computing (104)

If you're a regular P2P user, you might have spent a few days downloading the latest box-office hit, only to discover that the file you received is really a cheap porn flick. (Or vice-versa.) Other variations on the theme include dummy files posing as music album archives, and subversive material distributed as tech e-books.

Typically my reaction has been avoiding to look again for the correct artifact. That means that the corrupt file actually succeeded at preventing me from pirating the original material. This strikes me as very effective means of piracy protection if institutionalized by RIAA-type corporations.

The issue of fairness in P2P music exchange is complicated. On one hand, it is universally accepted that the traditional business model of music labels is not compatible with the Internet. It is also universally suspected that it does not properly retribute the artists, and that it leads to over-priced products.

On the other hand, free-rolling file sharing completely bypasses both middleman and artist to let listeners find their music online, free of charge. The businessmen are fuming. But it is useful to remember that recorded music was originally intended as *promotional* material for the actual live performances, before the record made centerstage and the big-business marketing machine started manufacturing hits for profit.

I was practicing my daily piracy routine, downloading the new Strokes album. On aMule, I found a .rar file called The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth (complete + bonus) with many sources and a decent-looking size. "Great!" I told myself and happily selected it. When I extracted the package a few hours later, the Strokes album was there alongside with the full album of a band I'd never heard about, The Honkers - Roll Up Your Sleeves And Help Us Rock Up This Honker World, which turned out to be a punk band from Brazil.