Peer to peer sharing is another area that has come about with the computer revolution;
in particular the Internet. This rapid advancement has, as expected caught a lot of people, or if you like companies with their pants down.  I’m of course talking about the music and movie industry.  Industries that  have influence wealth and thus power. Two organizations out there are the RIAA  for the music folks and the MPAA for the movie ones.
      As I write this I’m listening to Bach’s Six Partitas, played by Glenn Gould.  There’re on my other computer in a file format called mp3. Not sure where I got it or how. I also have the original record (called vinyl’s now), purchased sometime in the 70’s. I believe I paid $4.00 for it. Today I noticed that on Amazon the Six Partitas will cost me $ 12.00 for the first three and $12.00 for the other three. So $4.00 in now $24.00, which works out to a nice 600% increase.
       Do any of you out there remember when CDs first came out and how we were all told that they were better and would provide cheaper and more music for everyone. When was the last time you bought a CD for $4.00. Of course there is inflation to contend with and we all know how expensive CDs are to make.
       Then their where tapes. First the eight track ones, then the small ones you could carry in you car as well as your pocket.  You could also buy a tape playing machine that also recorded the tape in order that you could give it to your friends or enemies. You could also record radio broadcast. You could also trade one of your tapes for another from someone else.
        And guess what; it was done all the time.
       It was called copyright infringement or stealing for an easier term. Also the term piracy is used  a great deal. All of these terms can have numerous meanings depending on what you are trying to achieve. When dealing in the world of P2P I would like to put forward some definitions of these terms in order to explain what has or is happening.
     
      Sharing is when you give up half of that cookie you are eating to someone else, which leaves you with only a half of the cookie. In other words you have lost something.
     
      Stealing is when you sneak into your friends cookie jar and take a cookie that doesn’t belong to you and your friend is less one cookie.

       Trading is when you give one of your cookies to someone and they in turn give you one of theirs.

       Piracy was a term to define thugs that use to roam the seas and attack other ships
killing people and then stealing everything they had.

     None of the above terms honestly explain the huge amount of Internet traffic that is going on with the giving (?) of music or movies.

      Before I continue with this analysis let’s clear up a few points. This dissertation is NOT about taking a DVD or CD and copying it then selling it as the original or even as a copy. Nor is it about buying/renting a DVD/CD then ripping it to your PC in order to give it away by way of the Internet.
      When you download a movie or music, your friend still has all his cookies.
      It isn’t stealing, it’s getting it for free. Therefore, you are possibly guilty of getting something for free. Well almost free. You had to buy a computer and then there is that ISP fee every month.
      Piracy is the same as stealing. Like thugs use to roam the seas and attack other ships
killing people and then stealing everything they had. It isn’t piracy to download a file since no one has been killed and everyone has his cookies. 

      If I were to place piles of 1000 dollar bills in my front yard and you would pass by, would you pick up one of the piles? If you did,  I technically could have you arrested for trespassing and stealing.
      If  I was a law enforcement agency it should be called entrapment, although it frequently isn’t.
      If you place anything on the Internet it can be copied. Not downloaded necessarily, but usually you can copy it. This is because it has already been placed on your web browser for viewing.
     
      If you have a TV you can record what is playing on it. Using that VCR from the past or the new digital TV recorders.
      If you buy a tape you can copy it. If you buy a CD or a DVD you can copy it and to literally any format you want.
      If you have a radio you can copy its broadcast.
      This copying has been going on since the Industries stopped making vinyl’s and went to more convenient and profitable ways of providing you with entertainment.  (profitable to them of course)
      So, who is responsible for the fact that you can copy?
      If you buy a record (vinyl) you can’t copy it. At least not without a lot of expensive hardware.
      I can’t remember anything about the MPAA or the RIAA in the past. I guess they were around, but never read about them filing law suites against kids for copying . Or the FBI raiding some ones home for illegal tapes.  This only began when they had the ability to track or find out  who is doing it or think they know.

     And it has to do with loss $. claims. Thanks to the Internet  rather than a few copying and giving to their friends you have 100 million people world wide giving the stuff away.  The Industries have one hell of a job ahead of them.  Keep in mind that they are not on a noble cause of copyright protection, but rather one of collecting the money they think they deserve.  It has gotten to a volume that  they now think they can see. Where as before they had no way of  knowing. Their claims of financial loss actually are some what dubious and suspect.  The industries seem to be hanging on to the past rather than moving with the rest of the world, using scare tactics and attorneys. Trying to make deals with the IRS as well as ISP’s.

      The real losers are the Artist, that for the 85% they give to the Industry that can’t protect them. (Actually for most it’s 95%) The irresponsibility of the Music and Movie Industry to its artists borders on criminality. If any lawsuits are to take place, they need to be between the artists and the Industries. It is the Industries that put out on to the market place CDs that can easily be ripped (copied)and DVDs  that can be re-burned into avi fills, which are easily traded on a world wide Internet.  The millions of people out buying or downloading I can assure you are not interested in hurting the Artist. Just the opposite, they love the artist, which is why they go to lengths to get their works. They care more for the Artists more than the Industries do; to them it’s a simple meal ticket. Notice that you never hear of any research that should be going on in this area, by the movie or music industry. Of course, that would cost money and it’s a lot more entertaining to hire henchman to threaten people as well as the Internet itself.

It’s not stealing
It’s not sharing
It’s not piracy
It’s giving something away

      To say that people are downloading music and movies are stopping them from buying them is absurd. There is no way you can prove this. It’s an assumption on the part of the Industries. Most out there can’t afford the cost of a DVD or CD so they wouldn’t buy them anyway.
      You would think that rather than alienating the public the Industries would figure out how to use the Internet to protect their clients or to put it another way. . . make more money.
       They might want to hire the Pornography Studios to show them how it’s done since this industry has exploded in volume using the Internet, but then sex sells.

       When using a P2P software you give files away. You do not copy the file and give it to anyone. As a matter of fact you don’t copy anything. The P2P copies it and distributes it over the whole world.  Those who do the stealing are those who rent a DVD then rip it to an  avi file and start giving it away on a P2P.  Or they are guilty of giving something away that doesn’t belong to them.
        Note; As of this writing downloading music or a movie is NOT illegal. It’s the uploading or giving away that is illegal.  Hence don’t give anything away (or share as the P2P enthusiast like to call it). Most P2P programs have a share folder; simply keep yours empty.  However, when you download something you become part of a Network that is distributing that something.

        Some interesting facts;
        The MPAA has just 6 members.

        Buena Vista Pictures Distribution; (The Walt Disney Company)
        Paramount Pictures Corporation;
        Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.;
        Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation;
        Universal City Studios LLLP; and
        Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

         It’s said that there are around 6 million individuals using p2p programs in the USA. I have no idea if that is correct or even close. I do know that according to the p2p I use there are around 5 million using it world wide. That’s a very large number of criminals.

           The movie Industry fought television, claiming that people would stop going to the theaters.
            The movie industry fought the VCR with the same claims.
            The radio and music Industry fought the idea of tapes, saying that no one would listen to the radio or buy records.
            The movie and Music Industry promoted the use of CDs and DVD’s . Doing so with a lot of false claims on pricing and more variety.
           Seems they were wrong on all areas.

         If you use a p2p in order to download a movie or music and are concerned about the FBI breaking down your door and confiscating your computer; then simply don’t save anything on it. Save it elsewhere or watch the movie then delete it, (completely). Most movies today aren’t worth watching again anyway.
       If you must save it then burn it to a CD or DVD , using that amazing DVD player that Sony produces (A MPAA member).

         For the Industries to attack the millions of individuals who might have music or movies on their personal computers is ludicrous. They can’t sue and get subpoenas on that many individuals, even they don’t have that much money. Of course what they do or try to do is pick on a few by random choice hoping that they might get lucky.  This is widely publicized, when they are successful on your favorite news program, which are owned by the same people.

     You will have a hard time getting any information on P2P on any of these stations. It’s news, but not the kind they want you to know about. Makes you wonder how much else is out there, that will never get shown. 

     The P2P idea is an amazing technology and many ideas have been put forth on how the Industries could capitalize on it. Of course the first step will be for them to get their heads out of the 1950’s.
     One thing that is already happening is sites that offer downloadable movies for a price.
The 2 things that are all wrong with them is one the price and second the quality. Only an idiot would waste their time and money at these places. How about downloading a .mkv file for $1.00, instead of a small .avi file for $4.00.  For $3.99 I can watch first run movies through cable on my TV.

     Anyone think of giving them away; say a video file especially designed for computers that could have a company brand on it or a short commercial break of McDonalds.  Television has been doing it for years. You could also do downloading from satellites with P2P system with a company logo (brand) in the movie. Your audience would be in the millions, worldwide maybe even a billion.

     A man called Alvin Toffler wrote a book in 1980 titled Third Wave. He related technological advances to like a wave, slowly building then accelerating until it crashes onto the beach. Some will ride it out, others will use it, while some will stand up to it, only to be crushed by its force.  His Third Wave was the computer.