Quote:
Originally posted by spstn
With the ability to transfer any type of file, and instant communication, stretching from "around the world" to "just your neighborhood" the possibilities education wise are mind boggling.
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Indeed so. Music and movies have been strong catalysts to the evolution of the p2p technology but the scope of p2p in itself is much wider. Actually it is not hard at all to find great 'non-infringing' uses for p2p - it's just the artificial controversy created by the RIAA & the MPAA that has obscured the big picture and created the false impression that p2p is all about 'piracy'. It is not, and as new p2p applications to new target groups keep popping up, the truth will gradually become clear to everybody.
Take for example the corporate world. Ray Ozzie's (creator of Lotus Notes)
Groove started serious development of corporate-targeted p2p before Shawn Fanning had even conceived the idea of Napster. The company has presently over 280 employees and its customers include big companies like Bertelsmann, Cap Gemini, Pfizer and Unilever. Recently Microsoft invested 51 million US$ into the company to acquire a strategic partnership. With proper security infrastructure p2p makes an excellent workgroup platform, and as such can be applied to almost any co-operative group activity which can be handled online.
I haven't heard the copyright nazis harassing Groove even if one can use their well-protected environment also for music and movie filesharing. They won't dare to do it as that would bring other corporate lawyers against them. Obviously they consider their position still strong enough to harass private p2p users and violate their privacy but let's see how long they can continue their ugly game of bullying...
- tg
