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Kazaa Blocks Australian Users
afaik_ianal writes "The Sydney Morning herald is reporting that Kazaa is blocking Australian downloads of their client, just a day after the deadline passed for implementing keyword filters. According to the article, Shaman networks were still working on installing the filters yesterday."
It's kind of funny.. they're based in Australia, and they can serve everyone but citizens of their own country...
Looks like those 14 people are going to have to find another method to all their copyright infringed material from.
NEWSFLASH: Kazaa is still around.
people still use that?
Pain lasts, kid. Its how you know you're alive. Sometimes I think this growing up thing is just pain management-TheMaxx
Just like America has nothing but Britney spears and Gigli. Serious, how does such an ignorant troll get modded "insightful"?
Why are they voluntarily blocking downloads? It's not like there's a Great Firewall of Australia to block them, and they're not based in Au
From Wikipedia:
Consumer Empowerment responded by selling the Kazaa application to a complicated mesh of offshore companies, primarily Sharman Networks, headquartered in Australia
So actually, yes they are based in the AU. So yes, they kinda do have to follow rulings made by Australian courts.
If I was being sceptical I would say that they were perfectly able to impliment the key word filtering but want to keep the network alive for anyone else around the world who uses it (if anyone still does, thought Kazaa died years ago)
This IS slashdot after all.
You Australians are pretty uppity for being down under.
What is stopping Sharman Networks from closing down and starting up under a different company and name. I would think that brand has almost zero good-will when it comes to p2p clients... why bother jumping through hoops when it seams like they could start again at very low cost and have **AA begin their whole lawsuit process again (at great expense of both time and money).
serenity now!
Kazaa has been relegated to the trash-heap of the net with the advent of bittorrent and registration-only bittorrent trackers. They went the same direction of Napster, because they were litigated into nonexistence.
Decentralization is key to survival now if you want to avoid litigation on the infrastructure.
I didn't know they named the company after Santana's last album. ;-)
Yes, it's a typo!
I thought the story headline was slightly misleading. People in Australia with KaZaa can still use the service, they are just trying to block new users downloading the software. Bit pointless really given any number of other P2P applications will turn up versions of KaZaa or KaZaalite.
If the pattern goes 9am, 10am, 11am, why isn't noon 12am?
They are based in Australia...
-everphilski-
I really wonder if they even attempted or considered implementing the filter. Doing so would obviously bog-down development a bit, especially since there is no mention of exactly how updates to the filter list would come in. The article makes it sound as if the record companies could just send some list without any standard format to Kazaa. On top of that, more and more artists are sure to jump on the bandwagon, so updates will be numerous to say the least. Another question would be the window of time that they have to commit the updates.
If they in fact did not attempt it, they must have fairly high hopes for their upcoming appeal.
I think most people that used Kazaa stop using the service long prior due to 9 out of 10 music files being corrupted or poisoned. Even if that had not happened, there is a large amount of people that ceased to use Kazaa in favor of BitTorrent.
Ultimately, the death of pirating shareware is going to be governed by the pricepoint more than anything else. Sure, free is always cheaper, but if you can get the music at the right price (and I certainly think allofmp3.com has got it!) then that's going to be a major player.
(And yes, I know there are questions about the legality of the service. But so far it's stood up the legal challenges presented, and it's got to be "more" legal than filesharing, right? :) Not that that matters twojots to the RIAA I guess :)
Physicist, consultant, science communicator
Kazaa was good in its day, but offers little to no anonymity, and is completely infiltrated by RIAA/MPAA/*. So, if you want to go to jail, go ahead and use Kazaa to download your copyrighted material.
That being said, few people are still using it. Nobody will care. Those that do care, can now move on to a better client/network.
hello dear sirs my name is jamesh i are india (bihar) can u guide me install red had linux 9?
Kazaa has been relegated to the trash-heap of the net because it's laden with spyware, has an ineffective hashing system that has allowed it to become more polluted by OverPeer and its ilk than any other P2P system (in excess of 50% of the files on KaZaA are damaged, in excess of 90% for some very new releases), hasn't been updated in 3 years, and gathers more lawsuits of users than all other P2P systems combined.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
I know the Bit torrent kicks monkey butt for finding whole albums, but suppose I just want one song? Napster was so great for that back in the day, and then Kazaa was pretty cool, but now I can't get Kazaa lite to connect. I've tried emule, but it's absurdly slow. Does emule work well for anyone else? Or is there someother good way to get singles?
and they're not based in Au
Except, they are.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharman_Networks
rooooar
[2:10]I just tried to install this Kazaa program but this anoyng MS Anti-Spyware doesn't like me installing it.
[2:15]Ok Iv disabled anti-spyware and I am installing it again.
[2:20]Just finished insntalling #ddffh@4(*(&^#*&%*&%^&^%76#$*7$%[CARRIER DISCONNECTED]
The great thing about Kazaa is that it is distracting the **AA for the moment. Sure nobody uses it, but it gives the legal losers something to pat themslefs on the back about.
Bandwidth is increasing and becoming cheaper. There is nothing they can do to stop the black market of overpriced goods.
Can your karma go above being Excellent?
And yes, I know there are questions about the legality of the service. But so far it's stood up the legal challenges presented, and it's got to be "more" legal than filesharing, right?
:)
Not necessarily. According to an IP trace, that site is based in Russia. They're selling songs for a fraction of the going rate here, and if they don't have an agreement with the labels, they probably aren't paying the labels anything for it. (I don't know that for a fact.)
*IF* these guys have stolen the music and are selling it illegally, then paying them is ethically worse than not paying at all - not only are the copyright owners screwed, but you feel justified in screwing them and are supporting their (unfair) competition.
Yeah, you can gripe about the price of music, but supply and demand says that if it's too expensive, you shouldn't buy it. Buy indie stuff for cheap, or listen to the radio, but don't think that as long as you pay someone for your Gorillaz mp3, it's ok.
And yes, as you can see by my sig, I do have a bias.
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/?url=www.kazaa.c om
Traffic Rank for kazaa.com: 3,951
That's pretty high I guess.
Though that doesn't mean everyone who visits their site downloads Kazaa. The high rank can also be attibuted to malware/zombie pcs.
So they'll use another P2P software to get Kazaa now?
On the announcement, Telstra said it would proceed with shutdown of several OC-48 backbones as spyware traffic falls.
Uh... Kazaa not spyware ridden? Since when?
As if half a dozen of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced.
Favorite quote: "
Don't worry - that guy has no taste. After all, he said Kylie Manogue and Crocodile Dundee 3 are good.
Instead, companies should develope and release the software for free, into the wild, and create a profitable market using the network itself. It's time for a really creative person to figure out how to release a lasting P2P client/network and make a profit from it in a really untraditional way.
Like utilising all the traffic to build models for what people are searching for. Selling the information to marketers. Letting people sell content through P2P networks, whatever. I'm not the one to create the next fix for P2P, but it is out there, and I'll be the first one to use it.
Kazaa is centralized; all Kazaa queries go through the Kazaa network. So no, the original inventors of the FTP protocol aren't going to be busted - unless they coincidentally happen to be running an illegal warez FTP.
That's what's happening with Sharman. They're not being busted for creating a client that other people use illegally, they're being told to implement blocks on certain traffic that passes through their network. They didn't do the blocks, so instead they pulled access from Australia in order to comply.
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
I know - I can't help feeling like this is a sort of symbolic, yet useless (almost tongue-in-cheek) move on the part of Kazaa... I mean, I wonder what % of illegal downloading actually goes on through australian kazaa clients that won't work around this...
http://www.TheGamerNation.com/Forums
what DO kangaroos eat, anyway?
ACs
When all current filesharing systems have been hunted down and destroyed the users of those systems will flock to:
a) CD Stores
b) The next, better, faster, more anonymous filesharing system
What do you think?
It's because it was primarly designed to break copyright law, unlike bit torrent or photocopiers or video recorders
Well, that's what the judge said. (And what's true.) I remember when KaZaA first came out, and saw an interview with one of the founders. He said it was ingenious because it was so decentralized-- and it was, compared to Napster. Ironic, don't you think?
Down under? A popular misconception. Hold on a sec, just gotta feed my kangaroo and get the dropbear of the kid...
Says he who has leet-speak in his sig.
Yeah, it's modded flamebait, but it's also funny. Anyway - some clarification on that statement for future reference. Not all of Australia's states were convict settlements, just most of them. South Australia (Adelaide) was settled by law abiding citizens in 1836 and not by convicts. However, I'm not sure if we currently have access to the Kazaa network or not...
Does this make my brain look big?
Recycling is normally thought of as a good thing, and I know what imitation is the highest form of, but really...
To fight the war on terror, stop being afraid.
They do this because they feel that they do well enough on sales alone, and don't want to price their shows out of reach of some of their fans. Also, merchandise isn't sold at rip-off prices.
Mind you, said example is an exception to the rule of concert pricing, so I guess it isn't really presentative of bands generally.
I heard that your library burnt down and destroyed your only two books - and one was not even coloured in yet.
what DO kangaroos eat, anyway?
Tourists
We don't believe in radical loony monotheistic religions from the middle east -- we're Christians.
I can't help feeling like this is a sort of symbolic, yet useless (almost tongue-in-cheek) move on the part of Kazaa.
Given the distance the individuals concerned have created between themselves and any legal consequences, I'd say they've positioned Sharman as a flack catcher. They'll let the government and *AAs atack Kazaa, do their worst, and once the dust has settled, they'll have a clear legal position for their next venture. If a lame duck like Kazaa gets wrecked in the process, it'll be no great loss.
"I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
As already pointed out by others. Sharman are based in Australia.
nt
im a fair dinkum aussie bloke, and in ozland, peer to peer clients go out of fashion faster than wrestling crocs with one arm and holding your new-born in the other....
You know, I must say, presently Kazaa is the best filesharing protocol in the world! At least for us overweight hairy horny sweaty geeks living in mothers basement. Whatever I search for, I get more pr0n for my ever growing collection! Sure, a few broken files, but it is quantity that matters, not quality!
Of course... in reality I long since moved out of mothers basement, she died, and so did Kazaa. I'm still overweight, hairy, horny and sweaty, but nowadays I use the ed2k and bittorrent protocols for filetranfers instead. These days I only get the good pr0n.
Which is more or less exactly what they have done.
(can't find the original posts, Slashdot search ickiness)
The World Wide Web is dying. Soon, we shall have only the Internet.
I know that it wasn't as good as the first two, but it was all right.
I confess that I felt a pang of pity for Ol' Croc, what with never being able to see his kid again (well at least until C. D. V: The Vegemite Strikes Back), and being confined forever in that life-support suit, in which it must get uncomfortably hot while searching for droids in the Outback, and which makes it unlikely that he will ever again be able to lift a glass with his mates.
Those who sacrifice security to condemn liberty deserve to repeat history or something. - Benjamin Santayana
Well given that people ask these dumb questions It's no wonder we all get the shits with everyone else.
;-)
wheras THIS is closer to it
Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know when your gonna get food poisoning.
They didn't do the blocks, so instead they pulled access from Australia in order to comply.
Actually, it's only Kazaa Media Desktop downloads that are being blocked, not the FastTrack network that Kazaa uses. I managed to successfully download a file using giFT-FastTrack just fine a moment ago, and I expect it would continue to work with existing copies of the official Kazaa client.
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
I'm sure all three of them are devastated. Col.(ret) Natural Guard
Each country has different laws. It would be interested to know where download is legal, where it is not. Same for upload. Please contribute this thread. I will try to summarize all the information and set it on a website for reference.
AFAIK, download is legal in France, upload is illegal
Please state for other countries.
Million Dollar Screenshot
that's so bad.
When all current filesharing systems have been hunted down and destroyed the users of those systems will flock to:
a) CD Stores
b) The next, better, faster, more anonymous filesharing system
c) AllOfMp3.com to buy entire albums for peanuts
Really when you think of it, for $1.50 for an album, 100 albums (hell of a lot of music) for $150, and no Feds chasing you... its going to be C.
"Shaman networks were still working on installing the filters yesterday."
No wonder. Taurens are slow typers due to their hooves and Orcs aren't exactly the most intelligent creatures around...
If you get this, we're 10 of a kind.
I don't understand why he does it, but the parent copies all his posts from high scoring previous posts in the anti-slash db. He's a fraud - don't mod him up.
For each song I sell on ITunes, I get 65 cents.
Keyword filtering has very questionable legal standing as it implies ownership of the words and the ability to legally restrict the use of those individual words. The Australian court has way over stepped it bounds in attempting to to restrict the use of specific words for the financial benefit of others, in effect selling the legal rights to those individual words, copyright abuse at it's worst.
Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen