eclectica
2005-01-22, 04:36
Where did this word "lite" come from? It is a perversion of the word "light", and is used mostly in diet products. "Lite" has come to mean a version of the regular product but with less of the ingredients of concern; such as fat, sugar, or calories.
With p2p filesharing programs there are people who are enthusiastic enough to have taken the time to develop modifications, hacks, enhancements, or Lite versions of their favorite programs. The Lite versions are created to avoid the adware and spyware that come standard with shitty programs. Good programs don't need Lite versions to be made.
Creating a modification to a program is easier for the Lite program developers if the program is open source. The task is more difficult without access to the source code, but it can still be done. There was a developer with the online name of "random nut" who developed a program called Kazaa Lite. The regular closed source Kazaa program had adware and spyware, so he reverse engineered the program and produced a version of the program that was adware and spyware free. Eventually his program and sites that hosted it were intimidated offline by legal threats of Sharman Networks, which is the financial benficiary of the regular program.
From the perspective of the greedy company, the Lite version has mixed results. On one hand they could feel like they are losing money to a version of their product which doesn't give them any adware or spyware payback. But they also gain from the Lite version, because it means more people are using their product and making it more popular. A new company introducing its software to a skeptical and knowledgeable audience would have trouble gaining acceptance of its product if the product were to contain adware and spyware. For such a company, having a Lite version would be helpful for gaining the acceptance of the ambivalent ones amongst that crowd. After a company and its product has become popular, then the Lite version becomes more burdensome, and at that point it can hire a team of lawyers to file frivolous lawsuits or send threatening letters to the webhosters, to enforce what they call their intellectual property rights.
All Lite versions are corrupted in some form, because their existence endorses the original product. Whether they are Adware Lite, Spyware Lite, DRM Lite, or Shit Lite; they are all unacceptable. The bottom line is that if you are using a Lite version, you are helping foster corruption and commercialism in p2p filesharing.
In regards to the news of the latest crapware p2p product eXeem™ (http://www.exeem.com/) and its Lite version eXeem Lite (http://www.exlite.net/) being released at the same time, I suspect that the Lite version was made by the same group of people who developed the regular version. The Lite version has been created in order to help the regular version become accepted and to assuage the fears of those who are ambivalent in their support of the program.
With p2p filesharing programs there are people who are enthusiastic enough to have taken the time to develop modifications, hacks, enhancements, or Lite versions of their favorite programs. The Lite versions are created to avoid the adware and spyware that come standard with shitty programs. Good programs don't need Lite versions to be made.
Creating a modification to a program is easier for the Lite program developers if the program is open source. The task is more difficult without access to the source code, but it can still be done. There was a developer with the online name of "random nut" who developed a program called Kazaa Lite. The regular closed source Kazaa program had adware and spyware, so he reverse engineered the program and produced a version of the program that was adware and spyware free. Eventually his program and sites that hosted it were intimidated offline by legal threats of Sharman Networks, which is the financial benficiary of the regular program.
From the perspective of the greedy company, the Lite version has mixed results. On one hand they could feel like they are losing money to a version of their product which doesn't give them any adware or spyware payback. But they also gain from the Lite version, because it means more people are using their product and making it more popular. A new company introducing its software to a skeptical and knowledgeable audience would have trouble gaining acceptance of its product if the product were to contain adware and spyware. For such a company, having a Lite version would be helpful for gaining the acceptance of the ambivalent ones amongst that crowd. After a company and its product has become popular, then the Lite version becomes more burdensome, and at that point it can hire a team of lawyers to file frivolous lawsuits or send threatening letters to the webhosters, to enforce what they call their intellectual property rights.
All Lite versions are corrupted in some form, because their existence endorses the original product. Whether they are Adware Lite, Spyware Lite, DRM Lite, or Shit Lite; they are all unacceptable. The bottom line is that if you are using a Lite version, you are helping foster corruption and commercialism in p2p filesharing.
In regards to the news of the latest crapware p2p product eXeem™ (http://www.exeem.com/) and its Lite version eXeem Lite (http://www.exlite.net/) being released at the same time, I suspect that the Lite version was made by the same group of people who developed the regular version. The Lite version has been created in order to help the regular version become accepted and to assuage the fears of those who are ambivalent in their support of the program.