Posted on 10/04/2004 10:10:02 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
New technology threatens to do to Hollywood what Napster did to music. … BitTorrent is much faster than file-swapping software used to exchange movies and music over the Internet. … BitTorrent can transfer a feature-length film in about two hours -- a fraction of the 12 hours it typically takes with file-sharing services like Kazaa. ... the speed of the download actually increases with the number of people sharing a particular file.
BitTorrent ... imperils the movie studios' most lucrative source of revenue -- the $17.5 billion the industry reaped last year from DVD sales and rentals.
BitTorrent is a departure from the file-sharing technologies that allow one computer user to obtain a file directly from another over the Internet. Napster popularized file-swapping. When the courts shut down Napster in July 2001, file-swappers switched to Kazaa, which offered a new type of file-sharing program that quickly became the world's most popular ... . Both Napster and Kazaa created self-contained networks that allowed individuals to search for and obtain [files].
BitTorrent isn't a permanent network. It is a software tool that spawns impromptu networks of computer users, all of whom are seeking the same digital file. What makes it speedier than Kazaa is the notion of reciprocity. Anyone downloading a copy of [a movie] is simultaneously exchanging portions of the movie they've already downloaded with others.
It's like a group of people sitting around a table, all trying to assemble a complete version of the hot-selling book "The Da Vinci Code." The book's owner has distributed the pages so that no one has a complete copy. Thus everyone copies and distributes the pages they have in exchange for the missing pages. The swap continues until everyone has the entire book.
Once a download is completed, the network disconnects and disappears without a trace.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
"In order to have a chance to run a profitable website (or web service), you need to have one in the top 500 on the internet (out of millions of sites). No one in this environment wants to pay. The internet is the bastion of a cruising and loitering mentality. "
Actually, I found a very good strategy. I sell a rare class of merchandise to a small demographic and do quite nicely. Through hard work, I've maneuvered my site to the top 10 in all the engines lists for the appropriate searches. I give good value for my customers' dollars and follow up with excellent service and policies.
It works for me. The web, however, absolutely did not work for my software. It only encouraged people to use the software and not pay. In retrospect, I should have put some crippling in the unregistered versions. The 6 programs I created were tops in their class, and that might well have worked. Heck everyone is still using them, but I don't care any more.
In fact, they were last compiled for Windows 3.1, and won't even install in XP. But, there's a workaround, and people have found it. They're still unequalled for what they do, and I'm proud that they still run perfectly in XP, even though I never thought about it.
But that was another virtual lifetime. I generally change professions every 10 years or so, anyhow, just to keep myself interested. I like my new business.
time shifting is OK or at least used to be.
Heh, I turn bittorrent on overnight or while I'm at work. It doesn't matter if it takes an hour to download something because I'm not using the PC anyway.
What sucks is waiting for the last episode of my favorite anime to be subtitled and released to bittorrent - Fullmetal Alchemist forever, man!
Amen to that, brother!
Good points. I think the lack of a real network will be overcome if BT really takes off due to the "network effect." If only a few people are sharing a particular file, then it is'nt much use to anybody (kind of like being the only person in the world owning a FAX machine). BUT, if millions of users begin using it 24x7, then the utility of BT grows exponentially and induces more users. The problem is finding the torrents you want to join at any point in time. If you use a web site or chatroom, then these are easy targets for RIAA to prosecute.
What bothers me is the tactics of MPAA/RIAA.
They web-spider out looking for file names, and then getting even a close match, sue.
Including a site that held no movies or music, but a Linux application, long since existent, that shared the name of a recently popular song. (no I don't remember the specific details).
And the innocent users have to go to the courts to clear their names and get control of their websites back, with no penalties to the MPAA/RIAA for false accusations. . . .
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.