Welcome to the newest revolution in P2P! Well, supposedly: the beta version of eXeem has been released. For those who don't remember, eXeem (henceforth Exeem, because we shouldn't encourage them) is the "next generation" P2P app from the folks behind Suprnova.org, the late, great BitTorrent site.

Exeem is intended to eliminate the aspects of the BitTorrent architecture that resulted in Suprnova's closure. As I've noted previously, BitTorrent isn't as distributed as some other P2P applications. When you start a download you connect to a "tracker". The tracker doesn't supply data, but it keeps tabs on who's participating in the download, introduces them to each other, and issues commands about how quickly everyone should send each other data in order to make sure that uploading is rewarded. Because of their central role in the process, trackers are considered a potential point of failure, both technically and legally. Exeem adopts the BitTorrent architecture but does away with trackers; instead torrent distribution is done through peers, and tracking is performed in an ad-hoc and transparent manner by users. You don't need a central site like Suprnova to aggregate links to trackers. Instead you can search the Exeem network instead of scouring the internet for trackers.

But how does this work? Well, the safe money is on a fixed port range. Each network-enabled application on your computer uses a port of range of ports. Web servers run on port 80; FTP works over 21 and 22; AIM uses 5190. Think of it this way: your computer's like an apartment, and applications are like the people living in it. When mail arrives, the name on the envelope allows it to be distributed easily, even though the address is the same. If it weren't there you'd have to open the message and read through it to figure out where it should go. Your computer receives a lot of pieces of mail in the form of packets. Examining the format of every one isn't practical, so the port number is used to make distribution easier. I've explained this before, but don't you like the mail analogy better?

However, a classic BitTorrent tracker can run on any port -- it's specified in the .torrent file. Similarly, you can tell BitTorrent to use any port you'd like for sending and receiving data because the tracker will keep tabs on it and report it to other users. Exeem more than likely removes this capability. Instead, it probably behaves like a classic P2P application, broadcasting traffic on a specific port into the ether, looking for other users listening on the same port.

The problem with this is that it's easy to find traffic on the internet if you know what you're looking for. By running on a specific port, Exeem makes it simple for BigChampagne and the rest of the MPAA/RIAA's henchmen to find pirates. In the past they could connect to a torrent and see the other peers. But that would only give a snapshot of a moment in time, and only establish one IP violation for each person in the downloading swarm -- and first they had to find the torrent. Now they can patiently listen for Exeem traffic over a period of weeks or months, aggregating a long list of infringing activity indexed by IP address and ready to be fed into their masters' DMCA subpoena factory. Exeem makes it much easier to automate part of IP prosecutions, which will make them more cost-effective, which will make them more plentiful.

So if I were you I'd steer clear of Exeem. Besides, not only is the architecture flawed, it's reported to be buggy, is filled with ad- and spyware, and is only loosely affiliated with the guys from Suprnova (not that they were all that technically proficient to begin with). There's already an allegedly adware-free Exeem-Lite available, if you're intent on trying it. Just don't say you weren't warned.

favorite story lede of the day:

The irresistible cuteness of a puppy drove a Bronx teenager to slash his girlfriend and fatally stab her cousin yesterday after the two victims refused to let him pet the little pooch, police said.

this - this is why i want to go back to journalism school. in the hopes that i will one day be capable of writing hardcore reporting like the above.

readers of this site should be very familiar with my worshipful attitude towards tyra banks and my near-obsession with her hit UPN reality tv show, "america's next top model." the show is a fabulous mix of cattiness, disturbing and beautiful clothing, the ever-present eating disorder, aspiring models freaking out when they have to place a spider on their boob, and sweet, sweet sadism dished out by the freakishly bitchy judges. in short, it's the perfect television show.

but in the past couple of weeks, i've started to question the wisdom of tyra banks (i know; i gasp at the horror of my impertinent mind as well). but really, the woman might know how to make good tv, but can she ACTUALLY produce a top model? i've seen no evidence of this. let's take a look at the winners of the first two seasons: adrianne curry and yoanna house.

they are both lovely girls, to be sure. and they both won whatever riches and fashion spreads that tyra promised would rain down over their heads. but once you win "america's next top model," aren't you supposed to, like, be successful at modelling?

curry and house's experiences would suggest not. curry is now a fixture on vh1's latest season of "the surreal life," where faded celebrities go to die (and she's only, like, 21). i saw her in one episode helping an inebriated mini-me get to sleep while he moaned obscenely; she also had the pleasure of acting as a nude serving board off of which her costars ate a meal of sushi. lovely. from the highlights of the next episode, i saw her proclaiming that she had fallen in love with christopher knight, the 40something dude whose only claim to fame is having played peter brady. alright. so adrianne curry is a) not modelling b) having verne troyer eat sushi off her breast and c) dating someone twice her age who is twice as washed up as she.

on to yoanna.

yoanna was supposed to be the recipient of an uningnorable sephora campaign and billions of dollars and infinite fame. but the funny thing is, the only place i've seen her since she won ANTM2 is, crazily enough, on ANTM3, dispensing advice to the new wannabe models and looking, if we're going to be truthful, a little fat.

now i read this report on gawker.com today that yoanna seems to have forgone modelling and is reaching into the uber-realms of something even more inspiring: auditioning for painkiller commercials!

Saw Yoanna, the America's Next Top Model has-been at a casting for a Tylenol PM ad, Friday morning in Chelsea. We, ahem, the models were told to come bare-faced (no make-up, that is) and she showed up in full-spackle in what would appear to be an attempt to camoflage a less-than-flawless complexion. AND she signed in with a huge, black Sharpie in lieu of the blue ball-point used by everyone else, so her name stuck out like a sore thumb. She hung around long enough after, in an apparent attempt for someone to recognize her presence, which didn't happen. So she inquired as to the whereabouts of the ladies' room, in complete ignorance of the HUGE sign stating "restrooms, 2nd floor" at her right.

OMIGOD, she used a SHARPIE. that BITCH. right.

so i've been wondering if tyra merely puts all her effort into the show and none into the so-called career of the actual winners, casting them off into the new york city gutters like used, browbeaten, emaciated raggedy-ann dolls, once they've served their purpose. if that's the case, i fear for poor eva, who has been by far my favorite winner of all the seasons; she's cute, feisty, just the right amount of bitchy and hopefully will suceed in some capacity and not end up hocking Swiffer WetJets on tv one day.

but if you're looking for a model that seems to have had some measure of success AND is spectacularly normal and funny, i suggest you check out the livejournal of elyse sewell, one of the runners-up on the first season of ANTM (AND she used to date a Shin!). she's clever, self-deprecating, and writes nuggets like these from the fashion world of hong kong, where she lives:

Smell that repugnant menstrual tang in the air? That's the scent of Fashion Week, which is still plodding forward more glacially than Naomi Campell on 'Ludes. I'm writing this (in my physical journal) from the hallowed estrogen-saturated Fitting Hall, during my seventh of eight hours here. Models in various stages of undress steal furtive glances at each other's g-string-clad asses and picked-over styrofoam lunchboxes. Vanity is inflated or punctured as designers march down a lineup, scrutinizing breasts, distributing outfits, musing aloud, "Hm, I need model with beautiful legs to wear this one." Narrowed eyes dart toward a scene near a rack in the corner: ohmigod, Ksenia can't zip the pants the designer handed her- another model must heroically step forward and volunteer to exchange outfits, but whose hips will be small enough? The air is constantly thick with tension, or maybe just with drifting hash smoke from the crowd of male models populating the bathroom.

a model with brains and wit. thank god tyra didn't pick her to win america's next top model. who knows how she would have ended up!

this is what working on DCist hath wrought, i assume: i now get press releases for books that teach your kids about marijuana:

Hello,

Magic Propaganda Mill Books is happy to announce the release of a new
children's book about marijuana.

"It's Just a Plant" tells the tale, through beautiful color illustrations,
of how a young girl learns about marijuana: from her parents' own use to the
farm where it's grown to the doctor's office to a police officer's
historical perspective. It's fast becoming the preeminent alternative for
young parents in the face of decades of misinformation about marijuana.

let me treat you to a little excerpt from the web site:

One night Jackie woke up past her bedtime.
She smelled something funny in the air, so she walked down the hall to her parent’s bedroom.

“What’s that mommy?” asked Jackie. “Are you and Daddy smoking a cigarette?”

“No, baby,” said her Mother. “This is called a ‘joint.’ It’s made of marijuana.”

“Mar a whah? What’s that?” asked Jackie.

“Marijuana,” giggled her Mother, “is a kind of plant.”

“What kind of plant?”

“Well,” said her Mom, “that story could take me all night to tell you. How about we go on a bike ride tomorrow, and I’ll tell you all about it?”

The next day Jackie and her mom put on their favorite costumes. Jackie was a samurai and her mom was a bandleader.

awesome.

the web site cites this book as an effective way to fight the drug war and stop youth from trying marijuana at an early age. sure to join the ranks of such esteemed and straight-talkin' kids books as "everybody poops" and "cocaine: it's kind of like candy!"

jeff jarvis will be ecstatic: Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell will step down from his post Friday.

no reason was stated, but i can guess it might have had something to do with the fact that he often launched indecency investigations and fined stations millions of dollars based on the complaints of three people out of millions of viewers.