WinMX to implement URL links and chatroom broadcasting

[TankGirl]

Slyck has been again in touch to Frontcode's president Kevin Hearn, and their story contains some interesting information of what is to be included in the new version of WinMX, expected to be available in 2-6 weeks.

URL linking (based on hash numbers) is coming to WinMX too - a welcome counter measure against the polluting of the network with fakes.

The real hot novelty, however, is decentralized live media streaming, to be implemented within WinMX's chatrooms.

Kevin Hearn:
"I can't divulge too much info about this yet, but the decentralized nature of the streaming engine will allow a single broadband user with limited outgoing bandwidth to potentially broadcast to thousands without the use of any centralized distribution servers, which I expect will encourage an explosion of creativity and original programming on the network, both in the audio and video mediums."

Whether we will see this feature in the next WinMX version or in some latter one, I consider this a very interesting and important development. As the mainstream p2p applications start to implement features like live broadcasting the whole p2p scene will become much more dynamic and exciting for all involved. It is quite possible that in one or two years we will have a situation where the artists can make live broadcasts to large internet audiences straight from their living rooms or local clubs with no middlemen, no 'industrial contacts', no broadcasting costs. Just the existence of a potential audience would be enough to make it happen. Now wouldn't that be cool!

- tg

[JackSpratts]

looks like they've also made an attempt to address the miserable queues by going 'forward into the past' with a return to a "much more intelligent version" of a previous component. i hope it's a real improvement. that plus a new network protocol and the social inventions you mentioned tg (something like peercast probably) may mean new life for this oft used but oft criticised aging app. i'm hoping.

- js.

[thinker]

I'm really looking forward to the new vers. Every vers since 2.6 I've been stewing about something - hopefully this will be the time where everything (or close to it) will fall into place. As soon as I get my new comp (the sooner W-2s come in, the sooner we file, the sooner we get refund, the sooner it arrives) WinMX will be one of the first things to go on (hopefully accompanied by high-speed).