File Sharing (Napster, Aimster, Madster, Kazaa)

Here is a "poll" on file sharing.
Is the average CPFer using the file sharing programs that the Recording Industry hates?

I'm talking about programs like Napster (now dead), Aimster (changed their name to Madster, then died), and Kazaa (still alive, I think).

Do you believe in file sharing?

If so Which service do you use?---Marc

I use Kazaa and Blubster, mainly for MP3's

I am definitely in favor of file sharing. I use Kazaa Lite (no adware installed) and WinMX (again, no adware) and love 'em both. I've made over 500 compilations to date on CD-R disks and they sound great in the car and in my home entertainment unit in the den. Great resourceful use of the internet, IMHO. My opinion on copyright infringement: Most, if not all of the content that I download is either "out-of-print" or no longer available via conventional means. I do not like POP and most of today's offerings, so I do not know how I would feel regarding the sharing of these types of files. (Seems to be the prevaling use of file sharing progs, thus the RIAA's objections.)

Just my 2¢

Ed

I've "shared files" on-line since 1982, but in the narrower current (mis)use of the term I don't.

I don't copy things I don't have the right to copy, I don't borrow CD's from others and copy them, I don't copy mine and give them to others (though I DO copy tracks from CD's I've bought into compilations for my personal use).

I also don't copy and either use or re-distribute images or text that belongs to others without their permission.

I've had both my and my client's images and text on-line for years, and I've persued others who have copied or used those works. Most notably a rock band that stole (yes, that's what it is) an image from a client's web site and re-used it on their own.

My client had paid money to have that image commercially created, and the band in Chicago did not have the permission to use it (nor would my client have given it - she asked that I take action to get it stopped).

I dropped them an e-mail asking them to remove it from their site and not to use it, and they responded that they'd do whatever they wanted to with it because they'd found it on-line (at my client's site) and therefore it was "public domain."

My next contact was the ISP and their management company's lawyers.

Outcome: The ISP bounced them and their management company corrected their odd view of reality.

I've also gone after two European sites for using my stuff, and had it removed from their site in one case, and properly credited (plus a link) on the other (that's what I asked for in return for their continued use of my images).

Ok, I'll crawl back under my log soon.

Short answer: No, I do not steal other people's property - I only copy WITH PERMISSION.

Resident curmudgeon,

Kazaa.

I generally don't like most movies out these days, but a brother-in-law loaded Kazaa on my PC and a movie named "Office Space". The technical aspect of doing this is amazing to think about -- download an entire high quality movie via Internet. Wow.

And besides that, as a former eCommerce consultant/programmer I loved the movie. I'm going to buy it. (Something the media companies just won't admit is that this technology sells MORE movies & music, not less. Well, at least for me & loads of other folks it does).

Getting back to the point, while I rarely have time for it lately, I think Kazaa worked great. I didn't have the version with adverts; it was an older/better version.

For music I just listen to streamed stuff via WinAmp (Windows) or XMMS (Linux) off of the Shoutcast.com site.

I have a feeling the FEDS are looking here...

O well, Kazaa...

EDIT: Actually, I use Kazaa Lite (no spyware, no ads)

Originally posted by logicnerd411:
I have a feeling the FEDS are looking here...

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"> ... just speak into the mouse ...

i occasionally use kazaa, but not much.

it is a great source for songs and documents that cannot be found elsewere, and having an mp3 player, i find it much easier to download music (again, stuff that is hard to find most often) then do the whole copy thing.

as far as downloading videos on kazaa...i don't think this is much of a problem at all, when you download a movie, it is a large file, and in order for the quality to be good, you have to take it to your dvd player, which requires either expensive software, or a dvd burner, and most of the older dvd players don't support that anyway.

i find utilities such as this to be valuble and helpful, but i try not to abuse them.

kazaa lite, for stuff like amateur videos of car shows, track meets, and the like.

I use Kazaa lite. Love it!!

You don't need to burn movies on a DVD. You can burn them to a regular CD-R as a VCD. Most movies can fit on two CD-R's as a VCD. I use TMPGEnc software to convert any movie to VCD format. It roughly doubles it's size but burned onto a CD-R or RW it plays on my Sony DVD player with no problem. The only drawback is it takes 8-10 hours on my computer to convert a movie. But I have a slow 350mhz computer.

I actually just bought a video card with video out and a 19" monitor so I can watch movies from the computer or just use a cable to the "big" TV in the living room.

yes, you can do it with a cd-r (on most new dvd players at least) but at the expense of some quality and a lot of time.

i also like the video out gpu, it it s-video?

Shareaza here. Morpheus/Kazaar backbone, but different (better) interface.

Originally posted by Rothrandir:
i also like the video out gpu, it it s-video?

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">The one I have is the Radeon 64mb 7500 PCI. It has regular video out via RCA jack. The AGP version has S-video but not regular video (RCA). I have not tried it on my TV yet (just installed it last night) I'll let you know how it goes.

Don`t go near them, not just because of the security issues, but also the fact that:

- I don`t buy music/videos/etc anyway. BBC Radio Two gives me a daily musical fix of stuff that I like, stuff I don`t, stuff that I wouldn`t ever listen to if it were up to me but find myself enjoying nonetheless....and the TV is always just over there if I feel like it. Channel 5 have some decent movies now and then, and CSI/Law&Order/The Shield on saturday nights which I particuarly enjoy.

- My PC is mute, ie, no sound card. The most it can muster is a muffled click from the internal speaker, and an unexplained but unique series of four beeps when it gets going in the morning.

- My access to the world is via an aging 28K modem over a hopeless fone line that gives me 2 or 3 K per second either direction, and litle more. And the connection automatically drops each 2 hours, an awful feature of my ISP to keep users from hogging all the servers and staying online all the time. They want everyone to quit dialup and use their cable internet service. I think I`ll follow them soon...

- My PC is a vintage IBM PC300GL which copes just fine with my usual plethora of programs, but if others were trying to access it at the same time it would soon be on its knees.

Oh, and there`s that Copyright thing too....

"I actually just bought a video card with video out and a 19" monitor so I can watch movies from the computer or just use a cable to the "big" TV in the living room.
"
Problem is, TVs are lower resolution than monitors.

I have tried a number of the programs in the past but don't spend much time on that now. I didn't like the spyware and ads. I know there is alot of copyright issues at stake and I don't wish to steal from anybody.

In my own experience, if I got a copy of a song I liked I probably went to the local music store and looked over all the material the artist released. I found that the file sharing drove me to expand my tastes in music, want to go buy more cds and see more artists in concert. For the one or two songs I might have gotten, I went and got several cds and probably went to the concert. It was a win for the artist, because I became a new fan.

Originally posted by MicroE:
If all of the FBI agents are only working on terrorism then I doubt that white collar criminals (copyright infringers included) will have much to worry about.

---Marc

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">... Until the RIAA convinces them it's terrorism ...

Originally posted by Tomas:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by logicnerd411:
I have a feeling the FEDS are looking here...

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"> ... just speak into the mouse ...

</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I heard a story on National Public Radio yesterday. The basic idea was that after 9-11-01 most of the FBI agents in the USA were re-assigned to anti-terrorism duties. Now Congress wants the rest assigned to anti-terrorism duties.

If all of the FBI agents are only working on terrorism then I doubt that white collar criminals (copyright infringers included) will have much to worry about. ---Marc

And don't think they won't. For a particularly neat treatment of this subject, checkout:
www.theafternow.com

A post-apocalypse radio-play centered around the downfall of society due to overly-agressive copyright law. No, seriously. It's very good.

I have found a lot of interesting bootleg or otherwise unreleased stuff from some of my favorite artists on LimeWire. A few years ago I used napster to fill out my collection of favorite 80's music, but I find I can't listen to most of it anymore anyway, who needs to be constantly reminded of High School?

In short, if you need to download the latest top 40 crap that the music industry is stuffing down your throats, you'll find it all online. You'll shortly exhaust their supply of GOOD music though, because there is just so much less of it.

I support the artists who I enjoy by buying their albums, if possible directly from the artists or their websites instead of at the local commercial stores who are also throwing mostly crap at me.

As far as movies, I've experimented just to see how easy it is and I was not surprised to find out that the movie industry is WAY exaggerating how much of this was going on. It seems that some people have connections that can do it fairly quickly, but I have never had a good enough connection. It takes hours of searching, finding what you want and nursing the connection to keep it up as you do a 6 or 8 or more hour download of the 1 or 2 700meg'ish images to get a divix or vcd quality movie. If I'm doing contract work over those hours I can make enough money to buy the DVD and the player and maybe even the TV in that amount of time. So it's just not worth it to me.

Now, the fact that it's illegal for me to backup the DVDs that I do buy and own and specifically have the right to backup, that pisses me off to no end, and I have written my congress people about it. I would recommend the rest of you do the same.

I make LOTS of mix CD's for the car and have all my legally purchased CD's ripped into my computer where I listen constantly while I work. I will never buy a CD that I cannot play on my computer, because that is where I do 99% of my listening.

Are you listening Sony and WB and the rest? I bought your CD's before they had copy protection, when I could have downloaded them, but I will not continue to do so if I can't listen to them on my computer.

None of the major labels have signed any new artists that I want to listen to in the last 5 years. So I will not morn them as they beg the government for a buyout because their business was destroyed by their own business decisions.

James