StreamCast Interview - Update

January 14, 2004

Thomas Mennecke

StreamCast: I doubt if several thousand clients will have any affect on a network of 36 million users. We’ll have to see what happens once Morpheus regains its 30 million users that it had before Sharman Networks knocked Morpheus off their supposedly decentralized FastTrack Network. At 30 million users I would expect to see some effect.

Slyck: Does StreamCast’s dispute with Sharman from February 2002 have any role in the decision to implement FastTrack support?

StreamCast: What’s that old saying…don’t get mad-get even? But the real answer is that it’s not about revenge. We are implementing multi-network connectivity, including connectivity to FastTrack, because we believe that is what our users want and will find value in.

Slyck: What exactly caused Morpheus to split from FastTrack in February 2002?

StreamCast: As you know I left Morpheus in September, 2001 and did not return until April, 2003, so the events leading up to the split happened when I was not at the company. I formed the same conclusion that most others did at the time, that Sharman Networks kicked Morpheus off the FastTrack Network due to non-payment of the licensing fee. However, based upon the information that I have been privy to upon my return to the company, this appears not to be the case. Unfortunately I can’t go into too many details here. However, from what I can gather it appears that there was a dispute at the time that revolved around whether or not Kazaa had put in any back-door hooks into Morpheus that would allow them to turn off access to the FastTrack Network. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. If you want to get to the real meat behind this I can only repeat a line from the movie “All The President’s Men” in which “Deep Throat” told the Washington Post writers to “follow the money” if you want to get to the true story.


Slyck: It is debated whether MLDonkey’s implementation of the eDonkey protocol causes harm to this network. With Morpheus’ large user base, what possible effects will Morpheus 4.0 have on the eDonkey2000 network?

StreamCast: Morpheus fully shares content on the eDonkey Network and we made adjustments to MLDonkey to ensure that we do no harm to the Network. We have the highest regard for Jed, Sam and the users at eDonkey and hope that our increased number of users will make the eDonkey network that much stronger.


Slyck: There has been a lot of criticism regarding clients that connect to multiple protocols; i.e. their inability to properly implement the networking protocol. How do you react to this criticism?

StreamCast: We believe that Morpheus 4 delivers a great user experience with no disruption to any networks. Our large user base will enhance the available amount of content on each of these networks with the possible exception of FastTrack. Additionally, users can easily disable or enable networks in the Morpheus 4 configuration.

Slyck: I understand Morpheus has developed its own, in-house networking protocol, tell us more about it. Also, please detail its networking architecture.

StreamCast: We are introducing a new generation of P2P technology called NEOnet™. It will be undergoing initial testing within Morpheus 4 and we expect a beta release of it in Morpheus 4.1. Currently, results being returned via NEOnet will show the Morpheus logo, similar to the Gnutella Network results. Future releases will show NEOnet results separately using the NEO Network logo.

NEOnet has been in development for nearly 3 years and was developed out of one of the Ivy League colleges on the East coast. Once fully operational, NEOnet will provide nearly 100% accuracy in finding files, even if the file being searched for exists on only 1 computer out of tens of millions on the networks. And here’s the kicker, it will find any file in 3 hops or less and decreases search traffic on ISPs by up to 600%. It is a win-win for everyone. Another important reason for using a proprietary technology will be the ability to provide enhanced privacy and security features to our users.

Slyck: What type of third party support, if any, will Morpheus 4.0 contain?

StreamCast: If you refer to whether or not we include 3rd party software, then the answer is yes. As you recall, when I was first running Morpheus I absolutely refused to bundle 3rd party software. When I returned to the company earlier this year, I removed most of the 3rd party bundled software and dramatically reduced the amount of advertising being served.

However, we need to generate revenue and without giving you a sob story, the fact is that we have incurred millions of dollars in attorneys\' fees, experts\' fees, and costs defending the lawsuits filed against us by over 50 of the largest entertainment conglomerates on the face of the earth. Our court victory benefits all the decentralized P2P developers in America. There are lots of companies that would gladly pay us to bundle their software with Morpheus but we are very selective on who we partner with.

They must meet our requirements of 1) beneficial to users, 2) not contain spyware or be able to download additional programs to your computer), and 3) can be easily uninstalled without it effecting the Morpheus client or other programs on the user\'s computer. The companies we work with right now include My Search and ebates. We will soon be adding another program that delivers free movie trailers and other entertainment to users\' computers. These are programs I use myself and they each meet our requirements. We are looking for new ways to earn revenues and welcome suggestions from the community.

Slyck: What other networks will Morpheus 4.0 support?

StreamCast: Morpheus 4 will connect users of the Gnutella, G2, FastTrack, eDOnkey/Overnet and NEO Network. Morpheus 4 Beta will have G2 connectivity turned off by default (users option to turn it on) to ensure that the increased traffic does not harm the G2 Network. Once we are convinced that G2 can handle the larger user base in our ongoing testing, we will release a final version with it defaulted on. We are concerned that we have a positive effect on all these networks and not harm them in any way. Unfortunately with Kazaa, Morpheus users will be leeching from them – but that can be rectified if Sharman would like to release their code base to us.

Slyck: Tell us about the features of Morpheus 4.0, what makes it stand apart from other P2P clients?

StreamCast: Better results…but just wait until you see the improvements in store with the Morpheus 5 series due out towards the end of the Summer.

Slyck: Oral arguments are coming up in the RIAA vs Morpheus lawsuit. Tell us more about the legal proceedings, and the anticipated length of this trial.

StreamCast: If you compare 9th Circuit Court of Appeals hearing with American football, I suppose you could call it the playoffs with the Supreme Court hearing (which we anticipate) being the Super Bowl. The hearing itself will take approximately 1 hour and will be heard in front of a 3 judge panel on February 3 in Pasadena, CA at 9:00 a.m. in Court-Room 2. (It would be wonderful to see our Southern CA users come to the courthouse, however they will probably be outnumbered by the attorneys representing the entertainment industry.)

After the hearing, it can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months before there is a decision issued. The District Court Judge in our initial Federal Court case took over 4 months before issuing his ruling in our favor. If you read the judge’s opinion, you will see how careful he was in examining the law which is one reason why we are optimistic that we will be victorious once again in the 9th Circuit Appellate case. We also believe that the Entertainment Industry will be relentless in their attempts to thwart technological development that does not conform to their view of the world, so we fully expect that they will petition the Supreme Court to hear the case. That could take at least a year or two. We fully expect to win.

In the meantime, we also expect the RIAA to attempt to get laws changed in Congress so that they can attempt to better control P2P file sharing technology—or even worse--try to destroy it completely like they did with web radio and DAT audio tapes, and have even tougher penalties, including criminal penalties imposed on users who infringe on copyrights. It is an election year in America and it will be important that the 60 million file sharing Americans have their voices heard in Congress. That is one reason why we helped form the P2P United trade group. We will direct our users to participate in efforts to ensure that Congress hears our side of the story and not just the lies and half-truths being told them by the recording and film industries. Certainly we can’t outspend the RIAA or MPAA in lobbying Congress, but at the end of the day it is votes and, hopefully, fair public policy that matter most to Congress. Maybe I am naive, but I still believe that our government officials are elected to serve the many and not the few. We need to be sure that the voters’ voices are heard!