Digg Repository

It appears that one of the last major video and file sharing services, ZShare, has closed down in light of increased pressure over copyright and piracy allegations. The site best known for allowing video streaming of TV shows and other assorted clips, and also allowing users to download the files through a Rapidshare type service, has been inaccessible for approximately three weeks with no sign of coming back online. Many within the community have started turning to alternative hosting services, but no official word has been released from anti-piracy organizations on whether this was part of a targeted attack against the file hosting service. With the recent lawsuits and claims takedown of MegaUpload, numerous file hosts have taken action - with some (FileSonic and FileServe) even taking measures to close down their services in advance of any lawsuits. Of the services that have limited the ability for users to share files with others, few believe that the tactic of laying low will wor...

In a bid to remain competitive within the video hosting industry, YouTube unveiled YouTube Live - a platform for live streaming of concerts, events and programming. The move suggests that YouTube may be venturing into the world of user-generated live streaming that has long been a popular revenue stream for streaming sites such as UStream , Justin TV , Free TV Tube and Mogulus . Currently, YouTube Live features a small handful of streaming events - some of which are scheduled for the future, with only two live streaming events available at the time of writing this post. Neither of the two live streams worked (IPL Cricket and Wild Africa) and instead linked to the respective Youtube channel for these pages, which only had pre-recorded videos on it. If YouTube is aiming to build off its successful video-on-demand platform with live streaming television , it has a far way to go before it can begin to compete with many of the varied live stream providers. Moreover, it appears that Yo...