

Source Interlink Closure and Rebranding Puts 2600 in Limbo - stox
http://www.2600.com/?q=content%2Fsource-interlink-closure-and-rebranding-puts-2600-limbo

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tombrossman
Title is editorialized, it should be 'SOURCE INTERLINK CLOSURE AND REBRANDING
PUTS 2600 IN LIMBO'.

The kneejerk reaction here is to hope that a bunch of hackers (read: script
kiddies looking to impress) go after the 'new' company and cause havoc until
they settle up. Credit to the crew at 2600 who as usual are advocating a calm,
logical course of action and not looking for a personal army of hackers to
carry out attacks.

I hope they are successful as I am a lifetime subscriber and I really like the
print magazine. What happened is unfair and looks like a scam. If 2600 fight a
clean battle and do not recover what they are owed, then I might not have a
problem with some creative social engineering, etc. That's money I gave to
2600, and I'll have a real hard time feeling sorry for TEN if they have some
technical difficulties in the future.

And 'Ten: The Enthusiast Network' should now be referred to as 'Ten: The
Embezzlement Network' going forward. Call it what it is.

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dang
Thank you. We reverted the title.

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stox
My apologies for editorializing the title.

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inuhj
This is business as usual at Source Interlink (formerly Primedia). In 2009
Primedia delisted and filed bankruptcy to absolve themselves of >1billion in
debt. “This restructuring will materially reduce our interest expense and debt
levels,” Source Interlink Chief Executive Officer Greg Mays, 2009

A colleague of mine was there first for their 2009 bankruptcy. Essentially,
they delayed finalizing his commission structure and then simply stopped
paying. When he left they owed him >50k. He, unfortunately, didn't bring the
case in front of the labor board for fear of retribution.

~~~
AJ007
"Source Home Entertainment LLC" was the parent company which filed for
bankruptcy. Underneath that was Source Interlink International, Source
Interlink Distribution. Not Source Interlink Media.

It is clear Source Interlink Media knew Source Home Entertainment would be
filing for bankruptcy because they changed their name in May. Source Home
Entertainment filed June 23rd. Legally these were separate businesses. As
private companies it is difficult to tell much more.

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AJ007
Looking at Source Home Entertainment's bankruptcy filing
[http://bankruptcy.morrisjames.com/files/2014/06/0001-Volunta...](http://bankruptcy.morrisjames.com/files/2014/06/0001-Voluntary-
Petition4.pdf) (parent company of Source Interlink) here are their top 5
creditors,

Time Warner: $53 million Curtis Circulation: $49 million Comag Marketing
Group: $32 million BGI Inc: $16.8 million Kable Distribution Services Inc:
$11.7 million

2600 made out pretty good.

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ansimionescu
On a more positive note, I just found out about 2600.

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skram
Awesome! I do the layout "design" of the magazine and have been for about
seven years. Doing something such as that and being able to find it at a
Barnes and Noble is very rewarding in a different but similar was as creating
a website and seeing people use it...

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zacharycohn
I've been reading 2600 since I was in middle school. I always felt so
subversive going to Barnes and Noble, finding it on the rack, and reading the
mag cover to cover on the bench. Occasionally, I would ditch my mom and buy a
copy without her seeing.

You guys are fighting the good fight. Keep it up. <3 forever.

~~~
skram
Thanks Zach. Same thing here. If parents would stop and think about (at least
my definition of) what a "hacker" is, a maker/creator/doer/free-thinker, I
think they would in fact encourage reading the magazine.

PS - Be sure to try to make it out to HOPE (Hackers on Planet Earth):
[http://hope.net/](http://hope.net/)

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voltagex_
The only thing I don't like about HOPE is that the videos are so expensive to
buy, but I understand HOPE is very expensive to run.

~~~
skram
They often end up on torrent sites and the audio often uploaded for free. If
you have any suggestions, we're always open to doing things in new and better
ways.

@Skram

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voltagex_
Sorry for the disjointed thoughts, it's late here.

My email is in my profile if you want to discuss this further.

1\. Subscriptions to past and future videos.

2\. Pay what you want packs of DRM free digital magazines and videos (see
Humble Bundle, maybe you can do the HOPE Bundle?)

3\. Timed release of very old videos (done)

3\. Ways for non-live listeners to contribute, especially from overseas.

4\. Future: subscription to live streaming/delayed streaming for the
conference itself + ability to participate virtually in the conference

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webhat
It looks like they are deleting the comments of Facebook.

[https://www.facebook.com/TENenthusiast](https://www.facebook.com/TENenthusiast)

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troist
I used to buy the paper copy of 2600 every quarter until Borders in the UK
vanished and I couldn't find it anywhere. A Kindle version fixes all of my
problems though.

Does anyone know if the publisher gets any money off me for buying previous
editions of 2600 off the Kindle store? I've obviously subscribed now but I'd
like to read some of the issues I missed.

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brianbarker
The irony of a hacker magazine relying on print distribution. Wouldn't a 1337
4axx0r figure out something with mobile apps, websites, ads, etc?

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doctorshady
Nothing wrong with a little variety in your life, medium wise. Also, it's
"h4xx0r", not "4axx0r"

~~~
brianbarker
I was waiting to see how long it would take one of you to get upset about
that.

