Next-generation file-swapping tools taking off
The latest file-transfering/downloading/swapping tools that are taking the Web by storm are detailed in this News.com story (thanks to a Scripting News link). This story comes only a few days after Kazaa claimed to have become the most-downloaded application ever, some 229M copies.
Going by names like eDonkey and BitTorrent [written by local SF programmer Bram Cohen], many of the latest generation of file-swapping tools have been designed specifically to increase the efficiency and speed of transfer for large files such as movie files. Some of these tools have been in development for several years, but are just now reaching the critical mass needed to make a dent in the file-trading world....
"We see people downloading like crazy," said Mark Ishikawa, chief executive of BayTSP, a Los Gatos, Calif., company that monitors file-swapping networks for movie studios and record labels. "eDonkey is passing Gnutella, and is even on its way to passing FastTrack." FastTrack is the technology behind Sharman Networks' Kazaa and Grokster.