mininova's posterous http://mininova.posterous.com Most recent posts at mininova's posterous posterous.com Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:23:15 -0800 Mininova limits its activities to Content Distribution service http://mininova.posterous.com/mininova-limits-its-activities-to-content-dis-3 http://mininova.posterous.com/mininova-limits-its-activities-to-content-dis-3 Hi all, Today is an important day in the history of Mininova. From now on, we are limiting Mininova.org to our Content Distribution service. By doing so, we comply with the ruling of the Court of Utrecht of last August. Unfortunately the court ruling leaves us no other option than to take our platform offline, except for the Content Distribution service. According to the verdict (Dutch link) we have to prevent uploads of torrents to Mininova that refer to certain titles or to similar-looking titles. We've been testing some filtering systems the last couple of months, but we found that it's neither technically nor operationally possible to implement a 100% working filter system. Therefore, we decided that the only option is to limit Mininova to Content Distribution torrents from now on. We are still considering an appeal at this moment. We launched our Content Distribution service in 2007. This service allows producers and artists to easily publish and distribute their content for free through Mininova. The launch of Content Distribution has proven to be a success. Countless content owners have used Content Distribution to distribute their content (e.g. albums and documentaries) for free to millions of users. For example, the Dutch band Silence is Sexy released their complete album on Mininova and received the Interactive Award 2009 for doing so. The Dutch television broadcaster VPRO decided to start using Content Distribution in 2009 in order to distribute documentaries. We would like to thank you for your support. Especially everyone that contributed to Mininova receives a big "thank you!" for the effort! We hope to keep welcoming you on Mininova and our other projects (e.g. Snotr, Dispostable). Thanks! The Mininova staff

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/5emltA8YF5p7 Mininova Mininova
Wed, 26 Aug 2009 02:03:04 -0700 Mininova considers appealing in Brein case http://mininova.posterous.com/mininova-considers-appealing-in-brein-case http://mininova.posterous.com/mininova-considers-appealing-in-brein-case Utrecht, August 26th 2009 - Today the Dutch Court of Utrecht ruled that BitTorrent platform Mininova acts unlawful. Mininova considers to appeal this judgment. The court did not agree with Brein on all demands. Specifically, it ruled that Mininova does not infringe copyright and neighboring rights. The court also found Mininova can not be expected to remove files that are "reasonably likely" refer to infringing material. Remarkably, the verdict does not give any consideration to the fact that Mininova has developed a content filter for Brein, nor to the cooperation between Mininova and other organizations of rights holders. This surprises Mininova, because it has always stressed the importance of cooperation. Erik Dubbelboer, co-founder of Mininova: "We are obviously not satisfied with this ruling. The result of this ruling for Mininova is that we have to reevaluate our business operations. At this time, we cannot determine what this will actually entail or imply. We will have to examine the verdict thoroughly first. We are considering to appeal this judgment."

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/5emltA8YF5p7 Mininova Mininova
Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:02:36 -0700 Special HDD deal for Mininova users http://mininova.posterous.com/special-hdd-deal-for-mininova-users http://mininova.posterous.com/special-hdd-deal-for-mininova-users Hi everyone, Most people will probably experience similar problems with storage like us: you never have enough space. You just bought a new hard-drive and within a few weeks you filled it up again. All this storage -- even though it is getting cheaper -- is still quite expensive. So we were immediately interested when the guys at Freecom contacted us with a cool offer for our users: 20% discount on the "Freecom Hard Drive XS" series. We think this is a great opportunity for you to get a good hard-drive for little money. The prices listed below are less than in any other place we could find and the drives are shipped worldwide.
Media_httpwwwmininova_fbdbr
The drive itself received very good reviews. It is housed in a special rubber casing which makes it both very quiet (no fan) and provides optimal grip. Since it's the smallest type of external hard-drive (3.5") and because of the anti-shock rubber, it's perfect to carry around or to take to friends to exchange files. In order to get the 20% off all you need to do is enter the following promo code on the Freecom checkout page:

mininovaxs

  • 500 GB / 1 TB / 1.5 TB
  • Smallest 3.5" external hard drive
  • Quiet, thanks to fan-less design
  • Rubberized enclosure, reducing vibration and providing optimal grip
  • Turbo USB 2.0 driver for faster data transfer speeds (Windows only)
  • High quality, sleek design (18.2 x 11.4 x 3.1 cm)
  • One year manufacturers warranty, free help-desk support
You can choose between 3 sizes: 500 GB -
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buy now
€79.00 / $99.00 / £74.99 €63.20 / $79.20 / £59.99 1 TB -
Media_httpwwwmininova_atbvb
buy now
€109.00 / $139.00 / £99.98 €87.20 / $111.20 / £79.98 1.5 TB -
Media_httpwwwmininova_atbvb
buy now
€139.00 / $179.00 / £124.99 €111.20 / $143.20 / £99.99 The code will only be active for 2 weeks (till 09-08-2009) or until the drives go out of stock, so make sure you order quickly! You can order the harddisks by clicking on the product link above. Cheers, The Mininova staff

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/5emltA8YF5p7 Mininova Mininova
Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:35:52 -0700 Verdict postponed http://mininova.posterous.com/verdict-postponed http://mininova.posterous.com/verdict-postponed Hi all, Here's a short update on the ongoing court trial. The judge has postponed the date of the verdict (originally planned July 15) to August 26, due to the summer holiday period. Please stay tuned for updates! Thanks, The Mininova staff

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/5emltA8YF5p7 Mininova Mininova
Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:38:49 -0700 Mininova demands rectification report from working group http://mininova.posterous.com/mininova-demands-rectification-report-from-wo http://mininova.posterous.com/mininova-demands-rectification-report-from-wo Hi all, In January 2008, a working group was installed with the goal to evaluate copyright laws. The working group consists of four members of the Dutch parliament. Two weeks ago, the working group published a report with the name Auteursrechten. Een rapport ('Copyright - a report'). The report includes several recommendations related to reforming copyright laws. Unfortunately the report includes several factually incorrect assumptions related to Mininova, among which:
  • That Mininova refuses to remove torrent files after a complaint has been filed
  • That Mininova adds 'reviews' to torrent files uploaded by users
  • That Mininova pro-actively removes torrents that refer to 'incorrect content (e.g. porn)'
Besides these factual errors, the report also implies that all torrents on Mininova refer to copyrighted material, that Mininova hosts the content itself, and that Mininova profits from distributing these torrents. We are very displeased with the fact that the working group didn't contact us prior to releasing this report, or even took a look at mininova.org. If they had done so, they would've seen that we offer a copyright policy service for content owners for years and that we work closely with the content industry. We demand that the spreading of false information related to Mininova will be stopped. In addition, we demand that the working group removes the name Mininova from the report and places a rectification on the website of the Dutch parliament and in several national newspapers. If these demands are not met, we'll consider legal steps. To our surprise and nuisance the working group refuses to respond to the essence of the claim, being the factual errors about us and our services. That's it for now, stay tuned for updates! - The Mininova staff

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/5emltA8YF5p7 Mininova Mininova
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:28:15 -0700 Bruno interview (update) http://mininova.posterous.com/bruno-interview-update http://mininova.posterous.com/bruno-interview-update Hi all, On July 10, 2009 the movie Brüno will be released in cinemas worldwide. Actor Sacha Baron Cohen (of Ali G and Borat fame) will play yet another funny character - if you liked his previous appearances, you'll love this one! Digg Dialogg is doing an interview with Brüno next week, and we will post the interview on June 30 here on Mininova. That's not all: you can submit your questions to Bruno, and the top rated questions will be asked! That's it for now - keep watching Mininova on June 30! --update-- The interview with Brüno has been published. Cheers, The Mininova staff

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/5emltA8YF5p7 Mininova Mininova
Tue, 02 Jun 2009 08:31:44 -0700 Court trial update http://mininova.posterous.com/court-trial-update http://mininova.posterous.com/court-trial-update Hi all, Today was the courtroom seating of our trial with BREIN. It was a very interesting day. The verdict is scheduled for the 15th of July. Regards, The Mininova staff

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/5emltA8YF5p7 Mininova Mininova
Mon, 18 May 2009 02:40:42 -0700 Court trial with BREIN postponed until June 2nd http://mininova.posterous.com/court-trial-with-brein-postponed-until-june-2 http://mininova.posterous.com/court-trial-with-brein-postponed-until-june-2 Hi all, The upcoming court trial with BREIN, which was planned on Wednesday May 20th, has been postponed until Tuesday June 2nd, at 13:00 hours. The reason for this postponement is solely due to personal circumstances of our attorney and has explicitly nothing to do with the content of the case. We would like to thank the parties involved for their cooperation in this postponement. Regards, The Mininova staff

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/5emltA8YF5p7 Mininova Mininova
Tue, 05 May 2009 23:25:12 -0700 Torrent removal trial http://mininova.posterous.com/torrent-removal-trial http://mininova.posterous.com/torrent-removal-trial Hi all, Here at Mininova we are working continuously on ways to improve our platform. One example is our content distribution service, where we offer producers and artists a way to expose and share their work with BitTorrent users. Today, we decided to extend our platform and run a trial with content recognition. This basically means that likely infringing video files referred to by torrents are checked by a third party content recognition system. If the system finds that the file corresponds to unauthorized content, we remove and block the torrent that refers to this file on Mininova. We hope that this system will make it easier for copyright owners to remove torrents that refer to infringing content from Mininova, while still offering the best platform to our users. Cheers! The Mininova staff

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/5emltA8YF5p7 Mininova Mininova
Mon, 27 Apr 2009 02:46:07 -0700 Content Distribution back online http://mininova.posterous.com/content-distribution-back-online http://mininova.posterous.com/content-distribution-back-online Hi everyone, As you might have noticed there haven't been any new Content Distribution torrents on the frontpage for a week. This was due to a problem in the storage backend of our service. The problem has been fixed today, so Content Distribution users should be able to distribute all their new release again. Sorry for the inconvenience this problem might have caused, The Mininova Staff

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/5emltA8YF5p7 Mininova Mininova
Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:17:55 -0800 Site improvements and a new office http://mininova.posterous.com/site-improvements-and-a-new-office http://mininova.posterous.com/site-improvements-and-a-new-office Hi everyone, It has been a while since Mininova has undergone some changes, but today we're releasing some new features, including:
  • A layout update, the top advertisement banner is gone.
  • An improved search field with the possibility to restrict your search to a specific category.
  • The search results are also improved, including the highlighting of the results (example).
  • New buttons on several pages (thanks to a technique described by Google developer Douglas Bowman).
  • Instead of creating a torrent file and seeding your data, you can now use VIPeers for uploading. VIPeers is a free service that will create a torrent file, seed your content and send you back to the Mininova upload page, where you can fill in the details.
  • "Remember me" checkbox on the login page, the possibility to remain logged in, even when you quit your browser and connect via another Internet network. Although this may be very useful, do not use this option on a public computer (in a library or so).
  • New servers to keep up with the growing number of visitors. These servers will be installed in a few days.
  • Media_httpwwwmininova_ccmvd
    Some bug fixes.
  • We moved to a new office location in downtown Utrecht, The Netherlands. We used to rent a small office space at Regus, but we had a very bad experience (note to startups: do NOT rent at Regus! They will try to nail you with the agreement). We are happy with our new office inside a classical building alongside the city canal. See our contact page for more information. We'll put up some more pictures on Picasa.
We hope you will enjoy these changes! Let us know if you experience any problems.

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/5emltA8YF5p7 Mininova Mininova
Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:43:06 -0800 Mininova Content Distribution welcomes 1000th participant http://mininova.posterous.com/mininova-content-distribution-welcomes-1000th http://mininova.posterous.com/mininova-content-distribution-welcomes-1000th Hi everyone, we just send out the following press release: Free distribution channel for producers and artists successful

Mininova Content Distribution welcomes 1000th participant

Today, BitTorrent platform Mininova welcomes the 1000th professional user of its Content Distribution service. This service enables producers and artists to distribute their work in a simple way and free of charge through the website www.mininova.org. Erik Dubbelboer, co-founder of Mininova: “Content Distribution enables producers and artists to bring their work to the attention of the public, free of charge. It’s the perfect solution for bands that don’t have the means to bring out a record yet. Since the launch in 2007, an average of three participants a day have registered.” Mininova offers a platform on the Internet for the exchange of information by users through BitTorrent technology. Success in the Netherlands and abroad In 2008, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation decided to offer a television series for free by using Content Distribution. The popular Dutch band 'Silence is Sexy' also decided to use this system in 2008, and distributed an entire album for free. The band recently won the Interactive Award 2009 for doing so. Thirty kilometers of CDs Dubbelboer: “Through Content Distribution, we have already had about 5.800 uploads and 15 million downloads. That means some 40.000 downloads a day. The amount of data that has been downloaded equals a pile of CDs of about 30 kilometers high!” For 2009, Mininova is expecting an explosive growth in the number of professional users of its Content Distribution service. For access to Mininova Content Distribution: www.mininova.org/apply

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/5emltA8YF5p7 Mininova Mininova
Wed, 14 Jan 2009 02:58:08 -0800 Mininova's fourth birthday! http://mininova.posterous.com/mininovas-fourth-birthday http://mininova.posterous.com/mininovas-fourth-birthday Hi everyone, It's January 14, and that means we're celebrating Mininova's fourth birthday today! The past year was a very interesting year: we saw the number of Content Distribution users/producers grow to more than 1000. The total number of downloads nearly doubled this year and reached 7 billion last week. We're now serving 10+ million (unique) downloads a day, and handling over 8 million daily search queries. Some more stats: in December we counted 44.7 million unique users who generated 683.7 million pageviews on Mininova. Of course we made a bunch of improvements to Mininova on our other website, Snotr. We moved our server, got sued, and counted billions of downloads. Overall, a very busy year, which would have never been possible without our dedicated team of moderators: thank you! We are excited about the coming year and its challenges: please stay tuned for some important announcements in the coming months. Cheers! The Mininova team

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/5emltA8YF5p7 Mininova Mininova
Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:06:35 -0800 Silence is Sexy/Mininova nominated for award http://mininova.posterous.com/silence-is-sexymininova-nominated-for-award http://mininova.posterous.com/silence-is-sexymininova-nominated-for-award Hi there, Almost 4 months ago, we wrote that the Dutch indie band Silence is Sexy joined Mininova to distribute their full album for free. Their album This Ain't Hollywood has been downloaded by almost 15 thousand users using the Mininova Content Distribution service. Due to this success, the band has been nominated for the Interactive Award 2009. We think that every band that uses torrents as a promotion tool deserves an award, so please hit 5 stars and vote for them on the website. That's it for now, please stay tuned for more updates soon! :) Update: Silence is Sexy won the award! More info on their blog.

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/5emltA8YF5p7 Mininova Mininova
Wed, 24 Dec 2008 04:21:55 -0800 Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! http://mininova.posterous.com/merry-christmas-and-a-happy-new-year-9 http://mininova.posterous.com/merry-christmas-and-a-happy-new-year-9 Hi all, A short blog post this time:
The Mininova team wishes you a

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We hope you have a great time and hope to see you again in 2009! Cheers!
Media_httpstaticminin_yjzhy

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/5emltA8YF5p7 Mininova Mininova
Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:30:00 -0800 Mininova and Hyper MP testing new technology http://mininova.posterous.com/mininova-and-hyper-mp-testing-new-technology http://mininova.posterous.com/mininova-and-hyper-mp-testing-new-technology Hi all, We are pleased to announce that Mininova is testing a new technology which allows users to download and watch licensed movies and TV shows for free. These videos will be packaged by Hyper MP technology and are going to be distributed using Mininova Content Distribution for free. The unique feature of this system is that the videos can be downloaded and played anywhere in the world (no geo-targeting), and will make use of a new in-video advertising technology.
Media_httpwwwmininova_zvcyl
The first beta test release for this technology trial is an amateur feature length comedy titled “Battle Therapy”. The film, produced by Australian film school students, is a wacky comedy about an unorthodox psychologist and his obsessive compulsive patients. Make sure to check our this movie by downloading the following torrent: http://www.mininova.org/tor/2020297. The movie is packaged in a Windows executable and is free of viruses and DRM, so don't let that deter you from downloading it. After viewing the movie, please feel free to send feedback on your experience with this technology to feedback@hypermp.com. Please note that this first release is a trial only and it is not representative of the quality of feature length content that will follow upon the official release of the service. In order to assist in polishing the technology, all the feedback you are willing to provide will be greatly appreciated. That's it for now, stay tuned for more updates soon!

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/5emltA8YF5p7 Mininova Mininova
Thu, 06 Nov 2008 01:48:17 -0800 Snotr.com improvements: mobile version, subscriptions, Twitter, TV, etc http://mininova.posterous.com/snotrcom-improvements-mobile-version-subscrip http://mininova.posterous.com/snotrcom-improvements-mobile-version-subscrip Hi everyone! The past few weeks, we have been working on our side project, the video-site Snotr.com. Launched in July 2007, Snotr is a website that publishes hand-picked funny videos on a daily basis. Videos can be submitted by everyone and a moderator team chooses which ones get published. During the first few months after its launch, Snotr was linked on the frontpage of Mininova. Right now, it has quite a lot of regular visitors and the traffic keeps increasing. Some videos have already been viewed more than a million times!
Media_httpwwwmininova_cuxjp
A big improvement is the new video player, which supports viewing videos in fullscreen and works just as you would expect of a video player. Another interesting feature is m.snotr.com, the mobile version of Snotr we're lauching. If you have a mobile phone with Internet access, you can watch all Snotr videos on-the-go. If you want to post comments, rate videos, etc. you still have to navigate to the desktop version of Snotr. Other improvements, as listed on the Snotr frontpage, are:
  • Statistics on the right side of the frontpage.
  • New smilies:
    Media_httpwwwsnotrcom_igqig
    and
    Media_httpwwwsnotrcom_eolav
    .
  • Voting on comments.
  • A Snotr toolbar, for easier watching and submitting.
  • A Twitter page, so you can stay up to date.
  • Subscriptions, receive an email with the best videos periodically.
  • Snotr TV, watch videos continuously (for example on your TV).
I you haven't checked out Snotr yet: make sure to visit the website. We're currently working on Mininova, more news about that is coming up in a few days. Stay tuned for a new blog post!

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/5emltA8YF5p7 Mininova Mininova
Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:56:32 -0700 Silence is Sexy joins Mininova, distributing their new album for free http://mininova.posterous.com/silence-is-sexy-joins-mininova-distributing-t http://mininova.posterous.com/silence-is-sexy-joins-mininova-distributing-t Hi everybody! More and more more artists are discovering the benefits of our free Content Distribution (CD) service. Silence is Sexy is the first Dutch rock band to release their complete new album this way. 'This Ain't Hollywood' is a must-download if you are into bands like Radiohead, Editors, Coldplay and Interpol.
Media_httpwwwmininova_gbgof
An increasing number of music producers see that giving away their content for free is the right way to build a fan-base. These producers are often using Mininova CD to distribute their content to a broad audience. Nowadays more than 750 publishers are actively using Mininova CD to publish content. By the way, the Silence is Sexy's first album is also available at our Content Distribution service. We hope a lot more artists will follow this example! Till next time - the Mininova staff

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/5emltA8YF5p7 Mininova Mininova
Sat, 30 Aug 2008 02:57:53 -0700 New statistics and other improvements http://mininova.posterous.com/new-statistics-and-other-improvements http://mininova.posterous.com/new-statistics-and-other-improvements Hi everyone! It's been a while since we launched our Content Distribution (CD) service. From now on it is more convenient to browse the CD ("featured") torrents. Like all other torrents, the featured torrents can be browsed by category and subcategory.
Media_httpwwwmininova_uijdf
Each featured torrent now has its own statistics page (example). This page shows how many times the torrent has been downloaded and from which countries. Similar statistics are also available for the publishers of featured content on their My statistics page. Moreover, the general website statistics have also been changed. On the Mininova statistics page you can see a detailed overview of the number of downloads, uploads and search queries. For those who're wondering: all graphs on the statistics pages mentioned above are generated using the Google Chart API.
Media_httpwwwmininova_hyxif
Some other news: the Mininova team moved into a new office, see the contact page for details. This also means that we will be able to work more efficiently on Mininova and our other projects. And more things have been improved, including the IRC page. This page now features a live (AJAX) IRC chat window, so you don't have to install an IRC client to join our channel. Please let us know if you have more ideas and suggestions. Cheers! :D

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/5emltA8YF5p7 Mininova Mininova
Mon, 28 Jul 2008 01:06:51 -0700 Snotr & Mininova updates http://mininova.posterous.com/snotr-and-mininova-updates http://mininova.posterous.com/snotr-and-mininova-updates Hi there, Even though some of us are on holiday we are still working to improve our websites. Here are some features that we have just put live.

Updates for Snotr:

Timelinks
Media_httpwwwmininova_rjfxt
It is now possible to link to a specific time within a movie using the simple minutes:seconds format. Quotes
Media_httpwwwmininova_inwaf
You can now quote other comments using the #number format. Flash 9 The Snotr player has been rewritten to Flash 9 so we can support full screen (currently available through right clicking) and HD content. Improved seeking It is now possible to seek to a point in the file that isn't loaded yet.  

Updates for Mininova:

My Bookmarks http://www.mininova.org/my/bookmarks is now sortable. Torrents per tracker You can now view all torrents from a specific tracker, for example: http://www.mininova.org/tracker/17188. Links to trackers can be found on the torrent details pages. Improved searching Searching using quotes ("") and excluding words (-) has now been improved.
On another note, Sphinx, used for Mininova search, is awarded for the SourceForge 2008 Community Choice Awards. FTP Uploads
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Content Distribution users are now able to use FTP to upload their content. This way they can upload files bigger then 1GB. Automatic Extracting CD uploads using .zip or .rar archives are now automatically extracted.   As always, we would like to hear your suggestions and ideas for both sites. Please comment on this blog post to share your thoughts.

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/5emltA8YF5p7 Mininova Mininova