Plex Cloud is an Amazon-powered, cloud-based media server. (Photo : YouTube/ Engadget)
Plex cloud is now becoming another Pirate Bay after the announcement of its new cloud storage service, where users can stream movies, music, and photos stored on Amazon's cloud. Ironically enough, these streaming services are against Amazon's terms and conditions.
The Plex Cloud, as the service's designation goes, received much attention after launching last week. This is particularly because its new service was enticing, with users no longer required to continually run and maintain local servers in hosting.
With the recent service, users will essentially create their own Netflix channels. All the media hosted in the cloud, which is the same cloud that Netflix uses, will be streamed to devices on demand, including the Plex server software itself.
The Plex Cloud will, further, lure potential users with a little annual fee of just $60. According to Tech Crunch, however, Plex's new services renders it as "a pirate's best friend." This owes to its reputation as the best path to getting illegally downloaded movies from one's computer to TV.
Online pirates' code of honor is to share their spoils of illegal downloads with peers. This means that Plex is just another Pirate Bay, only inclined to bring pirating services with a little light to it- that of offering the spoils of copyright infringement war for just $60.
The only problem with Plex is that Amazon is the owner of the cloud that the new streaming service is currently using. Amazon's terms and agreements explicitly prohibit the storage of illegally obtained data, which means that Plex Cloud is treading on dangerous grounds.
According to Capital Wired, although Plex's new service sounds like good business, it will probably bring some feud with Amazon in the near future. The only hope for Plex at the moment is that Amazon will not notice the activities happening under its nose.
In case Amazon Web Service ever detects content that originated from torrent sites like The Pirate Bay and Extratorrent, there is no doubt that it will erase it. After that, Plex Cloud users will, most likely, start developing some aversion towards the service for being left in the middle of freezing videos and music.
As far as Plex is trying to exploit the grey areas in the cloud computing world, it is just a matter of time until legal gradients are flattened out, with such new activities getting to the dark side. In the meantime, other services like Netflix are expected to last many years in the future.
Here is a wrap-up of how to use the new Plex Cloud:
