Freenet Music Venture; Napster-like ROM Swapping

artg writes "The Guardian is reporting) that Ian Clarke and others are creating a company called Uprizer to provide a legal Napster replacement. It apparently relies on voluntary contributions from users, but full details are secret until December." In other news, we've had a number of submissions concerning a Napster-like program called RomNet. The main difference is the swapping of ROMs -- looks cool.

Comments

Re:That would be GREAT!

[Reality Master 101]

No. The philosophy behind the GPL is that people should be allowed to use their data however they want (including sharing with others).

Good God! Maybe you actually read what Gnu is about, instead of making unbelievably wrong assumptions about it.

The philosophy of GPL is NOT "that people should be allowed to use their data however they want". There are very specific restrictions on what people are allowed to do with GPL code, including 1) Source code must be distributed, 2) Source code which isn't GPL'd becomes GPL'd when GPL code is used within it (the "viral" aspect of the GPL).

If there were no IP laws, the GPL would be impossible.

If anything, you're thinking of BSD-style licenses, which are almost unrestricted.

--

Re:New slashdot category, please

[leppi]

I think the reason that these stories are getting posted is because not everyone thinks that sharing music should be CONSIDERED piracy. There are a number of reasons why one would hold such a belief, ranging from music being an art form that should be shared, to the sharing of music actually ENCOURAGES people to buy albums/go to live shows. Most importantly we have seen that time and time again, artists have stepped forward and said "It is not us that hates [insert your favorite music sharing program here], it is the RIAA; They see it as cutting into their profits." Well, Lars aside anyway. :)

I think that you are really simplifing the issue by just saying "software that promotes rampant piracy". The fact that this topic poses so many interesting questions, and is such an IMPORTANT issue to talk about in a global network environment, demands its continual mention.

-- leppi

"Sharing" of information

[freebe]

What's next? Hot 0-day w4r3z, because information wants to be free? It'll happen soon, and what will be provoked? Another War on Drugs.

This new "file-sharing" bent among young people perfectly mirrors the start of the Drug Revolution. Many people thought then, as they do now, that if enough people do it, how can they make it illegal? Well, last I checked, Marijuana is still illegal, despite how many people have used it.

You're creating another War on Drugs, except this is the War on Swapping. It'll be moderately successful and waste huge amounts of govt. resources. Do you want to see file swapping where drugs are today - where you can be fired if you've ever been known to swap a file? Please stop drawing so much attention to it, and maybe we can avoid a lengthly and costly War on Swapping. By flaunting your illegal activities, you create the next War on Drugs.

I'd like to announce the launch of GPLNet!

[streetlawyer]

Yep, I and a few other investors are going to be setting up another distributed file-sharing scheme which allows software companies to distribute binary-only executable files of software for a fee. We think that the main attraction of the anonymous, distributed system will be to developers who wish to use sections of GPL'd code, but who don't want to abide by the free software licenses. The distributed nature of the network, with no central directory, will make it impossible for any Free Software or Open Source zealots to stop the spread, or to abuse the "copyright" system to prevent me and my investors from exercising our "fair use" of their work.

Whatcha think, Slashdot? Does it "sound cool"?