LimeWire popularity report incorrect
p2pnet news | Music:- “According to a new report by Digital Music News, 36.4% of the world’s computers have LimeWire installed,” says Slashdot, among other sites and mainstream media reporting on Limewire’s amazing ascent to popularity.
And, “Given their claim that filling an iPod legally would cost about $40,000, they’re pretty sure that most of those computers are infringing upon at least a few imaginary property rights. BitTorrent shouldn’t feel left out, though,” says /. going on:
“BitTorrent actually uses more bandwidth, but the article suggests that this is because it is used to share larger files, like movies.”
And, “Pop quiz,” says Ars Technica, going on, “what music and movie downloading app is installed on over one third of the world’s computers, according to a new report from Digital Music News and media tracking specialist BigChampagne? The answer isn’t iTunes, nor is it any other DRM-encumbered media program that has been blessed by Big Content. The answer is LimeWire …”
But WAIT! - says TorrentFreak’s Ernesto.
All is not what it seems to be.
He ran the numbers and goes on:
Today several news sources again reported that 36.4% of all PCs have Limewire installed. The reports are based on a press release published by Digital Music News, who misinterpreted their own data. The acual install base is less than 18%, 17.92 to be exact.
Ars Technica published an article in which they quote the press release from Digital Music News, and report that one third of all PCs have Limewire installed. This article was later picked up by Digg, Slashdot and several other news sources. However, as we have reported before, this figure is incorrect.
It turns out that Digital Music News report is based on data which were collected by PC Pitstop.
Unfortunately, Digital Music News has trouble interpreting their own data.
They claim in their press release that it is 36.4%, but that is the market share compared to other P2P clients. This means that on all PCs that have a P2P client installed, 36.4% installed Limewire
The actual installed base of Limewire is less than 18% …
Click here if you’d like to check out the raw data for yourself.
Good job, Ernesto.
Definitely stay tuned.
Also See:
Ars Technica - $40K to fill an iPod? One third of PCs use LimeWire instead, December 27, 2006
Slashdot - Report Says 36.4% of World’s Computers Infringe on IP, December 27, 2006
TorrentFreak - LimeWire Not as Popular as Recent Reports Suggest, December 28, 2006
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