P2P posts

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Multimedia, Odds and ends, Internet, Developer

Livestation iPhone app promises live TV over wifi

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Dec 4th, 2008

We'll believe it when we see it, of course. Livestation is a service that claims to be "Slingbox without the box." Once subscribed, you can watch television streamed to your computer, via peer-to-peer, from anywhere. And now they're apparently set to announce an iPhone app that will do the same thing. Like we said, it seems like a great idea -- who wouldn't want to watch some TV while waiting for the train or sitting the doctor's office -- but investment money and promises do not a working iPhone app make.

Even the Livestation rep says it's still in development right now, and he won't give a date other than "soon." I have no doubt that we'll soon see streaming TV on the iPhone -- with the growing popularity of sites like Hulu and Netflix's own streaming video service, and a similar promise of streaming shows from i.TV, it definitely seems like that's where media is headed, even portable media. But this isn't something to hold your breath for quite yet -- I'm happy with Weatherbug's already-working video weather reports.

Tags: announcement, iphone, livestation, p2p, preview, slingbox, streaming-tv, video, wifi

Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone

iPhone gets native P2P torrent software

by Erica Sadun (RSS feed) on Mar 2nd, 2008

Your iPhone plays audio. Your iPhone plays video. Until now, you had to sync those suckers. Today, the insanely brilliant iPhone Hacker core announced a preliminary version of a Transmission Peer-to-Peer client for iPhone. The code is ported from the Transmission site to run on the iPhone's ARM microprocessor. Tests on downloaded files produced the identical MD5 checksum as downloading via wget.

Now before you start torrenting, there are some important matters you need to know. First: P2P + EDGE do not mix. Let me repeat that for emphasis. They DO. NOT. MIX. That's because EDGE + P2P takes down EDGE faster than toppling a Jenga pile. Update Further testing has gotten 5kb/s over EDGE without crashing but it's an iffy proposition. Use with care.

Second, we are posting this because there are many *legal* torrents, including music and video, available for download. So please don't start getting into a "Torrent Good"/"Torrent Bad" flamewar in the comments.

Third, this is EXTREMELY preliminary software. It will develop over time -- so you probably don't want to grab a copy and start torrenting right away until it becomes more stable.

Fourth, this is a command-line client. As it matures, someone is going to slap a GUI on that baby but at this time, do not look for the software to show up in Installer.app or Cydia.

Finally, be aware that torrenting will wear down your battery faster than, um... toppling a Jenga pile. (C'mon folks. We're really short on family-friendly metaphors here. Suggest your own in the comments.)

Way to go core!

Tags: P2P, Transmission, tweet-this

Filed under: Video

BBC to go peer-to-peer in HD with Azureus

by Michael Rose (RSS feed) on Dec 20th, 2006

The Beeb is reporting that hundreds of episodes of "programmes" will be released for download via the Zudeo service, based on P2P client Azureus. The videos will be available in HD and will be DRM'ed, exact rights and pricing to be announced. This is certainly big news for fans of Brit TV who don't have... you know... cable.

Seriously, though, HD via P2P is a big deal, especially from such an august content horde as the BBC. The presence of a Mac client (Azureus is Java-based) is also good news, although it remains to be seen if the actual videos will play for us. Will P2P challenge the video dominance of the iTunes Music Store?

[via Digg]

Tags: azureus, bbc, java, p2p, video, zudeo

Filed under: Audio, Humor, Internet

Weird Al: "Don't Download This Song"

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Aug 24th, 2006

Love or hate him, Weird Al has unquestionably cranked out some of the most notable humor and satire of the late 20th - and now 21st - centuries. The Digital Music Weblog (a sister site) has discovered Mr. Weird is at it again with "Don't Download This Song," a tongue-in-cheek anthem about the dark road of lying, cheating and stealing that file sharing can lead down.

Weird Al is using a small marketing site to pimp the song, complete with a music video and a download link (yes, of course it's free), as well as the upcoming album the song is featured on.

Grant at TDMW cites a favorite line of Christopher Springman at Public Knowledge: "Cause you start out stealing songs/then you're robbing liquor stores/and selling crack/and running over schoolkids with your car." Personally, I don't think the record labels care where you're getting your cash, just as long as you use it to pay their outlandish monopoly prices.

Feel free to grab the song, as the RIAA can't nail you for downloading this one. At least, I think.

Tags: downloading, drm, humor, marketing, p2p, riaa, songs, weird al, WeirdAl

Filed under: Software, Video, Bugs/Recalls

Skype w/video leaked, will destroy your Mac

by Conrad Quilty-Harper (RSS feed) on Jun 29th, 2006

According to a Skype developer, an old and unstable version of Skype for Mac has been leaked onto file sharing networks across the globe. If you spot this file, do not download it! "It is an internal unstable development version, and thus it is extremely buggy" and "it will destroy your contacts and other data". We wouldn't want that now would we?

Since the Windows version of Skype gained video conferencing support in March, many Mac user have felt left behind and stuck with the non-video capable version of Skype. Fortunately, this warning also comes with some good news; Skype version 2.0 for the Mac is nearly ready for primetime. The screenshot of a video capable of Skype on the left of this post is the tantalizing proof.

So, try and resist the temptation to go searching for a pre-release version that could potentially destroy your Mac, and wait a little longer for the official version. Remember what happened the last time someone bit the Apple?

Tags: Bittorrent, Bugs, Chat, Communication, IM, Instant Messaging, InstantMessaging, Internet, P2P, Skype, Video, Video conferencing, VideoConferencing, Warez

Filed under: iTS

Long-time holdouts Red Hot Chili Peppers in the iTunes Music Store

by Dave Caolo (RSS feed) on Mar 21st, 2006

Do you remember when Napster was huge (about ten years ago), and digital file sharing was on everyone's minds? Metallica and The Red Hot Chili Peppers were sort of leading the anti-p2p charge. Several years later, when the iTunes Music Store demonstrated that the online distribution of music could be accomplished successfully, the Peppers refused to participate, stating that (among other things), they didn't like that customers were able to purchase individual tracks, as it interrupted the flow of the album, or some other artsy thing like that.

Anyway, this is why I was very surprised to find nine Peppers albums in the iTMS this morning [iTunes link], including some exclusive stuff and videos. I'm glad you guys have come around.

Tags: file sharing, FileSharing, metallica, napster, p2p, red hot chili peppers, RedHotChiliPeppers

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