torrent tracker, has a rather peculiar sentence to serve. After pleading guilty to 'conspiracy to commit copyright infringement' and 'criminal copyright infringement', the court gave him five months in jail and five months house arrest. Under the condition that he follows his parole officer's orders, of course. Those orders were simple: McCausland must let the FBI watch his every online move. In order for that to happen, McCausland must dump Linux for Windows in order for that to happen. McCausland claims that this is cruel and unusual punishment, as it means he will have to buy expensive software while he is unemployed.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

russianboy · Aug 26, 2007

dude, what country is this in?

whatever that country is, it should be nuked.

Weer · Aug 26, 2007

What if it was Russia?

russianboy · Aug 26, 2007

russia doesn't have copyright laws.

WarEagleAU · Aug 26, 2007

maybe sweden or switzerland? thats harsh.

mas0n · Aug 26, 2007

He lives in the US.

Easy Rhino · Aug 26, 2007

our govt is very backwards

pt · Aug 26, 2007

mas0n said:
He lives in the US.

NUKE IT!

mas0n · Aug 26, 2007

Our legal system certainly has it's flaws. Regardless of how you feel about file-sharing I think it's just plain cruel that he is now a felon. That means he cannot EVER vote in any public election or hold a public office, he is disqualified from 90% of apartment & condo leases, his work possibilities are similarly diminished, and who knows what government lists he is on now.

He should have to forfeit any profits he made from his crime and that should be the end of it.

The movie he posted online pre-release grossed $849,997,605 in theaters despite his distributing it for free...

pt · Aug 26, 2007

mas0n said:
Our legal system certainly has it's flaws. Regardless of how you feel about file-sharing I think it's just plain cruel that he is now a felon. That means he cannot EVER vote in any public election or hold a public office, he is disqualified from 90% of apartment & condo leases, his work possibilities are similarly diminished, and who knows what government lists he is on now.

He should have to forfeit any profits he made from his crime and that should be the end of it.

The movie he posted online pre-release grossed $849,997,605 despite his distributing it for free...

hw should move to a non pain in the ass country who doesn't care much about piratary

russianboy · Aug 26, 2007

also known as Russia, you can buy pre=cracked warez on CDs in shops all over the cities, even in the Moscow airport they sold HL2 for $5!

Easy Rhino · Aug 26, 2007

russianboy said:
also known as Russia, you can buy pre=cracked warez on CDs in shops all over the cities, even in the Moscow airport they sold HL2 for $5!

that is because the russian govt doesnt want any of its citizens supporting US industry.

niko084 · Aug 26, 2007

Use windows is simply cruel and unusual let alone the having to buy it... OMGZ!!!!

erocker · Aug 26, 2007

Dude, I wouldn't touch a computer if some government told me they were watching my every move and I had to use Windows.

yogurt_21 · Aug 26, 2007

lol thats like convicting someone of criminal speeding and telling them they have to dump their chevy for a kia. I'd say that's cruel and unusual.

GLD · Aug 26, 2007

If you can't do the time (or the punishment) don't do the damn crime! If it illegal, and you do it, and you get caught, and you have to suffer the consequences, it's your own damn fault. No sympathy from me. :shadedshu HaHa, serves him right!

I have never used torrents. IMO you would be advertising to the authorities you are a pirate. You don't think they keep an eye on the peoples that use that kind of software/service? Well they do, duh. This guy got busted.

3991vhtes · Aug 26, 2007

GLD said:
If you can't do the time (or the punishment) don't do the damn crime! If it illegal, and you do it, and you get caught, and you have to suffer the consequences, it's your own damn fault. No sympathy from me. :shadedshu HaHa, serves him right!

I have never used torrents. IMO you would be advertising to the authorities you are a pirate. You don't think they keep an eye on the peoples that use that kind of software/service? Well they do, duh. This guy got busted.

I agree. People feel for him and say it's cruel but yet he does the illegal things and gets caught. He diserves it! plus windows is better than linux TBH.

niko084 · Aug 26, 2007

3991vhtes said:
I agree. People feel for him and say it's cruel but yet he does the illegal things and gets caught. He diserves it! plus windows is better than linux TBH.

your fired..... :slap:

bassmasta · Aug 26, 2007

well, even if it is illegal, he should be given a fine and some jailtime, not this crap. and, the authorities usually have a hard time figuring out who is doing this, because of fun little programs like peer guardian.

niko084 · Aug 26, 2007

bassmasta said:
well, even if it is illegal, he should be given a fine and some jailtime, not this crap. and, the authorities usually have a hard time figuring out who is doing this, because of fun little programs like peer guardian.

I think some people here are taking this wrong because of the catchy headline...

He is not being "Forced" to use windows... He was told that if he wants to use a computer his actions have to be monitored the software only runs properly on "windows"... This is a VERY common practice for people involved in large computer related crimes, some are not allowed to use a computer at all.

As it says also he is doing jail time.

As goofy as it sounds he does make a good point in the end, funny but good.

strick94u · Aug 26, 2007

Someone should send him a hacked version of xp.

Which of course I am glad none of us have.

cdawall · Aug 26, 2007

yeah none of us have cracked xp

this is dumb flee to another country fuck that windows only shit stupid cali beaurocrats making up laws b/c hollywood isnt making the bazillion dollars they want

niko084 · Aug 26, 2007

cdawall said:
yeah none of us have cracked xp

this is dumb flee to another country fuck that windows only shit stupid cali beaurocrats making up laws b/c hollywood isnt making the bazillion dollars they want

Ditto and Ditto........

None of us would every dream of modifying our operating systems... I mean that would make MassiveShaft mad...

cdawall · Aug 26, 2007

i have XP PRO corp edition if you catch my drift

niko084 · Aug 26, 2007

cdawall said:
i have XP PRO corp edition if you catch my drift

Ya me too.... But I do own "a" copy of XP Pro..

Processor	AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Brisbane @ 2.8GHz (224x12.5, 1.425V)
Motherboard	Gigabyte sumthin-or-another, it's got an nForce 430
Cooling	Dual 120mm case fans front/rear, Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro, Zalman VF-900 on GPU
Memory	2GB G.Skill DDR2 800
Video Card(s)	Sapphire X850XT @ 580/600
Storage	WD 160 GB SATA hard drive.
Display(s)	Hanns G 19" widescreen, 5ms response time, 1440x900
Case	Thermaltake Soprano (black with side window).
Audio Device(s)	Soundblaster Live! 24 bit (paired with X-530 speakers).
Power Supply	ThermalTake 430W TR2
Software	XP Home SP2, can't wait for Vista SP1.

Processor	AMD 3500+ Venice at stock
Motherboard	ECS K8T890-A
Memory	1 Gb Corsair Valueram CAS 3
Video Card(s)	Connect3d X800 GTO OC'd to 551.25/551.25
Storage	4 mixed up drives
Display(s)	Acer AL2216W 22"LCD
Case	Generic noname crap
Audio Device(s)	Realtec AC'97
Power Supply	500 watt Ultra PSU
Software	Win2k Pro, XP, Ubuntu linux, and Vista

System Name	//////////////////////////////////////Crunching/Folding Builds\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Processor	Q8400@ 4.0Ghz \| Q6600 @ 3.6Ghz \| E7300 @ 3.8Ghz \| E5300 @ 4.3Ghz \| E5300 @ 3.9Ghz \| E2180 @ 2.0Ghz \|
Motherboard	ASUS P5Q-E \| Asus P5Q Pro \| Gigabyte EG45-DS2H \| Gigabyte EP35-DS3H \| Gigabyte NV73 \| E-Sonic P35-G
Cooling	TRUE [Lapped] \| TRUE \| Thermalright SI-128 \| Stock \| Stock \| Stock
Memory	G.Skill 8192MB @ 1066Mhz \| G.Skill 4096MB \| OCZ 2048MB \| G.Skill 2048MB \| PNY 2048MB \| OCZ 1024MB
Video Card(s)	GTX 280 + 8800 GTS 512 \| 9800 GX2 + 8800 GTS 512 \| 6600 GT \| 8800 GS \| 9600 GSO 512
Storage	G.Skill 64GB SSD (OS) \| Segate 750GB [Downloads] \| 5TB JBOD [Movies] \| 3TB JBOD [Else] \| 1.5TB [Ex]
Display(s)	QUAD Monitors: Dell 2007FP [20"] + Dell 3007WFP-HC [30"] + Dell 2007FP [20"] \| Dell 2407WFP-HC [24"]
Case	Antec P190 \| Antec Three-Hundred \| Antec NSK2400 \| Thermaltake Strike MX \| HEC 6T10 \| HEC 8K01
Audio Device(s)	Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer PCI + [Audiophile HD600] + [Creative G500 + Logitech X-530 = 10 speakers]
Power Supply	OCZ 750w [62A] \| OCZ 750w [62A] \| Antec 380w [31A] \| Antec 650w [54A] \| OCZ 400w [33A] \| GeN [20A]
Software	Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit + Windows XP 64-bit \| Windows Vista SP2 64-bit \| Windows 7 RTM 64-bit
Benchmark Scores	////////////////////////////////66,666 [Crunching] + 45,455 [Folding]\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Processor	AMD 3500+ Venice at stock
Motherboard	ECS K8T890-A
Memory	1 Gb Corsair Valueram CAS 3
Video Card(s)	Connect3d X800 GTO OC'd to 551.25/551.25
Storage	4 mixed up drives
Display(s)	Acer AL2216W 22"LCD
Case	Generic noname crap
Audio Device(s)	Realtec AC'97
Power Supply	500 watt Ultra PSU
Software	Win2k Pro, XP, Ubuntu linux, and Vista

System Name	Pandemic 2020
Processor	AMD Ryzen 5 "Gen 2" 2600X
Motherboard	AsRock X470 Killer Promontory
Cooling	CoolerMaster 240 RGB Master Cooler (Newegg Eggxpert)
Memory	32 GB Geil EVO Portenza DDR4 3200 MHz
Video Card(s)	ASUS Radeon RX 580 DirectX 12 DUAL-RX580-O8G 8GB 256-Bit GDDR5 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video C
Storage	WD 250 M.2, Corsair P500 M.2, OCZ Trion 500, WD Black 1TB, Assorted others.
Display(s)	ASUS MG24UQ Gaming Monitor - 23.6" 4K UHD (3840x2160) , IPS, Adaptive Sync, DisplayWidget
Case	Fractal Define R6 C
Audio Device(s)	Realtek 5.1 Onboard
Power Supply	Corsair RMX 850 Platinum PSU (Newegg Eggxpert)
Mouse	Razer Death Adder
Keyboard	Corsair K95 Mechanical & Corsair K65 Wired, Wireless, Bluetooth)
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64

Processor	Q6600 425x9=3825MHz @1.4625V
Motherboard	DFI DK X38-T2RSB
Cooling	PA120.3, Apogee GT, Swiftech MCP655-B
Memory	4GB Patriot 4-4-4-12 @425MHz
Video Card(s)	HD4870 @ 820/1100
Storage	2x74GB \| 2x400GB \| JBOD 1.8TB
Display(s)	Samsung 225BW
Case	Antec P180B
Power Supply	PC Power & Cooling 610W Silencer

System Name	Desktop
Processor	i5 13600KF
Motherboard	AsRock B760M Steel Legend Wifi
Cooling	Noctua NH-U9S
Memory	4x 16 Gb Gskill S5 DDR5 @6000
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte Gaming OC 6750 XT 12GB
Storage	WD_BLACK 4TB SN850x
Display(s)	Gigabye M32U
Case	Corsair Carbide 400C
Audio Device(s)	On Board
Power Supply	EVGA Supernova 650 P2
Mouse	MX Master 3s
Keyboard	Logitech G915 Wireless Clicky
Software	The Matrix

Processor	AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile TL-60 (Trinidad)
Motherboard	ASUS F3Ka (ATI RS690M)
Cooling	stock
Memory	Nanya 2x1GB ddr2 667@5-5-5-15-2T
Video Card(s)	ATI Mobility Radeon HD2600 512MB DDR2@ 580mhz/486mhz
Storage	160GB on laptop+250GB external
Display(s)	ASUS 15.4
Case	Asus Laptop F3Ka chassis
Audio Device(s)	on-board
Power Supply	1:30minutes battery
Software	"genui xp", 'cause i hated vista

System Name	Back to Blue
Processor	i9 14900k
Motherboard	Asrock Z790 Nova
Cooling	Corsair H150i Elite
Memory	64GB Corsair Dominator DDR5-6400 @ 6600
Video Card(s)	EVGA RTX 3090 Ultra FTW3
Storage	4TB WD 850x NVME, 4TB WD Black, 10TB Seagate Barracuda Pro
Display(s)	1x Samsung Odyssey G7 Neo and 1x Dell u2518d
Case	Lian Li o11 DXL w/custom vented front panel
Audio Device(s)	Focusrite Saffire PRO 14 -> DBX DriveRack PA+ -> Mackie MR8 and MR10 / Senn PX38X -> SB AE-5 Plus
Power Supply	Corsair RM1000i
Mouse	Logitech G502x
Keyboard	Corsair K95 Platinum
Software	Windows 11 x64 Pro
Benchmark Scores	31k multicore Cinebench - CPU limited 125w

Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	ASUS TUF x670e
Cooling	EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory	32GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s)	Asus RTX 4090
Storage	WD m.2
Display(s)	LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
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Audio Device(s)	Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Headphone Amp.
Power Supply	FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse	Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard	Tester84
Software	Windows 11

System Name	Thought I'd be done with this by now
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Motherboard	MSI Z590 Pro Wifi
Cooling	Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4, 9x aigo AR12
Memory	32GB GSkill TridentZ Neo DDR4-4000 CL18-22-22-42
Video Card(s)	MSI Ventus 2x Geforce RTX 3070
Storage	1TB MX300 M.2 OS + Games, + cloud mostly
Display(s)	Samsung 40" 4k (TV)
Case	Lian Li PC-011 Dynamic EVO Black
Audio Device(s)	onboard HD -> Yamaha 5.1
Power Supply	EVGA 850 GQ
Mouse	Logitech wireless
Keyboard	same
VR HMD	nah
Software	Windows 10
Benchmark Scores	no one cares anymore lols

Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5700X, AMD Wraith Prism.
Motherboard	ASUS TUF X570-Plus (Wi-Fi).
Cooling	Antec 120mm RGB case fans.
Memory	4x8gb, G.SKILL F4-3600C16D-16GVKC.
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Pulse RX 6700.
Storage	PNY XLR8 CS3040 2TB 4.0x4 NVMe ssd with Vantec ICEBERQ heat sink.
Display(s)	ASUS VP278QG 27", 1080p, 75hz, FreeSync.
Case	Antec GX202.
Audio Device(s)	Onboard sound, Logitech Z625 THX 2.1's, Logitech G430 headphones.
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime GX-750.
Mouse	Logitech G203 Prodigy.
Keyboard	Logitech G213.
Software	Windows 11 Pro, @ Day 1.

Processor	AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Venice 2.4GHz
Motherboard	ASUS A8V-VM SE
Cooling	Stock
Memory	1GB DDR400
Video Card(s)	DiamondViper Radeon X1650PRO 512MB PCI-e
Storage	Seagate 250GB SATA
Display(s)	Acer AL2002W 20" LCD Widescreen
Case	cheap
Audio Device(s)	Creative SoundBlaster
Power Supply	500 watt
Software	Vista Ultimate
Benchmark Scores	4.1 Vista index

System Name	CrashMaster 17.2/ crashmaster(M) ROG
Processor	CD2 E8400@4.0 ghz/ i5 430@ 2.577 mhz
Motherboard	EVGA 680i/ patogram inc intel north bridge
Cooling	Monsoon vigor gaming II/ fan and vents
Memory	4 gig OCZ pc8500 DDR2/ 4 gigs ddr3
Video Card(s)	2 X EVGA 8800gts 512 735/1045/nvidia 360 gtsm gddr5
Storage	2 X WD 150 Raptors Raid 0+600gig usb/ 500 gig hitachi
Display(s)	Samsung 2232 bw Sync Master 22" HD/16.9 inch asus
Case	Enermax uber chakra/ asus republic of gamers
Audio Device(s)	Creative SB X-FI 5.1 speakers/creative eax 4.0
Power Supply	OCZ extream Gaming 650 watt 4x18a/ external
Software	Dos 6.22/ win 3.11 for networks/ms bob server
Benchmark Scores	3dmark06 18,201/10601 3dmark05 23,943/not run Aquamark 218,094/not run

System Name	All the cores
Processor	2990WX
Motherboard	Asrock X399M
Cooling	CPU-XSPC RayStorm Neo, 2x240mm+360mm, D5PWM+140mL, GPU-2x360mm, 2xbyski, D4+D5+100mL
Memory	4x16GB G.Skill 3600
Video Card(s)	(2) EVGA SC BLACK 1080Ti's
Storage	2x Samsung SM951 512GB, Samsung PM961 512GB
Display(s)	Dell UP2414Q 3840X2160@60hz
Case	Caselabs Mercury S5+pedestal
Audio Device(s)	Fischer HA-02->Fischer FA-002W High edition/FA-003/Jubilate/FA-011 depending on my mood
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime 1200w
Mouse	Thermaltake Theron, Steam controller
Keyboard	Keychron K8
Software	W10P

Court Orders Convicted Pirate to Dump Linux and Use Windows

McLovin

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Bird of Prey

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Linux Advocate

not a suicide-bomber

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not a suicide-bomber

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bassmasta

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where the hell are my stars

where the hell are my stars