Will Richardson
LIN 312—Language and the Internet
Rajesh Bhatt
KaZaA: The History
Introduction:
KaZaA can be viewed as a third generation peer-to-peer file-sharing
service, or P2P service. Napster was the first generation of P2P applications,
followed by Gnutella and WinMx, the second generation of P2P applications,
then KaZaA and other Fasttrack applications such as Morpheus and Grokster.
These networks allow users to search and download all types of media files, and
not just music files, from other users on the server. This is significant because
now users only have to download one server and they then have access to
Audio, Video, Software, and Picture downloads from all over the world. My goal
in this paper is to outline and detail the history of file-sharing that eventually led
to the creation of KaZaA and other applications that are in use today.
Road Map:
Since its introduction in the mid-1990’s, peer-to-peer file-sharing, or simply
P2P, has matured into one of the most influential ideas in the history of the
internet. The expansion and world-wide use of the internet has facilitated the
growth of P2P to extraordinary levels. What started as anonymous FTP,
meaning users login using anonymous names to receive or transfer files on the
internet, has transformed throughout the past decade. The second stage of this
transformation was file transfer protocol along with free Homepage usage,
meaning users are able to upload files on homepages in order to allow others to
download them, essentially combining FTP with the World Wide Web.1 Around
1997, Hotline or ICQ (messenger), a communication device that allowed users to
chat back and forth, as well as share files through the messenger was
introduced.2 Finally in 1999, Napster was created, quickly becoming the new
way to share music files quickly and easily with anyone in the world who has also
downloaded the application. Due to this, 60 million users were soon using
Napster.3 Because there were so many users, copyright violations became a
huge problem causing Napster to eventually shut down after a series of lawsuits
were filed. In 2001, WinMx was created. WinMx was another file-sharing
application that allowed users to not just share music files, but other files such as
pictures, movies and computer software as well. This in turn led to more
copyright infringements and lawsuits, eventually shutting down WinMx. WinMx
led to the creation of KaZaA and the numerous other file-sharing protocols that
are still present today.
4
Internet and peer-to-peer
1987 MP3 format developed.
1993 Mosaic Web browser launched, Internet takes off.
1998 Music, movies, etc STILL not available online TO BUY other than buying the physical
product.
1999 Napster launched as a resource for finding music files online.
2000 Napster closed down following ruling in favor of US record industry.
2001 KaZaA launched for all files – not just music but videos, software, images
1
http://www.ksc.kwansei.ac.jp/researchfair02/03/website/history.htm
2
Ibid
3
Ibid
4
http://www.kazaa.com/revolution/history.htm
Personal Relevance:
The creation of peer-to-peer file-sharing has had a tremendous impact on
modern society. Instead of having to go out to the music store and buying a CD
for $15-$20, P2P made it possible to simply download the music file(s) you want
directly to your computer. These files can be played straight from your computer
or with the help of a CD creator agent or application; these files can be compiled
and ―burned‖ onto a blank media CD. The cost to the consumer is simply the
price of the blank CD, that is if there is no downloading fee, which hasn’t been
used until recently with Apple’s iTunes and Napster 2. The same goes for other
types of media files, such as video, software and pictures.
The creation of peer-to-peer file-sharing is extraordinary because it allows
relatively free access of files to anyone in the entire world who downloads and
becomes a user of the P2P server. Through this type of file-sharing, if one user
uploads his/her file(s) to the server, every single user is able to download those
files. Unfortunately, what is good for the consumer is not always legal and is
very harmful to the producers and artists. Due to the high volume of
downloading copyright-protected files, producers and artists began taking legal
action against the creators and even some of the users of the Napster system.
All this was done to protect the Intellectual Property Rights of the artists. These
parties decided to take actions against the creators and even some users of the
file-sharing protocols. The producers and artists took it to court because their
copyrights weren’t being respected. This eventually caused the downfall of
Napster and left many users looking for alternative ways to continue downloading
free music and other media files. Sure enough other types of downloading
agents were created and most of them have shared the same fate as Napster.
File Transfer Protocol:
File transfer protocol, FTP, is the internet protocol that permits you to transfer
files between your system and another system. You can use any of three
approaches to transfer files:5
your browser's limited FTP capability
programs like WS_FTP, CuteFTP, or Fetch
FTP command language that can be run from a DOS prompt or from
Start/Run in Windows or older shell accounts
However there are various restrictions to FTP. To transfer files using FTP, a
protocol usually requires either a user id on both systems or a special
configuration set up by the system administrator(s).6
In order to use FTP, certain software must be installed on your computer.
Limited FTP capability is already built into most browsers and you can use an
FTP URL to get files. Some browsers also include the ability to put files from
your system to another system using drag and drop from directory software like
Windows Explorer.7 But if you are going to put files elsewhere very regularly, you
will need FTP software. The older shell accounts normally include built-in FTP
software, usable with FTP commands.8 If you are using a dialup or networked
5
http://www.walthowe.com/navnet/history.html
6
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/docproject/zen/zen-1.0_5.html
7
http://www.walthowe.com/navnet/history.html
8
Ibid
account, you will need your own software. Windows 95 and later comes with its
own FTP software that can be run from MSDOS or in a dos window from the Run
function.9 To use it, you need to know the basic FTP commands.
Basic FTP Commands:10
ftp:
Opens the ftp software. If you follow it with an ftp address, it
completes the connection.
open some.ftp.address :
If the ftp software is already running (you will usually see an ftp>
prompt), use the open command followed by an ftp address to
connect to a site.
cd directoryname :
Changes to the named subdirectory. Successive subdirectories can
be chained together in one command, separated by slashes.
cd .. :
Changes to the next higher directory. The double dots can also be
chained with slashes to move more than one level.
ls or ls -l or dir :
Various forms of directory commands. Try them all and see their
effects.
mkdir :
Make a new directory
9
Ibid
10
Ibid
rmdir :
Remove a directory
rm or del :
Various forms of the delete command. If one doesn't work, try the
other.
rename or mv :
Various forms of the rename command. In unix, the syntax mv
oldname newname effectively moves the old name to the new
name.
get filename :
Get the named file from the remote system to your system.
mget filelist :
Multiple file get. You can use wildcards, such as *.gif or list each
filename in turn.
put :
Put a file from your system to a remote system.
mput :
Multiple file put.
ascii :
Sets ascii (text) mode for subsequent transfers. Use with HTML
files.
bin :
Sets binary mode. Must be used for all binary files.
help or ? or man ftp :
Calls up more help.
There is a lot of friendlier software, like WS-FTP for Windows, which automates
the FTP process for you so that you don't have to remember the command
structure.11
(Anonymous) File Transfer Protocol:
Anonymous File Transfer Protocol, or anonymous FTP, was the next
advancement towards today’s KaZaA. The history of anonymous FTP dates
back to the early days of the internet. An anonymous FTP server is one in which
a user can login using an anonymous user name and sometimes a password as
well. Once the user has this anonymous user name, he/she is able to send
and/or receive files. Anonymous FTP is a good way around the restrictions of
FTP because it essentially will let anyone in the world have access to a certain
area of disk space in a non-threatening way.12 With this, people can make files
publicly available with little difficulty.
The ARCHIE Server:
The user can find the files which they want in anonymous FTP from a
server called Archie. The first effort, other than library catalogs, to index the
internet was created in 1989, as Peter Deutsch and his crew at McGill University
11
Ibid
12
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/docproject/zen/zen-1.0_5.html
in Montreal, created an archiver for ftp sites, which they named Archie.13 This
software would periodically reach out to all known openly available ftp sites, list
their files and build a searchable index of the software. The commands to search
Archie were UNIX commands, and it took some knowledge of UNIX to use it to
its full capability.
Basic UNIX Commands:14
ls ................. show directory, in alphabetical order
logout ............. logs off system
mkdir .............. make a directory
rmdir .............. remove directory (rm -r to delete folders with
files)
rm ................. remove files
cd ................. change current directory
man (command) ...... shows help on a specific command
talk (user) ........ pages user for chat - (user) is a email address
write (user) ....... write a user on the local system (control-c to
end)
pico (filename) .... easy to use text editor to edit files
pine ............... easy to use mailer
more (file) ........ views a file, pausing every screenful
sz ................. send a file (to you) using zmodem
rz ................. recieve a file (to the unix system) using zmodem
telnet (host) ...... connect to another Internet site
ftp (host) ......... connects to a FTP site
archie (filename) .. search the Archie database for a file on a FTP
site
irc ................ connect to Internet Relay Chat
lynx ............... a textual World Wide Web browser
gopher ............. a Gopher database browser
tin, trn ........... read Usenet newsgroups
passwd ............. change your password
chfn ............... change your "Real Name" as seen on finger
chsh ............... change the shell you log into
grep ............... search for a string in a file
tail ............... show the last few lines of a file
who ................ shows who is logged into the local system
w .................. shows who is logged on and what they're doing
finger (emailaddr).. shows more information about a user
df ................. shows disk space available on the system
13
http://www.walthowe.com/navnet/history.html
14
http://www.bsd.org/unixcmds.html
du ................. shows how much disk space is being used up by
folders
chmod .............. changes permissions on a file
bc ................. a simple calculator
make ............... compiles source code
gcc (file.c) ....... compiles C source into a file named 'a.out'
gzip ............... best compression for UNIX files
zip ................ zip for IBM files
tar ................ combines multiple files into one or vice-versa
lharc, lzh, lha .... un-arc'ers, may not be on your system
dos2unix (file) (new) - strips CR's out of dos text files
unix2dos (file) (new) - adds CR's to unix text files
FTP and Free Homepage:
After the use of FTP and anonymous FTP with the help of Archie for
indexing purposes, the combination of FTP file sharing and free Homepage file
sharing became the major way to share files. This transformation occurred from
1995 to 1997. By using free Homepage, you were able to upload files onto a
webpage, in order to allow others to download them directly from the web. In
other words, this step essentially combined FTP with the World Wide Web. This
improvement was very innovative because now more than ever it became easier
to transfer files from location to location all over the world. With hundreds of free
Homepage providers on the internet today, access to a free Homepage has
become more and more obtainable. All one has to do is find the right free
homepage provider based on free space and file manager. Most free Homepage
providers today require the user to put banners on their page. Here is a list of
the top 30 free homepage providers according to ―www.freesitex.com‖, along with
reliability, speed and their rating of the free homepage provider:15
15
http://www.freesitex.com/homepage.html
File
Name Free Space Ad Requirement Reliability Speed Rating
Manager
Banner
Hypermart 10MB FTP/Browser 10 Fast 10
pop-up banner
Stormloader 10MB Banner Brower 10 Fast 9
5MB -
FreeHomepage Banner FTP/Browser 9 Fast 8
Unlimited
Banner
Virtual Avenue 20MB FTP 8 Fast 8
pop-up banner
Tripod 11MB pop-up banner FTP/Browser 10 Fast 8
Banner
Geocities 11MB FTP/Browser 10 Fast 8
pop-up banner
Homepage.com 10MB Top Toolbar Browser 10 Fast 8
Depends on your
Angelfire 5MB FTP/Browser 10 Fast 8
usage
Banner
The Globe 12MB Browser 10 Fast 8
pop-up banner
Banner
Spree Hosting Unlimited Browser 10 Fast 8
pop-up banner
Freeweb.digiweb 10MB pop-up banner FTP 8 Medium 8
Family Shoe
Unlimited Banner Browser N/A N/A 8
Box
Starpath 20MB Banner FTP/Browser 10 Fast 9
321 Website 10MB Bottom Banner FTP/Browser N/A N/A 8
Free Yellow 12MB bottom banner FTP/Browser 9 Fast 8
Delphi 10MB Banner Browser N/A N/A 8
FreeTown 3MB None FTP/Browser N/A N/A 8
Cybercities 25MB None FTP N/A N/A 8
Internettrash 10MB None E-Mail N/A N/A 8
Upws 2MB None FTP N/A N/A 8
MYSP 7MB None Browser N/A N/A 8
Tilted Hosting 2MB Banner FTP 10 Fast 8
Better-Business 30MB Banner FTP N/A N/A 7
WebJump 25MB Top Frame FTP 9 Fast 7
Internet-Club 15MB pop-up banner FTP N/A N/A 7
FreeZone 7MB None Browser N/A N/A 7
NeoTown 15MB None FTP N/A N/A 7
Nettaxi 3MB None Browser N/A N/A 7
Cynet City 12MB Banner FTP N/A N/A 7
Codename 8MB Banner FTP N/A N/A 7
Hotline or ICQ (messenger):
Around 1997, Hotline or ICQ (messenger), a communication device that
allowed users to chat back and forth, as well as share files through the
messenger was introduced.16 This took file-sharing to yet another level because
through a simple messenger, a user could not only communicate, but transfer
and receive files as well. ICQ Inc., the successor of Mirabilis Ltd. was created
when America Online acquired all of Mirabilis' assets on June 1998.17 Mirabilis
was founded in July 1996 when four young Israeli avid-computer users
established a new Internet company. Yair Goldfinger (26, Chief Technology
Officer), Arik Vardi (27, Chief Executive Officer), Sefi Vigiser (25, President), and
Amnon Amir (24, currently studying) created the company in order to introduce a
new way of communication over the internet.18 ICQ stands for ―I Seek You‖ and
it was enthusiastically received and immediately embraced, first by a small
number of users, but soon thereafter, by hundreds of thousands. This chain
reaction created one of the largest download rates for a start-up company in the
history of the internet.19
Napster:
After the uproar created by ICQ and Hotline with their messengers,
Napster was created in 1999 by an 18-year old named Shawn Fanning, who
happened to be a college dropout. I guess some people don’t need a degree to
16
http://www.ksc.kwansei.ac.jp/researchfair02/03/website/history.htm
17
http://company.icq.com/info/icqstory.html
18
Ibid
19
Ibid
change the world because that is exactly what this young man did. Fanning
came up with the simple idea of creating a program that allowed computer users
to share and swap files, specifically music, through a centralized file server.20
The 18 year old stayed awake for 60 straight hours writing the source code for a
program that combined a music-search function with a file-sharing system and, to
facilitate communication, instant messaging.21 Napster hosted a central server
which indexed all the files that each Napster user had. When you wanted to find
a particular file, you simply "searched Napster." The process of searching simply
asked the central server: "does anyone have this file?"22 The central server
would look at its list of known files and provide you with the internet location of
the other users who had the file. The central server model made sense for many
reasons -- it was an efficient way to handle searches, and allowed Napster to
retain control over the network. However, what it also meant was that when the
lawyers came down on Napster, all they had to do was turn off the central
servers and that was the end of Napster.23 Napster is viewed as the 1st
generation of peer-to peer networks before it was taken down by RIAA, the
Recording Industry Association of America.
2nd Generation:
Gnutella was the second major P2P network to emerge. After Napster's
shut down, the creators of Gnutella wanted to create a ―de-centralized network‖--
20
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring01/Burkhalter/Napster%20history.html
21
Ibid
22
http://www.mac-p2p.com/p2p-history/
23
Ibid
one that could not be shut down by simply turning off a server.24 In the broadest
sense, Gnutella worked by connecting users to other users directly bypassing
any central server altogether. When users started the Gnutella client, they would
connect to a certain number of other users, and those users were connected to
other users, etc, all in one giant network. In order to search for a file, you asked
everyone you were connected to "hey, do you have this file?" They in turn would
see if they do, and also pass the message on to all the people they were
connected to. Basically, it was one big game of "telephone".25 The main
advantage was that it couldn't easily be shut down. The disadvantages were
many--including slow searches and islands of sub-networks that weren't
connected to each other. There were several clients under Gnutella that we
considered 2nd generation P2P:26
poisoned (recommended)
http://poisonedproject.com/poisoned.php
Poisoned is a very popular client and supports Gnutella, FastTrack, and
OpenFT networks.
mlMac (recommended)
http://www.abyssoft.com/software/mlmac/
mlMac is the graphical front end to mldonkey and provides support for
Gnutella, FastTrack, eDonkey, and Overnet networks.
iSwipe (DonationWare)
http://www.hillmanminx.net/iswipe/
24
Ibid
25
Ibid
26
Ibid
iSwipe is a multi-network client and the most recent version provides
support for OpenNap, Gnutella, FastTrack, eDonkey and many others.
Limewire
http://www.limewire.com/english/content/home.shtml
A popular Gnutella client for Mac OS X. People have variable luck with it
(and the Gnutella network), but your experiences may vary. Shareware.
Acquisition
http://www.acquisitionx.com/
Another Mac OS X Gnutella Client. $15 Shareware
mutella
http://mutella.sourceforge.net/
command line Gnutella Client (available via Fink).
WinMx:
During the days of Napster, WinMx was simply just a client under
OpenNap; however it did have a large following of users. WinMx served as a
nice alternative to the crowded and often slow Napster and with the following it
had, could produce just as many mp3s as Napster did.27 After the bringing down
of Napster by RIAA in the courts in 2000, the P2P network nearly collapsed
entirely. As all the other downloading agents such as Scour Exchange fell, the
OpenNap community crashed. With nothing to connect to but a few overcrowded
foreign servers, WinMx evolved and created the WinMX Peer Networking
27
http://www.slyck.com/winmx.php?page=1
Protocol (WPNP).28 This allowed WinMx to become the newest, most
widespread P2P network. A new version of WinMx quickly came out, allowing
users access to not just audio, but video, software and pictures as well.
However, the advancements created by WinMx quickly led to more copyright
infringements and lawsuits. These lawsuits eventually closed down WinMx, as
they had all their predecessors such as Napster, but not before paving the way
for KaZaA.
KaZaA, 3rd Generation:
KaZaA is a client of the Fasttrack Network, the most popular P2P network
at this time. Following the example of all of the networks before it, Fasttrack
offers an enormous variety of files for download. Fasttrack and its clients,
mainly KaZaA, are used by millions worldwide. Other clients of this network
which are also very well known and widely used include Grokster and Morpheus.
KaZaA, Grokster and Morpheus are the names of the different clients that
connect to the Fasttrack Network. What that means is that users of any of those
clients have access to the exact same files. Others clients that are a part of the
Fasttrack network, as well as 3rd generation P2Ps are:29
mlMac (recommended)
http://www.abyssoft.com/software/mlmac/
mlMac is the graphical front end for mlDonkey -- which has FastTrack
support built in.
28
Ibid
29
Ibid
poisoned (recommended)
http://poisonedproject.com/poisoned.php
Poisoned is a graphical client for giFT. It also includes a plug-in to support
the FastTrack network as well as Gnutella.
iSwipe (DonationWare)
http://www.hillmanminx.net/iswipe/
iSwipe is a multi-network client and the most recent version provides
support for OpenNap, Gnutella, FastTrack, eDonkey and many others.
Fasttrack added a number of enhancements to the P2P networks,
including super nodes, and spawning.30 These improvements both helped
searches as well as download speeds. Despite legal battles, the Fasttrack
network remains operational, and is the most popular P2P network.
Future of P2P File-Sharing:
Who knows what’s in store for the future of peer-to-peer networking, but if
the future goes anything like the last decade, you can bet that the networks and
all of their clients will continue to advance and amaze. Despite the continued
legal battle royales, I strongly believe that networks will continue to be created so
that free downloads will remain available. I also believe that as time goes by,
more and more users will simply pay for their downloads, but the masses of
those who want free downloads will never completely disappear.
30
http://www.mac-p2p.com/p2p-history/
Will Richardson
LIN 312—Language and the Internet
Rajesh Bhatt
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Internet, First Edition, January 1992.‖
Mac-P2P.com. ―Peer to Peer (P2P) Introduction and History‖ 26 Aug. 2003.
―Napster: Then and Now‖
Sharman Networks. ―A short history of Music, Movies, Videos and P2P‖ 2002-
2003.
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