Advances in Decentralized Peer Networks 140
PureFiction writes "Peer networks are gaining some
attention these
days given advances in much more
decentralized
search
architectures and
swarming
distribution
networks.
Research has indicated that these decentralized networks are resistant to
legal and
technological attacks.
The continued proliferation of
broadband
and wireless networking
will ensure
pervasive deployment
of distributed
peer networking infrastructure
that will drive significant innovations in
personal and
community
digital communications services."
Last mile gauntlet. (Score:5, Insightful)
So what P2P networks are resistent to "last mile" control tactics? Port blocking. Speed limiting. Quotas. Remember control of P2P has one thing in common with security. It doesn't have to be perfect. It simply has to be innconvient enough that people give up and go away.
Direct Connect? (Score:2, Insightful)
There is more information (pirated software, movies, games, tv shows, etc) available on those networks than on any other network I have ever seen (except *maybe* napster). Everyone who uses it must share, and essentially must have a fast connection.
But there's never been a mention of it...
?
Re:Show me a P2P network being used legitimately! (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm on WinMX, which I use heavily for the downloading of anime files. In this endeavour, I (and many others on the network) try to follow the rule of not sharing any files that are commercially available in the United States. At the moment, I have probably 40 GB of fansubbed episodes that I share to others, while downloading stuff that I don't yet have.
The nice thing about this is that the filesharing actually aids some of the US distributors by introducing new series to the US while they are still being shown in Japan (I had translated episodes of Chobits a week after their first viewing!) and helps the US Distributors gauge which series have gotten the most attention and would be good candidates to purchase the rights to.
As I said, this is quasi-legitimate, since it is still technically a copyright violation; I rationalize that by the fact that it is commerically unavailable and I remove the files when they get licensed. Additionally, I will often buy or rent the series when they come out on DVD, so the producers DO get their money.
Re:Show me a P2P network being used legitimately! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: Last mile gauntlet. (Score:1, Insightful)
I see a few things wrong with this suggestion:
1. Port blocking: would quickly alienate ISP customers. I would change ISPs in a flash if mine blocked any port. Restricts way more than just P2P, and most apps allow the user to specify whatever port they want anyway.
2. Speed limiting: already done on most ISPs. If it was done any more than it is, it wouldn't be broadband.
3. Quotas: also already done on some ISPs, including mine. Once again, set this too low, and you've removed all point of having broadband.
As far as I'm concerned, P2P is the next paradigm. If someone wants to control the use of P2P, they are going to have to come up with something better than that. Another tactic that could be suggested is packet filtering based on content, but this won't work either, because it would require way more processing power than ISPs would be willing to pay for.
Re:Show me a P2P network being used legitimately! (Score:3, Insightful)
Every tool has legitimate and illegitimate uses. I can butter my bread with this knife, or slit your throat with it. Do we need ARM (analog rights management) to maintain control of it?
Sorry I don't mean to be Mr. Obvious here, but I just feel any future P2P doesn't stand a chance if it doesn't have a legitimate foundation to stand on.
It doesn't need a legitimate FOUNDATION, it just needs a SINGLE legitimate use that is valid.
Yesterday I downloaded some high quality live recordings of Billy Corgan's new band, Zwan. It was in SHN format (lossless compression -- large file sizes) on one of the DC++ P2P network hubs.
This was completely legal -- Zwan encourages trading of their live recordings.
The RIAA & MPAA has already proven what a great team of legal sharks they have
True
and can overcome any technological advancements made in P2P
Ummm, false. They definitely have NOT shown that.
this is obvious to me... (Score:3, Insightful)
The only thing the powers that be can do IMHO is to make it illegal to share files and folders on a publicly (free) available network which contain copyrighted data.
When we get to the point where everyone has a phone/pda with 1 GB of storage and Wifi built this is going to be a real serious problem for the record companies.
Re:Last mile gauntlet. (Score:3, Insightful)
Forget about last mile, the term doesn't get used when you're using ad hoc, decentralized peer to peer software.
P2P is just a tool publicized only when badly used (Score:1, Insightful)
Before I start: I am putting aside comments like: "P2P for illegal distribution is a market reaction to customer rape, good for diversity
Legitimate P2P exists and is great. Let's not confuse P2P technologies with "Chaotic Software Propagation" that uses P2P techs.
So many media business (like music) are so scared of P2P they are doing everything they can to put all P2P users in the same basket, and very successfully I might add.
Example: a company using P2P technology to help facilitate video-conferencing. Instead of a big server feeding 10.000 employees around the world for the latest CEO news, they peer between employees, using the existing corporate network, and the Internet for big hops around the world.
A more subtle example: a "Pay Per View" service using digital ID and encryption. They use the entire client base to minimize distribution costs using P2P, but only the customer paying for the digital ID and encryption key (obtain using a direct secured link) can see the movie. Every client watching a movie or listening to a song also receives/sends other data packets (he cannot decrypt) destined to other clients using a P2P concept.
The thing is you never hear about "legitimate" applications, because it does not get distributed to millions of people sharing anything they can put their hands on, and the RIAA does not make press conferences about these, they call CNN for things like how hard it is getting to sell the same boring product by artist soon to ask for change on the street corner (I am sooooo sad).
P2P there if we need it (Score:5, Insightful)
It does not concern me at all that P2P content is currently mostly illegal warez, music, movies and porn. It's an excellent testbed for the ability of the technology to withstand technological and legal attack.
It does however comfort me that P2P works and is widely deployed. The average person is familiar with it and knows how to use it. If corporations and government ever get too oppressive, P2P is an powerful tool that the people can use to preserve their rights. Current P2P networks could easily be put into this type of service at need.
I see the net just now starting to realize the ideals that is was founded under. Decentralization, free access to information for all, everyone can easily be both producer and consumer, etc. All trends (wireless, weblogs, P2P) point to this.
Re:Last mile gauntlet.-II (Score:1, Insightful)
Think about it. Most WiFi nodes are hanging off of a broadband connection (when was the last time you seen one on dialup?). If one is fortunate the connection isn't limited like residential runs i.e. Business T1's, or a community circuit. However one is depending on two things in that case. One unlocked nodes, and no one noticing (or caring) that people are using those node(s). Popularity could drive some to put limits in place to keep the network sane.
"Forget about last mile, the term doesn't get used when you're using ad hoc, decentralized peer to peer software."
As long as that software depends on a physical infrastructure there's always a weak point.
Also as I pointed out it doesn't "need" to be perfect. just inconvient enough to persuade the majority not to do it.
Note as well that I haven't even invoked any legal means to this discussion, which could introduce their own difficulties.
Re:Well...Do as I say, not as I do. (Score:1, Insightful)
Blimey is right. "/."'s have balls alright. Complain about all the bandwidth that spam takes up, but can't make the connection about all the bandwidth taken up by their illegal file sharing.
Introspection isn't this crowds strong suit apparently.
P2P future is very exciting (Score:4, Insightful)
I think one of the most exciting things about P2P is that the costs are borne by the consumer, not the publisher. This holds true with Freenet, and holds true with Gnutella and Kazaa as well. If I have a popular, non-commercial web page, I the publisher have to pay to keep my pages up, and the more popular the pages are, the more I pay. With P2P however, the consumers act as distributors as well, so whether it's an audio file, video, web page or whatnot flowing over Freenet/Kazaa/Gnutella, the cost for me to publish is not there. I like this because it means popular, non-commercial media can spread by virtue of popularity, and the Internet can't be monopolized by people who can control the flow of information simply because they own the printing presses and distribution networks. I also think this is what makes P2P something disdained by the powers that be. The RIAA/MPAA's activities are just the short-term, tactical activities of the people who fund them, I care very little for their rationale and look for what the long-term effects would be if they were fully successful, and it doesn't look good - I don't really care about the supposed morality of their authority or whatnot, I'm only interested in the effects of their actions. Thousands of years ago, the concept of property in this economy of scarcity was created. Recently this concept has been extended to the spectrum, to bits of information flowing between me and a friend's computer with it's economy of non-scarcity, and even to species [usda.gov] themselves. If we do not build a technological foundation that helps put power in the hands of the people (like Gutenberg, Wozniak, and Justin Frankel), accompanied by social movements that protect people from the powers-that-be using law and authority to dominate them, I think we are headed into a dire future.