Ashley Bell

Turning criminals into law-abiding customers is always a dicey business, made even more so when easy thievery was your company's primary reason to exist. That's the challenge facing the "new" Pirate Bay as the file sharing site tries going legit.

Put another way: What's Pirate Bay without the piracy? Not much.

"We would like to introduce models which entail that content providers and copyright owners get paid for content that is downloaded via the site," said Pirate Bay's new owners in a statement.

A Swedish company, Global Gaming Factory X, announced today that it was purchasing Pirate Bay for $7.7 million with plans to turn the file-sharing site into a legitimate business.

How easy will this be? My colleague Daniel Ionescu took a measure of reactions from Pirate Bay users, and isn't very upbeat about the site's chances.

I stay away from associating with people who steal stuff, so I just look to history for the answer.

Remember Napster, the original "we're not supporting theft of copyrighted material site"? Sure you remember, but have you thought about Napster lately? Didn't think so, but the site is still in operating, selling downloads and streaming music at discount prices.

I wouldn't go near Napster-legit or not-with a ten-foot pole. I don't want to support such a brand, given its history. And I feel the same way about Pirate Bay, whose four founders sit in a Swedish jail, presumably thinking about what they will do with the money they are getting from selling the site.

Presumably, they will pay $3.6 million in fines that they face, followed by some huge legal fees, which continue to mount while their appeals roll forward. They started their one-year, slap on the wrist, sentences in April.

Meanwhile, as Pirate Bay tries making deals that will allow it to offer content legally, I'd have to guess that the pirated content, estimated to be about 90 percent of the site, would disappear. When that happens, current users, who pay about $27 for a lifetime membership, will take their criminality elsewhere.

Honest people, like you and me, don't get a thrill from supporting convicts, even Swedish ones, so we won't make the "new" Pirate Bay our destination. There are too many legal ways for honest people to get online content.

I'll be happy when Pirate Bay just falls over dead. Crime should not pay.David Coursey tweets as techinciter and can be reached using the contact form at www.coursey.com/contact. Need we mention that he is not a Pirate Bay member?

China plans to tap Taiwanese companies to put LED (light emitting diode) technology into street lights in 10 Chinese cities, groups from both places said Thursday.

The project aims to cut electric bills in Chinese cities by using LED in city lights. LEDs give off less heat, consume less energy and last longer than traditional lights, according to China's National Semiconductor Lighting Industry Alliance, which oversees the project to light up China with LEDs. The technology is also inexpensive because it's used in a range of projects, from Christmas lights and the displays of alarm clocks, DVD players and digital music players, to the backlights in LCD laptop screens.

The agreement was part of deals signed at a two-day conference between LED industry leaders and government officials from Taiwan and China.

Delegates from the conference also signed a letter of intent to work together to promote LED technology, including in research, development, qualification and the creation of new standards. Over 200 Taiwanese companies and 71 Chinese companies took part in an exhibition related to the conference, and around 80 government officials from China attended the event, according to Taiwan's economics ministry.

The cooperation highlights increased cooperation between Taiwan and China over the past year. A new president elected last year in Taiwan has pushed forward a number of initiatives to strengthen ties with China, mainly economic, a far different tack than the previous administration, which advocated Taiwan independence. China and Taiwan separated in 1949 amid civil war, and China has vowed to attack if Taiwan moves toward formal independence.

A number of new policies have been implemented by the new administration in Taiwan, including direct flights between Taiwan and China for the first time in decades and greater business ties between the two places. Another example in the high tech area was last week, when Taiwan hosted the first ever China pavilion at the Computex Taipei 2009 electronics show.

LED sales to China's lighting industry stand to be big business for Taiwanese companies, according to investment firm CLSA Asia Pacific Markets in Taipei.

"The fast-growing economic growth in China will inevitably lead to urbanization and higher electric lighting consumption," said analyst Andrea Su, in a report on Thursday.

She believes China will increase spending on LED lighting to lower energy costs and that currently, lighting consumption per capita in China is only 10 percent that of North America.

Broadcom turned up the heat Wednesday in its attempt to convince Emulex shareholders to allow Broadcom to purchase the company, as the chance of an amicable outcome to its unsolicited takeover bid appeared even more remote.

Broadcom again asked Emulex's shareholders to approve a proposal that would allow them to present their views on the merger at a special meeting. Emulex's board of directors has rejected Broadcom's offer to buy the company for US$9.25 per share.

Broadcom also presented a new analysis that it said shows its all-cash offer of about $764 million would be more advantageous for shareholders than leaving Emulex as a standalone company.

Broadcom presented its case in papers filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and posted on its Web site.

"Our proposals in the Consent Solicitation would give Emulex stockholders the ability to be heard in the most important matters affecting their investment," Broadcom President and CEO Scott McGregor said in a statement. "Contrary to misleading statements by Emulex about our proposals, support for the consent solicitation does not obligate Emulex stockholders to tender their shares to Broadcom or to elect new Board members."

Emulex did not immediately reply to request for comment Wednesday.

Broadcom's renewed pressure comes after Emulex filed suit against Broadcom on Monday for unfair business practices, citing the drug-trafficking and securities-fraud indictment of Broadcom's former top executive, among other things, as proof to its shareholders that Broadcom officials can't be trusted.

Emulex has been fighting off a takeover by Broadcom since late last year, when Broadcom first approached Emulex about a deal.

Broadcom made its bid public in a letter to Emulex shareholders on April 21, following a breakdown of talks in January. Emulex's board rejected the bid, saying it undervalued the company, leading Broadcom to make its tender offer to Emulex shareholders on May 15.

Broadcom produces semiconductors used mainly in communications products, such as wireless networks, cell phones and cable set-top boxes. Emulex provides technology for connecting storage, servers and networks in data centers, working with large storage vendors such as EMC, Hewlett-Packard and IBM. Both companies operate in Orange County, California - Emulex in Costa Mesa and Broadcom in Irvine.