Has P2P Become a Passing Fad?

plasticmillion asks: "As the RIAA launches increasingly rabid attacks against P2P networks and users, pundits continue to debate the future of P2P. On the one hand, some argue that P2P is just a clever way to escape detection from copyright owners, like in this recent Slashdot story. Others, like Clay Shirky, make a strong case that processing is destined to move to the 'edges' of the network. I'm curious to know what Slashdot readers think: is P2P the start of a major new trend that is just getting started, or is it a passing fad that will fade once legal client/server systems for media distribution finally take hold? If the former, which of the supposed advantages of P2P over client/server systems are really significant?"

Comments

I said it back when

[Lane.exe]

I said it back when Napster took its famous stage dive, and I'm saying it again now that Kazaa is on the chopping block. Getting rid of 1 p2p service only enables 6 more to spring up, these even more widely dispersed. How long before p2p servers become located in non-US countries and routed through anonymous proxies to avoid the watchful eye of the RIAA/MPAA? How long before a pirates create apps to google through anonymous FTP proxies/IRC for the copyrighted material? p2p is the fall guy for piracy, the most readily available target. But because of that, its business is in the open. The pirated wares will be moved to the 'Net equivalent of a black market, while legitimate p2p (esp. with the right of first sale) will become like the 'Net equivalent of a flea market.

Anonymous network possible & easy

[Arslan ibn Da'ud]

Imagine a P2P system like Kazaa but with one extra twist...Whenever
someone wants to download a file from you, your computer doesn't send
it directly to theirs. Instead your computer sends the file to a proxy
machine which then sends the file to the rceipient. Both connections
are encrypted with public-key cryptography, and the proxy machine
stores nothing that is not encrypted. Congratulations, you have just
send a file to anyone (maybe even an RIAA spy) without then
interacting with you and finding out what your IP address is or who
you are.

Now imagine that in addition to super-peers, Kazaa maintains a list of
proxy servers whose sole job is to upload stuff from users and
download stuff to other users. You can run such a 'data peer' yourself
legelly since all the data is encrypted so you don't know what your
computer is storing.

Of course this network is less efficient than Kazaa, since each file
gets copied twice whenever it is downloaded. I guess that's why
nothing like this network exists yet. But if Kazaa dies due to its
users being sued off the network, I'll bet this 'proxy'-based network
takes over. Let the RIAA try to sue users on this proxy network!

Anyone interested in helping build this?