Unfortunately, the world doesn't quite work the way you wish it did. Based on past experience, Gnutella probably is an attempt by the establishment to derail the free sharing of information spawned by services like Napster. On the surface, it appears part of a "divide and conquer" strategy. The red flag is the Gnutella feature that allows users to build their own networks to share files. That sounds to me like a sure way to inhibit the free flow of information (clubs and membership dues). The RIAA and the recording industry, including some of the artists and their agents, have had this coming for a long time. Think of how many consumers have had to buy over and over again the same music when the format they originally bought it on was obsoleted (LP to cassette, to CD, just as an example). Can you imagine the instant rebellion if you had to buy the same (note the same) release of a software product just because the delivery medium was changed? I have never had to do that. The music industry (including many of the big stars) could have killed any Napster-like service before it even got started by simply allowing the online purchase of individual songs (of guaranteed quality since they have the source) for $.25-50 each, and they would make good money at it (by eliminating most of the distribution chain). If this kind of service were available, I, for one, would use it frequently. But, they are sort-sighted, resist change to an extreme and are greedy (just like the rest of us only to a greater degree). Let's not forget that historically, the music industry, just like the publishing and broadcasting industries, has been one of the more repressive and retrograde particularly in the way they treat employees who are not stars. For whatever it's worth.
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Unfortunately, the world doesn't quite work the way you wish it did. Based on past experience, Gnutella probably is an attempt by the establishment to derail the free sharing of information spawned by services like Napster. On the surface, it appears part of a "divide and conquer" strategy. The red flag is the Gnutella feature that allows users to build their own networks to share files. That sounds to me like a sure way to inhibit the free flow of information (clubs and membership dues). The RIAA and the recording industry, including some of the artists and their agents, have had this coming for a long time. Think of how many consumers have had to buy over and over again the same music when the format they originally bought it on was obsoleted (LP to cassette, to CD, just as an example). Can you imagine the instant rebellion if you had to buy the same (note the same) release of a software product just because the delivery medium was changed? I have never had to do that. The music industry (including many of the big stars) could have killed any Napster-like service before it even got started by simply allowing the online purchase of individual songs (of guaranteed quality since they have the source) for $.25-50 each, and they would make good money at it (by eliminating most of the distribution chain). If this kind of service were available, I, for one, would use it frequently. But, they are sort-sighted, resist change to an extreme and are greedy (just like the rest of us only to a greater degree). Let's not forget that historically, the music industry, just like the publishing and broadcasting industries, has been one of the more repressive and retrograde particularly in the way they treat employees who are not stars. For whatever it's worth.