Big Content strikes back after a week of anti-SOPA protests, getting the US government to take down Megaupload and its bizarre founder, Kim Dotcom. Megaupload dominated the news in the week after the takedown, but our top stories in tech also include in depths look at how Amazon and Google handle "big data" and $25 Linux box that "outperforms the iPhone 4S GPU."
As an eleventh story bonus, we feature the word "wombat" in a headline. Here's your week in tech.
Explainer: How can the US seize a "Hong Kong site" like Megaupload?: What business does the US have arresting foreign website operators and subjecting them to US law? Ars outlines the government's case.
FileSonic has disabled file sharing in wake of Megaupload takedown: Only days after popular file locker Megaupload was shut down by the FBI, competitor FileSonic has disabled its sharing functionality. FileSonic will now only allow users to download files that they have uploaded themselves.
Google doubles Plus membership with brute-force signup process : Google's redesigned system for creating accounts makes it difficult to avoid signing up for Google+.
If the feds can shut down Megaupload, why do we need SOPA?: Supporters of the Stop Online Piracy Act say it's needed to combat "rogue sites." Yet Megaupload got shut down under existing laws. Does the Megaupload raid prove SOPA is unnecessary, or not?
Judge: Fifth Amendment doesn't protect encrypted hard drives: A federal judge has ruled that the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination does not shield a defendant from being forced to disclose the contents of her encrypted laptop.
Mega-man: The fast, fabulous, fraudulent life of Megaupload's Kim Dotcom: Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom's long journey from Germany to a New Zealand prison cell involves fraud, fast cars, and file-sharing—along with a $12,800-a-day hotel suite in Hong Kong.
Symantec: Anonymous stole source code, users should disable pcAnywhere: Symantec is telling pcAnywhere customers to disable the product because Anonymous stole source code from the company in 2006.
Graphics hardware in $25 Raspberry Pi Linux box outperforms iPhone 4S GPU: The founder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation says that the graphical capabilities of the low-cost Linux board can outperform the latest iPhone.
How the next Xbox could stop you from playing used games: Rumor has it that Microsoft might ban used games from being played on its next Xbox. But is such a move even possible in a world where a significant number of players still don't have broadband Internet access? We look at possibilities.
The Great Disk Drive in the Sky: How Web giants store big—and we mean big—data: Data needs at Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have driven the development of distributed file systems such as GFS and Dynamo. The decisions and trade-offs of each can explain a lot about why cloud services work the way they do—and why they sometimes don't behave well at all.
BONUS WOMBAT MENTION: Google already knows you're a 24-year old woman who loves wombats: Google users have been complaining about the site's new privacy policy, but what does Google know about your life already? Fortunately, it's simple to find out.
Listing image by Photo illustration by Aurich Lawson (After Pen & Pixel)
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