November 17, 2008
Volume XXIV, Issue 4
Pando P4P Field Trials Yield Dramatic Results
Pando Networks, a leading provider of content delivery services that accelerate the speed and dramatically decrease the cost of distributing rich media online, this week announced results of a second round of P4P field trials.
Major ISPs including AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon Communications participated in the field trials coordinated by Pando Networks and Yale University during Fall 2008 as an activity of the P4P Working Group (P4PWG), a multi-industry initiative sponsored by the Distributed Computing Industry Association (DCIA).
The results demonstrated improved performance for all classes of users for all participating ISPs, using cable, digital-subscriber-line (DSL), and fiber-to-the-home (FTTH). Download delivery speed increased on average fifty-nine percent (59%) - and up to one-hundred-fifty percent (150%) for the fastest class of users.
The percentage of data delivered within each ISP increased from fourteen percent (14%) for normal P2P delivery to as much as eighty-nine percent (89%) for P4P delivery.
Pando Networks CTO and P4PWG Co-Chair Laird Popkin said, "This round of trials also introduced a new capability of P4P, extending the protocol to optimize traffic among ISPs. This allows ISPs, for example, to direct P2P applications to use private ISP-to-ISP connections instead of expensive transit across the general Internet, further improving delivery performance and reducing delivery cost."
DCIA CEO Marty Lafferty added, "The improvement in results achieved by Pando Networks, Yale University, and a larger number of participating ISPs in this second round of P4P field trials further validates the potential value of P4P. We are excited to be moving ahead with its further development and look forward to its ultimate deployment."
"The trial results demonstrate that P4P has the potential to increase network efficiencies, which ultimately could provide Internet users with a better and faster broadband experience," said Charles Kalmanek, Vice President - Networking and Services Research, AT&T Labs. "We look forward to continuing our cooperative relationships with industry and academic partners, working together to find effective solutions for users and networks operators, and supporting their adoption."
"Comcast believes that collaboration and engagement with the Internet community, engineers, academics and other experts is the best way to evaluate new Internet technologies like P4P," said Barry Tishgart, VP of Internet Services for Comcast. "We're encouraged by the results of the first P4P trial recently conducted on our cable ISP infrastructure, and we look forward to participating in additional P4P trials as we continue to optimize our network to provide the best experience for all customers."
According to Verizon Senior Technologist Doug Pasko, Co-Chair of the P4PWG, "In this second round of P4P trials, route guidance reduced the P2P traffic entering Verizon's networks from a previous average reduction of thirty-five percent (35%) to a reduction of more than seventy-five percent (75%). P2P traffic leaving Verizon's networks was reduced from an average of forty-one percent (41%) to fifty-four percent (54%). This again illustrates how ISPs can operate more efficiently if traffic remains on their own networks."
"The P4P field trials have repeatedly proven that localized P2P delivery is a 'win-win' for consumers, content owners, and broadband network operators," added Robert Levitan, CEO of Pando Networks. "Pando Networks is proud to offer P4P functionality as a part of our content delivery cloud solution."
Abacast Presents P2P & VIDEO CONFERENCE Online
Thanks to the work of Jason Vosburgh at Abacast, videos documenting the DCIA's first-ever P2P & VIDEO CONFERENCE (P2PVC) are now online.
Please click here for DCIA introductory remarks followed by the Video Content Protection panel featuring Chris Gillis, Director of Sales, MediaDefender; Peder Jungck, CTO, CloudShield; Gerry Kaufhold, Principal Analyst, In-Stat; and Neerav Shah, VP, Business Development and Strategy, Verimatrix.
For the opening keynotes by Robert Levitan, CEO, Pando Networks; Barry Tishgart, VP of Internet Services, Comcast; and Michael King, CEO, Abacast, please click here.
Please click here for the P2P Technological Advancement panel featuring Kshitij Kumar, CEO, TellyTopia; Alex Mashinsky, CEO, DigiMeld; and Robert Levitan, CEO, Pando Networks.
For the post-luncheon keynotes by Joey P., Co-Founder, Brand Asset Digital; Kumar Subramanian, CEO, MediaMelon; and Orang Dialameh, CEO, iVisit, please click here.
Please click here for the P2P Content Licensing panel featuring Walter Leaphart, Advisor, Music Intelligence Solutions; Steven Masur, Managing Partner, MasurLaw; Keyvan Peymani, COO, Nettwerk Music Group; Patrick Ross, Executive Director, Copyright Alliance; and Laura Tunberg, CEO, EM Syndication.
For the afternoon keynotes by Tom Patterson, CEO, Digital Containers; David Rice, VP of Marketing, Move Networks; and Eitan Efron, VP of Marketing, Oversi; please click here.
Please click here for the P2P Video Revenue panel featuring Arash Amel, Head of Broadband Media/AMR, Screen Digest; Paul Grusche, COO, Ultramercial; Rob Manoff, CEO, Jambo Media; Johan Ryman, Director of Sales & Partnerships, Octoshape; and Dave Toole, CEO, MediaMobz; followed by the closing keynote by Ronny Golan, Co-Founder & CEO, HIRO Media.
And finally, for the Future P2PTV Innovation panel featuring Jonathan Lee, SVP, PiCast; Dave Mathews, Head of Product, Boxee.TV; and Jeffrey Payne, CTO, GridNetworks; please click here.
Report from CEO Marty Lafferty
 We are very pleased to announce the agenda and first wave of speakers for the Distributed Computing Industry Association's (DCIA) second annual P2P MEDIA SUMMIT Las Vegas, which will take place on January 7th as a Conference within the International CES Show.
With more than four decades of success, International CES reaches across global markets, connects the industry, and enables consumer electronics innovations to grow and thrive. CES is produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the pre-eminent trade association promoting growth in the consumer technology industry.
At the P2P MEDIA SUMMIT Las Vegas, we plan to focus on the commercial development possibilities of P2P and related technologies for rich media content distribution.
Delegates will hear keynotes from top P2P, peer-assisted CDN, and social networking software distributors, attend panel discussions with industry leaders, participate in valuable workshops, and much more.
A continental breakfast and conference luncheon will be served; and the day will end with a VIP networking cocktail reception.
P2P MEDIA SUMMIT Las Vegas KEYNOTE speakers will include Robert Levitan, CEO, Pando Networks; Mark Stuart, Technical Director, P2P Next; Travis Kalanick, Founder, RedSwoosh; Kumar Subramanian, CEO, MediaMelon; Alex Mashinsky, CEO, DigiMeld; Phill Robinson, CEO, Velocix; Eitan Efron, VP of Marketing, Oversi; and David Rice, VP of Marketing, Move Networks.
Conference luncheon presentations will feature important NEW P2P RESEARCH from Joe Porus and Milt Ellis, both Vice Presidents at Harris Interactive; and an update on the P4P WORKING GROUP from Doug Pasko, Senior Technologist at Verizon, and Laird Popkin, CTO at Pando Networks, and both Co-Chairs of the P4P Working Group (P4PWG).
The opening POLICY TRACK panel will explore what changes the Obama administration is likely to bring to the emerging distributed computing industry, and answer questions, such as: What changes are taking place in the regulatory environment affecting P2P technologies? What will be the impact of recent court opinions? What else has to happen from a legal and policy standpoint to foster investment and commercial development of P2P?
Panelists will include Jim Burger, Partner, Dow Lohnes; Gary Greenstein, Of Counsel, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati; Lawrence Hadley, Partner, Hennigan Bennett & Dorman; Louis Lehrman, Vice President, Dutko Worldwide; Steven Masur, Managing Partner, MasurLaw; and NS Nappinai, Principal, NSN Associates;
The TECHNOLOGY TRACK panel will examine P2P file sharing - the evolving distribution chain. Issues to be addressed include: What is the current landscape for P2P-based content distribution? What trends are emerging among participants in the distribution chain and in consumer usage? What impact do advances in digital rights management (DRM), compression, caching, content acceleration, swarming, streaming, and other P2P-related technologies have?
Panelists will include Nathan Good, Research Scientist, PARC; Avi Greengart, Research Director, Current Analysis; Mark Ishikawa, CEO, BayTSP; Peder Jungck, CTO, CloudShield; Jeffrey Payne, CTO, GridNetworks; and Ron Van Herk, CEO, AHT International.
The MARKETING TRACK panel will delve into current business models - what's working and what's not. Has any alternative business model - paid-download, subscription, or advertising-supported - yet proven to be the most promising? Is P2P more of a promotional tool than a direct sales channel? Have any more innovative approaches been attempted? How can users navigate among P2P service offerings?
Panelists will include Simon Applebaum, Producer/Host, Tomorrow Will Be Televised; Chris Gillis, Director of Sales, MediaDefender; Dana Jones, CEO, Ultramercial; Rob Manoff, CEO, Jambo Media; Thomas Reemer, CEO, CUGate; and Paul Wright, SVP, Strategic Alliances & Marketing, MediaGuide.
The CONTENT DISTRIBUTION panel will assess P2P for content creators. What has been the experience to date of content creators who have embraced P2P? What changes do they need to more effectively harness file-sharing and related technologies? Are there innovative art forms in development for the P2P distribution channel?
Panelists will include Daniel Harris, CEO, MediaPass Gigantic; Steve Oedekerk, CEO, O! Entertainment; Keyvan Peymani, COO, Nettwerk Music Group; Patrick Ross, Executive Director, Copyright Alliance; Iain Scholnick, CEO & President, ImageSpan; and Laura Tunberg, CEO, EM Syndication.
The SOLUTIONS DEVELOPMENT panel will look into advancement - creating the commercial P2P ecosystem. What architectural, CDN-related, content-security and other technological solutions are now in development that will optimize P2P and hybrid peer-assisted deployments for the benefit of all participants in the distribution chain? Which of these have been tested and what have been the results to date?
Panelists will include Vance Ikezoye, CEO, Audible Magic; Michael King, CEO, Abacast; JD Lasica, President, Social Media Group; Jonathan Lee, SVP, PiCast; Neerav Shah, VP, Business Development & Strategy, Verimatrix; and David Ulmer, Sr. Director, MultiMedia & Entertainment Products, Motorola.
The summit will end with a SPECIAL SESSION on the subject of the next frontier - business practices for P2P industry leadership. What are consumers seeking in terms of content portability and DRM transparency? How can participants in the P2P distribution channel contribute to this? What different models are envisioned to achieve interoperability, and what industry efforts should go on in this space? What will be the future of P2P?
Speakers will include Memo Rhein, CEO, Unlimited Media; John Waclawsky, Software Architect, Motorola; and See-Mong Tan, Director of P2P, Microsoft.
Early-bird registration rates end December 6th and can save delegates $300 over on-site rates.
To register, visit www.cesweb.org/sessions/search/trackDetail.asp?ID_track=P2P_CES09.
For sponsor packages, please contact Karen Kaplowitz, DCIA Member Services, at 888-890-4240 or karen@dcia.info. Share wisely, and take care.
ISPs to Speed-Up P2P Transfers
Excerpted from Silicon Alley Insider Report by Dan Frommer
The biggest US Internet service providers (ISPs), which include the largest phone and cable companies, will roll-out updates to their networks over the next two months that promise to make P2P traffic faster and more efficient.
And just as important, the updates could someday save service providers money on bandwidth and capex - which their investors would welcome. These upgrades could also potentially rejuvenate the P2P content delivery industry.
The software, dubbed P4P, is a product of a multi-industry working group sponsored by the DCIA, whose members include the two largest US phone companies, AT&T and Verizon; the largest US cable company, Comcast; content delivery networks (CDNs) like NYC-based Pando Networks, BitTorrent, and GridNetworks; and tech companies like Cisco Systems and VeriSign.
What does P4P do? It makes P2P transfers - a huge chunk of all the bandwidth used on the Internet - more efficient by sending more traffic, when possible, across the ISP's internal network - as opposed to across the broader Internet. It can also prioritize P2P traffic from networks with which ISPs have so-called symbiotic "peering" relationships, which could save them money.
Big ISPs, such as AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast, have been testing the P4P technology for the last year or so and will start rolling it out nationwide in the next 60 days. The move is especially significant for Comcast, which has switched to a network management system that doesn't single out P2P. What might the updates mean for consumers and ISPs?
In the most recent P4P tests, announced yesterday, download speed increased an average 59% over traditional P2P, and up to 150% for the fastest class of users. Efficiency improved, too: The percentage of data delivered internally within each ISP - best-case scenario - increased from 14% for normal P2P to as much as 89% for P4P delivery.
P2P's pitch has long been "we're cheaper!" but Akamai, Limelight, and smaller competitors have lowered prices so much in the last few years that big media companies haven't had much reason to look at P2P as an alternative. Media companies have also been skeptical about P2P because of several shortcomings, such as the need to download a third-party plug-in, DRM, security features, and the lack of proven reliability.
But consumers have recently shown they're happy to install third-party software when beneficial to them - millions downloaded Microsoft's Silverlight plug-in to watch the Olympics online, for example.
And Pando CEO Robert Levitan says his company has made some much-needed changes, too, like security and reliability improvements, including the ability to connect to Akamai, Limelight, or any CDN to fill-in the gaps when a P2P network isn't providing enough bandwidth.
Levitan also says the downturn has gotten media companies to pay more attention to pricing than they did even a few months ago. He says Pando has recently seen "a huge influx of inquiries," and that some media companies that didn't care about CDN pricing six months ago now say it's their "number one issue."
CloudShield Technologies More than Doubles Bookings
CloudShield Technologies, a leading provider of service management and infrastructure security solutions, this week announced record Q3 growth.
CloudShield achieved a more than 100% increase in bookings compared to Q3 of 2007. Q3 2008 also marks the largest revenue generated by both the federal and service provider sales teams since the company's inception.
"We are excited about our momentum and will continue our goal of providing innovative security and management solutions to our expanding customer base," said Matt Jones, CEO of CloudShield.
"As the technological landscape becomes more complex, government agencies and service providers need to identify new ways to manage high-bandwidth IP-based data services. The increasing demands of P2P file sharing, steaming videos, and other services on existing infrastructure are driving the sales of our solutions and creating the need for new partnerships."
The company's growth comes on the heels of a September announcement that its DNS Defender and Subscriber Services Manager (SSM) applications are available on the new IBM BladeCenter PN41 blade.
CloudShield also recently announced the availability of the CloudShield Packet Operating System (CPOS), a packet processing operating system that reduces the cost and environmental impact of implementing high-traffic converged IP networks.
In addition, during Q3, the company opened a new office in Herndon, VA, stemming from its growth in the federal government sector to help government agencies tackle their toughest security and network policy enforcement challenges.
CloudShield is a private company that sells to the world's largest service providers and national governments through its partners, including: Alcatel-Lucent, IBM, L-3 Communications, and Northrop Grumman. CloudShield's unique high-speed network platform provides unmatched capabilities for network security, cross domain solutions, content management, and network policy enforcement functions.
To subscribe to an RSS feed of CloudShield press releases, please click here.
PeerApp Raises $8 Million for Media Caching Technology
Excerpted from Digital Media Wire Report by Mark Hefflinger
PeerApp, a provider of media caching and bandwidth arbitrage technology for ISPs, has raised $8 million in its second round of venture capital, which was led by Pilot House Ventures, Cedar Fund, and Evergreen Venture Partners.
Founded in 2004, PeerApp offers products that help ISPs satisfy subscriber demand. The company has additional offices and personnel located in Europe, Latin America, China, and the Pacific Rim.
The company said it has deployed more than 100 of its bandwidth and media caching systems since their introduction in 2006.
Brand Asset Digital Brings New Jobs to Michigan
Brand Asset Digital announced this week the acquisition of the Heritage Tower in downtown Battle Creek, MI. The company will expand its technology staff in the 20-story building bringing jobs to the area following its recent launch of P2Pwords, the first pay-per-click Search Engine Marketing (SEM) platform for P2P Search.
P2Pwords gives top advertisers the unique ability to target and connect their branded content directly to consumers via P2P Search.
"With the economy on everyone's mind we hope this acquisition and the related hiring will be a sign of good things ahead for the state" stated Tim Hogan CEO & Co-Founder of Brand Asset Digital. "Battle Creek is a great city," said Hogan.
"Everyone's been quite welcoming and enthusiastic. They have a lot to offer with their central location and nearby universities, import aspects as we seek to hire developers."
Brand Asset Digital expects to capitalize on the continued explosion of paid search advertising which is estimated to break $30 Billion in 2008 up from $22 billion in 2007. Hogan said the city's downtown fiber-optic loop, which provides vast bandwidth access for Internet companies, was the driving force behind the acquisition. The loop was completed in 2003.
The Tower, originally built in 1931, is one of the most important examples of Art Deco architecture in the Midwest and comprises over 120,000 square feet of office and retail space. The building is ideally located in the center of the business district.
Once renovated space is available Brand Asset Digital, based in Pensacola, FL and New York, NY, will expand its computer programming and software development staff there further expanding the company's aggressive growth into the Search Advertising and Live Streaming space. The building will also house one of Brand Asset Digital's new data centers.
The Heritage Tower will be formally renamed The Brand Asset Digital Tower. More information about P2Pwords can be found at www.P2Pwords.com.
Long Live Ad-Supported Digital Music Models
Excerpted from MediaPost Report by Laurie Sullivan
Online music moguls took the stage at the Piper Jaffray Global Internet Summit 2008 in Laguna Beach, CA to debate business models for digital content. All agreed that an ad-supported free music model makes the most sense, but the biggest challenge for distribution channels has been to make money.
For starters, the cost - about 1 cent per track per stream - doesn't allow sites like MySpace Music to sell ads at a CPM rate high enough to justify the spending, according to David Hyman, CEO & Founder of MOG, a Berkeley, CA music-blogging platform that gives advertisers the ability to connect with consumers through their love of music.
"The average CPM for MySpace is $1 or less - that's a tenth of a penny per track per stream," he said. "They're shooting too high, getting a piece of a very small pie vs. bringing the pricing down to the point where lots of companies can jump in."
Hyman said music labels are likely making money on less than 1% of all online music that gets downloaded or streamed because many young people who typically want the music cannot afford to purchase it. Bringing the prices down or offering ad-supported free services would generate more business for the labels.
Indeed, an ad-supported digital music download model would solve copyright infringement and digital rights management (DRM) issues, but the model first needs to separate the value of the advertising from the song, said Joe Rogness, Co-Founder of San Francisco-based IndieZone, a music marketplace. "It would allow the price of the music and advertising costs to fluctuate," he said.
Panelists agreed that the traditional definition of DRM, the technology prohibiting the unauthorized copying of digital music, has made matters worse. Rogness said that while "DRM is dead," the industry needs to protect the rights of content owners by compensating them when music moves from one individual to another. Every song or digital asset needs to carry a contract that give a monetary sum back to the owner, whether it comes from the person listening to the music or the brand supporting the distribution with ads.
P2P and the Downturn: Hello, Browser Toolbars
Excerpted from TeeVee News Report by Janko Roettgers
Media companies have been passing out pink slips like Halloween candy in recent weeks to prepare for lower ad rates.
The good news is that for Vuze, BitTorrent, and even Pando, advertising isn't the only source of revenue. All three companies have started to bundle their clients with browser toolbars from companies like IAC's Ask.com, a move that seems to be having a substantial effect on their bottom line already.
Former BitTorrent President Ashwin Navin recently described BitTorrent's toolbar deal as "lucrative," and Vuze CEO Gilles BianRosa said that his company's toolbar revenue is "significant."
But exactly how lucrative are these deals? Valleywag in September unearthed an offer for $2.50 per install of the Microsoft toolbar. Industry averages are said to be slightly lower, but those installations can still add some serious cash to a company's bottom line. Take DivX, for example. The company is distributing the Yahoo toolbar with its free DivX player, and it recently revealed in a regulatory filing with the SEC that in the first nine months of this year, the deal generated more than $14 million - or 21% of its total revenue.
Of course, bundled software isn't exactly a new phenomenon in the P2P space. File-sharing applications like Kazaa and Grokster regularly came with numerous toolbars, widgets, and other adware applications. To be fair, today's P2P start-ups generally use more respected affiliate partners whose toolbars are not functioning as adware, but simply trying to direct users towards a certain search engine.
The companies also let users opt out of the toolbar installations, which wasn't always the case with Grokster and other, older file-sharing apps.
Vatata Supports Silverlight, Expands to Mac Platform
Vatata, an industry-leading P2P technology provider, has begun to support Microsoft's Silverlight technology. The Silverlight player can now play Vatata's P2P Live and P2P VOD video streaming content.
Because the Silverlight player can run on the Mac platform, this move also takes Vatata into the Mac world, and will let Mac users enjoy P2P streaming applications.
Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform, and cross-device plug-in for delivering media experiences and rich interactive applications for the web. After Silverlight released its 2.0 version, Vatata decided to support this player. Vatata has now integrated the Silverlight player with an embedded mms streaming server and supported two patterns: live and VOD.
Silverlight player can play wmv/asf media formats with wmv and VC1 codecs, so Vatata can now deliver high-definition (HD) content based on VC1 to online audiences.
Veoh Networks & Sandisk Launch Video Web Player
Industry-leading P2PTV service Veoh Networks and Sandisk announced the availability of the Veoh Web Player for SanDisk, a portable video player that is initially available only on SanDisk Cruzer USB flash drives.
The Veoh Web Player for SanDisk, allows on-the-go viewers to browse, search, and enjoy millions of videos available through Veoh on any computer at any time - including TV shows, movies, web series, and popular independently-produced content from all over the web.
The Veoh Web Player combined with SanDisk Cruzer USB flash drives provides users with a broad selection of video content on Veoh and the power of a P2P client in a single portable and password-protected application.
With the Veoh Web Player's Library and Import features, users can easily manage their personal video collection, both online and offline. When permitted by the publisher, users can schedule downloads of videos to their library to watch later or at another location. U3 Smart technology, which was developed by SanDisk, allows applications to run from a SanDisk Cruzer USB flash drive, without having to be installed on a computer.
The Veoh Web Player and SanDisk Cruzer USB flash drive offer enhanced security features as well. Password protection on SanDisk Cruzer USB flash drives prevent unauthorized access to personal video files in case the drive is lost or stolen. And since U3 Smart technology doesn't require a separate video application to be installed, users can enjoy video content without leaving any traces on the host PC.
"SanDisk's reputation for innovation in flash storage devices and portable applications makes them the ideal distribution partner to make Veoh's extensive Internet video services more portable for our viewers," said Joshua Metzger, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for Veoh Networks. "SanDisk Cruzer USB flash drives are ideal for video and Veoh users. This partnership puts Veoh in their pocket - so videos are ready to enjoy whenever and wherever they plug in."
LimeWire 5.0 Social Sharing Software Coming Soon
Excerpted from TechShout Report
LimeWire is gearing up to roll out a beta version of LimeWire 5.0. Hailed as one of the most popular file-sharing software applications globally, the service should catch the fantasy of users always on the forefront of social networks. LimeWire 5.0 appears to be bundled with some really innovative social sharing network capabilities.
The latest version of LimeWire software will allow users to select the settings of their personal networks depending on existing contacts along with an option to selectively exchange information with friends. Taking P2P network sharing and social activity to an all together new level, the software will give users their signature powerful and unmatched user experience.
Kevin Bradshaw, LimeWire's Chief Operating Officer, revealed, "The P2P world has always had an inherently social aspect to it, and with our next version, we are bringing social sharing to the forefront. We see LimeWire 5.0 not only enhancing our current users' capabilities, but the new program has the potential to create a new generation of LimeWire users who are interested in connecting, sharing, socializing and discovering."
Boasting of advanced virus protection, the file-sharing program will let users choose to limit distribution to their personal networks only. Other features include integration of buddy lists from Jabber-compatible services, interface with the LimeWire Store and easy navigation with a new visual design of both website and application. The distinct design not only gives users enhanced security but also enables better management of files.
The LimeWire 5.0 download is expected to be released before the end-of-2008.
BitTorrent Under New CEO Will Be Fine
Excerpted from Slyck.com Report by Thomas Mennecke
By all accounts, the teetering world economy has helped P2P and file sharing rebound. At no point in the history of file sharing has the population been higher or grown at a steadier rate.
The Pirate Bay, currently the largest file-sharing community residing within the BitTorrent protocol, has surged to nearly 25 million peers.
With over 24 million users, there's no shortage of media to choose from. And despite the impending legal battle with the Swedish government, there's virtually no concern that unfiltered file sharing will be departing any time soon.
Even if The Pirate Bay were to vanish tomorrow, there would still be a critical mass remaining to form a new community.
As Napster, FastTrack, ShareReactor, and AudioGalaxy have all proven, simply unplugging a network does nothing to prevent the remaining community from continuing its sharing habits.
With video sharing becoming an increasingly important aspect of file sharing, and the BitTorrent infrastructure in place to ensure its feasibility, it seems that P2P and file sharing will continue the impressive strides made in the last few months.
Placing an exact estimate on the size of the overall P2P community is no simple task. Thanks to the entertainment industry's legal pursuits, the 8 million or so centralized-P2P users existing in the middle of this decade have dispersed into well over 20 million scattered peers. If this was a military operation, the entertainment industry's situation would probably be described as a quagmire.
There are also two commercial P2P stores which, if they succeed, will probably be the epicenter of file-sharing marketing - BitTorrent's BEN (BitTorrent Entertainment Network) and Vuze's HD Network.
Both BitTorrent and Vuze have two very important attributes going in their favor: they are both trusted by their respective communities, and they both have impressive populations following them. Certainly, with millions of individuals using both clients, it shouldn't be so hard to translate just a fraction of them into paying customers.
Both BitTorrent and Vuze have gained a certain level of traction since their inception. Vuze has started to abandon its paid content in exchange for ad-supported downloads. Vice President of Marketing, John Fernandez told NewTeeVee that revenue has increased five-fold since April, and expects to break even in 2009.
Not bad considering the dismal state of the economy. Both BitTorrent and Vuze have been able to generate impressive capital as well, an indication that venturists have faith that the platforms could be successful in the future.
Navin: Best Content in Most Frictionless Format Wins
Excerpted from TorrentFreak Report
Ashwin Navin, former President & Co-Founder of BitTorrent has left the company after four years.
We decided to do an exit interview. "My BitTorrent tenure certainly didn't feel like four years," was the first thing Navin said. "But time flies when working among good people, world-changing ideas, and great fun! What attracted me to BitTorrent in the first place, and what is still inspiring to this day, is its ability to provide people true digital freedom."
Indeed, the BitTorrent protocol provides freedom, but that is also why the entertainment industry is hesitant to adopt it. They don't want freedom for consumers, but they do want to maintain their cash flow. Nevertheless, one way or another, BitTorrent provides the entertainment industry with a whole new set of tools, something with which Navin seems to agree.
"For its direct and indirect benefits, I believe BitTorrent sits among the handful of important technology breakthroughs such as the printing press, broadcasting, and the Internet itself. Why? Today's publishing technology - like blogs, BitTorrent, and video sharing sites for example - quite directly forge a level playing field for creativity," Navin said.
"Indirectly, these tools force large media companies to realize that there is no longer scarcity or a stranglehold on distribution that locks people out of self-expression. Anyone can speak to the world in any format, without filters. Freedom of Speech has never been so available to the masses.
How these large corporations respond to this fundamental realization will benefit many millions of people - creators and consumers alike."
Navin hits the nail on the head here. BitTorrent is a great technology with a lot of potential. The thing the entertainment industry has to do is find a way to leverage it. Listening to consumers instead of trying to shut them up would be a good place to start. The Internet has put the consumer in control, and it's time for the copyright holders to realize this. Or as Navin puts it:
"The free flow of information and entertainment over the Internet doesn't diminish the relevance of high value, professional entertainment at all. It does force the publishers to be more quality conscious. And the great cardinal sin in this era would be to withhold your content in exclusive deals or to be too precious with your creation. Now's the time to be more liberal with your distribution strategy than before: be everywhere at once, wherever there are eyeballs you can count."
"In the previous era, there was a lot of forgiveness when 3 or 4 companies owned every road to the consumer. Publishers could produce a poor quality movie or TV show and get away with it. But when there are millions of ways to get to the user, or in other words, millions of 'channels' to choose from, the best entertainment content presented in the most frictionless format always wins."
TorrentFreak Turns Three Years Old
Excerpted from TorrentFreak Report
Three years ago, in November 2005, TorrentFreak first saw the light of day. Since then it has published 1,788 articles, and its readers have written 88,987 comments.
One of the main purposes of TorrentFreak has been to cover file sharing news from the perspective of file sharers. Over time, TorrentFreak has developed into a more serious news outlet; more and more articles are unique, and the quality of writing has improved.
As the popularity of BitTorrent grew, so did TorrentFreak's traffic, and with that came the opportunity to meet most of the people who run BitTorrent sites.
Running a blog like TorrentFreak is an impossible task for one person; but TorrentFreak remains a hobby project, and its core team writes because they are passionate about BitTorrent and file sharing, not because they need to, in a job sense.
It would be impossible to mention everyone who has contributed to TorrentFreak. There have been several guest writers and thousands of tips from readers.
TorrentFreak's team doesn't see themselves as journalists. They are P2P enthusiasts, who love to document how the Internet, and BitTorrent in particular, are changing how people interact with online media.
They also write extensively on how the world, and the law, reacts to this (r)evolution. They write about things that interest them, and hope that others are interested, too.
CNET's Nate Lanxon summed TorrentFreak up nicely: "The rise of blogging has been fueled less by money, and more by the desire to write about subjects people truly care about. And in the world of news, that often means writing at ungodly hours, for ungodly hours on end."
The TorrentFreak team has some exciting plans for the future that they will announce soon, and a redesign is being worked on as well. TorrentFreak has been a great endeavor thus far, most of all thanks to its readers. It hopes the next three years will be as much fun as the first.
Spam Down 75% After ISPs Shut Down Host
Excerpted from Silicon Alley Insider Report by Nicholas Carlson
Maybe you've been inundated by e-mails from spammers like Pills-Pay or Pay4Pills in the past? No longer. Worldwide spam is down 75% since Tuesday, when a Washington Post investigation led Internet service providers (ISPs) Global Crossing and Hurricane Electric to shut down San Jose, CA web host McColo. The Post says McColo also hosted child pornography, but that it's unclear if the hosting firm will be held responsible for the crimes of its clients.
Mark Rasch, a former cyber crime prosecutor for the Justice Department and managing director of FTI Consulting in Washington, DC, said web hosting providers are generally not liable for illegal activity carried out on their networks, except in cases involving copyright violations and child pornography.
In the case of child pornography, providers may be held criminally liable if they know about but do nothing to eliminate such content from their servers. For example, in 2001, BuffNET, a large regional service provider in Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty to knowingly providing access to child pornography because the company failed to remove offending web pages after being alerted to the material.
"It's a little bit like a landlord who owns a building and sees people coming in and out of the apartment complex constantly at all hours and not suspecting there may be drug activity going on," Rasch said.
"There are certain things that raise red flags, such as the nature, volume, source, and destination of the Internet traffic, that can and should raise red flags. And to have so many third parties looking at the volume and content from this Internet provider saying 'This is outrageous,' clearly the people doing the hosting should know that as well."
Obama Plans Universal Internet Access
Excerpted from IT Examiner Report by Nick Farrell
Wading through US President-Elect Barack Obama's technology plans, it looks like there will be changes in the country's attitude toward the Internet.
If the plan goes through unchanged, then all Americans will have broadband Internet access, and there will be better defenses against cyber-criminals and greater access to government services.
The great unwashed will be able to question members of the President's Cabinet or track every penny of the US budget.
Obama has also said he wants to put videos of government meetings online, and has proposed a database of grants and contracts, so people can see where their money is going. Cabinet members will hold regular online town hall meetings where they field questions from the Internet audience.
All good stuff, but to do it Obama needs to spend a lot of cash, probably in the form of tax and loan incentives to spur construction of broadband networks. Cash used to subsidize telephone service in rural areas will also be used to build high-speed Internet lines.
However, there will be much resistance from rural phone companies, which don't like the idea of cheap competition entering their niche markets. Obama also faces a fight on a proposal to reallocate licensed radio and television frequencies to create wireless broadband networks, another of his big ideas.
And there are other questions that Obama has not answered. During the campaign, he was a staunch supporter of "net neutrality" - the idea that Internet providers should be barred by law from discriminating against particular kinds of data. However, mention of the term has been dropped from his website. There are some fears that such a law would enable the FCC to start regulating the broadband marketplace, including broadband speech. The FCC has been itching for the sort of powers it had to fine broadcasters for swearing or running films with nudity in them.
Another thing that is missing is any commitment to prevent Internet snooping. Obama's Vice President Joe Biden was a keen supporter of giving the security services any powers they wanted to snoop on users.
Biden has also been a strong advocate for the music and film industries, and is likely to want to see some form of law enacted against those who abuse P2P for copyright infringement.
Conyers Will Abolish IP Subcommittee
Excerpted from Congress Daily Report
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) will abolish the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, in the new Congress and instead keep intellectual property (IP) issues at the full committee level, according to a Judiciary aide. A Subcommittee on Courts and Antitrust will be created, but no other subcommittee changes are expected, the staffer said.
In the 110th Congress, the IP subcommittee was among the House's most active under the direction of Congressman Howard Berman (D-CA), who plans to chair the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the coming session.
Hot topics like overhauling the US patent system; ending a long-standing music royalty exemption for AM and FM radio; and changing a portion of copyright law that deals with musical tracks, writings, images, videos, or other content whose owners cannot be easily identified drew ample attention from the high-tech and entertainment industries. Conyers plans to remain just as active on IP issues at the full committee level, the staffer said.
BitTorrent Could be Used for Fireside Podcasts
Excerpted from CNET News Report by Chris Soghoian
The news that President-Elect Barack Obama will be using YouTube to distribute his weekly "fireside" address has been met by general fanfare among the digerati.
This might seem like a bold move - and compared with the relatively boring podcast MP3s of President Bush's weekly speech hosted at Whitehouse.gov, it is. However, putting President-Elect Obama's video podcasts on YouTube is hardly Change We Can Believe In.
By exclusively hosting his videos at YouTube, the Google-owned dominant player in the user-generated video industry, the Obama campaign has effectively issued its first no-bid giveaway of the next administration.
If Obama really wants to demonstrate his Web 2.0 bona fide intent and prove that he's actually interested in shaking things up, he'll use BitTorrent, the disruptive file-sharing tool that arguably dwarfs YouTube in popularity.
Let's explore a few reasons why Obama should ditch his YouTube plans and switch to BitTorrent:
As demonstrated by the recent flood of constituent complaints to the House and Senate during the banking bailout, the .gov network simply can't deal with lots of traffic.
It's not the government's role to pick industry winners and losers. Sure, YouTube has millions of users, but I'm sure that the other Silicon Valley-based user-submitted video sites would love to draw the eyeballs of Obama's podcast subscribers. What about Veoh, Vuze, Hulu, Revver, and Blip.tv?
While it's awfully nice of Google-YouTube to volunteer the hundreds of gigabytes of bandwidth necessary to host Obama's video content, is it really appropriate to further expand the link between Google and the Obama Whitehouse?
Google CEO Eric Schmidt already has Obama's ear as a member of his economic advisory board; the Obama campaign has likely paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to Google for AdWords advertising during the campaign; and Google.org's Sonal Shah has landed a key key role on Obama's transition committee. Simply put, things are already close enough between Change.gov and the Google Gang.
There are no copyright issues - since the videos will be made by the federal government, they are automatically in the public domain. Thus, it is perfectly OK for them to be shared via P2P technologies.
Once his weekly addresses are hosted via BitTorrent, he'll have a vested interest in keeping the Internet tamper-free. In such a scenario, any anti-file-sharing shenanigans by ISPs would directly impact Obama's ability to speak to the people.
The Canadians already do it: CBC - Canada's version of PBS - has had highly successful trials of BitTorrent as a low cost, high-throughput method of distributing video content. Since we're hopefully going to copy the Canadian's obviously better health care system, why not similarly learn from their use of file sharing?
The time is right for the US government to adopt P2P. Mr. Obama, be bold, be brave, and upload to BitTorrent.
Senator Intends to Enforce Net Neutrality with Law
Excerpted from NewsFactor Report by Patricia Resende
A lawmaker is bringing the issue of net neutrality back into the spotlight. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) plans to introduce a bill in January that would stop Internet service providers (ISPs) from blocking and managing Internet content.
The Internet Freedom Preservation Act would bar cable and telephone companies from being Internet "gatekeepers," and keep the Internet open and free, according to Dorgan, who has introduced previous bills on net neutrality.
"He was the lead sponsor of net-neutrality bills for this session of Congress, which is about to end, and he will be introducing a bill in the next session of Congress," said Justin Kitsche, a spokesperson for Dorgan's office.
"We don't believe legislation is necessary in this area and could harm innovation and investments," said Sena Fitzmaurice, Senior Director of Government Affairs and Corporate Communications at Comcast.
Dorgan has been outspoken on the issue, saying ISPs such as Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon Communications are trying to block or manage what has always been a free Internet.
"What is happening in our country today is we have big interest, increasingly big interest, from cable and telephone companies and others who want to be gatekeepers and want to have toll charges on the Internet," Dorgan said. "Some have said they would like to say to content providers: If you want to go on a superhighway, you'll have to pass extra money. If not, you'll have to pass on a gravel road somewhere on the Internet, to use a metaphor."
Previous bills have failed, but proponents of an open Internet are backing Dorgan's efforts once again. "We have supported Senator Dorgan's efforts to protect an open Internet and welcome this new bill," said Markham Erickson, Executive Director of the Open Internet Coalition. "It is critical to provide certainty to innovators and consumers that openness on the Net is here to stay."
ISPs, as well as large tech companies with a vested interest in the Internet, including Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft, are watching closely to see how the debate on net neutrality goes.
Thomas Seeks Retrial in $222,000 Verdict
Excerpted from Wired News Report by David Kravets
Jammie Thomas, the nation's first person to bring a Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) file-sharing lawsuit to trial, is urging the judge in her case to let a retrial go forward.
In September, US District Judge Michael Davis overturned the jury's verdict that the Minnesota woman pay $222,000 for infringing 24 songs on the Kazaa file-sharing network.
Last month, the RIAA asked the judge for permission to appeal the mistrial decision to the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals, a motion Thomas is opposing in court documents.
The mistrial meant that, with 30,000 cases the RIAA has filed against P2P users, none has reached a verdict. Most of the cases have settled out of court.
The reason for the mistrial centered at the heart of all file-sharing cases: What level of proof is necessary to establish copyright infringement?
Judge Davis had instructed the Thomas jury last year that the recording industry did not have to prove anybody downloaded the songs from Thomas' Kazaa shared folder.
Davis instructed jurors they could find unauthorized distribution - copyright infringement - if Thomas was "making copyrighted sound recordings available" over a P2P network "regardless of whether actual distribution has been shown."
Davis reconsidered that jury instruction and declared a mistrial, ruling the jury instruction "was erroneous, and that error substantially prejudiced Thomas' rights."
The RIAA told the judge that copyright infringement on P2P networks is implied, and that it shouldn't have to provide proof of an actual transfer.
Check out Ray Beckerman's blog for the court record in the case.
Students Dropping Out of School to Pay RIAA Legal Fees
Excerpted from ZeroPaid.com Report
There's a disturbing comment that has been made in the University of Wisconsin's student newspaper, The Spectator, which confirms our worst fears about the RIAA's college campus piracy crackdown.
The school's Associate Dean of Student Development Jodi Thesing-Ritter says that some students have dropped out of school in response to the exorbitant pre-litigation "settlement" fees demanded by the RIAA from those accused of unauthorized file sharing.
"It's been really hard to have to be the one to tell them they are facing this lawsuit," she said. Thesing-Ritter goes on to note that an undisclosed number of students have had to drop out of school in order to come up with the money to pay their legal fees.
The RIAA doesn't rely on carefully collected evidence compiled by an unbiased legal private investigator. Using such evidence to threaten poor students with legal action if they don't cough up $3,000 is the real crime here.
Harvard Law Professor Charles Nesson is suing the RIAA for abuse of process across state and federal jurisdictions. Specifically, he argues that the RIAA is abusing the law "to advance ulterior motives" and that it is simply trying to intimidate individuals rather than seek redress for perceived economic losses.
He accuses them of trying to unlawfully sacrifice defendants in order "to intimidate other accused infringers into settling without exercising their constitutional right to have their defenses heard in court." He's right.
Congress has already passed the Higher Education Opportunity Act requiring colleges and universities to determine how they will fight unauthorized file sharing on campus, which Bush promptly signed into law. Its passage only ensures that more students will be caught up in the RIAA dragnet.
How many student dropouts are we willing to tolerate in the meantime? Surely this toll on society is unacceptable.
Coming Events of Interest
US Election 2008 - Implications for the Distributed Computing Industry - A live webinar on November 18th presented by Dow Lohnes exclusively for DCIA Member companies and Working Group participants. Topics will include net neutrality, content filtering, contextual advertising, online privacy, Internet taxation, IP issues, and venture capital.
Future of Television Conference - November 18th-19th in New York, NY. Now in its 8th year, a 2-day executive conference, unlike any other, that brings together key decision-makers from cable and broadcast networks, cable and satellite operators, high-tech, Internet, mobile and advertising to focus on the future of television.
Agency Summit - December 7th in La Quinta, CA. A premier event for interactive advertisers, the iMedia Agency Summit is designed to challenge interactive thought leaders to break down the barriers of convention and role, and encourage them to come to grips with what it means to build creative, impactful programs for marketers in an ever-evolving environment.
Intelligent Selling of Internet Advertising - December 15th in New York, NY. This is a must-do course to gain comprehensive knowledge of all aspects of interactive media delivery, measurement, and creative elements. If you're new to the industry, or need to improve your knowledge and skills this is an essential course.
P2P MEDIA SUMMIT LV - January 7th in Las Vegas, NV. This is the DCIA's must-attend event for everyone interested in monetizing content using P2P and related technologies. Keynotes, panels, and workshops on the latest breakthroughs. This DCIA flagship event is a Conference within CES - the Consumer Electronics Show.
International CES - January 8th-11th in Las Vegas, NV. With more than four decades of success, the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) reaches across global markets, connects the industry and enables CE innovations to grow and thrive. CES is produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the consumer technology industry.
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