Neowin.net

Nintendo's decision to distribute GameCube software on non-standard miniature DVDs was at least partly taken as an effort to stop piracy, but today we were shocked to learn that a group calling themselves Team BMM have circumvented this copy protection using a somewhat .. bizarre method. To back up their extreme claims, the hackers have released a 12Mb movie showing them copying Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and playing the cracked copy in their GameCube. The grainy home video ends abruptly though as an argument breaks out between the ski-masked members of the warez team, leading to a scuffle. Proof at last of ELSPA's contention that videogame piracy supports more violent forms of crime? Watch the video and judge for yourselves.

News source: EuroGamer
Video: @ wells-home.de/cube

Hint of Future

The latest version of the software gives evidence to the new direction the company hopes to take the P-to-P application with the 2.0 version, making it a cornerstone on which to build other services and applications.

Morpheus 1.9 includes a chat client, dubbed Morpheus Messenger, which is compatible with America Online's Instant Messenger. Additionally, a Plus version of the messenger offers full-motion video conferencing for a fee of $9.95 for three months, or $24.95 yearly.

The new software also includes Morpheus Shopping Club, an e-commerce platform that offers users cash rewards when they make purchases with the company's retail partners.

Phone Service, Too

Morpheus 1.9 users can also enroll in the Morpheus Minutes program that provides users with competitively priced long-distance phone service. The service, which is billed to the user's phone bill, costs $4.95 a month and then 5.9 cents per minute for state-to-state calls. If users chose to have it billed to their credit card, they pay $4.50 a month and then 4.5 cents per minute.

The new features make Morpheus 1.9 a far cry from the preview edition, which is more of a pure P-to-P file swapping application.

StreamCast, formerly known as MusicCity Networks, did not say when the 2.0 version will be rolled out, or what other services and features it has in development.