iCommune Is Back: Is The Second Time The Charm?

R emember iCommune? It was an iTunes plug-in that allowed you to stream music from iTunes on your Mac to others on your local network, just like Steve Jobs showed us at Macworld New York 2002. While many thought it was a good idea, Apple apparently didnit. The company had its legal beagles slap a Cease and Desist order on iCommune creator, James Speth, forcing him to keep his app to himself. The basis of the Cease and Desist was that iCommune utilized iTunes code, code whose use Apple controls.

Mr. Speth must be a graduate of the Don Quixote School of Programming because heis at it again. According to C|Net News, the developer vowed to return with a new iCommune. This time he steered clear of using iTunes hooks as a component of his new iCommune app, which he hopes will allow him to dodge Appleis eagle-eyed lawyers. From the article titled Music-swapping software makes comeback:

Even if (James) Speth is able to steer clear of Appleis lawyers, he might incur the wrath of the recording industry, given that the new version allows songs to be downloaded onto a useris hard drive, rather than just played as a streaming music file.

"Thereis undoubtedly some potential problems with the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America)," Speth said. However, he noted that with iCommune there is no central server that stores the locations of available music, and that the software is open-source, making it difficult to stop the software from proliferating. As for his own liability, Speth hopes the fact that he is not making any money on the effort will keep him out of hot water.

In a case of unusual timing, the re-emergence of iCommune comes amid speculation that Apple may make a bid to buy the largest of the worldis top recording labels, Vivendiis Universal Music Group.

Read the full account at C|Net News.