Filesharing
is one of the fasted growing
and most talked about applications
of the Internet. File sharing
can occur when two computers
are connected together via
the internet or a network.
Files may come in the form
of documents, images, music
and videos.
Until recently, the biggest
challenge for those who
wanted to share files was
finding others who also
wanted to share files.
Development
of filesharing programe
Along
came Napster. In 1999, Shawn
Fanning, a Northeastern
University undergraduate,
wrote this small MP3 -filesharing
application. This software
allowed users to connect
to a central server. The
server stored information
about the shared files on
the computers that were
connected to it which allowed
Napster filesharing to facilitate
searching for files by name.
(Typically each computer
will control which files
will be "shared"
with others and which shares
will remain unreachable.)
Napster filesharing became
the target of the Record
Industry Association of
America as they became aware
that copyrighted material
was being shared online.
Napster filesharing is in
the process of converting
to a fee-based program.
The demise of Napster has
created a multitude of other
programs which allow for
filesharing...without the
need for a central server.
These applications connect
users to the Gnutella Network.
Gnutella was originally
developed in 2000 by Justin
Frankel. The filesharing
software is available for
anyone to copy and other
developers have gone on
to create many Gnutella-compatible
programs.
Filesharing software helped
established online data
stores. The most popular
filesharing software is
iTunes. In its first year,
iTunes sold more than 70
million songs, providing
music fans with the best
digital experience on Mac
or PC. Now iTunes 4.6 offers
even more ways to discover
and enjoy music. iTunes
features the largest legal
download catalog. Select
from over 1 million tracks
from all five major and
more than 600 leading independent
labels. Enjoy free 30-second
previews of all songs. Find
hundreds of exclusive and
pre-release tracks and many
rare, out-of-print albums.
The Federal Trace
Commission recently had
this to say about "filesharing":
"Every day, millions
of computer users share
files online. Whether it
is music, games, or software,
filesharing can give people
access to a wealth of information.
You simply download special
software that connects your
computer to an informal
network of other computers
running the same software.
Millions of users could
be connected to each other
through filesharing software
at one time. The filesharing
software often is free and
easily accessible.
