I have tried it. It allows you to share/download music with whomever is on your network. I took it off since I already have the same music on my iBook and PM.
Here's a copy of the "read me" file for it:
iCommune 1.0b2
Welcome to iCommune. iCommune is a plug-in which extends Apple's iTunes software to share music over the network. Your friends' music libraries appear in the iTunes source list. You can browse their collections, and choose to download or stream their music. It also allows you to make your own music library available to others.
iCommune 1.0b2 is a free public beta, written by James G. Speth, The Coronado Institute, Inc. For updated information or the latest version, visit us at
www.icommune.net. Feel free to send me any feedback at
speth@icommune.net.
Installation Instructions
iCommune requires that your system runs Mac OS X 10.2 or higher and iTunes 3.0 or higher.
To install iCommune, put the "iCommune.plugin" file into your "iTunes Plug-ins" folder:
1. From your home directory, open the "Library" folder.
2. Open the "iTunes" folder.
3. Drop the "iCommune.plugin" file onto the "iTunes Plug-ins" folder.
4. The iCommune plug-in will be available the next time you launch iTunes.
Configuring iCommune
Once installed, a new item called "Network" appears in the iTunes source list. To configure iCommune, select the "Network" source, then click the configuration button that appears in the lower-right portion of the iTunes window. This button is to the left of the equalizer button, and has an icon of a device with a gear on it. Pressing this button will open the iCommune settings dialog.
The settings dialog is divided into two sections, for configuring the locations of music collections on the network, and for sharing your own music.
Configuring Network Servers:
1. The top part of the dialog is a list of network servers that iCommune will access.
2. Click the "Add" button to add a new server to the list.
3. In the Name section, assign the server a name, which will appear in the iTunes source list.
For example: "Jim's Music"
4. In the Location section, specify the network location of the server in URL format.
For example: "http://www.icommune.net/Music"
5. You can add multiple servers to this list.
6. Use the "Delete" button to remove servers from the list.
Sharing Your Music:
1. The bottom part of the dialog allows you to share your own music library with others.
2. The Shared Music Folder Location field shows the path to your music folder.
Use the "Change..." button to select a different folder to share.
Use the "Reset" button to select the default iTunes Music folder.
3. The URL Path field displays the path that will be used in the URL to access your music.
It defaults to "~username/Music".
4. Click the "Share My Music" button to turn sharing on.
You will be prompted for an administrator user name and password.
5. Once sharing is turned on, the network location of your music appears below this button.
Give this location to your friends, so they can access your music.
6. To turn sharing off, click the "Stop Sharing" button.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Personal Web Sharing must be active in the System Preferences for your music to be available to others. Go into System Preferences, choose Sharing, and turn on Personal Web Sharing.
Using iCommune
Now for the fun part. Each network server that you configure shows up as a source in your iTunes window. Selecting a network source will show you the songs available on that server. You can browse through the music on the server, just like your local music library. Dragging songs from a network source to your library will download those songs to your machine and add them to your library. To stream a song directly off the server, just select it and click the iTunes play button. It's that simple.
Advanced Users
When sharing is turned on, iCommune uses the Apache web server built into Mac OS X to share your music. It does this by creating a file in the /etc/httpd/users directory called "username-iCommune-sharing.conf". If you'd like, you can modify this file to contain any extra web server configuration directives for your music folder, such as access control lists. For a web server directory to be accessible by iCommune, it must have WebDAV configured and turned on (with the "Dav On" server directive).
The iCommune shared music folder contains a pre-built index file of the shared music. This index is automatically built and kept up to date by the iCommune plug-in. However, if there is a directory on your web server that you want to share without using iCommune, you can use the stand-alone indexer script included in the "Extras" folder. This indexer is written in Python, so it can be run on platforms other than Mac OS X. Just run "indexer /path/to/music" on the server to build an iCommune index file in /path/to/music.
Known Issues with this Version
iCommune 1.0b2 has the following known issues:
? the first time you turn on sharing with iCommune, the password dialog appears twice
? when adding and removing network servers, sometimes the names in the source list are displayed incorrectly (they will look right again the next time you launch iTunes)
? there is a limit of 8 server connections
? streaming songs from a network source has a silly limitation that the URL of the song cannot be longer than 255 characters
? the indicator of used and available space on a network server is displayed incorrectly
Don't worry, I am working on fixing all of these.
Changes in this Version
iCommune 1.0b2 has the following changes since version 1.0b1:
? fixed a really bad bug that caused iTunes to crash when sharing was turned on (only if certain troublesome music files were in there shared music folder)
? corrected a minor bug in the stand-alone indexer that caused it to crash on certain music files
iCommune 1.0b1:
? initial public release
Copyright and License
iCommune is © 2002 by The Coronado Institute, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
This documentation and the software described in it are copyrighted © 2002 by The Coronado Institute, Inc. with all rights reserved worldwide. It may be freely distributed and copied as long as the resource files and documentation remain unchanged from their distributed form. You are encouraged to make copies and give them to anyone you like, again so long as they remain unchanged. Neither the package nor any of its components may be sold or bundled with any software that is sold, including shareware, without written permission.
This product is iTunes ready. iTunes is provided by Apple Computer, Inc. Copyright © 2001 Apple Computer, Inc. All Rights reserved. iTunes is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.
Warranty
We make no warranty, express or implied, concerning the reliability of this product, and accept no responsibility for any damages caused by use or misuse of this program. All trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective holders.
IN NO EVENT WILL THE CORONADO INSTITUTE, INC. BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM ANY DEFECT IN THE PRODUCT, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, DAMAGE TO PROPERTY AND, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, DAMAGE FOR PERSONAL INJURY, EVEN IF THE CORONADO INSTITUTE, INC. HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
All features and specifications subject to change without notice.
Oh yeah, don't steal music.
© 2002 The Coronado Institute, Inc.
All rights reserved.
