Where have all the files gone.
The internet was built to accommodate the sharing of files between computers. This was, at the time, the most amazing use of this new technology. File sharing was to become the great equalizer. Where anyone would have access to all the information they would ever need. We could access universities, libraries, and be able to work from home. Literally anyone who wanted to share information could make the information available online from a computer.
Now, this ability to share files was the exiting part. As soon as two computers were networked together, they were able to communicate. What seems to have been forgotten is that this started over 30 years ago, and has become second nature to millions of people.
When the ability to share pictures came into play in the nineties, the business community saw opportunity and the World Wide Web was born. The interesting thing for me, is that these movers and shakers did not seem to realize that the internet even existed under the web. So, as new computers and users came on line, the internets first and main use also increased. That is to say, the people online had even more stuff to share. So that now, there are so many people sharing so much stuff, that the internet has become unmanageably huge.
The internet was not designed to be managed in the first place. Computers are very personal and it was assumed that privacy was the big issue. It was not until business tried to corner markets that managing the net was even contemplated.
The web created the ability for regular people with no real understanding of the process, to share pictures, music, movies, and programs over the internet. Since the internet had already been used to share files, when programs like Napster were introduced, it seemed like a natural evolution of the internet.
The problem is that the owners of these programs did not pay for their inventory.
When a person buys a CD the company that released the CD says that you can only make one copy for personal use. The record industry says that every time a song is played for public broadcast, a royalty goes to the song writer. Anonymous file sharing has put the kybosh on that, as the song is not actually played while being transferred. Business is in a quandary. Governments do not seem to understand the issues. And regular people see opportunity.
The question then becomes, do we change the populations’ penchant to get a free anything? Or, do we change the copyright laws. Do we spend millions of dollars attempting to hunt down the sharers? Or, do we pay artists more upfront for their contribution. Should the record companies go into the sharing business? This will be an ongoing discussion for years to come, and has already effected millions of businesses.
The internets ability to connect people to each other, via P2P, Peer to Peer, or Person to Person file sharing programs, is the past, present and future of the net. It is what it is, and it is clear that people sharing files will dominate cyberspace. That is, until the next phase of the net, virtual reality comes into being in the next decade.
We can try to introduce justice and control over people’s use of their computers, but parents will always be mystified by their children’s explanation of what they are doing on Neopets, and RPG’s, and new programs like WinMX are not even tracking peoples usage like the Napster and Kazaa programs. Where will it go from here?
By the time a study is made, a new issue will pop up. Pun intended.
It kind of reminds me of the path to the store that has formed by its use as a short cut. You can try and put the path somewhere else, but the short cut will still be there.
In the main time, the net grows ever larger as each new computer comes online.
Take care out there
George Horton
Web Developer
www.kcnb.ca
george@kcnb.ca