The Pirate Bay is blocked in the UK, The Elder Scrolls is going massively multiplayer, and the world’s elite universities are putting classes online for free. All this and more in episode 19 of Technophilia: “Piracy in the UK“.

MakeUseOf writers live all over the world. Every week, three of these writers virtually get together to talk about the latest technology news and what they’ve been up to. We have a lot of fun doing this, because we usually don’t get a chance to talk to each other out loud. We record our conversations and share them with the world – the result is Technophilia. It’s not officially part of MakeUseOf, but it’s an entertaining way to keep up with technology news.

This week – Dave is having a lot of fun playing with his new Playstation Vita. James is outsourcing the creation of his amazing ideas using odesk.com, a great place to find freelance programmers and more. And Justin, being cheap, uses Sidepon to find coupons while shopping online. James wishes this were a browser plugin instead of a website.

Check out our technology podcast online, right now.

or

Subscribe to Technophilia on iTunes

or

Subscribe to Technophila using RSS

And, as always, the headlines:

• ISPs in the UK are starting to block The Pirate Bay, a move that provided the pirate bay with lots of publicity. Now no one in the UK pirates anything, ever.
• UK bouncers checking Facebook on phone to confirm identity, which is stupid.
• FBI wants a backdoor added to Facebook, Skype and other social networks as fewer criminals use the phone to communicate.
• The US government suggested people start up a social media will on their blog. Justin, James and Dave get depressed whilst contemplating their mortality.
• Microsoft buys 17.6 percent of Barnes and Noble’s Nook division. Microsoft is getting in on the ebook market, but are they too late?
• Harvard and MIT working together on free online classes. Take some classes and stretch your mind!
• Apple and Samsung grab 99% of all smartphone industry profits. Apple alone has 73%.

Also: gaming news!

• Elder Scrolls is releasing a massively multiplayer online game. Dave can’t wait to play; James refuses to.
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 was announced last week. The game is set in 2025, with an abundance of drones, mechanized warfare; fighting over rare earth elements.
• Microsoft launches a Kinect console bundle priced $99 … and a 2 year $15/month contract. Protip: this is a bad deal.