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DLL patching hero Rafael has found a great way to enable your MCE 2005 install to join Windows domains. Rafael, known for patching the now famous uxtheme.dll to enable custom Windows XP msstyle themes has found a reg edit in Windows XP Media Center 2005 to unlock the previously "greyed out" join domain option. This method is pretty complex but confirmed to work.

This will allow you to leave and join domains within Windows Media Center Edition 2005.

Please note: The only other ways to get MCE 2005 onto a domain are to upgrade from a previous MCE or to join domain in setup.

View: How to: Join Domains Within MCE 2005
Screenshot: Unpatched Windows Media Center 2005
Screenshot: Patched Windows Media Center 2005

I contacted LokiTorrent earlier today about what they were up to; site administrator Lowkee was kind enough to answer our questions.

First, the obvious : why are you doing this?

There are many reasons why I am doing this, but the primary reason is that I run a completely legal website that the MPAA or anyone else has no right to force me to close. In just the past few weeks, the MPAA has forced the shutdown of many other bittorrent sites which were setup to do nothing more than allow people to share what they wished. It will be a dark day when we roll over to let organizations such as the RIAA and MPAA make our freedom of speech laws for us. I'm sure you have heard of the bill the RIAA is currently trying to pass here in the US making ALL reproduction and recording devices illegal? If that bill passes, even our telephone answering machines will be considered illegal. As I cannot lobby government to prevent such self-serving bills from passing, I will fight the battles I am able to. When I was given this lawsuit, I simply made a conscience decision that if it has already gone this far, it is time I took action to stop it for myself. The astounding support from the community is simply reinforcement of my position.

Do you think that piracy is acceptable?

Piracy is a byproduct of peer sharing. When peer-to-peer software is being written, there aren't 10 developers wringing their hands together over how much software and music people can steal from those who make a living selling it. Peer sharing is used to allow people who don't have the financial funding of the MPAA and RIAA to share there works, for free, to a worldwide audience without the massive costs of bandwidth punishing them for being popular.

The MPAA are a massive organization with large backing for funds; do you think you can stand up to them where so many sites (like suprnova) have fallen by the way-side?

You can be as frightening as you wish, make all the threat you want, but in the end an invalid argument is just as invalid. We run a legal site for use by those who wish to share their own creative works, and as much as I realize the MPAA is a huge organization with deep pockets, I have the law, common sense and millions of people behind me.

Looking forward- what is your legal road ahead?

I can't say I have much of a legal road ahead. Yes, I don't doubt there are people who abuse the policies of peer-sharing sites such as mine by sharing illegal files, but suing me is tantamount to suing the highway department for drug smugglers using their roads. And like the highway system, the benefits of such a system unmistakably outweigh the side-effects.

Have you received any sizable donations so far?

I have received a few donations from average people that are most likely giving 1/2 of their weekly paycheck, so yes, I have. These are not large amounts of money, as legal council is very expensive, but it clearly shows the peer-sharing community is behind us 100% and is willing to invest a little to save a lot.
Lowkee

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