P2P Music Sharing (A)

From Isopedia

1 Definition of Peer to Peer
2 History of Peer to Peer Music Sharing
3 How Peer to Peer Music Sharing Works
4 Types of Peer-to-Peer Applications
- 4.1 Popular Networks and Protocols
- 4.2 Ranking of the Best P2P Filesharing Programs (According to www.slyck.com)
5 Legal Issues Associated With P2P
6 Sources
7 Team Members

Definition of Peer to Peer

A software that gives users the capability to directly transfer files from one computer to another without the use of an intermediary medium such as a website. Transfers occur directly from one user to another.

History of Peer to Peer Music Sharing

P2P is software that was not in its most widely spread form until recently. The two most notable factors involved in its creation were the emergence of new technologies and a decentralizing of styles in software engineering. Over the past decade software trends have moved away from gigantic single system to more diverse widespread systems. Although the growth was held back slightly by the ease of managing a central system, the growth of the internet further facilitated growth. After that came the rising need in the business world of this software in the form of business-to-business (B2B) systems. Coupled with the emergence of these systems came the growing availability and low cost of bandwidth on the internet and the development of computers with powerful networking abilities. This formed the foundation that P2P was then built on.

Most of the popularity that P2P is associated with was developed from the creation of some of the original programs that were developed for use by the general public, such as Napster and Scour. Such programs had formats and uses that appealed to the general public, such as music sharing. As the use of these types of programs increased, so did the awareness of the technology.

Few people know that P2P software was developed almost twenty years ago. And although many of these original programs are still in use today they are not noticed nor credited for their groundbreaking ideas. P2P has been around about as long as USENET and FidoNet, which in themselves were very similar to P2P systems in that they were largely decentralized and consisted primarily of peers with no central company. USENET was originally created by Jim Ellis and Tom Truscott as a way to provide most of the world with newsgroups. At the time they relied on the use of phone lines which they used at nights in order to keep costs low.

FidoNet was a similar type of program that allowed users to exchange messages between one another even across different BBS systems, BBS being a bulletin board system used over phone lines. It was originally created by Tom Jennings and still remains in use today. Both of these systems were able to rise to success by overcoming their numerous problems which still are problems for current P2P software today.

How Peer to Peer Music Sharing Works

Peer to Peer music sharing is a concept of two users sharing music over the internet. The process starts with one user having a file stored on their computer. Next they decide to upload the file to the internet preferably through a P2P application. Then another user will download that same file from that user. Over the years the specific way this file sharing has been accomplished has changed.

First Generation

First a connection is established between two peers. Then, the peers exchange addresses and once a connection has been established, the search for files can begin. Once the search has been made, a list of files comes up available for download. This was the main way a P2P program, Napster, was run. Napster was eventually shut down due to copyright issues.

Second Generation

This new type of P2P would eliminate having to establish a connection with a peer. Now you could open a P2P application and make a search. The search would then return all the files of all the peers connected. This has some clear advantages such as drastically reducing search time. Also, now if a 'hub' were to crash, the rest of the system could still run.

Third Generation

A third type of Peer to Peer file sharing was created. This added the feature of anonymity. With this new feature it would be harder for individuals to identify who is downloading or providing files. A disadvantage to this type of P2P and the reason it is not widely used is due to slower speeds. The reason for these slower speeds is because of more complicated codes in these implications.

Fourth Generation

A different type of Peer to Peer file sharing is that of streaming. With the use of streaming a file, the file never has to be downloaded. Although, it is still available for viewing at any time. It is simply accessed over the internet and never actually downloaded to another computer.

A very important concept of Peer to Peer is the fact that no central computer is involved. Each member of the application has their own files stored on their computer. In order for all these users to connect, a common program must be installed on each computer. Peer to Peer usage relies significantly on computer bandwidth. Through a Peer to Peer connection any type of file can be transmitted. Most commonly; audio, video, image, text, or any other type of digital format.

As said before Peer to Peer networks allows information to flow without the use of a special or central server. Peer to Peer has become an extremely useful way of exchanging information over the internet. Peer to Peer networking has become so popular that Microsoft now offers its own version in Microsoft Windows XP, it is entitled, "Windows Peer-to-Peer Networking." The use of Peer to Peer networking can run into legality issues that will later be illustrated. Overall, P2P is and will for a long time be a very popular way of transmitting music and other data.

Types of Peer-to-Peer Applications

1. File Sharing

2. Streaming Media

3. Instant Messaging

4. Software Publication and Distribution

5. Media Publication and Distribution (Radio and Video).

Popular Networks and Protocols

1. Ares, Napster, Direct Connect, OpenNap, Limewire, Kazaa: Used for file sharing of Media Files, Documents, and Programs

2. BitTorrent: Used for File Sharing, Software Distribution, and Media Distribution

3. JXTA: Used for Peer Applications

4. Krawler: Used as a Social Network

5. P2PTV: Used for Video Streaming

6. PiChat: Used for Chat and Collaboration

7. Windows Peer-to-Peer: Used for Distributed Peer Application Development and Collaboration

Ranking of the Best P2P Filesharing Programs (According to www.slyck.com)

1. uTorrent: A BitTorrent client for Windows designed to offer superior performance while using the smallest amount of cpu, memory, and space as possible.

2. Azureus: A Java client of BitTorrent for Windows, it offers multiple torrent downloads and other special features not found in other clients.

3. eMule: The child of eDonkey, it has perfected what was wrong with its predecessor in a package free of spyware and adware.

4. Ares: Quite simply, a basic, clean, easy to use interface that is not centered on BitTorrent software.

5. KCeasy: An add on to the windows program giFT Filesharing system, it is able to support different Filesharing networks.

6. BitTornado: A popular program developed by the user known as "The Shadow"

7. BitComet: Three words to describe this jack-of-all-trades program are powerful, clean, and fast.

8. Shareaza: Luxurious and Sophisticated, this program supports not one, two, or three networks, but is able to harness the power of four.

9. Limewire: Possibly the most famous and easy to use program of its time, it will run on almost any platform.

Legal Issues Associated With P2P

Although P2P file sharing is a useful tool for all internet users to exchange media, there are countless legal repercussions associated with uploading and downloading copyrighted material. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has launched a massive legal campaign against the programs that facilitate the sharing of copyrighted music, and also those individual users who are helping these programs to grow. As of July 2007, the RIAA has filed close to 20,000 lawsuits against american citizens for sharing copyrighted music on the web. To be more specific, the RIAA is not only targeting the mediums for sharing such files (i.e. Limewire, BitTorrent, etc.), but rather, pressuring these institutions to cough up names of individuals who are logging the most bandwidth on the domains.

RIAA vs. The People: Napster

The first lawsuit in 1999 pitted the RIAA against the first program of its kind, Napster. Seen as a revolution, Napster was a new way for Americans to get free music, and better yet, it was not created by some ultra intellectual over a period of ten years. Rather, Napster was produced by someone who could relate to its purpose, a college student who developed the software over three months. However, as is true with many other "Too good to be true" deals, Napster was shut down after suffering defeat at the hands of the supreme court. The RIAA was optimistic that it had effectively vanished this type of illegal sharing, and that no other website would challenge the mighty Recording Industry.

Round 2: Filesharing's Glorious Revenge

After Napster was terminated, those who were in charge of designing it's replacement understood that, in order not to be shut down, the new programs must have not liability. Therefore, open protocol and open source software, had not been suffocated, but instead, it had been ignited. As soon as Napster closed its books, newer, more advanced programs surfaced. As soon as this next wave of programs were sued and shut down, even more programs were born. The RIAA actually made things worse by getting rid of Napster in that it invigorated independent software developers to invent better product. By this time, the RIAA had focused more on targeting individuals who were uploading the most copyrighted materials rather than going after the programs themselves. The logic behind this approach centers on the fact that the RIAA can charge as much as $500,000 in penalties, and many individuals would choose to settle outside of court, rather than waging a war on the RIAA as previously undertaken by the major P2P Filesharing companies.

Risk and Amnesty

Many wonder just how likely it is to be targeted for a lawsuit by the RIAA, and although there is no true percentage estimate, there are a few hard facts concerning the matter. The way that the RIAA locates a user for copyright infringement on one of the aforementioned domains (eg. Limewire, Kazaa, etc.) is by how many files a user shares with others, otherwise known as uploading. The RIAA would then track an individual's IP Address and locate the user's computer. For example, the program Kazaa allows users to become a "supernode," a term which comprises receiving priority downloads in return for being a major uploader to the program. By limiting one's uploads to one of these programs, or even disallowing uploads altogether, one will not be as much of a target for the RIAA. Furthemore, the RIAA has recognized that some users of these programs in the past may feel inclined to come clean about what they have done. In that case, citizens could complete a form for what is known as the "Clean Slate" program in which they wouldcome forward, identify themselves, delete all their downloaded music, and sign an affidavit promising to stop any unauthorized music sharing. However, although this program seemed to provide a good deal of protection, it promised much less than many hoped for. Because the RIAA did not own any of the copyrights to any of the music that was being illegally shared, it could not truly promise amnesty from institutions that did hold on to the copyrights, like Warner Brothers. Furthermore, by signing the affidavit, users would merely be identifying themselves as potential targets for litigation, which is exactly the reason that, while millions of people were online using P2P, only 1,108 decided to submit the document.

What Lies Ahead: The Future of P2P Filesharing and the Law

Currently, five years after the RIAA first threatened individuals with legal action and nine years since the infamous Napster case, the RIAA's attempts to put a stop to illegal P2P Filesharing have not been effective. With the development of newer and harder to infiltrate P2P Filesharing systems, the future looks to be much like the past. If a user is to be unlucky enough to be caught for Filesharing, then that is all it appears to be, bad luck. With roughly 10,000,000 users online sharing files everyday, to be one of the few thousands who are subpoenaed is very unlikely. In order to have a lasting change to this system, some agreement must be reached in which a monthly fee will be paid to use such websites. Otherwise, certain users will be charged thousands of dollars, sometimes wrongly, for undertaking the same illegal activities that many others are. But then again, are all speeders pulled over by policemen in squad cars? With many different ways of looking at the current situation, it is uncertain exactly what the future holds for P2P Filesharing.