Downloading
Downloading from the internet can be a minefield. To avoid viruses, bankruptcy and, potentially, a spell in prison, read TheSite's guide to downloading media.
What's downloading?
Downloading is the process of transferring data - be it music, video, software or information - from a computer or server elsewhere on the internet to yours.
By far the most controversial downloaded material is music, although as video downloading rises it is becoming just as hot a topic. The controversy arises from the source of the downloads and the copyright issues involved.
Why, what's the problem?
A lot of online music and video is copyrighted, so it's illegal for anyone to reproduce it in order to supply it to someone else. Just as copying albums on to tape or minidisk has always been illegal, so is sharing digital files containing copyrighted material over the web. By law, a financial contribution should go to the writers and distributors of the material every time it is reproduced.
So do I have to pay for all the music and films I download?
Only if it's copyrighted. There is a lot of freely distributed stuff out there, from musicians and filmmakers who just want to get their work to an audience. It won't all be great but it's worth looking at. Check out ArtistDirect, or CreativeCommons. MySpace is also an excellent source of legal free music. There are some blogs and podcasts that make a point of only playing free music.
As for copyrighted material, if you want to stay legal, you need to pay for your music and movies. Legitimate site such as iTunes, eMusic and Napster are all set up to help you do this.
How do these sites work and how do I choose the best one for me?
They all work slightly differently - make sure that the music they offer, the price and the method of payment suits you.
- Most major sites let you browse their catalogues, which can vary widely. Make sure a site's selling stuff you want before signing up.
- Look for a site that lets you listen to excerpts of tunes before you buy them. Most do, so it's daft not to.
- Sites generally offer either a subscription or a pay-per-song model. Think about how much music you're likely to be buying and which method will give you the best value. You should compare rates between sites as well.
- As with all online transactions, make sure the payment page is secure (with https:// at the beginning of the address). Use a credit card if you can, preferably one you keep solely for use on the web (so if your details do fall into the wrong hands, any large losses will be covered by the credit card company).
- If you have a portable digital music player player, make sure the file format the site provides will be compatible with it.
- All sites have their own approach to something called "digital rights management" (DRM). Basically, this sets out what you can and can't do with the files once you download them. For example, some systems only allow you to copy the file five times; some will stop the files working at all if you stop paying a subscription.
- Take an interest what "bit-rate" the files are sold in (such as 128kbps or 256kbps). This refers to how much the original file has been "compressed". Highly-compressed files will download faster, but the sound quality isn't as good.
- Get broadband - your downloading will be far quicker and less likely to fail due to a dodgy connection.
What's Peer-to-peer downloading?
Peer-to-peer (P2P), or filesharing, software which can be obtained from sites such as Kazaa, Gnutella and Morpheus, allows you to search other users' computers and download material from them. Rather than offering the material from the website's server, it gives you access to the resources of hundreds or thousands of fellow internet users' PCs, for free. You in turn, offer your files to others for download from your computer.
Sounds great, what's wrong with that?
Firstly, due to the copyright issues involved, most use of P2P is illegal. It might seem a small-time offence to you but the music and film industries take it very seriously. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) (not to mention the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)) are doing their best to bring enthusiastic filesharers to justice and there have been several convictions on both sides of the Atlantic. The RIAA, in particular, has been filing lawsuits against schools, universities and families it says have broken copyright law.
Also, when you download P2P software, it can bring with it other unwanted programmes. Some P2P software brings spyware or viruses with them, which can steal your information or damage your computer.
And bear in mind that the software allows other people to search your computer as well. Financial details and personal documents could be downloaded off your computer if you leave the door open.
If you are going to do P2P downloading, the safest option is to use a dedicated PC with as little else on its hard drive as possible and a full compliment of firewalls, anti-spyware and antivirus programs, all kept up-to-date.
What about BitTorrent?
BitTorrent is P2P Mark II. It is filesharing software that enables far faster downloading speeds, so you can get larger files in a fraction of the time. When you search for a file in BitTorrent, instead of identifying one potential filesharer, the software finds lots of different users' computers that have the file on their hard drive. It then takes a different bit of the file from each of these users and downloads it to your machine. The software then reassembles all the bits, and you have the entire file.
The advantage of this is that it takes far less time to transport lots of little files over multiple lines than one big file over one line. In fact the software can actually detect internet traffic, and find quieter lines to download across, thus avoiding bottlenecks and getting the best download speed. The real impact of BitTorrent is to make obtaining large files (like films) through the P2P networks a far more workable option.
BitTorrent is, by most accounts, a lot 'safer' than earlier P2P systems. However, it is still illegal if the file contains copyrighted material.
Don't let that put you off finding and downloading the legal, free stuff. The web is bursting with great music and video that you can download legally and without paying a penny. You just have to search a bit harder for it. Have a look at rcrdlbl, Elbows, and Hype Machine.
