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06-10-03, 09:12 AM | #1 |
Join Date: May 2001
Location: New England
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Freenet Developer “Recommending” Earth Station Five
Ian Clarke, developer of the anonymizing file sharing program Freenet has responded to critics claiming the program's unstable and devoid of content by saying it’s only "in development" and if they want something finished and easy to use they should "try Earth Station Five” instead. He goes on to say that he hears ES5 is “great." While his comments appear sarcastic and not meant literally (I presume) they do indicate a growing sense of frustration on his part and a departure from earlier comments where he claimed Freenet was "not just theoretical" but was being used effectively by dissidents to communicate without fear of attacks by authorities. Those same dissidents may be unnerved to discover that the developer of the program they depend on is now saying it may not be up to the task.
For more on the controversy there’s a thread at Slashdot. - js. |
06-10-03, 10:02 AM | #2 |
Thanks for being with arse
Join Date: Jan 2002
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he says it 3 times in that one post?
sounds sarcastic..to me, as well
someone in a few post downs say "your sarcasam is duly noted.." the freenet idea seems to have a little more merit than ES5 anyway.. |
06-10-03, 02:56 PM | #3 |
Madame Comrade
Join Date: May 2000
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As a research project Freenet has been and continues to be very valuable. Every serious P2P development project is valuable as it helps to spread p2p-related ideas and technical solutions to a growing population of developers - and Freenet has been one of the most interesting and inspiring projects around, especially in the issues of privacy.
As a filesharing network Freenet may never break through with its present architecture. Its basic idea of having all shared data distributed in encrypted form into people's computers is both alien and impractical to normal filesharers. Alien because people want to have full control over their personal sharing, and impractical as having abundant content in the network would require similarly abundant buffer space reserved for encrypted data. Nobody minds donating a few megabytes of HD space for encrypted storage should a p2p application need it, but to have gigabytes of inaccessible binary pulp on your HD does not sound like the way to go. - tg |
06-10-03, 09:27 PM | #4 |
Join Date: May 2001
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to be "like freenet" philosophically is high praise indeed. any p2p that aspires to it's lofty goals of privacy and robustness deserves encouragement and support. but to be "like freenet" operationally, at least at present, is to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
tg, your description "gigabytes of inaccessible binary pulp" is a brilliantly concise explanation of the rather complex operational scheme behind the p2p. while it conjures up an image of intestinal dysfunction of a most unfortunate nature it also illuminates an obscure subject and makes a strong case for new directions. a p2p built for txt files and few dozen pages of word docs will never replace one optimized for full cds and hollywood blockbusters but this is no criticism of freenet. rather it’s an acknowledgement that the other programs spent way too much effort on things like 3rd party software and other insignificant items while neglecting the most important aspects of actual file sharing, avoiding the tough compromises strong protection can dictate. mainstream p2p users unfamiliar with real security were lured into believing the cost to convenience was slight. freenet has now left no doubt how wrong that thinking was, and that knowledge alone makes the program significant to the p2p community. - js. |
07-10-03, 07:48 AM | #5 | |
Thanks for being with arse
Join Date: Jan 2002
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spotted the "freenet guy" in this article as well..
Quote:
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