I Own My Music

The name Ares conjures up a number of different things to different people, and its meaning is sensitive to the context into which it is introduced.

First up, and perhaps the most influential of the three meanings is of Ares the Greek War God; a truly nasty, vindictive and violent man. He stands alone among the other gods of was as being the one dedicated to savage warfare, bloodlust and slaughter. He was the epitome of brawn over brains.

NASA decided that naming their rockets after this particularly nasty deity was a grand idea and the Ares V rocket – planned for release in the 2019 – complements Ares I which is being designed as a crew launch vehicle.

Last, but certainly not least, is the Ares the P2P filesharing software. This is probably the most omniscient of all the definitions and certainly the one most likely to be recognized by younger readers.

What others are saying:
What is Ares?
aresvista home page

Filesharing in Europe received a major boost this week with the announcement that the European Parliament has stated that filesharing should not be a criminal offense. More specifically, downloading copyrighted music and movies should not be punishable by law.

This is fantastic news. The key is here: “Criminalising consumers who are not seeking to make a profit is not the right solution to combat digital piracy.”

Most people who use filesharing to find free music downloads are not doing so for profit; they are doing it because they want to listen to music. It’s not the same as a thief who goes into a shop and steals a CD because he needs money.

This announcement could indicate a shift in opinion as the worldwide filesharing debacle rages on. This report is not binding, but it serves the purpose of putting forward new ideas to the European Commission.