AfterDawn: News

Media Centre that downloads from P2P?

Yes, you read the headline correctly! A Dutch company has developed the worlds first media center that gets its content from P2P networks. The hardware, called Lamabox, gets content from P2P networks such as eDonkey, Fasttrack (Kazaa), Gnutella, Overnet and also has BitTorrent support. The developers have said that they know the product is "somewhat controversial" but are relying on a past court case to protect them from any legal troubles.

The court case actually was the Supreme Court's ruling on Kazaa (when it was Netherlands-based). The ruling only classifies the uploading of copyrighted material as illegal. However, the company has set aside some money for legal defense just in case. The hardware was presented at a consumer trade show in Utrecht last week. It is basically a hard disk drive that plugs into your TV that has search and download support for the P2P networks.

What makes this even more offensive to the entertainment industry is that it has a "P2P Spider" that constantly searches out new content; making the procedure automatic if the user wishes it. Music or movies can then be selected on the TV screen for playback. The first LamaBox (with 40 GB) will sell for €279. A 400 GB version with a DVD burner will cost €479.



The company said it has had a lot of interest particularly from foreign countries. Supply is limited however, as each of these devices is handmade. I think the question of whether or not this company will face legal action from the entertainment industry should be changed to "when" it will.

Source:
The Register

Written by: James Delahunty @ 30 Nov 2005 16:04

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• 20 comments

• evilh0ly

  wow this is definitely on my wishlist for christmas. bring them over to US we want them.

  30.11.2005 16:40 #1

• K4kashi

  Wow,thats pretty sick,I WANT ONE.

  30.11.2005 17:28 #2

• SGSeries2

  Or, you could build your own to your own specs... :)

  30.11.2005 18:32 #3

• djscoop

  LOL the RIAA is gonna LOVE this!

  30.11.2005 18:58 #4

• fkock

  Quote:Or, you could build your own to your own specs... :)That's so true :D

  30.11.2005 23:58 #5

• Rosco404

  If only they sold their software seperatly : )

  1.12.2005 00:35 #6

• j0j081

  this is too funny. thought it must be a hoax to begin with.

  1.12.2005 00:36 #7

• nohelpme

  Hey do you guys realize the over 46% of all US internet traffic is P2P? How can the RIAA and MPAA stop it? I think at somepoint we will pay more for out Internet connections with some of the money going to the music industry and movie industry. The gig is up as they say so might as well make profit on it.

  1.12.2005 03:56 #8

• NixC

  Deffently...! The RIAA, is sure gonna love this. HEHE! But don't blame them... I sure love it too =)
  

  1.12.2005 05:15 #9

• nohelpme

  I wonder if you could integrate peerguardian into it? It would not be instant like " on demand" watching becuae you have to download the stuff. But just this coming out shows how far and accepted p2p really is.

  1.12.2005 05:39 #10

• Computed

  It's TIVO for P2P!!!

  1.12.2005 05:54 #11

• venomX05

  OH KICK @ss!!!
  
  Looks like I know what I am going to be getting myself for Christmas!
  
  :P

  1.12.2005 08:09 #12

• jdeboer

  Thats no use to me, becuase im smart enough not to buy that hand-held peice O junk.

  1.12.2005 15:06 #13

• Revsound

  I think that it's cool. It's about time someone stepped out to officially back up p2p sharing. I also agree that you could build your own (if you want it on your tv that bad).

  1.12.2005 18:35 #14

• freshguy

  It's a shame that the company that makes the LamaBox doesn't offer packages including a nice big HDTV like the one pictured in the article. With the no, not porn, but the Adult, er, strike that; I mean to say the exotic entertainment that I've heard is plentiful on P2P, well, a person could stay entertained for quite some time. That's one Xbox I just might have to turn in my Halo for.

  1.12.2005 20:48 #15

• pinny121

  You could build a small pc use azueues and media portal both free and can auto download from rss feeds.

  2.12.2005 00:22 #16

• dummy1982

  You could build your own PC to do it, but the point is to sell a product that does it all for you so you don't have to think about it. You will always have hobbyists that won't need to buy the comercial products. However the rest of the world still uses the comercial product.

  2.12.2005 04:36 #17

• iceman05

  find a cheap computer 300mhz would do fine, buy a cord for the psp which is like $10, load linux on it and hook it up to your network and tv if it has a video out option. You get all of that for as low as $10.

  3.12.2005 12:08 #18

• pinny121

  P2P IS NOT THE SAME AS PSP
  I HOPE YOU KNOW THAT
  
  if so whats the PSP got to do with it ?

  3.12.2005 12:40 #19

• sammorris

  Hmmm, this really does look interesting. Should reduce the deal with viruses affecting your work machine somewhat too. I'm pleased someone has tried this - it's about time the MPAA and RIAA had something to counter their illegal raids.

  5.12.2005 01:17 #20