EASY PC 6: Legal Downloads
LEGAL DOWNLOADS: Free stuff that won’t put you behind bars
CONTRARY to what most people believe, the downloading of music, movies and software is not entirely illegal. There are actually several things that one can download legally without fearing imprisonment.
Two particularly useful programs that allow one to do this are Limewire and Miro. You can download each peer to peer program legally without any hitches from the pages linked. They are both lightweight programs that take minutes to install and set up.
Limewire is mostly used for downloading music. The program will ask you whether or not you want access to illegal torrents when you install it. A lot of people tick that option but there are surprisingly several songs you can legally download if left unchecked.
Miro, on the other hand, is the prime pirating program. It can be used to download just about anything, but be warned that this is illegal! However, Miro does offer several legal torrents (i.e. stuff that can be downloaded legally). There are daily podcasts and videos available on Miro that you can legally watch and listen to without fear of building a criminal record.
As with anything involving the Internet, one has to be careful when downloading anything and you must use your discretion. The temptation to download goodies illegally will always be there, but be strong! Ye have be warned…
Kind regards
That Tech Guy
More Easy PC Tech Advice:
- Virus Scans
- Wires and Dust
- Buying a new PC
- Good old Google
- Setting up Skype
LimeWire is one of the biggest sources of illegally downloadable music. So much so that as of a day or two ago, they have been shut down due to a court order (check their website). A better alternative would be to google for music listed as open source, usually in (.ogg) format. A great website for this is Jamendo (http://www.jamendo.com/en/radios), which also streams music much like Pandora.
Support artists who support free (as in beer) music! :-)
Thanks for the link Gazza! While it’s true that LimeWire does more evil than good, they do at least give you the option. I was surprised to see how much content is listed as non-copywrite on the LimeWire network – when it works at least. Thanks again!