Qnext announced version 3 of its media sharing P2Web software on Tuesday. The new version includes an integrated Universal Contact Manager to manage friends and family and the eliminates the need for Qnext software on both ends.

Qnext is a software package, written in Java, that generates a Webcast to deliver streamed music, shared photos, and files to selected recipients in real-time. Chris Strachan told TMO that, "The best part is that Webcast recipients don’t need Qnext; they will receive a simple Web link in an e-mail or IM and the shared content will be streamed directly from the sender’s computer to the recipient’s Web browser."

For example, instead of resizing photos and e-mailing them, the Qnext user can simply drop full size photos into a folder and send a link to the recipient who can browse them in a Web Browser. The streaming of music to a small number of selected recipients is Fair Use, according to Chris Strachan, the Qnext CEO. Mr. Strachan also told TMO that there have been no known security breaches of the system.

The application also supports audio, video chat with a tagboard.

The applications for Macintosh as well as Windows and Linux are free. The software uses sidebar ads in support of the business model. The Mac version requires Mac OS X Tiger and is a Universal Application.

Qnext photo sharing demo