StreamCast Networks’ Morpheus 5 peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing
network has the potential to provide cool features and be easy to
use, but it just doesn’t do the job in its current incarnation. The
free version includes incredibly annoying web banners, many of
which are pornographic or sexually suggestive. It costs $20 to
upgrade to Morpheus Ultra and eliminate all ads.
Some P2P networks are trying to minimize the copyright problems
plaguing them by complying with the law to some degree. BitTorrent,
for example, recently began selling and
renting media downloads from its new store. Time will tell
whether StreamCast Networks will handle the problem in the same
way.
In Morpheus, many search results lead to a dead end in my tests due
to copyright issues. In fact, more than half the downloads I
requested popped up a browser window showing eBay items related to
my search terms. The download items in the search results list then
turned red.
This is too bad, because Morpheus’ interface is easy to use, and
much more slick-looking than version 4’s interface. It also has
tons of features, making it more like BearShare
than like the anemic BitTorrent
client. It lets you manage and listen to podcasts, open
.torrent (BitTorrent) files, sync files with iTunes, and it has
chat rooms. You can also scan downloads with your antivirus
program, from right within Morpheus. And for concerned parents (and
yes, you should be concerned), there are parental controls.
Note: This program pops up lots of annoying adware.
–Jennifer Berger
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