Macenstein

Posted by Helper Monkey

Wired is reporting that a subscription-only search engine called “Guba� is set to offer large quantities of pornography specifically formatted for use on the video iPod. Guba searches through Usenet newsgroups, and creates a vast database of files, mainly videos. Almost all of these files are ripped illegally from various sources (similar to BitTtorrent files), and a huge percentage of them are filthy. Starting this month, Guba will be taking videos from its online smut depository, and converting them into the video iPod-friendly H.264 format. Subscribers can download all they want for $14.95 a month.

Sure, you can find pirated copies of your favorite TV shows on Guba (even LOST and Desperate Housewives), but even Thomas McInerney (Guba’s CEO) admits its adult content is poised to be its most popular attraction. “We can kid ourselves, but in the end it’s probably porn that people want.â€?

If you’re sitting there scratching your head thinking “How can Guba sell content it doesn’t own? â€? you’re not alone. Apparently Guba has survived thus far by flying under the radar. It has avoided a large amount of litigation by steering clear of pirated music content, such as MP3s. “…there has been so much litigation about music, and the RIAA (Recording Industry of America) has been so aggressive about it, “ says McInerney.

Guba’s site claims it abides by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which means it will take down any video content at the request of the copyright holder. Once one version of a file is taken down, however, there is nothing stopping Guba from coming across a slightly different version of that file, and then posting that, thus forcing the copyright holder to request that the new version be taken down. Since Guba scours the Usenet newsgroups for content daily, there is an endless supply of slightly differently recorded copies of the videos to choose from. This seemingly endless cycle means users will have to check back early and often to see if a new version of a removed file is available.

But McInerney says thus far, this has not been a huge issue. “…the TV guys seem to understand the internet … they seem to be the next industry after music to go online. What we’d really like to do, and what we’ll need to do, is partner with a large content company. They’re getting wise to the internet, and they’re understanding that they can’t litigate it away.”

Since the source of these videos is likely to be content ripped from people’s home collections and on-air broadcasts, the quality may not be quite on par with the commercial free versions Apple sells in its iTunes store. However, at the moment Apple doesn’t deal with adult content (and we wouldn’t recommend holding your breath), so for the moment, Guba is the only game in town. Plus at $14.95 for unlimited content, users will definitely be getting more “bang� (pun intended) for their buck than iTunes can deliver.