AllPeers Goes Open Source
Michael Arrington
23 comments »
AllPeers launched with a bang but then struggled along with a whimper. That’s why today’s news that they are taking their source code open source (a popular move lately) is both a surrender as well as a glimmer of hope for the struggling startup.
AllPeers is a great idea in theory. Users can create private P2P file sharing networks, away from the prying eyes of the RIAA and MPAA fascists. But a number of other startups that also allow private file sharing have launched in the last year as well, and all are fighting for user attention.
AllPeers does have many passionate users, and some of them will now contribute to the open source project. The first few comments to the announcement are very positive - hopefully this will help AllPeers gain momentum.
“RIAA and MPAA nazis”
I may not be Jewish (does a Jewish friend count?), but those are some strong words! Can’t say I disagree, though. Heh.
It’s not a bad point though. I changed it to fascist.
What happened mike? I thought Allpeers was the best thing since sliced bread???? backing off a bit there???
c’mon michael…
you should know better. allpeers is apparently only releasing the source for the client side of the p2p network/app. while this is good, it’s not exactly earth shattering.
the real bang would have been for them to release the client/server sides so you could then go create your own complete p2p network!!!
right now, it appears that all you can really do is make a better client that will fit within the overall allpeers p2p network.
peace…
Allpeers was backed by Mangrove, wonder what happened?
This is a great app. Simple UI, fast downloads, nifty drag-and-drop, etc.
I guess the real question is, “is it a great business?”
“MPAA fascists”, your blog’s ideals is now on the radical side - lol?
that’s not a fair label to give them, they’re simply looking out for their herd - to protect the interests of the people who work in that industry
Comrade Drifter,
It’s fascist to expect people to *gasp* pay for music and movies.
File sharing alone is not enough to survive in this highly competitive market. Users need to be able to share more than just files.
Affordable enterprise-level Unified Collaboration Solutions, serving the unserved market of small biz, students, not-for-profits (who cannot afford the fees and manage the support requirements) have a more sustainable business model.
This is where we are going with Collanos Workplace: A free hybrid P2P & Hosted teamwork solution that serves non-enterprise users.
Onwards March!
Michael, are you guys not following the RMX Direct data breach? Apparently it just happened. Here’s the email I received.
Dear RMX Direct Customer:
We regret to inform you that there has been an unauthorized access to
the portion of our Right Media Exchange (yieldmanager.com) platform that
RMX Direct networks use to manage their buys on RMX Direct publisher
sites. The information accessed is that contained on the Linking Details
page which could include, depending on which fields you have populated,
your Contact Name, Email Address, Payee Name, Billing Address, EIN/SSN,
Payment Method, and Websites. We do not believe that any of your
billing, ad serving data or revenue data was compromised.
Upon discovering the unauthorized access, we worked as quickly as
possible to investigate the incident and secure the access route. We
have identified and taken action against the party behind the
unauthorized access. To ensure the integrity of our systems, we are also
conducting a system wide internal audit to identify any other potential
access vulnerabilities.
Based on the information we have gathered, we believe that the access
violation was focused on obtaining your email contact information for
the purpose of soliciting you to do business directly with the
perpetrator. However, your Employee Identification Number (EIN) or
Social Security Number (SSN) may have been obtained if you had populated
that field during the setup process in RMX Direct. To the best of our
current knowledge, your EIN or SSN has not been used inappropriately.
However, you may wish to exercise caution and place a fraud alert with
the three (3) major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union).
Each agency has an automated fraud alert system that will notify the
other two agencies to also place a fraud alert on your accounts. You
can also obtain a free copy of your credit report from the agencies.
The contact information for the credit agencies is:
Equifax - 1(888)-766-0008 - http://www.equifax.com
Experian - 1(888) 397-3742 - http://www.experian.com
Trans Union - 1(800) 680-7289 - http://www.transunion.com
In addition, if you did populate the EIN/SSN field, we will make credit
monitoring available to you, at our expense, for the next year. You
will receive on email with instructions on how to take advantage of this
service in the next few days.
Again, we apologize for this incident. We appreciate your participation
in RMX Direct and are committed to providing you with a reliable, safe
and beneficial experience.
If you have additional questions about this, please feel free to call me
at (541) 255-2070 or email me at pmccarthy@rightmedia.com directly.
Sincerely,
Patrick McCarthy
Director of Business Development
Right Media Inc. | 859 Willamette, Suite 310 | Eugene, OR 97401
D 541-255-2070 | F 541-484-8686 | http://www.rightmedia.com
Does this signal the end of the TechCrunch / AllPeers love affair?
I never quite understood the TC fascination with this “me too” app. I mean, file sharing and web browsing and two important applications, but I cant figure why the hell you would want to combine them.
Is it time to disclose any TechCrunch business relationship with AllPeers?
Seems like a nifty idea, though I’m not sure about the practical legal uses for this application.
Mike Arrington;
I wasn’t offended, I just felt like I haven’t posted in a while and had to crack the ice, LOL
No worries.
Golden czech hands
I was reviewing the FAQ at AllPeers and see that if you install their plug-in there is no way to modify / update your user info, NOT EVEN YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. To me that’s a reason not to use this service at all.
See here: http://www.allpeers.com/commun.....7#msg-4237.
I’m jewish and I didn’t mind the “nazi” part… Fascist is just more precise!
Way to go, Mike.
Fascist? Are they Italian?
I can’t believe you left out GigaTribe out of your comparison of startups that allow private, encrypted filesharing! (true, they only launched in the US in December, but they’ve been available throughout Europe since 2005 and have hundreds of thousands of users!). GigaTribe is free, has no size-limit on transfers (you can transfer entire folders) and interrupted exchanges resume with no data loss! Also can be used to access your home computer from remote locations!
Cheers!
http://www.gigatribe.com
MPAA and RIAA are fascist? In what way?
Michael thinks that his desires about IP (intellectual property) trump everyone else’s including the IP rights owners. He’s taken a very strong philosophical position; akin to many of the original Napster Kool-Aid drinkers - one that the courts keep smacking on the hiney.