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Kazaa/Altnet To Pay Users For Trading Content

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the not-as-good-as-it-sounds dept.

mesozoic writes "News.com is reporting that Kazaa and Altnet are unrolling a setup where users are paid to distribute 'authorized content.' The article also mentions something about getting rid of unauthorized files, but is unclear on when and how. I'll be paying close attention to whether this P2P business model pans out; Sharman _has_ shown some shrewd business sense in the past."

14 of 225 comments (clear)

  1. cut out the middle-man by sweeney37 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    how about this idea instead, they take out gator and any other nasties they include.

    they can keep the money, we'll just call it even.

    Mike

  2. Where can I sign up? by goldspider · · Score: 5, Funny

    This sounds even better than when Bill Gates e-mailed me saying he will pay me $5.00 for every person I forward the message to!

    --
    "Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
  3. Raises some interesting issues by valisk · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Here in Europe we can listen too and pass around Public Domain copies pre 1953 works, where the author is dead, so Elvis etc, but in the US this according to RIAA is 'Absolutely Piracy.'

    So say someone in the USA downloads my copy of 'That's When Your Heartaches Begin' to complete his Sun Studios collection, he would be a law breaker, a german doing the same would be enjoying his right to peruse material in the public domain, but where would I stand?

    --

    Economic Left/Right: -0.62
    Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.69
  4. Seems to me.... by SpaceCadetTrav · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...that it would be easier to just host the content themselves. The real value is in getting listed in the search results, and bandwidth is relatively cheap compared to the complexity of a system that tracks and pays random idiots on the net. Of course, I am probably wrong.

    --
    Life in Orange County
  5. Great! by stanmann · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I can earn peer points for allowing my computer to be used as a distributed host for someone elses software. From P2P to B2P2P, except I don't have to want the stuff on my computer.

    Next stop, My computer will be used as a pr0n server without my knowledge, and since it will be (semi-)encrypted, I won't even necessarily know about it.

    --
    Food not Bombs is a nice platitude but it breaks down when you notice that the Bombees are usually well fed
    1. Re:Great! by halepark · · Score: 5, Funny
      My computer will be used as a pr0n server without my knowledge, and since it will be (semi-)encrypted, I won't even necessarily know about it.

      Girlfriend: "What are these pictures I found on your computer?!?"

      You: "I swear they're not mine! I was just trying to support Kazaa's new P2P business model! Honest!"

  6. BITTorrent by mjmalone · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This model seems like it would apply better to BITTorrent, where companies could provide a link on their website to download a song/movie/whatever. It makes more sense that way, companies could sell content on their website and not have to worry about having the bandwidth available should certain content become extremely popular.

    --
    Visualize the world of wine
  7. Sounds familiar... by Rahga · · Score: 5, Funny

    'They can then host files that are authorized for distribution through this network and will receive "Peer Points" that can be redeemed for prizes every time someone uploads a file.'

    One of those banned Shadowbane players already has 768,323,000,000 Peer Points, and plans to redeem them for a Harrier jet.

  8. What about Acceptable Use? by Silwenae · · Score: 5, Interesting

    But what about ISP's acceptable use policies? If Kazaa is sending you checks, doesn't this violate almost all Acceptable Use Policies that forbid commerical use of residential broadband access?

    Looking at my Roadrunner account's AUP:
    Unless you have specifically subscribed for commercial grade service, the Road Runner service is provided to you for personal, non-commercial use only. This service cannot be used for any enterprise purpose whatsoever whether or not the enterprise is directed toward making a profit. If it is your intention to use this service for these purposes, please contact your local cable operator to inquire whether commercial Road Runner service programs are available.

    I have to believe hosting Kazaa / Altnet content and getting paid for it *could* get some users in trouble.

  9. Not exactly by NetDanzr · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Here in Europe we can listen too and pass around Public Domain copies pre 1953 works, where the author is dead, so Elvis etc

    Actually, that is not entirely so. In Europe, copyright expires 50 years after the death of the author, not 50 years after the work is published and the author is dead. In the US, the current limit is AFAIK 75 years. As a consequence, Elvis' works are not yet in public domain in Europe.

    Other than that, you are absolutely right; it raises some interesting questions. For example, the works of George Orwell passed into public domain in Europe two years ago, but when I featured them on my Web site, I was quickly presented with a cease-and-desist letter from a US publisher. Residing in the US and having all my files on a US-based server, I had to oblige.

  10. More crappy patents by Sanity · · Score: 5, Informative
    The company is looking to a new patent license for one new revenue source. It has acquired rights to a 1999 patent that Bermeister says covers the technique of identifying files on peer-to-peer networks using a "hash," or digital fingerprint based on the contents of the file. The company will approach virtually all other peer-to-peer services to seek license rights, Bermeister said.
    Good luck to them - the actual 1999 patent is invalidated by the hashtable datastructure which has been around for decades, and their 2002 patent is clearly nullified by the Content Hash Key first introduced in Freenet in 2001 (and I am sure earlier prior art exists too but Freenet, being a P2P network, is more on-point).
  11. What is the conversion rate by UnknowingFool · · Score: 5, Insightful
    between peer points and actual items. I think any likelihood of success depends on how many points it takes to get something good. If it's like 10,000 points (a point per MB downloaded) to get a pen, most people won't bother.

    Another thing that Kazaa may remember that sometimes people may have more altruistic motives. Take for example Seti@home. Millions of people allow SETI to use their computers to analyze data signals for no charge. It might a little more successful if Kazaa allows points to be donated to charities at a higher rate.

    Without more details it's hard to say how this system will really work.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  12. Kazaa Lite - Tastes Great::Less Filling by FrEaK7782 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Just use KazaaLite. And then run Ad-Aware to remove Gator and all the other evil spyware and crap Kazaa installs. Plus, KazaaLite makes you a super user. Supposedly that has benefits...

  13. Could Anyone Really Trust Kazaa by yintercept · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In reading the article, I can't help but wonder if anyone is really foolish enough to trust Kazaa with their money? As an advertiser, I would always wonder if the paid downloads really happened (was it actually a person downloading or a hackering mimicking downloads for cash?)

    As a host, I wouldn't put much faith in actually ever receiving cash from the company. Schemes like this tend to have a history of absconding with the cash.

    Of course, it would be nice if there were an easy way for college students to make a little bit of cash by selling their school's bandwidth.