P2P

File sharing in general is when one user allows another user access to content they own usually through a network, external USB drive, or sometimes through the web. Depending on the mode used, it could be time consuming or problematic due to file sizes or formatting and the like.  Peer to Peer file sharing (P2P) took file greatly facilitated this as it allows users to use certain software designed for sharing to access movies and software directly between two computers without an intermediary server.  P2P programs like Kazaa, Kontiki and Limewire allow this sharing, but it took a long time as differences in speed between upload and download create a slowdown.  While there are many P2P software programs, BitTorrent took P2P to a whole new level by having the whole process which could take hours reduced to minutes. As Thompson describes in his article “The BitTorrent Effect”, Bram Cohen’s software created a platform for huge files to be able to be broken up in smaller units and then distributed by many users to be downloaded simultaneously. This changed the industry as far as content distribution and has been pushing the media industry, albeit reluctantly to adjust to online. (Thompson, 2005).

Thompson, Clive. “The BitTorrent Effect.” Wired, Conde Nast, 1 Jan. 2005, www.wired.com/2005/01/bittorrent-2/.