Second PodKAAst and Beta.Funimation.com!

The second episode of the PodKAAst is finally up! We discuss Anime Boston, TokoyPop, Sony, and allude to guests for future episodes. We've also got a super secret special announcement waiting after the ending music of the PodKAAst!



During the PodKAAst we mention Funimation's new site, which is currently in Beta and you can check it out at beta.funimation.com!

As is quite fitting for the leading anime distributer in the United States, Funimation is also the leader in social media platforms. During Anime Boston, their Social Media Manager, Justin Rojas, stated that they have over 200,000 likes on their Facebook page (rivaling Capcom), and over 20,000 followers on Twitter. This is far beyond what any other US anime company has, so they are pretty good at it. It's only fitting that their new site, Beta.Funimation.com, has been heavily influenced by social media.

Beta.Funimation.com has been the pet project of Adam Sheehan, one of Funimation's Marketing Managers. He said that Funimation's new website isn't trying to be the Facebook of anime, however that is clearly what it is. Don't worry though, Funimation, we like that. We like that a lot.

In addition to having all of the things we're accustomed too with the old Funimation site, like show info, free streaming anime, the Funimation Update Blog, etc, there are many new and cool things available with beta. There are now forums, convention info and reports, cosplay photos, cool new videos, and users can even have their own blogs. On top of all that, the site design just looks really cool and clean.

So go and check out Funimation's new website, currently at Beta.Funimation.com until they move it over to the real site once all the bugs have been worked out!

Don't forget to check out the PodKAAst and look for the special announcement as well!

Don't Blame Sony

By now it's common knowledge that Sony has been hacked and that massive amounts of personal data was stolen. Now, while not directly related to anime piracy, it was very interesting to observe people reaction in wake of the theft. So many people are very angry that Sony allowed this to happen, and are less concerned with the hacker group that did the actual stealing.

As a programmer myself, I know how hard it is to make something hack proof. It is nearly impossible to account for every way your programs might be cracked, and some new way might crop up the next day because of some development in technology. Sony doesn't just sit around and let people break in. That's not very good for business, as recent events have shown us. I don't doubt that they make every effort to try and keep their network secure, as evidenced by their move against George Hotz in January. Sony operated the PSN for almost five years without this problem, so it's not as if the way to break in was obvious to anyone. If someone has the skill and is determined to hack your network, it is going to happen sooner or later. Because of this, I find it very hard to be angry with Sony, even though my own account on the PlayStation Network has probably been compromised.

The real ones at fault here are the hackers. Regardless of who they are, they are the ones who purposefully broke into the network and stole the information. They are the ones that stole the personal information, not Sony.

As I thought about this, I found the parallels between this and when the Fractale Production Committee ordered the halt of the Fractale simulcast earlier this year. It was stopped in response to the massive amount of illegal copies of the show that were available for free on the internet. Since the revenue for Fractale comes from the legal viewings of the show, the Fractale Production Committee decided to halt the simulcast until the amount of piracy was cut down on. Immediately, fans of the show were very vocal and very angry at the Fractale Production Committee for this decision. No one was angry at the people pirating it, or the people making it available online for free.

It is really unfortunate that this has been the way people have reacted to this sort of thing. I suppose it's because people find it easier to blame companies rather than an unknown group of people spread out across the internet. I don't blame the Fractale Production Committee, and I certainly don't blame Sony. They are doing their best to correct the problem, and people aren't helping very much by laying all the blame on them.

Hopefully people will wise up and place the blame on the people who are really responsible.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1380050/Sony-admits-Weve-hacked-PlayStation-Network-outage.html