Woodstock PDS (personal digital server) offers a variation on the media player/file-sharing theme:

The Woodstock PDSTM is the first software combining a full-feature media player with powerful Peer-to-Peer file lending ability. Users of the Woodstock PDSTM software can easily play digital music, convert their CD's into MP3's, or listen to thousands of the best Internet radio stations. In addition, the Woodstock PDSTM incorporates a unique, patent pending, file lending method that allows consumers to legally and ethically remotely access and lend their digital media files.

Woodstock's approach dramatically differs from the Napster and Kazaa like forms of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) software. Those products are purposely anonymous in nature, promote open file copying and have come under aggressive attack from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Woodstock's alternative promotes the concept of P2P networks among groups of friends, family, and co-workers. In addition, the Woodstock PDSTM uses a method of file lending versus file copying. This method "lends" access to a file to a user, while at the same time restricting others from accessing that file. The patent-pending "lending" system neither requires nor permits copying of the file. Thus the original file never leaves the possession or control of the user serving the content.

....Woodstock's software reinvents the personal website and takes it to a new level, turning any PC running Windows into a Personal Digital Server™ (PDS). The software automatically organizes and securely publishes a users' digital media to the web. This enables a user to easily access files stored on his or her PC while at work or traveling. The remote access capability may also be securely shared with friends, allowing them to access selected files on the PC running the Woodstock software. This means that users can now easily access and lend their documents, music, photos, home videos and more.

The Woodstock PDSTM is a breakthrough in the way people play and lend their digital music. According to Woodstock Systems' CEO and co-founder Jim Hoffman, "The Woodstock PDSTM was designed by music fans for music fans, unlike current media players from Microsoft, Real Networks or MusicMatch, all of which focus on their own corporate agendas. It fulfills the promise of digital media for the consumer while respecting the rights of the artists." To date, over 20,000 beta testers have been using Woodstock PDSTM in limited release.

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