Free music downloads are everywhere, but up until now, the British general public has not been threatened with the same lawsuits and charges that have been flying around in the US. All that might be about to change, after six Britons were arrested on charges of filesharing.
The six got their free music downloads from the now defunct filesharing website OiNK. The music that was downloaded was done so and shared before its official release date.
It’s not clear what the exact offenses were or why the six were released without charge. It’s also not yet known which songs or albums were the subject of these arrests.
All we know if that five men and one woman were arrested at the end of May.
This could be a sign of times to come in the UK, but the details are so sketchy that it’s difficult to draw any conclusions yet.
Filesharing as we know it may have run its course, according to premium filesharing company Rhever. Filesharing is renowned as a source for people to download copyrighted music and movies, allowing users to get their hands on brand new material before it even hits the shops.
Filesharing websites have come under intense pressure from the music and movie industries. After TorrentSpy closed down, many people are now starting to say that the way the current filesharing industry works needs to be drastically changed.
TorrentSpy closed down in March thanks to legal action by the MPAA. Even though new filesharing websites seem to open up on a daily basis, people like the MPAA are determined to bring them all down It will be a lengthy battle but not one they are prepared to give up on. Similarly, the music industry has been suing individuals and going against websites.
So what is the new face of filesharing going to look like?
Ares Lite was the first file sharing app that I ever had the privilege of using. It was simple and quick, it had all the features I needed, and it took up very little of my computer’s resources. Great stuff.
The origin of the name ‘Lite’ caused some confusion with its users who, burned by the many versions of Ares that are floating around bundled with spyware or adware of some kind, thought that the ‘Lite’ moniker referred to it being without nasty malware. While Ares Lite was indeed free of adware it was not the only version of Ares that could claim this ‘feature’. In fact the software was called ‘Lite’ because it was a cut down version of the Ares Galaxy. Simple!
There are of course many versions of the Ares software that are both very capable and free from spyware, shining examples of which are Ares Vista, Ares Ultra, Ares Ultimate and the great Ares Galaxy. Given the increase in power in modern computers it is perhaps time for Ares Lite to step down from its pedestal: the benefits gained by a smaller footprint no longer outweigh the disadvantage of the limited functionality. There are plenty of great choices to replace Ares Lite. Go for it!
Salvia Divinorum is a naturally occurring plant (native, in fact to Mexico) with hallucinogenic properties. People who use Salvia in either its natural form or as a concentrated extract feel short periods of hallucination and disorientation; effects can include outer body experiences and the feeling of merging with inanimate objects. Salvia is legal under US federal law and is available freely over the Internet.
Freely that is unless you live in one of the eleven states to have introduced rules to see Salvia banned. Another 20 states are considering laws that will see Salvia banned or its use restricted in some way.
Oklahoma and Kansas are the latest states to introduce the laws to see Salvia banned. Felons in Oklahoma can expect jail sentences of up to 10 year just for the possession of the herb, while distributors face between five years and life.
Salvia gained notoriety when the parents of a Delaware teen blamed the herb for the suicide death of their son. It is perhaps understandable that these parents want Salvia banned. But are they the most impartial people to follow?
There have been no reported deaths that have occurred as a direct result of Salvia use. Doctors and scientists are unsure as to the long term effects of Salvia
Ares Ultra is another version of the fantastic Ares P2P filesharing software that allows you to swap music, films and other files with your friends (and indeed with others across the world).
Ares Ultra boasts an easy to use interface which is cleverly customized for ease of use and clarity. I confidently predict that even a newcomer to Ares filesharing software will have no problem at all in picking up this gem of a piece of software and making it sing. You’ll be downloading your favorite music in no time at all.
This simplicity is a double-edged sword, however, and the power-users Ares Ultra might find many of their favorite functions are tucked away out of site and quite simply difficult to find. If you can put up with this, though – or if you won’t use the more technical functions of Ares Ultra – then this is the piece of software for you.
Most of you will be familiar with isohunt.com. We are – we’ve used the filesharing website numerous times. Isohunt began as a small project for a guy named Gary Fung. He started the website to let people making files available through BitTorrent. The whole thing was quite new five year ago, but now, isohunt is a huge website and Gary Fung is the subject of a major lawsuit from Hollywood.
BitTorrent is one of the most popular methods of getting music downloads and movie downloads. Fung’s website receives 18 million visitors a month and there are links to more than 25 million files.
The Motion Picture Association of America has launched several lawsuits against Fung. While other filesharing websites have buckled under the pressure of lawsuits, Fung has vowed to take on all who oppose him.
Isohunt doesn’t actually host any of the files people have access to, so it’s difficult to see what the MPAA will achieve.
We’ll have to wait and see.
More news from university websites this week. This time it’s the University of Utah. The RIAA has, apparently, threatened to file lawsuits against 12 individuals suspected of making copyrighted material available for filesharing.
It’s unclear whether those 12 filesharing people are students or employees, but the 12 filesharing infringers are being sought. The pre-litigation settlements offer each of the 12 the chance to settle out of court for about $3,000 or so.
If the 12 suspected of filesharing don’t comply, then they risk being taken to court for anything up to $75,000.
The University of Utah has said that it will pass on the letters to the 12 involved, but it will only pass on details to the RIAA if a legal subpoena is received, which might well happen given previous filesharing cases involving the RIAA.
So students are still being targeted by the RIAA. It looks like there will be no peace in this filesharing battle any time soon.
Comcast finally decided to play ball when it comes to filesharing and BitTorrent, news has emerged that Comcast is teaming up with Pando Networks to draw up a bill of rights for Internet users and ISPs.
Pando will reportedly be assisting Comcast in how it manages its Internet traffic. Pando uses a P2P filesharing protocol with files stored on and served up by users. The protocol works in a similar way to programs such as eMule.
Comcast has said that it will soon announce results from tests being conducted on its network to analyze how filesharing programs operate.
This signals yet more positive steps for Comcast with regards to filesharing. As we all know, Comcast has been under fire for allegedly limited access to filesharing services.
It’s yet to be made clear how Comcast’s new system will work or how it will affect its subscribers, but it will be interesting to see what the study brings up.
Ben Camm-Jones, news editor of Web-User magazine, was quoted this week as saying that to clear up all the confusion surrounding what is and is not legal when it comes to filesharing and free music downloads, there needs to be some serious clarification on copyright laws.
Could this be the case, or is it more that people fail to take copyright laws seriously, rather than not knowing about the laws?
Project Playlist is currently being sued for copyright infringement by nine record labels. A global standard when it comes to copyright laws would clear up a lot of confusion surrounding cases such as this, apparently.
One valid point is that most of us really cannot say whether Project Playlist has done anything wrong. While it is difficult to argue that adults are not at least aware of copyright laws, the same may not be true of children.
In a recent survey, about 49% of children user iTunes to get music downloads, while 26% use filesharing networks such as Limewire. However, this isn’t to say that the children don’t know it’s wrong.
One of the beauties of P2P filesharing is that there is always something now going on. From a new Ares download release to a new free music sharing website, to some advancement in the area of P2P filesharing, to some development in the Internet age’s very own David and Goliath battle (the RIAA is Goliath. Various children, grandparents and other innocents are the collective David). I love to keep on top of all this news, the goings on and the developments, but I simply don’t have enough time in the day to read everything on the Internet. Who does? Instead I occasionally visit www.officialares.com
The www.officialares.com site is simply the best place from which to get an Ares download. On top of this it goes out of its way to review all the major Ares downloads that are currently available. It is clear from the brutal way in which some of these downloads are treated that Official Ares treats the reviews as a chance to pick faults; this gives you the best chance of getting the best Ares download available.
On top of the service provided in terms of Ares downloads, Official Ares keeps abreast of recent developments in the industry. The news section is well written and presented in an engaging style. Definitely worth coming back for.
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