There have been cases of software being up for grabs on the Internet. Whatever kinds of applications these may be – games, productivity apps, etc. – you are still stepping on the lines of legality. The difficult thing about it is that you might get into trouble for getting such software. So what is the solution for this? Go for free software.

Free software is not just about software that is free in terms of the price. There is also the freedom of choice and legal freedom to share it with others. That is why you could see a lot of isos of Linux distributions all over the Internet. That is one of the ways these software are distributed.

This is one of the things you could legally download. There are no problems when it comes to sharing them. In fact, it is encouraged. You are not really forced to share it but why just have it on your computer when you could actually spread the joy of using it. For example, Blogbridge is a free software which is being developed so that you could have another experience when it comes reading your favorite blogs or finding what other RSS there are out there. You could store it on your computer or share it to others on the Internet. It doesn’t really matter much. The important thing is that you know what you are doing is actually legal.

Would you like to be caught red handed that you have been pirating software or using them? No, right? If that is the case read up some more about the topic so you could at least determine the pros and cons of free software.

Tags: free-software, Freeware

Categories: Downloading Legally, Freeware, Resources

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The legal concept of “copyright” was first ratified by the United Kingdom’s Statute of Anne of 1709. As room was not made for the unauthorized reproduction of copyrighted content within this newly formulated statutory right, the courts gradually created a doctrine of “fair abridgement”, which later became “fair use”, that recognized the utility of such actions. The doctrine only existed in the U.S. as common law until it was incorporated into the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107, excerpted here:

Not withstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

Categories: Downloading Legally, Resources

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We’ve heard of talk of fair use in the context of downloading, sharing and performing of copyrighted works. What’s it all about? How are ordinary consumers affected? It’s good if we know our rights as consumers, and it’s also good for creators of content, art or music to acknowledge fair use.

Fair use is a doctrine in United States copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders, such as use for scholarship or review. It provides for the legal, non-licensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author’s work under a four-factor balancing test. It is based on free speech rights provided by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The term “fair use” is unique to the United States; a similar principle, fair dealing, exists in some other common law jurisdictions.

Categories: Downloading Legally, Resources

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What’s the best way to put a full stop to music piracy? To be honest, I have no answer to that. I think that no matter what we do, there will always be people driven by one reason or another to download music (and other media) by illegal means. I guess it is human nature. And, yes, call me pessimistic but that’s the way I see it.

Still, we cannot stop trying, can we? And I think that this is what the brains behind Music Matters are thinking. Music Matters is a new web site that aims to make people more aware of music piracy, and to stop us from engaging in this activity. More from their web site:

We believe it is important to support the artists and all those involved in making incredible music by choosing to consume music in an ethical way, and that’s why we’ve set up Music Matters.

The Music Matters trust mark will act as a guide for music fans and help differentiate legal music services from illegal ones. Click here for a list of all supporting sites and look for the Music Matters trust mark when choosing new music.

When you choose sites carrying the trustmark you can be sure the site is legal and the copyright holders are paid for their creative work.

Watch this video for more information.

Music Matters, The Story (18-3-10) from Music Matters on Vimeo.

First thought: it tries to make people guilty about piracy. Second thought: it just might work for some people! However, I am quite the realist, and I know that it will just NOT work for those who have suppressed their conscience over the years. Still, I think that it is worth a try!

Tags: anti-piracy, Music Matters, music piracy

Categories: Music, Resources

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Blogging is the most prevalent manifestation of the social phenomenon on the internet to date and it keeps on growing each and everyday. Being ever so popular, it has become the next step for unscrupulous malware makers who aim to get at the most computers, mobile devices and just about anything connected to the internet as a means of spreading their handiwork. Many people still fail to recognize the true value of intrusion prevention systems till they get their credit card information stolen and used for fraudulent purchases and more. We hear sad stories of such incidents everyday which could have been avoided with simple and even free software embedded within the many operating systems being used to access the internet. Firewalls, anti-viruses and other software have the ability to protect your privacy when you connect to the internet. Researchers have established that the longest time a computer connected to the internet has is fifteen minutes before malware gets in and wreaks havoc within. People should recognize the gravity of the situation that the internet is a public place and that any information contained within a computer connected to it is fair game left unprotected. There are a lot of free/shareware versions of intrusion protection software out on the net, and it only takes a few minutes to install so why wait. Your privacy is you, and you are always a target on the dangerous realm of the internet.

Tags: Anti-Virus, blogging, Firewalls, Intrusion Prevention, Malware

Categories: Downloading Legally, Resources

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The site is a part of the Creative Commons group of systems that is operated and maintained as freeware and as the platform on which it is built upon, all artists who upload their songs are royalty free. All the materials published on their web site are covered by the Creative Commons license which means the artists are not asking for fees for you to enjoy their music. All songs can be downloaded using the Http protocol free of charge, legally and without restrictions (DRM). They also support formats from Bit Torrent and eMule where music takes the ogg format for those who prefer P2P type sharing of files. The advent of the social net means people are again looking for an internet that is free of inhibitions and control as it used to be during the hey-days of the free internet. There was actually a time when you could get any form of information form anyone, even the US government through the internet as well as the many other sites that are now considered to fall under the blanket of National Security.
The site and the artists who share their work to the internet web site do not ask for payments for their work (royalty) but the site does allow users who download songs to donate to the artists they wish to support. They also take advantage of the technological advantages of having your work (as an artist) available to the rest of the world which is the best possible platform for exposure. Feedback on works is also allowed getting fans in contact with their favorite artists allowing both to benefit form the interaction offered by the web site. For some of the best free and independent music that is free and without strings attached, try Jamendo.com for your favorite songs and for the exposure you as an artist seek to further your work.

Tags: Free_Music_Downloads, OGG, Royalty_Free_Music, Torrent_Formats

Categories: Downloading Legally, Freeware, Music, Providers, Resources

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One of the new sites that cater to the new generation of artists who are seeking to make it big in the music scene that offers free membership that allows bands and people to share their music with the world and other music lovers like them. There is also a premium membership that has some value added features allowing more access to all the latest gigs and events in the music world. Independent musicians love such sites and are beginning to shun from social networks due to the sheer size of the people who are flooding the tube. JukeBoxAlive, gives musicians the breaks they need for their music to get in, around and about as they make their name in the independent music scene. A sudden rise in the number of these start-up bands has expanded due to programming like AI which has had many a talented artists joining the battle to become the next US top artists. Such is the influence of these programs that teens have not only developed their talent for singing but developing musical skills in the process allowing more talent to show.
They offer promotional services to get your music out on the street and into the hands of your fans. The allow you to advertise your cd’s as well and get you known in the music industry and who knows, you might make it big into a great career. They also allow you to create blogs so your fans can follow developments in your music and band. So, if you’re a band and you need exposure, get onto the site and get well underway on your path to success in the music industry.

Tags: Advertising, Bands, CD Sales, Media Exposure

Categories: Downloading Legally, Music, Providers, Resources

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The site is hailed as a leader as a provider of free resources, music and videos by such reputable media organizations such as CNN, NBC, Cnet and AOL and is one of the most used sites for free music, videos and a whole lot more. The site asks for a small fee it says is used to pay for the salaries of their researchers who do the compiling of stuff from them such as reviews and summaries of current events (they have to get some cash out of the whole deal), kidding aside they are getting many positive reviews by users and many just keep coming back. The site offers all one could ask for in terms of multimedia and lots of other free stuff. The many DRM ruled sites have long since given up, and its about time for even the record labels have ceased investing and encoding their disks with DRM software which was rendered useless by music lovers like you and me.
MP3Downloadnet is a multimedia center that caters to all your multimedia needs, from videos, software, PSP downloads Mp3 and many more. So give them a check-see so you get to see what we mean and get your way onto your favorite movies and music. For music that’d totally free, check out the MP3DownloadNet, one of the best sources of free stuff on the web.

Tags: DRM Free Music, Free-Music-and-Videos, iPodSid

Categories: Music, Podcasts, Providers, Resources, Videos

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In an unprecedented bummer (yesterday, today and tomorrow for sure) the software giant has released a statement that current users of their music and video entertainment service would have to purchase new registration keys for their downloaded music which was laden with DRM software. This same software tells de-activation servers if the computer and media that is being used is together as the download says it was or otherwise get turned-off preventing the darned stuff from playing at all. Like many users worldwide, people have a need for several copies of their video and audio where-ever they may be, Maybe due to lessons of the past when their hard drive crashed and took all of them with the disk (out the trash) or maybe because they just plain love the damned thing and want it to be available everywhere.
The Microsoft Corp has time and again gone through ups and downs and this would be hailed as one of the dumbest downer they have ever done. At first they delay the availability of XP SP3 by saying it’s still in the beta phase (though its been circulating in the P2P world as a download for quite sometime now) and that they are still monitoring for requests from their customers saying, “We are currently monitoring the need for the update from our users and as of now, we don’t see a need for it. If we do begin to see interest in the said update we will release it accordingly!” Many XP users were pissed at the thought, that the promised update for their XP’s which was promised last year took half a year for release then when the news people say it was ready they didn’t want to share it?! The update then mysteriously appears on the TechNet and other download sites for no apparent reason (Guess a good yelling for that employee or PR guy was ENOUGH REASON) maybe due top the tons of negative email they got when they said that.
Now they do it again by rewarding those who have been loyal to them by actually using the video and audio service by telling them we’re all of a suddenly puckering up our lips and saying no to multiple copies of your downloaded media and you have to pay for another activation key for all copies (they allowed the download of separate activation keys for all users who do get their songs from the site legally) costing them more money! Nice going guys, for during a time when everybody is way out on a limb with what little cash they had you’re asking for more? For me, I’ve never ever heard of the darned service, I know about Apple’s iTunes store (they’ve sold more than 4 billion tracks of music at less than a dollar)but never heard of their multimedia service. This may be nice for them so they add points to the, “Why you should hate Microsoft List”, which amounts to A LOT recently. I thought you guys had the best PR and Customer relations guys in the world money can buy? Guess brains were not part of the tons of money you pay PR people.

Tags: Bummer, Digital Music, Download service, Entertainment, Microsoft, Video

Categories: Downloading Legally, Music, Podcasts, Providers, Resources, Videos

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Nice section from ZDNet which discusses problems computer users from mall over the world encounter, offering real-life solutions and suggestions. The site is also a source of a lot of free stuff such as network scanners, tools, utilities and many more. They also offer a lot of help in the form of registry cleaners and other free stuff you can sometimes get for free, and purchase if you find them extremely helpful for full versions. These downloads are sometimes frustrating yet from time to time you’ll get your hands on a gem that’s worth all the waiting for the download to complete.
They have MP3 software, video, drivers and many more. The section on spy ware horror stories highlights the risks of not having enough protection from the many malware that are coming out all the time. They come in throngs and without proper intrusion protection, problems such as system slowdown, identity theft and other similar stuff happens. The best thing is to invest in a reliable intrusion prevention system that offers coverage of most bases (NO SECURITY SYSTEM IS PERFECT and due to the constant mutation of malware some will get through however expensive they cost). The best ones offer local scanning and active scanning on internet and mail traffic preventing hackers and their minion malware from getting through. If you do happen to have a licensed version of anti-virus protection software, keep them updated or better yet have them update themselves whenever there are available updates (this is set from their set-up options where you can set automatic updates to happen when possible.), which if you’re like me who is always online, would be a great idea for threats just keep coming.
If you do get infected or suspect you have some unauthorized program stealing data (which realistically speaking is not to easy to determine except if you’re a geek or very proficient in computers and programming), simply re-install your Operating System which by the way I hope is official for you’ll be missing out on important updates if its not.

Tags: Anti-Virus Software, Intrusion Protection Systems, Spyware, ZDNet

Categories: Downloading Legally, Freeware, Resources

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