| Freebies delight many of us and computer | | | | have strong anti-movie piracy protection. |
| users are lucky to be able to download free | | | | |
| movies from the Internet. There are several | | | | The software is being developed in |
| hundred sites advertising downloads of free | | | | consultation with movie industry. The studios |
| movies but some are in the business peddling | | | | are looking at controlling the movie |
| illegal fare. The trend to download free | | | | downloading market. With broadband speeds, |
| movies has also irked movie studios that fear | | | | Downloading a movie may become as common as |
| a Napster-like piracy of music and movies via | | | | downloading a song. A new alternative is to |
| the Internet. | | | | rent movies online for a small fee. |
| | | | |
| The free movies available online are usually | | | | The movie download business is still in its |
| those in the public domain because their | | | | infancy and faces many hurdles. For one, most |
| copyright has not been renewed. The latest | | | | people prefer to watch a movie on a |
| full-length movies are seldom free and they | | | | television screen and not on a computer. |
| require a small fee sometimes charged as | | | | Also, the hard drive of a P.C. can store only |
| membership or shipping or mailing fee by some | | | | a few movies. |
| companies. If a recent movie is completely | | | | |
| free, most often the transaction can get you | | | | Downloading a movie from the Internet |
| into legal trouble. | | | | requires the following items. First, there |
| | | | must be a 56K modem or a broadband |
| The websites ibiblio.org and archive.org have | | | | connection, 64 MB of RAM, Windows (95,98, ME, |
| free movie downloads. These sites have a | | | | 2000, XP, Linux) and a movie download player |
| collection of public domain movies. You can | | | | like Quick Time. If all these components are |
| even get full-length movies from the 1930s | | | | present, you can play videos by download or |
| and 40s such as the Three Stooges. It is | | | | stream. Movies should start playing within a |
| legal to download these movies because the | | | | minute or two once you select a link to the |
| copyright has expired and they are now in the | | | | page that supports your modem speed. |
| public domain. | | | | |
| | | | It is not at all a tall order to expect the |
| The major movie studios are worried about | | | | movie industry to be completely transformed |
| this trend of free movie down loads. They see | | | | by the free download business just like when |
| a future scenario of movie piracy similar to | | | | the iPod hit the music scene. A way will |
| the music piracy boom of a few years ago. New | | | | surely emerge for the present technology to |
| technology makes it more difficult to put | | | | shed its defects and to bring out a |
| free movies on the Internet. Microsoft is | | | | high-quality product. |
| planning a new operating system that will | | | | |