“If you were a famous musician, singer or rapper, do you think downloading music is better than buying it in the stores? Is Kid Rock being serious?  Tell me why.”

Cada vez hay más gente que habla de Spotify, una aplicación que permite la escucha de canciones a través de streaming. El hecho de poder escuchar miles de temas musicales en alta calidad de sonido y no descargar música en el ordenador ha motivado que grandes discográficas como Universal, Sony o Warner ya hayan firmado acuerdos para ceder buena parte de su material. ¿Ha llegado el final de las descargas ilegales?

Hace años en muchas conversaciones se escuchaban neologismos como Ares, Emule o Kazaa. Era el nacimiento de las Peer to peer (P2P), una red global de ordenadores conectados entre sí que compartían simultáneamente informaciones como vídeos, música, etc. Hoy millones de personas en todo el mundo siguen descargando archivos a través de estas redes.

En contrapartida a este hecho, los usuarios están poniendo dos valores fundamentales en una simbólica balanza: seguir escuchando música en baja calidad pero pudiendo llevarla en mi reproductor portátil o escuchar música en alta calidad de sonido pero solamente cuando estoy online. Un importante dilema que enfrenta a dos sujetos; las redes Peer to peer y el streaming.

Desde hace un año, el paladín del streaming es, sin duda, Spotify. Un software nacido en Suecia que funciona como un Google pero en el ámbito de la música. Ofrece al internauta un importante abanico de discografías a cambio de unos minutos de publicidad cada cierto tiempo entre canción y canción.

El usuario, tras facilitar su correo electrónico en la página web de Spotify, deberá aguardar a que le envíen una invitación para formar parte de la comunidad Spotify. La demanda es tan alta que, a día de hoy, la espera puede superar las 3 semanas.

Si la paciencia se agota, Spotify, previo pago, permite un acceso directo. Para ello ofrece dos packs. Uno, llamado Day Pass, caracterizado por poder escuchar música durante 24 horas y sin publicidad por tan sólo 0,99 euros. Y otro, denominado Premium, que tras un desembolso de casi 9,99 euros, nos otorga oír la música de nuestros cantantes y grupos favoritos durante un mes y sin publicidad alguna entre canción y canción.

¿Se ha acabado el dilema de la piratería? ¿Aparecerá un Spotify de películas? Pronto lo veremos.

top 10 sites de músicas

Os países desenvolvidos não dão mole para crimes, mesmo sendo relacionado a downloads pela internet. O Kazaa, o Napster, Pirate Day, todos deram a volta por cima e continuam a toda, agora a moda deixou de ser o download ilegal,entrando em seu lugar o streaming online, como o Youtube, onde o usuário pode usar mas não pode baixar, evidentemente, você já deve conhecer os programas conversores do Youtube, no caso dos Streaming, ainda não chegamos a esse ponto, mas não vai demorar muito não.

A seguir os dez sites de música legais, sendo que alguns oferecem a possibilidade de baixar músicas grátis, de forma legal, sem pagar nada.

emusic – Cobra 11.99 dólares, ao mês, permitindo baixar até vinte e quatro músicas durante esse mês. Para quem ainda não é usuário, o site oferece trinta e cinco canções gratuítas, para conhecer o site.

www.emusic.com

KaZaa – Este site cobra 19,98 dólares por mês, não possui limites para downloads. Possui mais de um milhão de músicas para downloads. Para baixar músicas, é necessário baixar um programa parabaixar as músicas em seguida.

www.kazaa.com

Rhapsody – Ao preço de 12,99 dólares, o site possui mais de sei milhões de músicas para downloads.

www.rhapsody.com

Napster – Cobra cinco dólares por mês, para ter acesso a sete milhões de músicas, podendo baixar músicas durante cinco meses.

www.napster.com

Streaming Free – A seguir os sites gratuíto, onde o usuário pode ouvir, transmitir a música, mas não pode baixar, pelo menos até algum hacker descobrir um programa para quebrar a proteção, como foi feito com o Yuutube.

Pandora Permite aos usuários criar páginas com a música ou artista que ele gosta, criando suas rádios particulares.

www.pandora.com

Myspace Music – Apesar de não ser tão popular por aqui, como o Orkut e o Youtube, da Google, continua sendo um site muito popular, usado pelos artistas, principlamente, para divulgar músicas, lançamentos de músicas novas, ou lançamentos dos próprios artistas iniciantes. Alguns preferem o Mysapace às próprias rádios convencionais.

http://br.myspace.com

Social Music – Combina rede social com tendência comercial, como mixtape, DJ.

Blip.fm – Assim como a Twitter, oferece serviço de micro-blogging, com a possibilidade de apresentar músicas, para alegrar seus seguidores.

http://blip.fm

Imeem – Uma rede social onde os usuários criam listas de músicas para seus amigos, através de streaming online.

www.imeem.com

The Hype Machine – Um novo serviço, onde os usuários podem enviar músicas através de feed.

http://hipem.com

The Pirate Bay – Depois de serem condenados pela justiça, os autores voltaram prometendo ontinuar de forma lega, como os outros sites. Sites legais permitem ouvir, transmitir, indicar para os amigos, mas não baixar. Até que algum Hacker prove o contrário.

http://thepiratebay.org

By Jânio.

Chi si ricorda i primi tempi della pirateria? napster, gnutella…kazaa. Oggi è cambiato tutto.

L’altro giorno vi avevo accennato al nuovo modello lanciato da MOG, oggi torniamo a parlare di streaming.

Si tratta di Kazaa, che secondo quanto detto da Niklas Zennstrom e Janus Friis, farà debuttare un servizio di streaming on-demand per i primi mesi del 2010

Defense Attorney Ray Beckerman

For the last few years Ray Beckerman, a commercial litigation attorney in New York City, has consistently blogged about his experiences in representing alleged music pirates on his blog, Recording Industry vs. The People. On his blog, Beckerman makes no qualms of expressing his disapproval of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and highlighting its “attempt to monopolize digital music and redefine copyright law.” As the previous quote demonstrates, Beckerman’s blog criticizes the RIAA’s 30,000+ lawsuits against computer users that are alleged to have obtained and distributed music illegally over peer-2-peer networks (such as Kazaa, Limewire, etc.). Beckerman lambasted the RIAA for these lawsuits, stating that “a small number of very large recording companies” against individuals that have only “paid for an internet access account.”

While Beckerman has been very outspoken against the RIAA, the RIAA recently took action against him directly. In its complaint, the RIAA alleges that Beckerman, along with his defendant, maliciously discarded and/or concealed the computer technology in question, as well as intentionally hid subpoenaed family members. It requested monetary sanctions against Beckerman himself, while Beckerman counterclaimed against the RIAA for abuse of process, arguing that request for monetary sanctions is “frivolous to the extreme.”

On Friday, October 9, a New York Magistrate Judge dismissed both the claim for monetary sanctions against Beckerman, and Beckerman’s own counterclaim for abuse of process. In the court order, the judge stated that while Beckerman might have been “less than forthcoming at times,” both parties bear the responsibility of “escalating hostilities.” As such, the court could not find the “clear evidence of bad faith” to warrant the imposition of monetary sanctions. The court also held that Beckerman’s blog could remain, stating that while it takes an “unusually aggressive stance” and “veers into hyperbole and gratuitous attacks on the recording industry as a whole,” it does not demonstrate bad faith on Beckerman’s part. While this sounds like a win for Beckerman, the court also dismissed the defendant’s counterclaim, holding that the plaintiffs are simply “vigorously pursuing their claim,” and do not demonstrate “vexatiousness” to warrant a claim for abuse of process.

– Rylan Smith

Image Source

Los Angeles – The creators of peer-to-peer technology firms including file-sharing service Kazaa, Internet phone service Skype and video service Joost have announced plans to develop a new subscription-based music service called Rdio, The New York Times reports. Details on the new venture were sparse, but Zennstrom and Friis have established offices for Rdio in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and hope to offer Rdio online and to mobile devices by early next year.

It’s unclear whether the service will utilize the pair’s expertise in peer-to-peer technology.

Rdio will compete with similar services such as Rhapsody, Napster and Spotify, the latter of which is gearing up for its U.S. launch.

EMI head of digital business development Mark Piibe told The Times that the label is in talks with Rdio, and that there “was no reluctance to deal with” Kazaa creators Zennstrom and Friis.

Source: http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2009/10/14/creators-kazaa,-skype-plan-subscription-music-service

Visst, jag har aldrig varit kund hos Telenor. Men de ska fanimej ha creds för  att de står upp mot musikindustrin.

Som alla känner till, så är ju Telenor inte direkt bland de billigaste alternativen, när man ska välja telefoni & internet. Därmed har de nu råd till att sätta ihop ett stort team i kampen för frihet! Jag hoppas verkligen de vinner. Update: De vann! Woohoo! IFPI framstår ju som totalt idiotiska, när det är den här vägen de går. Och skulle de gå någon annan väg, så kommer vi finna andra vägar!

Fildelningsprogram finns i mängder; Kazaa, för de som vill ha virus. DC++ som vill hitta sin skit fort genom sina favorithubbar och Soulseek, för mer svårfunna låtar. Med flera.

Alternativen för att söka efter torrentfiler är också många. Go Google!

Nuförtiden är det också väldigt enkelt/populärt att hitta musik via bloggar.

Viva la resistance!

Relaterat: VG, VG, VG, TV2, DIGI, R24, TU

So as the title concluded I am not listing the P2P programs in the top ten order, bcoz I know each one of us have varied opinions on the P2P programs we use. So I will it to you to choose the best one for your needs, saying that let’s start my this week blog on yet another interesting technology P2P:

Millions of people make use of free P2P file sharing programs everyday – software to exchange music, video and other files over the Internet. P2P file sharing tools are so popular among the young today like us . But all p2p tools are not well for all the countries according to performance. I made a list of 10 popular p2p software which are well known and popular for their performance world wide.

1) Bittorrent:

This is one of best, fastest, safe and widely used p2p program. Performance of BitTorrent is way better then any other available P2P programs. BitTorrent is a free P2P software application. As I see BitTorrent is a good default option as a mainline peer-to-peer client and performs admirably, but it’s puzzling why BitTorrent incorporated the uTorrent code without actually combining the two clients together. Supported Operating System: Windows, Linux, Mac

2) LimeWire

Once king of p2p file sharing, still in great demand today. LimeWire is a fast, easy-to-use file sharing program that contains no spyware, adware or other bundled software. Compatible with all major platforms and running over the Gnutella network, LimeWire’s open source code, is freely available to the public and developed in part by a devoted programmer community. LimeWire is offered in dozens of languages and is available in LimeWire BASIC, a free version. Supported Operating System: Windows, Linux, Mac, OSX

3) Vuze

One of the fastest growing P2P software as of today, so don’t want to miss this. Vuze overcomes the usual obscure torrent client interface and makes it more of a complete visual media experience; an expansive network makes it easy to find HD video content. Supported Operating System: Windows, Linux, Mac

4) µTorrent

µTorrent by no doubt is another efficient P2P client, designed for Windows. It needs as little CPU, memory and space as possible and offers good functionality that advanced clients expect. It has most of the features present in other BitTorrent clients. uTorrent is still the top choice for file sharing on peer-to-peer networks, with a tiny memory footprint and plenty of controls for managing bandwidth and more importantly free again. Supported Operating System: Windows, Linux

5) Ares Galaxy

Ares is a free open source p2p file sharing program that enables users to share any digital file. Some features that set it apart from other p2p softwares is its powerful library organizer, chat rooms, built-in audio and video player. Ares network not as great as others but compensates through other features. Supported Operating system: Windows XP, Vista

6) Shareaza

This was one of early p2p program when p2p was still new concept. It supports wide variety of networks like Gnutella, Gnutella2, EDonkey Network, BitTorrent, FTP and HTTP network protocols and which can handle magnet links, ed2k links, Piolet links, and the now deprecated Gnutella links. Shareza has billions of users and uncountable numbers of files shared across shareaza network. Supported Operating System: Windows XP, Vista.

7) Bearshare

Bearshare lets you share files and download from everyone on the global Gnutella peer-to-peer information network, just like limewire. You can download the latest mp3 music, movies and much more. What sets Bearshare apart from other P2P networks is its Instant Messaging system. You can have your own profile picture and interact with other people. Supported Operating System: Windows XP, Vista.

Kazaa

Like Shareaza, Kaaza was one of best and most popular p2p during early days of p2p evolution. but in past few year due to many issues like virus infected files, lawsuite, spywares, Kazaa has lost its
popularity. However kazaa has been continually trying to make Kazaa network virus and spyware free with many new features like built in virus scanner, infected file blocking made available in latest Kazaa Client to protect users. Kazaa Lite is one of best client of Kazaa P2P network for file sharing. Supported Operating System: Windows XP, Vista.

9) Soulseek

Soluseek central server type of P2P file sharing application. Soluseek is good old
p2p file sharing program best of sharing music files. ad-free, spyware-free, just plain free file sharing application. It is good p2p software for finding non-mainstream music. It was created by a former Napster programmer, Nir Arbel. It’s virtual rooms allow you to meet people with the same interests, share information, and chat, so it is a great way to make new friends. Supported Operating System: Windows.

10) eMule

eMule is one of the biggest p2p file sharing clients around the world. It is based on the eDonkey2000 network but offers more features than the standard client. eMule is easy to configure, but also, with many options and controls, good for the advanced user. Thanks to its open source policy many developers are able to contribute to the project, making the network more efficient with each release.
The chief limitation of eMule’s P2P file sharing program is its speed: eMule typically performs downloading much slower than other P2P clients. ient to protect users. Kazaa Lite is one of best client of Kazaa P2P network for file sharing. Supported Operating System: Windows XP, Vista.

Also there are many other good P2P which I may have not listed above like:
eDonkey / Overnet,
WinMX,
Morpheus,
iMesh,
KCeasy,
StrongDC++,
Frostwire,
BitComet,
BitLord,
Azureus, etc..

All of this one way or the other as it’s own unique functionality and feature which really makes them ready to use, so you shouldn’t be un-happy if you currently used P2P is not on this list

Have a great week and watch out for yet another intresting post next week, till then Happy Peer 2 Peer Sharing.

Βρετανία: Πολιτική traffic shaping σε peer to peer ξεκινάει να εφαρμόζει η O2 – ADSLgr.com
H βρετανική Ο2 προστίθεται πλέον στον κατάλογο των παρόχων που εφαρμόζουν πολιτική περιορισμού (traffic shaping) της χρήσης προγραμμάτων ανταλλαγής αρχείων (peer to peer) σε συγκεκριμένες ώρες της ημέρας όπου η χωρητικότητα του δικτύου τους αγγίζει το μέγιστο.

Με ειδικό λογισμικό και εξοπλισμό θα κόβει την ποσότητα του διαθέσιμου bandwidth σε συγκεκριμένες μόνο εφαρμογές όπως το BitTorrent, Gnutella και το KaZaa. Η Ο2 ξεκίνησε να παρέχει σταθερές ευρυζωνικές υπηρεσίες στα τέλη του 2007 μετά την εξαγορά της Βe και του adsl2+ δικτύου της.[next]

written by al todorovic

Pandora constantly plays the same songs. This app gets so much hype and it kind-of works. After a few months I started to hate it.

When you add favorites to a channel you’re making a mix c.d. only those songs are ever going to play. You can only skip six songs per channel. Why is there any reason I can’t skip songs I hate?

Whatever band you pick a channel for will never play So, if you want to kick it to Linkin Park, tune in to Limp Bizkit Radio. Blink-182 radio plays Angels on Airwaves for my entire walk with belle.

I use Pandora, because I will pay zero dollars for a paid music service and absolutely refuse to listen to commercials, but it sucks. Everyone that uses it already knows that, or they’re a douche bag. If you haven’t used it and anyone tries to show it to you, tell them to shut up.

O SAUDOSISMO tem sido uma das marcas registradas nesse meu blog. Apesar de estar num momento em que me interessa muito mais o que vem pela frente, sinto que as minhas experiências e impressões impregnadas de passado tem sido muito válidas. As novas gerações nunca manusearam um LP. Se mostrarmos a elas um vinil, elas vão pensar que aquilo é coisa de um passado remotíssimo. Não é verdade. Aqui no Brasil os CD´s começaram a surgir em meados da década de 1980. A Microservice, primeira fábrica nacional de Cd´s iniciou suas atividades em 1987. Eu fui testemunha ocular e auditiva dessa virada. Já trabalhava em rádio (desde 1985) e vi os primeiros compact disc chegando tímidamente às emissoras. Como vi também outros formatos de mídia que se tornaram um ´´elo perdido´´ nessa linha evolutiva (DAT, MD e outros).

A princípio, o que me chocou foi exatamente o grande problema que é enfrentado nos dias de hoje. A compactação e a facilidade de reproduzir. Um Long Play era uma coisa relativamente grande, ocupava uma parte considerável do espaço físico de uma emissora, nas saudosas discotecas ( espaço preferido naquele tempo para conhecer ´´melhor´´ as ouvintes…), e, de repente tudo se reduzia àqueles disquinhos que ocupavam menos espaço, eram mais fáceis de ser manuseados, operados e que tinham uma qualidade muito superior. Aqui os puristas podem discordar, dizendo que a compactação suprime também graves, médios e agudos. Eu não tenho um ouvido tão bom assim.

Reproduzir Lp´s era uma coisa bem mais complicada, mas já era uma forma de piratear na época. Quando passávamos 2 ou 3 músicas de um disco, mais 4 ou 5 de outro disco e gravávamos em uma fita K-7, fazendo uma coletânea, era a forma primitiva da pirataria que se faz hoje. Mas dava muito mais trabalho do que hoje em dia. Portanto, compartilhar música não é uma coisa nova, não é um desses ´´crimes´´ modernos. Aliás, para os primeiros músicos e compositores, deveria valer apenas a apresentação única, ao vivo, apenas para quem estava presente. A partir da primeira gravação de um registro musical, abriu-se uma janela para o infinito. Infinito que hoje é o grande desafio da APCM…

Essa Associação Antipirataria de Cinema e Música tem pela frente a missão de controlar o que parece incontrolável. O compartilhamento de músicas e filmes. Podem sensibilizar alguém da minha idade, que testemunhou e compreende o tremendo estrago que fez numa indústria simpática a todos: a indústria do entretenimento. Mas como sensibilizar as gerações que compreendem que tudo o que está dentro do seu computador, e tudo o que vem através da internet é um direito adquirido e pago pela sua conexão banda larga, que lhes dá direito a baixar toda a coleção da Legião Urbana em menos de uma hora. E podem questionar, porque as Casas Bahia vendem computador com 300 Giga, é prá encher com que? Este é, de fato o trabalho inglório da APCM, reverter um processo cultural, criminalizar e punir um hábito. Não posso e não devo tomar partido, porque também fui prejudicado, enquanto classe, nesse sucateamento da indústria fonográfica. O rádio era o instrumento que instigava o ouvinte a comprar determinado disco, conhecer melhor o trabalho de determinado artista. E as gravadoras sempre foram grandes parceiras das emissoras de rádio. O sucateamento delas também afetou, de certa forma, o Rádio.

Pretendo desdobrar essa reflexão em breve com todos os seus aspectos. O que me entristece é saber que quando esses meus posts ficam muito extensos e sem figuras eles quase nunca são lidos. E quase sempre são os melhores… Outro problema cultural das novas gerações!!!

Criminal activities take place wherever there is the least chance of getting caught. If you place 30 policemen in two streets, chances are likely that the crime rates in those blocks will drop. The digital highway works pretty much the same.

Distrubution of illegal pornography, including the one containing children, is and has been leading for years in terms of covering up. Through complicated networks, passwords, stego and more, groups distributing this stuff have been successfull for years. In the past, say 3 – 6 years ago, this used to go by plain and simple P2P networks, like KaZaa or LimeWire – but that was too easy to discover. New ways to communicate were found, including some flux-net like networks that were very hard to investigate.

Law enforcement has found some answer to this and are getting some successes in capturing the baddies. So, news flash – bad stuff is back to P2P! Just using the power of encryption, stego and more. A recent report by the UK Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) shows some remarkable moves these groupes are taking:

http://www.ceop.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/2009/ceop_07092009a.asp

eBay tiene previsto anunciar en breve la venta de su división de comunicaciones a través de Internet por VoIP.De momento sólo se ha desvelado que la compañía se traspasará a un grupo de inversores privados debido a la poca rentabilidad que el portal de subastas ha sacado a Skype.

El portal compró Skype en 2005 como una gran inversión en la que Google y Yahoo!también estaban interesados.

La transacción, que supuso un coste a eBay de 3.100 millones de dólares, no ha sido rentable teniendo en cuenta la poca integración en su sistema de comercio electrónico, y que la reventa que se realizará de Skype rondará los 2,000 millones de dólares.

Aunque la identidad del nuevo comprador se desconoce, ya hay rumores que citan el nombre de los fundadores de Skype, Niklas Zennstrom y Janus Friis (creadores también de la aplicación P2P Kazaa), inversores que nunca han ocultado su interés.De ser cierto, la operación supondría un gran negocio para ellos.

Empecemos con Jammie Thomas, que la obligaron a pagar 9,250 USD por cada canción que compartió en Kazaa y que su multa puede ir de 222,000 a ¡DOS MUTHERFUCKING MILLONES DE DÓLARES! . Se me hace una reverenda pendejada de la vil y asquerosa industria musical. Aquí les van siete crímenes que te hacen pagar menos de multa:

1. Secuestro infantil: 25,000 USD
2. Robar el CD: 2,500 USD
3. Robar a tu vecino: 375,000 USD
4. Quemar una casa: 375,000 USD
5. Acosar a alguien: 175,000 USD
6. Hacer un ring para peleas de perros: 50,000 USD
7. Asesinar a alguien: La penalidad máxima es de 25,000 USD y 15 años de prisión.

Artículo completo aquí

Más información sobre Jammie Thomas aquí, aquí y aquí

Etter massivt trykk og søksmål fra verdens ledende mediaselskaper blir The Pirate Bay holdt i sjakk ved at båndbredden er tatt bort. Så enkelt kan man altså stoppe driften av en legal eller illegal bedrift på nettet.

Jeg har fundert litt på hva jeg egentlig synes om fildeling og piratkopiering, og har vel egentlig kommet fram til at jeg ikke har så mye sansen for det. Min tid som aktiv fildeler tok slutt for over 10 år siden da Napster ble dømt sønder og sammen, og til slutt kjøpt opp og legalisert. På den tiden, altså før musikk- og filmbransjen forstod at noe var på ferde, var “file sharing” sett på som kult, og folk tenkte “shit, her kan jeg forsyne meg med hva jeg vil…gratis”.

Siden Napster har tjenester (hm, kanskje drøyt å kalle de for tjenester) blitt lansert på rekke og rad, med blant annet Kazaa og The Pirate Bay som to av de mest populære nettstedene.

Så tilbake til saken. Det at The Pirate Bay har fått massivt med pepper det siste året synes jeg er berettiget. Millioner av mennesker deler musikk, filmer, spill m.m., hvor opphavseieren ikke får en krone. Jeg kan ikke forstå at dette kan sees på noe annet enn stjeling. Med fildelingsnettsteder (langt ord) blir denne stjeling satt i system og tyvegodset gjort lett tilgjengelig.

Problemstillingen er vel egentlig ganske enkel. Hadde jeg selv vært utgiver av et produkt, ville jeg blitt pissed om produktet ble gitt bort til tusenvis av (potensielle) kunder. Ja, jeg hører folk argumentere med at slike kanaler er med på å promotere artistenes verk. Men selv dette kan vel ikke forsvare at folk får tilgang til musikken på ulovlig vis. Det å betale 9 kroner for en sang på iTunes er for meg helt OK.

Når det er sagt, skremselsmetodene musikk-og filmbransjen benytter seg av kan vel ikke betraktes som noen höjdare. Det er tydelig at de er desperate etter å kontrollere tilgangen, fair enough. Men i flere tilfeller oppfører de seg som en gjeng fortapte idioter som har mistet all fornuft. Blant annet saken hvor en dame ble dømt til å betale 50 000 per sang, eller totalt 12,3 millioner kroner, illustrer en meningsløs og urimelig holdning til problemstillingen.

Jeg tror slike handlinger heller gjør at det blir enda vanskeligere å kontrollere strømmen av ulovlig fildeling på nettet. Folk blir fandenindvoldske og går heller i opposisjon. Det må da finnes bedre metoder for å få bukt på problemet?

Men uansett, på slutten av dagen mener jeg fortsatt ulovlig fildeling setter internettets integritet i fare, og jeg håper man på sikt kommer fram til en løsning som passer alle. Hva nå enn det måtte bli.

Media:
DB VG VG

Immer wieder fragen mich Leute, ob ich Skype nutze, empfehlen es mir, oder drängen es mir regelrecht auf. Ich kann das durchaus verstehen – soweit ich das bisher sehen konnte, handelt es sich um eine einfache und ohne Konfigurationsaufwand auch unter schwierigen Bedingungen gut funktionierende Sprachkommunikationslösung, sowohl für Gespräche zwischen zwei Personen als auch größere Konferenzen. Dazu ist Skype weit verbreitet. Dennoch habe ich Skype nicht und werde es auch nicht haben.

Skype ist proprietär, es handelt ich also nicht um Open-Source-Software, die jeder prüfen kann. Das an sich wäre für mich jedoch noch lange kein Grund, Skype zu verschmähen, ich nutze zahlreiche proprietäre Software, angefangen mit Windows. Das Problem bei Skype ist, dass die Programmdatei besonders gegen eine Analyse geschützt ist, und zwar in einer Art und Weise, die fast alle anderen mir bekannten Programme weit übertrifft. Auch der Netzwerkverkehr ist verschleiert, d.h. es ist nahezu unmöglich festzustellen, was Skype für Daten ins Internet übermittelt. Durch die Peer-to-Peer-Technik, welche von Skype verwendet wird, werden ständig Daten übertragen, selbst wenn man das System nicht nutzt. Darüber hinaus umgeht Skype Firewalls und ähnliche Schutzmechanismen routinemäßig, um problemlose und konfigurationsfrei funktionieren zu können. Wenn die Entwickler sich also entschließen würden, die Software für unlautere Zwecke zu missbrauchen, würde das sehr lange nicht auffallen, und bei einem nicht flächendeckenden Einsatz vermutlich gar nicht. Bei normalen Programmen hingegen, welche keine besondere Verschleierung nutzen, ist die Wahrscheinlichkeit groß, dass recht schnell jemand auf den Missbrauch aufmerksam werden und ihn öffentlich machen würde.

Diese Geheimnistuerei mag durchaus legitime Gründe haben, doch sie geht oft mit dem Prinzip “Security by Obscurity” einher. Das bedeutet, dass ein System nicht wirklich sicher gemacht wird, sondern nur so kompliziert, dass ein Angreifer es möglichst nicht versteht und somit nicht angreifen kann. Das Problem dabei ist, dass früher oder später ein Angreifer das System verstehen wird – Security by Obscurity funktioniert nicht, wie zahlreiche Beispiele gezeigt haben. Natürlich ist es möglich, “Security and Obscurity” zu betreiben, also ein System richtig abzusichern und es zusätzlich kompliziert zu machen. Dies geschieht jedoch oft nicht, und selbst wenn, verhindert es, dass Fehler von gutwilligen Personen entdeckt werden (und so behoben werden können), bevor ein Angreifer sie findet und missbraucht. Eine Analyse von Skype durch zwei Sicherheitsforscher, welche sich durch die Verschleierung von Skype gekämpft haben, lässt jedenfalls nichts gutes vermuten. (Dort werden auch die Verschleierung und deren Gefahren ausführlich erklärt.)

Darüber hinaus erfordert diese Geheimniskrämerei ein großes Vertrauen in die Entwickler. Skype wurde von drei Personen entwickelt, welche ebenfalls die Filesharing-Software KaZaa entwickelt haben. Diese Software war randvoll mit Adware und Spyware, also Software, die den Nutzer ausspioniert und mit Werbung “versorgt”. Diese Software wird von Antivirenprogrammen inzwischen (zurecht) meist als Schadsoftware (“Malware”) eingestuft und ist oft schwer zu entfernen. Skype selbst wurde – trotz Verschleierung – bereits mehrfach bei fragwürdigen Aktionen ertappt, wie z. B. beim Auslesen von BIOS-Daten. Ich hoffe, das erklärt, warum ich Skype nicht traue. Es überrascht mich übrigens, dass einige Firmen diese Software sogar als firmeninternes Kommunikationsmedium nutzen, auch solche, die Wirtschaftsspionage befürchten müssen. (In vielen Firmen ist Skype allerdings explizit verboten, aus den oben genannten Gründen.)

Die Sprachübertragung bei Skype ist verschlüsselt. Diese Verschlüsselung schützt vor Driten, nicht aber vor den Betreibern des Netzes. Einige der Alternativen bieten keine Verschlüsselung, bei anderen kann man eine Verschlüsselung nutzen, für welche man nicht einer fremden Stelle vertrauen muss.

Ich hatte bereits erwähnt, dass Skype vermutlich die einfachste solche Software ist. Dennoch gibt es brauchbare Alternativen. Durch die zunehmende Verbreitung von Festnetzflatrates ist das Telefon für Gespräche zwischen zwei Personen eine gute Alternative. Wenn es um internationale Gespräche geht, die aus Kostengründen über das Internet laufen sollen, bieten sich diverse SIP-Provider als Alternative zu Skype an. SIP ist (im Gegensatz zu Skype) ein standartisiertes Protokoll, weswegen es auch eine Fülle an Software gibt, welche mit SIP arbeitet. Beispielsweise bei sipgate bekommt man kostenlos einen Account, mit welchem man kostenlos mit anderen Sipgate-Nutzern und Nutzern zahlreicher anderer SIP-Netze (über ENUM) telefonieren kann. Darüber hinaus kann man kostenlos eine normale Festnetznummer (Ortsnetz) erhalten, über die man von normalen Telefonen erreichbar ist – über eine Festnetzflatrate sogar kostenlos. Skype berechnet für eine solche Ortsnetznummer eine recht hohe monatliche Grundgebühr. Sipgate bietet eine vorkonfigurierte Software an, mit der die Einrichtung sehr einfach ist. Alternativ kann man seine eigene Software nutzen oder den Sipgate-Account z. B. in einer FritzBox eintragen und dann per Telefon nutzen. Telefonkonferenzen sollen darüber auch möglich sein, allerdings scheint die Standardsoftware das nicht so richtig zu unterstützen. Eine weitere Möglichkeit sind diverse Messenger, welche jedoch meist ihr eigenes Süppchen kochen und somit nicht mit anderen Diensten kompatibel sind.

Telefonkonferenzen über eine Festnetznummer können mit Hilfe von Talkyoo durchgeführt werden.

Konferenzen über das Internet gehen zum Beispiel mit TeamSpeak, Ventrilo oder der Open-Source-Alternative Mumble, wobei für diese Programme jemand einen Server starten muss. Der Vorteil gegenüber Telefonkonferenzen und Skype-Konferenzen ist, dass auch große Teilnehmerzahlen möglich sind und “push to talk” einstellbar ist (d.h. man einen Nutzer nur hört, wenn er eine Taste drückt, was störende Hintergrundgeräusche verhindert).

Wenn gemeinsam Texte erarbeitet werden sollen, ist Gobby hilfreich, ein Texteditor, bei welchem mehrere Nutzer an einer Datei arbeiten können.

Wie ich hoffentlich gezeigt habe, geht es (teils mit Komforteinbußen bei der Einrichtung) auch ohne Skype, und oftmals sind die Alternativen speziell für bestimmte Einsatzzwecke gebaut und dafür dann deutlich besser als Skype. Man wird sicherlich mehrere der Alternativen installieren müssen, wenn man mit wechselnden Personengruppen kommunizieren will – aber gerade, wenn man sich auf eine Konfernzsoftware einigen muss, sollte man die Skype-Problematik bedenken.

Ergänzung: Für reine Textnachrichten (Instant Messaging) bietet sich Jabber/XMPP an. Das Protokoll wird von vielen auf den ersten Blick proprietär erscheinenden Messengern (z. B. Google Talk und die Web.de/GMX Multimessenger) genutzt, sodass eine gewisse Verbreitung gegeben ist. Jabbernutzer können unabhängig davon auf welchem Server sie sind mit Jabbernutzern anderer Server kommunizieren. Zusammen mit dem offenen Protokoll und der großen Anzahl verfügbarer Clients macht dies Jabber sehr attraktiv. Um als Alternative zu Skype zu gelten, fehlt jedoch gute Sprachchatunterstützung. Diese existiert zwar in Form der Jingle-Erweiterung, ist allerdings noch eher experimentell. (Einige Clients wurden in den Kommentaren erwähnt, wie stabil und untereinander kompatibel die schon sind weiß ich nicht.) Google Talk benutzt diese Erweiterung jedoch, sodass – sobald genug brauchbare Clients und Plugins für weit verbreitete Clients entwickelt sind – eine interoperable, plattformübergreifende Alternative zu Skype und proprietären Messengern entstehen wird. Ich gehe davon aus, dass die Zukunft in Richtung Jabber + Jingle gehen wird.

Music Piracy Ruling My Be Unconstitutional

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090808/media_nm/us_verdicts

Un jurado federal de Boston ordenó a un estudiante graduado a pagar 22,500 dólares por canción a cuatro discográficas, que lo enjuiciaron por descargar y distribuir ilegalmente música.

Joel Tenenbaum fue hallado culpable de haber descargado 30 canciones, por lo que la multa asciende a 675,000 dólares.

Los abogados de las compañías discográficas argumentaron que Tenenbaum era un “infractor empedernido y habital”, que comenzó a descargar música en 1999 y continuó haciéndolo aún después de haber sido demandado.

Durante el juicio, Tenenbaum admitió bajo juramento haber usado KaZaA, LimeWire y otro software para descargar y distribuir música.

Fuente: elmundo.es

File Sharing Student Fined $675k

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/146827

A student from Boston University has been ordered to pay $675,000 (£404,000) to four record labels for downloading and sharing songs on the filesharing network Kazaa. Joel Tenenbaum admitted to downloading the 30 tracks brought to issue in the case.

He also stated that he had downloaded over 800 tracks since 1999 and had lied about the fact it could have been other members of his family downloading and distributing the music. Tenenbaum used a computer and both his parents’ home and at college to illegally download the files.

Last month a woman from Minnesota was found guilty of illegally downloading and sharing music via Kazaa and was ordered to pay a much larger cash sum to various record companies due to copyright infringement.