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Playing it Safe
Afraid that you’ll accidentally download a copyrighted file? The best way to avoid illegal downloads is to not install P2P (peer-to-peer) file sharing programs on your computer. Programs like Kazaa, LimeWire, and eDonkey allow users to swap all kind of files – including copyrighted material. Instead, make sure to only download materials from sites with good reputations. If a website or program offers you music or movie files for free, be suspicious!
Legal Music, Movies, & Books
If you want to get your entertainment on the Internet, but you don’t want to break any laws, you DO have options!! There are plenty of alternatives to online piracy, many of which are free services. Here are some ideas for different types of media!
Music
There are tons of websites out there offering cheap music that you can listen to or download. Look under “Resources” for the web addresses of iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, etc. These are all pay sites, offering music-on-demand and the option to download for less than one dollar per song. Ask your parents about creating an account – who knows, they might even want to use it!
Want free music? Many websites offer free streaming radio and even music that you can download featuring “undiscovered” artists. Consider just listening rather than downloading – that way you can listen to well-known artists for free! Listening to streaming audio from sites like SHOUTcast has tons of advantages over listening to regular radio. For example, there are no fuzzy reception problems, and thousands of stations come in!
Movies
If you want to download movies onto your computer, you might take a look at websites like CinemaNow. Ask your parents about using such a service – you can download movies onto your computer, or watch them through a live “stream” (that way your computer does not need to hold the entire movie file). Or you might ask your parents about signing up for a service like NetFlix, which allows you to order movies online and then receive the DVDs in the mail. Of course there are always movie rental stores out there, as well as the option to buy your DVDs.
Books
You can buy “ebooks” online, or visit Baen Books’s free library of science fiction novels. Remember that you can always visit your local library!
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