iPhone Allows File Sharing

May 18, 2008 by · Comments Off
Filed under: Announcements & Events, Entertainment Industry, File-Sharing Programs, Networks & Services 

What many of the iPhone and iPod fans have been expecting for quite some time now has finally happened – a file sharing sofware for the iPhone and iPod touch.

If you own a jailbroken iPhone you are now able to share music on the Soulseek network (at satisfactory speeds) using iSlsk.

The guys from Wired.com have tested iSlsk and it took them only 20 minutes to download half a full-length film, and an entire song in just 3 – with the mentioning that the downloads were made through a WiFi connection. To have a try at this you just need a username and password to create an account.

Once you’ve finished downloading your material, you can add it directly to your iTunes library to playback it on your iPhone.

However, you should be aware of several security issues related to allowing other devices to share information through a peer-to-peer network on your mobile device. Similar to any desktop-based P2P program, incoming and outgoing file streams do leave cracks for hackers and attackers to exploit your device. So besides the chance share files on your phone, there’s also a chance your phone might be hacked into by nasty “peers. Let’s not forget that the iSlsk program is still in early beta mode.

You may also want to consider anti-filesharing groups such as the RIAA always on the look-out for P2P sharers when you want to have a go at this.

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iTunes Unbothered by Competition

May 7, 2008 by · Comments Off
Filed under: Announcements & Events, Entertainment Industry, File-Sharing Programs, Networks & Services, Tops 

There’re really no solid challengers showing up in the horizon for iTunes, Slyck outlines. In spite of a brief “rivalry” from Napster, MySpace, and Yahoo, these services would soon realize that they were out of breath in this race. Taken from a recent study by Tempo Digital Music Brandscape, iTune’s perception as the best digital music store is makes the company unflinching on the market.

iTunes-screenshot.jpg

Still, the study also brought up some good news for Napster in the way that 72% of those participating in the survey were aware of the Napster product.

Possibly the most significant fact revealed by the study is that iTunes has cemented its top position as "the best" digital music store. This view, however, didn’t get into people’s mind overnight. For example, in 2005, 22% of downloaders considered that Napster was "the best" service, compared to 33% for iTunes. What could have been regarded as a thin 10% lead line has since faded away leaving iTunes in an obviously prevailing position among music stores. Walmart, MySpace, Rhapsody, and Yahoo’s remained somewhere in the distance at 5%.

For those still not very clear about why that is –well, you just have to take a look at the iPod/iPhone-iTunes relationship. As the millions of new iPhone and iPods are being sold at a large scale every year, the consumers are naturally oriented towards iTunes due to compatibility issues. Considering that, it’s pretty easy to figure out why iPhone users who try out both Napster and iTunes come to the conclusion that the latter is a better deal altogether. However, the term "better" refers actually to the extent to which what service will work with Apple products and not to the real quality of the services.

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Kids Still Dig P2P Downloading

February 11, 2008 by · Comments Off
Filed under: Announcements & Events, Legal P2P News & Issues 

It’s no surprise iTunes is definitely a top option for the teenagers not lacking the financial support. Trusted with their parents’ credit cards and an iTunes account, preteens are launching into the world of iTunes which offers as many possibilities for purchasing digital music as daddy’s credit card can endure. Due to the iPod being practically synonymous with iTunes, it’s common sense that Apple’s iTunes has done a great job winning over the younger generation.

 As Slyck News informs us, the results of the NPD Group’s most recent study only partially confirm this belief. According to this study, the fact is that with the 9-14 age group, iTunes remains only a tough competitor not an overwhelming one. As revealed by the study, 49 per cent of preteens used iTunes, 26 per cent preferred LimeWire, whereas 16 per cent used MySpace to trade music. The other 7 per cent were left out without any claim.

 What the NPD Group wanted to outline once more was the fact that P2P file-sharing networks are still, undeniably, a popular way to download for kids belonging to this segment of age.

 Although Russ Crupnick, vice president and entertainment industry analyst for The NPD Group welcomed the willingness of so many youngsters to legally acquire digital music (by actually buying it) he signaled the ignorance of many parents towards their children’s online activities, the lack of supervising which results in the still undisputed popularity of P2P.

 Despite the simplicity of iTunes and iPod and probably the access to their parents’ credit cards and money, preteens are not exclusively direct their attention to Apple’s music store. With kids we can almost speak of a downloading routine. However, we should not let ourselves forget that age is a very important issue here. The exact parents in question who are being finger pointed are relatively just as bewildered by this file-sharing phenomenon as their kids. Many of them reached maturity just as the digital revolution was embryonic. And let’s face it, how many of the parents do not actually share the excitement and the ease of P2P file-sharing together with their kids?

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