[unrev-II] searchday about P2P

From: Bernard Vatant (universimmedia@wanadoo.fr)
Date: Thu Aug 09 2001 - 13:32:24 PDT

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    SearchDay is a daily newsletter from SearchEngineWatch.com, having runnning
    now for a bit less than three months.
    I've suscribed from the first day - very interesting stuff. Archives
    available at http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/

    In today's issue
    http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/01/sd0809-p2p-oreilly-.html

    The following, worth reading ...

    Bernard

    ===================

    Peering at Peer-to-Peer

    "Just as the early 20th-century advocates of psychoanalysis saw sex
    everywhere, industry analysts and marketing managers are starting to call
    everything they like in computers and telecommunications 'peer-to-peer,'
    writes Andy Oram in the preface to "Peer-To-Peer: Harnessing the Power of
    Disruptive Technologies" published by O'Reilly & Associates.

    Peer-to-peer (P2P) technologies may not have the same appeal as sex, but
    they have seemingly become all the rage in the early years of the 21st
    century. Though now crippled, Napster is the poster child for P2P, and
    its "dark twin" Gnutella has also received a lot of press. The Seti@Home
    project is another highly visible P2P effort.

    But P2P is hardly new, nor is it truly ubiquitous. Nonetheless, a new
    wave of P2P technologies are having an impact in the world of information
    storage and retrieval, and P2P is important subject for searchers to be
    aware of, at least on a basic level.

    In this book, editor Oram has assembled a collection of articles penned by
    P2P experts. The first part of the book sets the context and provides an
    overview of P2P, and is probably the most useful for the non-technical
    reader.

    The first chapter provides a great overview of P2P models through the
    history of the Internet, pointing out that the Net was originally
    conceived as a P2P network. Early protocols and tools such as Telnet,
    FTP, and even Usenet Newsgroups all relied on P2P approaches. The arrival
    of "destination" Web sites changed the nature of the Net, with single
    sites serving thousands or millions of users.

    Even as the web morphed into a one-to-many system, P2P systems like email,
    instant messaging, and of course, Napster continued to thrive. The
    ability to share files and information directly with like-minded users,
    rather than relying on a centralized arbiter of content like a search
    engine or a portal, is what makes P2P systems so intriguing.

    Napster and Gnutella allow users to search for and share files with other
    users. Neither system, however, is anonymous. Other P2P systems, such as
    Freenet, Publius, and Free Haven are similar to Gnutella but use a variety
    of techniques to assure anonymous retrieval of information. Moreover,
    they provide mechanisms for anonymous publishing of content, allowing
    users in countries with repressive governments to bypass draconian
    censorship policies.

    This, of course, makes P2P appear threatening or even subversive to the
    establishment, which undoubtedly adds to the allure of the technology.

    "Peer-To-Peer" offers in-depth looks at a number of these systems,
    including the ones mentioned above and others like RedRover, Jabber, the
    Seti@Home project, and others. While many chapters are highly technical,
    they also discuss many of the social issues involved with P2P
    technologies.

    Although they focus on P2P, the chapters on Trust, Accountability,
    Reputation and Security are just as relevant for thinking about
    general-purpose search engines. Trust, accountability and reputation are
    actually three fundamental concepts that must be somehow be built into
    machine-to-machine interactions to fully realize the dream of the semantic
    web.

    "Peer-To-Peer" offers an excellent look at an important and potentially
    disruptive technology that may significantly change the way we search for
    information. Though it's a bit technical, it's well worth the time spent
    slogging through the heavy details for anyone seriously interested in
    learning about a major future trend in the world of search.

    Peer-To-Peer: Harnessing the Power of Disruptive Technologies
    Edited by Andy Oram
    O'Reilly & Associates
    ISBN: 0-596-00110-X
    $29.95

    Peer-To-Peer Companion Web Site
    http://openp2p.com

    ===================

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