A TorrentFreak reader spotted a commercial centre in Ethiopia, a yellow kiosk that looks like an ATM. With a closer look though, you can see that it is not an ATM, but an automated multimedia machine that does what video clubs do κάνουν About ..
"Earlier this year, All Mart (the corresponding Walmart in Ethiopia) brought in a new machine. It is basically a screen that has a USB port but is ATM shaped. It's called SwiftMedia and there's a guy who "maintains it," according to TF.
"Basically, once you plug in a USB, the screen will turn on and let you browse a huge movie file."
Needless to say, the protection DRM and copyright are not on the agenda of this unusual and innovative machine.
Prices are very cheap, with packages available for 25, 50 and 100 birr ($1, $2 and $3). Films cost between 3 and 5 birr (13 to 22 cents), depending on the date circulation, while older films cost more.
"At first I assumed the machine had the rights to the films, but later I found out that the films were there from the day they were released," the TF source said.
"Obviously the guy who maintains the machine is downloading torrents throughout the day and saves the data to the SwiftMedia disk.”
Of course, this wouldn't even last five minutes in Europe, or America, and it certainly would never appear in a mall, let alone Walmart. TorrentFreak contacted Escape Computing, the company who seems to be behind the project, to learn more about their business.
The company did not respond to TF's email.