LimeWire Brings Darknets To All

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LimeWire Brings Darknets To All

Posted by samzenpus on Thursday March 5, 2009 @12:57AM from the yes-have-some dept.

An anonymous reader writes "LimeWire's new version lets people create private darknets with contacts on any Jabber server (like GMail or LiveJournal). It's different than the recent p2p darknet announcement because it doesn't use onion routing. Sharing with a friend connects directly to that friend. If you're worried about exposing personal information, LW5 doesn't share documents with the p2p network by default."

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Great idea... by Chabil+Ha' · 2009-03-05 01:02 · Score: 5, Funny

Until you start letting 'friends' join your peer network with usernames like Riaa250k into your 'private network'.

--
We're all hypocrites. We all have hidden parts, it's the contrast between them that make us more a hypocrite than others
1. Re:Great idea... by briggsl · 2009-03-05 01:08 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Unfortunately, the social networking society we're in now, where the norm is to accept anyone who 'sends a friend request' will make darknets unworkable for the majority
2. Re:Great idea... by gravos · 2009-03-05 01:12 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  People still fileshare? Everything I want to listen to and watch can be streamed now. Thanks to Hulu and Netflix and iTunes I can get the latest movies and just about everything else! The costs for these activities are no longer prohibitive.
  
  As for Limewire they are basically forcing the hand of the RIAA/MPAA... With a darknet how can you detect who is sharing what? You can't if you choose your friends wisely.
  
  --
  This game will waste your life. Don't clicky!
3. Re:Great idea... by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-05 01:24 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Yes, people still fileshare. I like streaming (youtube) but I still want high quality copies on my local machine which I can have access to even when the network/stream service goes down. And filesharing is useful for rare stuff.
4. Re:Great idea... by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-05 01:29 · Score: 0
  
  Easy for you to say. Hulu, Netflix et all are "NOT AVAILABLE IN YOUR COUNTRY" for the most of us.
5. Re:Great idea... by meist3r · 2009-03-05 01:41 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Everything I want to listen to and watch can be streamed now. Thanks to Hulu and Netflix and iTunes I can get the latest movies and just about everything else! The costs for these activities are no longer prohibitive.
  Lucky for you, Windows using American. I as a Linux using European can use none of the aforementioned services. Arrrhhh. Off to the bay where they don't geo-judge.
  
  Segmenting the internet back into region specific chunks is probably the worst thing that happened since MySpace.
6. Re:Great idea... by Ninnle+Labs,+LLC · 2009-03-05 01:42 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Segmenting the internet back into region specific chunks is probably the worst thing that happened since MySpace.
  So you'd rather Hulu and Netflix be sued into bankruptcy for streaming content to places in the world they have no right to do so? Yeah, that'd be a much greater idea...
7. Re:Great idea... by Tribaal_ch · 2009-03-05 01:44 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Where are my mod points when I need them?
8. Re:Great idea... by Dorkmaster+Flek · 2009-03-05 01:59 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  No, we'd rather they be able to stream content into other places in the world. I don't give a rats ass about the legal crap. It's their mess, and they need to work it out. Until then, don't expect us to stop going to places like The Pirate Bay to get content we can't stream otherwise.
  
  --
  I like to think of online DRM as something akin to a college -- you pay for lessons until you learn something.
9. Re:Great idea... by MightyYar · 2009-03-05 02:02 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  So you'd rather Hulu and Netflix be sued into bankruptcy for streaming content
  
  You missed his point... he doesn't care what happens to Hulu or Netflix. They don't exist as far as he's concerned.
  
  --
  W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
10. Re:Great idea... by aonaran · 2009-03-05 02:08 · Score: 1
  
  Of course, they would not be sued if they bothered to negotiate world wide distribution instead of only negotiating "domestic" distribution Limiting who they can accept money from to a tiny fraction of their possible customers, and instead paying loads of money for technology to make that possible.
11. Re:Great idea... by MightyYar · 2009-03-05 02:10 · Score: 1, Offtopic
  
  Hulu, iTunes, and Netflix are great if you want to watch the content on your computer, or buy a few different boxes to watch content on your TV. For me, it is way faster to just download the content from usenet and pop it on a USB stick for watching on my DiVX DVD player. Perhaps when that dies I'll look into building a Hulu/Netflix/iTunes streamer - since you sure can't buy one.
  Even then, you are at the mercy of the content providers and their whims. Usenet seems to be much more resistant to a point failure. You can also use usenet like a poor-man's TiVo, plugging keywords into your download application which then download when they become available.
  And the movie selection is far, far greater on usenet - with much more up-to-date releases. Region coding is meaningless, so the instant a movie shows up on DVD or Blueray it is on Usenet... and sometimes even before.
  Of course, the content owners get nothing from all of this, so some will argue stealing and evil and blah, blah. I speed, too. 5-10 over the limit, baby. Oh, yeah, I'm such an OUTLAW! All I want is an unencumbered file to play on my DVD player. I still can't get that from the content providers, so they can sue me or something.
  
  --
  W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
12. Re:Great idea... by FredFredrickson · 2009-03-05 02:12 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  And filesharing is useful for rare stuff.
  Filesharing on a small darknet may not be useful for rare stuff, unless your friends happen to have it. -1 Downside.
  
  --
  Belief? Hope? Preference?The Existential Vortex
13. Re:Great idea... by X.25 · 2009-03-05 02:15 · Score: 1
  
  People still fileshare? Everything I want to listen to and watch can be streamed now. Thanks to Hulu and Netflix and iTunes I can get the latest movies and just about everything else! The costs for these activities are no longer prohibitive.
  Yes, everyone is living in the United States.
14. Re:Great idea... by Scrameustache · 2009-03-05 02:22 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  People still fileshare? Everything I want to listen to and watch can be streamed now.
  
  Yeah, nothing like low-quality, [BUFFERING] media that can suddenly "become unavailable" with no warning! That's the best!
  
  --
  You can't take the sky from me...
15. Re:Great idea... by Hognoxious · 2009-03-05 02:38 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  The first rule of u*****: never talk about u*****.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
16. Re:Great idea... by cinnamon+colbert · 2009-03-05 02:43 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  reading the neauseatingly gushing article, I couldn't quite figure out how this works - does it require limewire servers or exspose you to lime wire ? what is this jabber client ?
  my impression is that the software basically lets you share a folder, or the equivalent of a folder between a set of computers; the problem, for making this useful, is that only downloaded files appear - what if I just want to share some word docs ?
  surely someone on /. can offer a clean, simple explanation
17. Re:Great idea... by poetmatt · 2009-03-05 02:50 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  So how's last year's season of movies and independent music artists who are not crap, working out for you? Can't find them on the streaming websites? Enjoying your guns n roses, aerosmith, metallica etc? I'm not saying those are great artists but just easy examples.
  The only way to get the stuff at the real cost of distribution is to instead get it at completely scam-worthy prices online (10$ for a digital CD? 4$ for a movie?) simply because you didn't record it yourself and/or get it off filesharing networks for free, which is what it's truly worth: 0$. Honestly why should you pay later for something that you could have recorded yourself for free?
  whoops.
  Guess you can't do that, because they're all taken down or removed due to licensing issues, or label you a pirate for daring to fileshare.
18. Re:Great idea... by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-05 02:54 · Score: 0
  
  Yes, you're just one of the suckers that actually pays for his media.
19. Re:Great idea... by MightyYar · 2009-03-05 02:56 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  I figured that gig was up after they went after the alt.* hierarchies and forced newzbin to go private.
  
  --
  W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
20. Re:Great idea... by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-05 03:02 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  As a similarly affected European, I empathize, but I think it's important not to bite the hand that feeds you here; Hulu is one of the good guys. If they can succeed at showing the cartels at the local level that digital distribution is a good idea, then it will eventually expand to the global level. I wish them none but the best success.
  Until that actually happens I will join you in pirating, however.
21. Re:Great idea... by foniksonik · 2009-03-05 03:15 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  I'm certain that Hulu at least has tried to get international distribution... most likely it is because the organization which holds the rights to that is not interested.... often each country will have a company which has previously negotiated distribution rights for various content. The details of these contracts are likely very convoluted due to some special circumstance.
  I can imagine a scenario where a media company gives some other media company distribution rights to general content so that they can get Brittany Spears concerts approved or so they can get Olympics coverage set up for 4 years in the future, etc.
  
  --
  A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
22. Re:Great idea... by LanMan04 · 2009-03-05 03:27 · Score: 1
  
  astraweb.com
  USD$11 per month, unlimited transfer, 190 day retention. Fantastic provider, has ALL the groups, quite fast.
  
  --
  With the first link, the chain is forged.
23. Re:Great idea... by Hurricane78 · 2009-03-05 03:41 · Score: 1
  
  Well, let's see what happens, when Hulu, Netflix and iTunes go down... or change their business model, removing your access.
  If it's mine, it's on my computer.
  
  --
  Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
24. Re:Great idea... by Hordeking · 2009-03-05 03:54 · Score: 1
  
  Is u***** even alive anymore? I've wanted to try to use it, but the big ISPs have been trying to kill it (for the children), and I can't find any news servers that don't involve me handing them credit card information (or are otherwise free).
  Whose leg do I have to hump to get access to newsgroups anymore?
  
  --
  Disclaimer: The opinions and actions of the US Gov't are in no way representative of those held by this author or its ci
25. Re:Great idea... by meist3r · 2009-03-05 04:55 · Score: 0, Flamebait
  
  Yeah that's exactly the perfect answer. Stop whining about how you love Swiss/French Cheese and make some orange industrial Cheddar instead. Right.
26. Re:Great idea... by JasonKiddy · 2009-03-05 05:05 · Score: 1
  
  Giganews is also very good. I personally wouldn't know though... honest guv.
27. Re:Great idea... by meist3r · 2009-03-05 05:20 · Score: 1
  
  most likely it is because the organization which holds the rights to that is not interested.... often each country will have a company which has previously negotiated distribution rights for various content.
  
  That's exactly the segmentation problem. Every country has it's own greedy branch of the same company. They basically hold the same rights but try to out-do each other on revenue. So they segment the global market into these chunks and try to make as much money as possible in individual places other than providing the best possible service. This is what I'm complaining about. I still have to wait months or certain TV shows never air at all. I still have to wait months for a shitty dubbed version of an English movie that I can understand natively. That's why I don't accept this system. I want to be able to pay for the same content that the American viewers get, at the same time. This is what I mean by "global". But the corporations want to benefit from the "global" perspective by evading taxes in certain countries but won't grant the consumers in those countries the same access. The system is severely flawed and needs to change ... fast.
28. Re:Great idea... by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-05 05:20 · Score: 0
  
  He don't exist as far as they're concerned.
  
  Fixed that for you.
29. Re:Great idea... by jon3k · 2009-03-05 05:31 · Score: 1
  
  1) I can't get my TV shows in high def for free on the web without commercials
  
  2) Watching movies while they're still in the theater.
30. Re:Great idea... by meist3r · 2009-03-05 05:34 · Score: 1
  
  He don't exist as far as they're concerned.
  Fixed that for you.
  Thank you, hear that Netflix? My money doesn't exist for you.
31. Re:Great idea... by genner · 2009-03-05 06:38 · Score: 1
  
  Perhaps when that dies I'll look into building a Hulu/Netflix/iTunes streamer - since you sure can't buy one.
  Netgear has one on the horizon.
  I got to mess with it at the last CES.
32. Re:Great idea... by AtomicJake · 2009-03-05 06:39 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  And that's why I do not own DVDs: region codes.
33. Re:Great idea... by Jurily · 2009-03-05 07:33 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Filesharing on a small darknet may not be useful for rare stuff, unless your friends happen to have it. -1 Downside.
  Luckily, noone targets the rare stuff with lawsuits.
34. Re:Great idea... by Cruciform · 2009-03-05 13:58 · Score: 1
  
  All three things you mention are region restrictive for content.
  That makes them useless to the majority of the world.
35. Re:Great idea... by Artemis3 · 2009-03-05 14:09 · Score: 1
  
  No problem! We have torrents, some even subtitled in our language...
  
  --
  Artix
  Your Linux, your init.
36. Re:Great idea... by trawg · 2009-03-05 14:46 · Score: 1
  
  So you'd rather Hulu and Netflix be sued into bankruptcy for streaming content to places in the world they have no right to do so? Yeah, that'd be a much greater idea...
  The specific reason they HAVE no rights is because the people that OWN the rights refuse to adapt to the Internet and license these rights on a global scale, presumably so they can price gauge people on a territorial basis.
  Until these rights owners realise the Internet is one place, we'll keep seeing territorial licensing agreements and most people outside the US will still be boned.
37. Re:Great idea... by martin-boundary · 2009-03-05 19:02 · Score: 1
  
  No they're not, unless you think that turning the internet into some kind of glorified TV is a worthy idea.
  They're business people, who see an opportunity to make money, that's all. They have no interest in making the world a better place or even just improving the internet for its users. Don't call them good guys, they just want to get signed contracts to show TV to people, maybe show some ads as well.
  If you want good guys, try the EFF, they qualify for that word a lot more than Hulu et al does.
38. Re:Great idea... by ruckerz2k · 2009-03-06 01:49 · Score: 1
  
  I beg to differ on this one. In my own experience, I'm very selective who I let into my social neworking sites (myspace, fb, etc). When people join a social network they expose a little bit of themselves to the world and that exposure is worth the effort of filtering access to it. Also I think that social interactions online are no longer 'anonymous'; people are making social networks with other people they know or have met previously, i.e. it's more personal.
  I'm curious though, no doubt darknets will be smaller than the entire network. How will people respond to the fact that they may be only downloading from one seeder vs 5? and this seeder might be on a asynchronous internet line so the download speed will probably be 5x-10x the average download speed of p2p networks today?
39. Re:Great idea... by meist3r · 2009-03-06 04:12 · Score: 1
  
  This is flamebait? Nice ... who wants to flame about that? Why didn't you mod parent flamebait? He started with the awesome "Don't bitch about what you can't get, make your own" statement knowing well that it is so much impossible as it is improbable.
40. Re:Great idea... by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-06 08:16 · Score: 0
  
  Shut up you monkey. You don't deserve our media content. Just shut up.
41. Re:Great idea... by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-06 15:25 · Score: 0
  
  You missed his point... he claimed that internet segmenting is worse than Myspace. That's impressive.
42. Re:Great idea... by badkarmadayaccount · 2009-03-07 07:23 · Score: 1
  
  I just had a flashback of the RealPlayer plugin in Netscape on Windows 98. I need a hug.
  
  --
  I know tobacco is bad for you, so I smoke weed with crack.
Funny by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-05 01:06 · Score: 3, Insightful

I thought we had gotten past this whole INVITE PLZ PLZ PLZ PLZ business years ago.
1. Re:Funny by aliquis · 2009-03-05 01:40 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Let me guess, you don't have a facebook account?
2. Re:Funny by guruevi · 2009-03-05 01:57 · Score: 1
  
  Neither do I. I think he is referring to the days of IRC. Those were the days...
  I don't really care about any of the social networking sites. The furthest I've gone is Jabber (with my own Jabber server) and it works great. Don't know why I need anything else. I've had my finger wetted with MSN Messenger but didn't really like it (ads and spam) and closed it after a good year.
  
  --
  Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
3. Re:Funny by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-05 03:54 · Score: 0
  
  Hell no, this crap still happens all the time.
  Oh hey Demonoid invites, GIF 1 PLS!!
  Got one, went on it, wow, just as boring as most sites, not exactly that special either.
  I think the people who actually hype that site are the idiots who believe that they are protected because "it is private", as in, private from RIAA or whatever other idiots.
  Hmm, YES, makes perfect sense!
  It is as private as a green-house with a curtain on the door...
4. Re:Funny by Ashriel · 2009-03-05 05:01 · Score: 1
  
  Actually, as a Demonoid member (once upon a time - I lost my password and have undergone an email change, so no luck getting back in), I'm very impressed with the site.
  If you're looking for the latest media, then no, it's not much better than most other torrent search engines. But if you want the latest proprietary software, reference ebooks (or scanned books), or select indie stuff, it's excellent. Furthermore, there's a strong peer-review aspect to the site that makes me feel a lot more secure that what I'm downloading is actually what it's claimed to be.
5. Re:Funny by aliquis · 2009-03-05 06:58 · Score: 1
  
  Neither do I. I think he is referring to the days of IRC. Those were the days...
  I think he's referring to companies which makes it easy to invite your friends, even if they don't care or want all the invite spam. On IRC? Can't remember I was asking for invites much, though then I wasn't around in many channels with a topic where invite would be necessary.
  Anyway, if you have had a facebook account you would now lots of applications more or less forced the users to invite all of their friends, even more so earlier, and that many "friends" want to you join all the crap they join. I don't care about invite spam, or telemarketing, or whatever, if I want a thing I search it up myself and get it, I don't need anyone else doing it for me.
  And no, facebook isn't much to care for and you aren't missing out. All I meant was invites is common practise over there.
Darknet != Freedom by onion2k · 2009-03-05 01:07 · Score: 4, Insightful

Being anonymous is not the same as being free.
To that end, using a darknet is actually reducing how free you are because you're not standing up to the authority or laws you're circumventing. Freedom is being able to do what you want to do without having to hide it.

--
http://twitter.com/onion2k
1. Re:Darknet != Freedom by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-05 01:23 · Score: 0, Flamebait
  
  Darknet != Freedom
  Nobody said it was. Calm down.
2. Re:Darknet != Freedom by Superdarion · 2009-03-05 01:28 · Score: 1
  
  Correct, but being able to do it in hiding means more freedom than not being able to do it at all.
3. Re:Darknet != Freedom by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-05 01:32 · Score: 1
  
  "Freedom is being able to do what you want to do without having to hide it."
  I think you're thinking of anarchy. "Freedom" is usually a little more nuanced than "do what you want, when you want, as often as you want."
4. Re:Darknet != Freedom by impaledsunset · 2009-03-05 01:36 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  And how is the ability to exercise a freedom which you weren't given, but should have been, is bad for you? Of couse that if an essential freedom is missing, anonymity won't give it back to you, but it will still give you the ability to exercise it.
  Of course, after reading the first half of TFA, I don't see what anonymity you're talking about. It's about sharing files only with people you want. It's a cool feature, which I would find usefull, but it seems useless if you want anonymity.
5. Re:Darknet != Freedom by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-05 01:49 · Score: 0
  
  But we don't want freedom - we just want to securely share our CP!
6. Re:Darknet != Freedom by unixan · 2009-03-05 02:00 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Freedom is being able to do what you want to do without having to hide it.
  Hiding is what precedes freedom.
  Otherwise premature openness can get you shot down.
  
  --
  This signature intentionally left unblank.
7. Re:Darknet != Freedom by hesaigo999ca · 2009-03-05 02:00 · Score: 1
  
  Like ripping off the movie industry of their product. Yeah that's our freedom right there.
  This is more of a way to bypass the laws that would normally include file sharing of regular files,
  in the generalization of p2p torrent laws enforced by the ISPs, but fall into the category, you are using torrents so this file must be a bad pirated one.
8. Re:Darknet != Freedom by jonhaug · 2009-03-05 03:11 · Score: 1
  
  Being anonymous is not the same as being free.
  To that end, using a darknet is actually reducing how free you are because you're not standing up to the authority or laws you're circumventing. Freedom is being able to do what you want to do without having to hide it.
  This is not true. Freedom is whatever makes you feel free. With your definition, noone is ever going to be free. In small societies, you don't find many "odd men out" because any of them keeps quiet, like gays or other political incorrect individuals. Anonymity and stepping forward and outing yourself whenever you decides yourself is freedom.
9. Re:Darknet != Freedom by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-05 04:03 · Score: 0
  
  Darknet != Freedom
  Nobody said it was. Calm down.
  Funny. I didn't feel inflamed by this comment. Mod parent up, please.
65 yo Grandmother by olddotter · 2009-03-05 01:23 · Score: 1

I like the 65 yearold grandmother example. And given that, this app looks interesting. The security features could make it an interesting app for businesses; keeping legal, personal, and medical records safe.

--
Think Deeply. ...
1. Re:65 yo Grandmother by ovu · 2009-03-05 04:20 · Score: 1
  
  I AM the 65 year old grandmother example, and you're looking pretty nice too, sonny!
Those services are not international by Mathinker · 2009-03-05 01:26 · Score: 0

Hulu and Netflix, AFAIK, are US-only, and I believe there are still countries where iTunes is unavailable. I would also guess (not using any of them) that they are all Windows-only.
> forcing the hand of the RIAA/MPAA
Good. Maybe this will eventually lead to a more sane situation in international copyright law.
1. Re:Those services are not international by syrinx · 2009-03-05 01:33 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  ...you are guessing that iTunes is Windows-only? Just to be clear, we're talking about the iTunes from Apple, not some other iTunes? ;)
  Netflix is not Windows-only either, btw. I don't know about Hulu.
  Being US-only is a concern though.
  
  --
  Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
2. Re:Those services are not international by Ninnle+Labs,+LLC · 2009-03-05 01:36 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Hulu and Netflix, AFAIK, are US-only, and I believe there are still countries where iTunes is unavailable. I would also guess (not using any of them) that they are all Windows-only.
  iTunes is clearly not Windows only. Hulu just streams things via flash so it's accessible via any OS with a flash player (which is basically all of them). The Netflix service can be accessed on OS X and Windows via Silverlight and on Linux with Moonlight. So no, none of them are Windows only.
3. Re:Those services are not international by jopsen · 2009-03-05 02:01 · Score: 1
  
  But still US-only and DRM infected!
4. Re:Those services are not international by larry+bagina · 2009-03-05 02:02 · Score: 1
  
  Hulu is a website with flash-based streaming video.
  
  --
  Do you even lift?
  These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
5. Re:Those services are not international by vtcodger · 2009-03-05 02:11 · Score: 1
  
  Hulu works on Linux ... sort of ... if your standards of "works" are pretty lenient. Perhaps if I tweaked enough stuff, it would be watchable. ... But even on Windows, its overall quality might generously be described as "really awful".
  It's apparently going to be a few years before the Internet + telco can deliver me a picture that is as watchable as a noisy and degraded NTSC broadcast signal. My esteemed spouse and I did watch a couple of glitchy episodes of "WKRP in Cincinnati", and enjoyed them. But it's clear that rigging a PC to broadcast internet derived material on the household network would be a waste of time until the technology improves.
  
  --
  You can't see ANYTHING from a car, You've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk...Edward Abbey
6. Re:Those services are not international by kannibal_klown · 2009-03-05 02:15 · Score: 1
  
  ...you are guessing that iTunes is Windows-only? Just to be clear, we're talking about the iTunes from Apple, not some other iTunes? ;)
  Netflix is not Windows-only either, btw. I don't know about Hulu.
  Being US-only is a concern though.
  Hulu is definitely not Windows-only. It's more available than Netflix's "Watch Now" as far as tech goes (I think it's just a Flash player), but I believe they restrict access to only some countries (like the US).
  It's a decent site, and I was shocked when they pimped it during the SuperBowl. Free and legal streaming of a lot of TV and a some movies.
7. Re:Those services are not international by mrsquid0 · 2009-03-05 02:15 · Score: 1
  
  Most of Hulu's content runs under Mac OS X 10.5, but there are a few videos that do not work.
  
  --
  Just because you are paranoid does not mean that no-one is out to get you.
8. Re:Those services are not international by horza · 2009-03-05 02:19 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  iTunes doesn't work with Linux, as jopsen says Hulu is US only (and the BBC iPlayer is UK only), and Moonlight is never going to gain any traction under Linux. Even Flash has only just arrived for 64-bit computers recently. The only reliable cross-platform and international way to watch movies is to download them via file-sharing.
  Phillip.
  
  --
  Property for sale in Nice, France
9. Re:Those services are not international by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-05 02:43 · Score: 0
  
  Hulu apparently need to have a chat with the BBC. I haven't watch and actual "TV" in months. Anything I want to watch, I stream with BBC iPlayer. The quality is fine.
10. Re:Those services are not international by foniksonik · 2009-03-05 03:10 · Score: 1
  
  All of Hulus content runs in flash... but they link to content on other sites that uses WMV - which should work on Mac at least if you download the QT plugin (used to be called Flip4Mac)
  
  --
  A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
11. Re:Those services are not international by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-05 04:10 · Score: 0
  
  "Moonlight is never going to gain any traction under Linux."
  
  And let me guess, somehow this will not be the fault of Linux, and the blame will be squarely leveled at Microsoft. Just call me Nostradamus.
12. Re:Those services are not international by neomunk · 2009-03-05 04:37 · Score: 1
  
  My experience is exactly the opposite. I've completely replaced cable in my household with hulu, streaming netflix (running in a VM) and netflix DVDs.
  Hooking my laptop up to my TV via S-Video cable, going to the screen resolution settings (I'm using Ubuntu Hardy) and setting it up to clone at either 640x480 or 800x600 results in a beautiful fullscreen picture on both hulu and netflix.
  Maybe your ISP is at fault?
13. Re:Those services are not international by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-05 04:44 · Score: 0
  
  And let me guess, somehow this will not be the fault of Linux, and the blame will be squarely leveled at Microsoft.
  Yes, of course. And rightly so.
  
  Just call me Nostradamus.
  No, I think calling you stupid is more fitting.
14. Re:Those services are not international by peragrin · 2009-03-05 06:02 · Score: 1
  
  Your bypassing the horrible part. Hulu and other shows are desgined for NTSC quality. 600x400 by out putting it to a regular tv you match resolutions and quality that the orginial broadcast had. I output to my hd tv and set it to 4:3 aspect for similar effect. However you can notice the lack of quality at monitor resolutions.
  
  --
  i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
15. Re:Those services are not international by evan_arrrr! · 2009-03-06 04:29 · Score: 1
  
  It's a decent site, and I was shocked when they pimped it during the SuperBowl. Free and legal streaming of a lot of TV and a some movies.
  You'd be less shocked if you realized that Hulu is owned by News Corp. and NBC Universal - NBC, of course, being the Super Bowl broadcaster for XLIII. It's not as if it cost them any money to run an ad on their own station.
16. Re:Those services are not international by kannibal_klown · 2009-03-06 04:37 · Score: 1
  
  I knew who they were owned by, but I was surprised to see a SB ad for it, especially when it the slot could have gone to someone like Sony/Nike/GE/etc.
17. Re:Those services are not international by evan_arrrr! · 2009-03-06 06:42 · Score: 1
  
  But imagine all the revenue they got from Hulu advertisers when millions of people suddenly learned of a great FREE way to watch their favorite shows!
18. Re:Those services are not international by mrsquid0 · 2009-03-06 11:04 · Score: 1
  
  I have the QT plugin, but I still can not get some videos to work. I suspect that it is a Safari 4 issue, but I have not really tried to track it down yet.
  
  --
  Just because you are paranoid does not mean that no-one is out to get you.
Snakeoil by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-05 01:33 · Score: 0

A network that allows you to communicate and trade files only with people you trust? What a great idea, I'm sure that's never been done before, and it'll definite provide a huge amount of security to people who want to share files. Oh wait...
huh? by Cornwallis · 2009-03-05 01:35 · Score: 4, Funny

"LimeWire's new version lets people create private darknets with contacts on any Jabber server (like GMail or LiveJournal). It's different than the recent p2p darknet announcement because it doesn't use onion routing." For some reason reading that statement brings to mind Clarke's Third Law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
1. Re:huh? by Aladrin · 2009-03-05 02:05 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  I have to admit. I got a mental image of a guy looking at an onion and then throwing it away. Magic.
  
  --
  "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
2. Re:huh? by Ifni · 2009-03-05 08:04 · Score: 1
  
  Funny, I had the image of a guy carving grooves into an onion with a power tool. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Router_(woodworking))
  
  --
  Oh, was that my outside voice?
Sounds like a good idea by wjh31 · 2009-03-05 01:38 · Score: 2, Insightful

If it's what i actually think it is. Which is private sharing within your own group without others being able to see what's going on. It would only take a modest half dozen or so friends to share thier video collections, and you could have a pretty extensive collection, with some reasonable speeds and redundancy. And by videos i of course mean all those silly videos from when you were drunk that night, definately not those feature length things shown in cinemas.
1. Re:Sounds like a good idea by Ninnle+Labs,+LLC · 2009-03-05 02:40 · Score: 1
  
  Don't forget about trading back and forth all that public domain movies/music and Linux ISOs!
2. Re:Sounds like a good idea by Bromskloss · 2009-03-05 03:46 · Score: 1
  
  And by videos i of course mean all those silly videos from when you were drunk that night, definately not those feature length things shown in cinemas.
  Did I ever tell you about the most embarrassing event I have ever experienced - in a cinema?
  
  --
  Swedish plasma phys. PhD student; MSc EE; knows maths, programming, electronics; finance interest; seeks opportunities
I wonder... by Zakabog · 2009-03-05 01:43 · Score: 1

When I worked in a computer shop I'd get a lot of computers coming in infected with so much spyware/adware that they were struggling just to remain "idle". In just about every case I could trace the infection back to something downloaded off of limewire.
I wonder if this is just going to make that spread faster, since these darknets will compose of your friends and you'll think "Well this file must be clean, it's on my friends computer, I trust him!" Meanwhile the friend downloaded the file ("Britney spears christina aguilera lesbian teen anal blowjob threesome.mpg .exe") from the public limewire, never checked it for viruses, and didn't realize the file was anything malicious.
1. Re:I wonder... by tsstahl · 2009-03-05 03:18 · Score: 1
  
  When I worked in a computer shop I'd get a lot of computers coming in infected with so much spyware/adware that they were struggling just to remain "idle". In just about every case I could trace the infection back to something downloaded off of limewire.
  Because all the spyware executables have something like "Thanks to Limewire for timely reliable delivery" in the properties or something?
2. Re:I wonder... by Zakabog · 2009-03-05 05:12 · Score: 1
  
  Because all the spyware executables have something like "Thanks to Limewire for timely reliable delivery" in the properties or something?
  No, it was the executable files in their limewire downloads folders that gave it away.
3. Re:I wonder... by sameb · 2009-03-05 05:17 · Score: 1
  
  The article didn't mention it, but LW5 doesn't let the user share or download programs unless he/she explicitly allows it (by changing some scary looking settings). So virus complaints with LimeWire should go way down.
4. Re:I wonder... by BLKMGK · 2009-03-05 18:12 · Score: 1
  
  Yes now if it would only index my library correctly and consistently AND manage to pickup my MKV files. I've been playing with this software for hours with some friends and they cannot even see what *I* have displayed as "indexed" and I'm not able to get it index my complete collection either. It has yet to index a single MKV file and insists that ISO files are programs and will not allow a change - go figure.
  I am now looking for an alternative cross-platform program because this sucker sure ain't it. The fact that it has to reindex my entire library at each startup and cannot come up with the same results 2x in a row is pretty dissapointing....
  
  --
  Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
Terribly dangerous in a way by meist3r · 2009-03-05 01:44 · Score: 2, Funny

So right now we have open, public sharing infrastructure that can be arguably used for both purposes. Legal and illegal sharing. The people trying to sue users can't automatically assume that just because you're using the technology you must be a criminal. Darknets are satan's work and for terrorists only amirite? So you get caught using one of those and you're auto-screwed (interval 5sec).

This is of course adapted thinking from the way our authorities work atm.
How do we trust limewire? by olddotter · 2009-03-05 01:44 · Score: 1

Has a third party tested limewire to make sure it is safe?

--
Think Deeply. ...
1. Re:How do we trust limewire? by jgtg32a · 2009-03-05 02:26 · Score: 1
  
  It's GPL'd
2. Re:How do we trust limewire? by vtcodger · 2009-03-05 02:59 · Score: 0, Offtopic
  
  ***Why do I get marked Flamebate/Troll every time I ask a question about Python?***
  You think you get heat for questioning Python? Try saying something negative about Ubuntu and see what happens.
  
  --
  You can't see ANYTHING from a car, You've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk...Edward Abbey
3. Re:How do we trust limewire? by cptnapalm · 2009-03-05 03:38 · Score: 1
  
  "Try saying something negative about Ubuntu and see what happens." /me non-nonchalantly starts his chainsaw...
Somewhat unimpressed .. by stevied · 2009-03-05 01:45 · Score: 3, Insightful

So basically it allows encrypted file transfers between people who are communicating on a chat / IM network? Is it me or is that not exactly a huge innovation?
1. Re:Somewhat unimpressed .. by Aladrin · 2009-03-05 02:12 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, that's my thought every time someone brings up a 'secure' network that relies on only talking to your friends on it. There are already -tons- of ways to get that file from someone you know. The problem that P2P solves is getting a particular file from a stranger.
  
  --
  "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
2. Re:Somewhat unimpressed .. by jonaskoelker · 2009-03-05 04:13 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Is it me or is that not exactly a huge innovation?
  Haven't you read other news in IT lately?
  MSN msgr, Yahoo chat, ICQ, Google talk et al. all reinvented IRC each in their own mutually incompatible way. Then they added file transfer that wasn't FTP.
  Web 2.0 is a reinvention of the mainframe with thin clients on dumb terminals. JavaScript is becoming a reinvention of python, except with curlies. JSON is a reinvention of XML, which is a reinvention of s-expressions.
  Next up, someone's going to reinvent the business process of reinventing the wheel in slightly different and incompatible ways ("for added value", of course) and patent the method. Hey, that'd be a good use of business method patents.
  Can you tell I'm bitter? ;)
3. Re:Somewhat unimpressed .. by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-05 04:19 · Score: 0
  
  The huge innovation is that it actually works, even for typical users who don't know the difference between UPnP, UDP, UPS and UFC. All those funky tricks developed for P2P, like TCP connection reversal and UDP hole punching, can be used for friend-to-friend connections too.
4. Re:Somewhat unimpressed .. by quickOnTheUptake · 2009-03-05 09:12 · Score: 1
  
  MSN msgr, Yahoo chat, ICQ, Google talk et al. all reinvented IRC each in their own mutually incompatible way. Then they added file transfer that wasn't FTP.
  Except that the IM's got around the NAT problem (without the limits of port forwarding). To say nothing of eliminating the need to configure an ftp server. For most people, transfering a morderately large file over the internet, IM is much easier than ftp. IMHO, IM file transefer ability is a nice feature and not just a new wheel.
  
  --
  Mod points: Guaranteed to remove your sense of humor.
  Side effects may include gullibility and temporary retardation
5. Re:Somewhat unimpressed .. by stevied · 2009-03-05 10:45 · Score: 1
  
  Heh, it's true. It must be a sign that I'm getting soft in my old age, but I've more or less accepted all these lunacies... not that I actually use them, mind you.
6. Re:Somewhat unimpressed .. by stevied · 2009-03-05 11:05 · Score: 1
  
  I'll concede that it looked like a nice UI. What I really objected to is their use of the term "darknet." I understand terminology is fluid, and that my own use of it is probably quirky, but to me a net(work) implies the ability to reach beyond explicitly configured directly connected peers (e.g. even a single ethernet broadcast domain is a network because you don't have to explicitly list the nodes on it to communicate them, but a machine with multiple dial-up connections to other machines is not really part of a network unless it relays data for them..) A darknet therefore implies to me something more like a web of trust, where you can discover and decide to trust friends of friends.
7. Re:Somewhat unimpressed .. by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-05 12:16 · Score: 0
  
  JSON is a reinvention of XML, which is a reinvention of s-expressions.
  Hahaha fuck no. JSON and sexps are basically serialization formats, and have fancy things like 'datatypes' and 'not utterly retarded syntax'. XML is a markup language (a rather horrible one), which is far to often misused and abused as things other than a markup language.
Bestest of friends by RulerOf · 2009-03-05 01:52 · Score: 1

with usernames like Riaa250k
I think "Riaa750k" might be more appropriate, given that's what they'll try to score with every file they download from you.

--
Boot Windows, Linux, and ESX over the network for free.
1. Re:Bestest of friends by Hognoxious · 2009-03-05 11:07 · Score: 1
  
  SCO699CST?
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
confidence and closed source software? by GNUPublicLicense · 2009-03-05 02:05 · Score: 1

Are you really serious? Even with open source software, reaching a good level of confidence is *hard*. Then with closed source proprietary software... please keep a bit of common sense...
1. Re:confidence and closed source software? by sameb · 2009-03-05 02:09 · Score: 1
  
  Didja know LimeWire is open source, GPL'd?
  See http://limewire.org/ .
Kill hulu with fire; salt the remains by Scrameustache · 2009-03-05 02:25 · Score: 4, Funny

Segmenting the internet back into region specific chunks is probably the worst thing that happened since MySpace.
So you'd rather Hulu and Netflix be sued into bankruptcy for streaming content to places in the world they have no right to do so? Yeah, that'd be a much greater idea...
Yes!
Well, no, I wish them a violent, painful death. But bankruptcy is an acceptable compromise.

--
You can't take the sky from me...
Remind me of Hotline & DC by foniksonik · 2009-03-05 03:22 · Score: 1

Secure P2P with a friends list... yeah, people will be setting up those pay to play web pages where you have to get a password by signing up for a pron account in no time....
This is a step backwards in my book.

--
A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
Yeah, but... by Crimson+Wing · 2009-03-05 03:31 · Score: 2, Insightful

...does it still autonomously and secretly download malware in the background?

--
Sig? What's that? Oh, 'signature'...and it's supposed to be witty? Right...
1. Re:Yeah, but... by sameb · 2009-03-05 05:08 · Score: 1
  
  Uh, no. And it never did.
2. Re:Yeah, but... by Crimson+Wing · 2009-03-05 11:29 · Score: 1
  
  I beg to differ. I used to use it (not sure what version, but I know I got it from limewire.com), till I ran a virus scan on my comp and found over SIX THOUSAND infected files, all within LimeWire's installation directory (NOT the download/share directory).
  
  I stick with Ares Galaxy (which is FOSS) and torrents now.
  
  --
  Sig? What's that? Oh, 'signature'...and it's supposed to be witty? Right...
3. Re:Yeah, but... by sameb · 2009-03-05 15:35 · Score: 1
  
  LimeWire's FOSS too. It's also a popular program, and other viruses out there have been known to piggyback on it. LimeWire certainly doesn't download anything without the user's permission. If you're concerned, just build it from the source (available at limewire.org).
4. Re:Yeah, but... by Crimson+Wing · 2009-03-05 15:51 · Score: 1
  
  LimeWire's open source? I was not aware of this.
  
  Regardless, I had the problem with LW, and did not have the problem with Ares; therefore, I am sticking with Ares.
  
  --
  Sig? What's that? Oh, 'signature'...and it's supposed to be witty? Right...
Frostwire by Tubal-Cain · 2009-03-05 03:37 · Score: 1

LimeWire
I'll wait for the Frostwire release, thank you very much.
1. Re:Frostwire by sameb · 2009-03-05 04:29 · Score: 1
  
  Why? FrostWire _is_ LimeWire. They take LimeWire's open-source GPL code and repackage and rename it.
2. Re:Frostwire by Tubal-Cain · 2009-03-05 04:45 · Score: 1
  
  Limewire connects to no more than 3 'supernodes' (or something like that), and if you buy Limewire Pro it will connect to 5.
  Frostwire connects to 5, but you don't have to pay for it.
If they're your tv shows by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-05 07:10 · Score: 0

why don't you already have access to them?

1) I can't get my TV shows
Silverlight 2 vs. Moonlight 1 by tepples · 2009-03-05 07:48 · Score: 3, Insightful

Moonlight is never going to gain any traction under Linux.
And let me guess, somehow this will not be the fault of Linux, and the blame will be squarely leveled at Microsoft.
It'll be the fault of Microsoft if Microsoft continues to make questionably necessary additions to the Silverlight spec to make the Moonlight developers fall behind, and then continues to push Silverlight app developers to "take advantage" of those additions.
Bring in the narcs by smchris · 2009-03-05 09:13 · Score: 1

Abbie Hoffman used to say that an undercover cop would smoke marijuana with your group but he sure as hell wouldn't drop acid because the drug classes at the time were telling people it made you permanently crazy. So how do you test a new member of your dark net?
I'm unconvinced by your arguments by jonaskoelker · 2009-03-05 13:39 · Score: 1

To say nothing of eliminating the need to configure an ftp server.
You could still have an interface that says "send this file" which runs FTP and automagically configures it.
It's not like the various IM protocols are particularly chatty about what your firewall should and shouldn't do.
In the worst case, you could use HTTP instead over some high port, and send the other party some "download-from-here" message.
There was no need to reinvent the file transfer wheel. Also, the braindeadness of having to go through their servers (for MSN at least) when one party has a public IP address is just astonishing. And I don't have the source, so I can't fix their drain bamage :(
It just sucks ass, that's what it does.

IMHO, IM file transefer ability is a nice feature and not just a new wheel.
What's a nice feature is the "send file" button that works and is easy. What's dumb is that it works like shit compared to what it could have been, and that it works with "Our New Round Thing" instead of a bog standard wheel.
I'll give you that by jonaskoelker · 2009-03-05 13:41 · Score: 1

JSON is a reinvention of XML, which is a reinvention of s-expressions.
Hahaha fuck no. [...]
Yeah okay, XML sucks more ass and has been overused. But it has been put (among others) to the same use JSON is being put.
Wait, is that JHTML I see coming, with JSON style sheets and JSON-modifying JSON and embedded lambda calculus and... :(