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Mac P2P Music Sharing with iTunes is Online

kraksmoka writes "Spymac.com has already found a way to take the new features of iTunes 4 to new heights. Today they opened up a new section on their site entitled Spymac Music, which is a database of shared iTunes libraries. Anyone who wants can submit their music library to be shared. Currently it sports a search engine capable of searching title, album and artist. " I wonder how long this will last.

15 of 255 comments (clear)

  1. they are asking for it by Jrod5000+at+RPI · · Score: 5, Interesting

    we all know about the lawsuits slapped on the college kids concerning LAN search engines. at first i figured the RIAA will surely sue Apple. Now i'm not so sure. Anyone familiar with the size of Apple's legal department?

  2. As it was intended... by kaamos · · Score: 5, Informative

    ... This is simpely an extension of what was provided by apple : You can have ANYONE with iTunes 4 stream your music over if you wish to, they only made an online DB with it... Guess it's time I finally afforded a mac...

    --
    In Canada, we don't fancy things like socks
    1. Re:As it was intended... by Oculus+Habent · · Score: 5, Informative

      Exactly. It's all streamed. There is copying or transferring. And realistically, there are physical limits on the ability of any one person to stream - bandwidth probably being the biggest.

      It's a chance to see what other people like, and maybe find something new to you.

      --
      That what was all this school was for... to teach us how to solve our own problems. -- janeowit
  3. I don't see how they can close it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...The server just says, "Hey, this guy posted his music library index online - take a look. By the way, his IP address is X.Y.Z", When I tried to test it out, his address was not responding. No different than Google if you ask me. But the users might start getting sued.

  4. Why this won't live longin the public as is by Lysol · · Score: 5, Informative

    There were already some posts about this here a few days back.

    I did try some other sites listed in those posts and I have to say that this is balancing on the dangerous zone. I could see the RIAA going after this specifically for that fact that there is little difference (if any), as far as they're concerned, with users 'broadcasting' stuff via iTunes vs. any other streamer.

    I will not be suprised to see a few things happen:

    1. all these public iTunes sharing sites will be shut down (or at least the biggest ones) via RIAA court orders
    2. most of these public iTunes sites will simply turn off due to bandwidth limitations
    3. Apple with either disable this feature in an update or publicly state that it is not meant for public sharing. Or some statement to that affect

    That said, coupled with Rendezvous on a local lan, this is a pretty kick ass feature. :)

  5. sahreitunes.com by subrama6 · · Score: 5, Informative

    something else along these lines came out a few days ago

    www.shareitunes.com

  6. Not too long, I betcha by arvindn · · Score: 5, Funny
    I wonder how long this will last.

    My guess: 10 minutes from the start of the slashdotting :)

  7. Re:Propaganda by pla · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Whether you think it's wrong or not, at least call it "music theft" which is what it is. If you're so convinced it's right then there's no need to sweep it under the rug as "sharing", "freedom", "fair use" or anything like that.

    What word or words would you use to describe the act of obtaining a book from the library?

    How about obtaining a CD or movie from the library (many libraries have extensive collections of CDs and movies, as well as books)? Does the fact that this revised situation involves music change your definition?

    Now, how does leaving out the "library" part of the above picture, change the situation? Does sharing something become "theft" because individuals do it directly, rather than through a public-ish organization?

    Although I partially agree with you, that people should call a spade a spade, not all music "sharing" counts as a euphemism for "stealing". As a better word, considering how most people I know use downloaded music, you might want to consider the phrase "free advertising".

    And if "advertising" bothers you as yet another euphemism for "piracy", perhaps you can explain to me how Clearchannel differs from your typical pickpocket-on-the-street.

  8. Re:Apple promoting piracy? by Textbook+Error · · Score: 5, Informative

    The shared file feature only works for INTRANET LAN's using Rendezvous.

    Not quite - the discovery of servers on the local net is done with Rendezvous, but you can "share" (i.e., stream) music between any two IP addresses (if you're behind a firewall, you need to open port 3689).

    --

    Nae bother
  9. You can NOT copy the files by Seth+Morabito · · Score: 5, Informative

    Repeat after me:

    You can't copy this files. It's streaming. It's not sharing in the sense of sharing files, it's sharing in the sense of sharing music that can be listened to only while the person sharing is online.

    You can NOT copy the files.

    Got it? You're not sharing files, you're sharing a playlist of streamable music, that's it. Person turns off sharing or goes offline, you can't play them. You can't copy them to your local disk. You just can't.

    You can NOT copy the files.

    So please do a little research before you jump all over this as music piracy. It's not a bug, it's a feature that Apple has proudly advertised.

    1. Re:You can NOT copy the files by Seth+Morabito · · Score: 5, Informative

      But it is magical! Because while you can easily get around it, iTunes is not automatically giving you permission to copy the files.

      I stick by my statement, "you can not copy the files", but I'd better modify it because everyone's missing the point. "You can copy the data, but you can't use iTunes to easily copy the files to your disk without jumping through some third party hoops." There, happy?

      You can use all sorts of hacks and workarounds and custom tools copy the stream and save it to your disk. But in all those cases you're working around the existing implementation.

      If I don't have a deadbolt on my door, just a handle lock, am I giving you permission to enter my home without asking me? You can come in a window, or jimmy the lock, or slide down the chimney, it doesn't matter, you're still breaking the law. The point is, Apple is not giving you an easy way to copy the files. If you want to break the law, you have to go out of your way to do it.

      Sheesh, nitpicky people.

  10. Re:Apple promoting piracy? by squiggleslash · · Score: 5, Interesting
    While I'm not entirely sure this counts as "fair use" (the mass-redistribution of music to anonymous strangers is certainly not fair use as far as I can see), I doubt anyone involved in the production of music - be they the artists or the producers who stump up the cash to get it recorded - are going to lose any sleep over this.

    What's being made use of here is a streaming technology built into iTunes. That means that when you "share" your playlist in this way, the receiver can only listen to the music you provide, while you're online. This isn't about grabbing an MP3, saving it on your hard disk, and then redistributing it even further.

    Very few of the people on SpyMac's list are going to be able to stream more than one or two MP3s/AACs at a time - most of these people have DSL or cable modems.

    So the feature is still limited, and while I'm not going to guarantee the record labels will demand a stop be put to it - they've done some bloody stupid things in the past - I suspect it'll end up being a net gain as it'll let people properly try music out before they buy, but in a way that nobody in their right mind would prefer to use instead of buying.

    --
    You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  11. Love shared iTunes, but can't buy at the Store! by Wanderer1 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is great, I find an artist on a buddy's shared playlist, but I flip over to the iTunes Store, and that artist isn't in their selection. Foiled! Guess I'll have to fire up Kazaa.

    I think this streaming thing is pretty good for music proliferation, but it would help if Herr Jobs would kick up the Store's encoding crew a notch or two. Many of the artists I'm interested in aren't there, but the feedback function gets used frequently.

    Also note that it has been said the streaming feature has a maximum of 5 connections. I don't think this was an overlooked loophole in the DRM plan.

  12. OH YES YOU CAN!!! by jzaw · · Score: 5, Informative

    as long as the iTunes share is not passworded
    then yes you can dl the mp3's directly from iTunes
    its basic but works ok and creates fully tagged mp3s
    queue up files

    google for "itunesdl" or "itdlgui"

    anyone who thinks that you cant ALREADY do this with iTunes ... didnt do their home work

    for testing purposes only ... ive done this from canada to the uk ... it defo works!

    [wink][tongue]

    --
    do acts of random kindness and senseless beauty
  13. Overreacting. by mikedaisey · · Score: 5, Interesting


    1) The files aren't copied, they are streamed.

    2)It isn't covered under the internet broadcasting laws as each iTunes client can not send to more than 5 clients at a time.