A short while ago, a group of young programmers developed a tiny program called WinAmp that let users play highly compressed CD-quality music on their computers. The program created a huge buzz on the Internet and launched the music compression scheme MP3 into full gear. When those same engineers sold their company to AOL and became multimillionaires, they landed a department among themselves in which they could work on new projects freely without the prior knowledge or approval of their management.
Soon after that, the same group of programmers released a program called Gnutella, which essentially duplicated the functionality of a rising-star killer app called Napster. Gnutella took the client-to-client file- sharing idea of Napster and added an enormous amount of functionality to it, including the ability to trade not only audio, but also pictures, videos, applications, and other file types. To top it all off, Gnutella was designed to run without any centralized servers, which meant the ability to form a network between two or more computers that could disappear and reappear without a trace. Users could even remain anonymous.
News of Gnutella spread within hours of its release, and AOL's servers were bombarded with downloads. The copyright infringement controversy that surrounded Napster now had a bigger and more powerful player, but AOL balked. Although the program was pulled off AOL's servers within 24 hours, web sites around the world immediately began posting the beta version of the code, and the genie was out of the bottle.
Gnutella has become one of the most efficient ways for people to share documents such as spreadsheets and legal MP3s without a central server, but it is still cloaked in controversy. Not only has it become tremendously difficult for universities and workplaces (and a royal pain for the Record Company Association of America) to block if it is used illegally, but it also has become a terrifyingly simple way to trade pornography, illegal and otherwise, as well as pirated copyrighted material such as MP3s. But it has its benefits: It is a quick and convenient way to track down and exchange the files you need.
ZDNet Music has compiled a list of All Things Gnutella just for you. Download the program, read what lead programmer Gene Kan has to say about his work, check out the commentary from some of our top editors, and browse the history of this controversial new program. And don't forget to tell us what you think in the discussion board!
Downloads
• Download Gnutella v.56 now
• Download Furi Launcher (for Macintosh users)
Beginner's Guide
• Beginner's Guide to Gnutella
Features
• The Five Best Alternatives to Gnutella and Napster
Interviews
• An Interview With Gnutella Developer, Gene Kan
Commentary
• Chaos: Agents Of Change
(by Rob Fixmer, May 17, 2000)
• There's Nothing 'Inevitable' About Online Anarchy
(by Matt Carolan, May 16, 2000)
• All hail Napster!
(by Matthew Rothenberg, May 11, 2000)
• Chaos & Agents Of Change
(by Rob Fixmer, May 11, 2000)
• New Young Radicals
(by Matt Carolan, May 9, 2000)
• Talkback Central: Pornography rights are absurd
(by Jim Cowart, May 8, 2000)
• Story: How Napster and Friends Will Turn the Web Inside Out
(by Jesse Berst, April 24, 2000)
• Has the time for copyright passed?
(by Steven Arnold, April 20, 2000)
The Timeline
• New program mimics Napster
(by Lee Gomes, May 15, 2000)
• AOL: Faux Napster release 'unauthorized'
(by ZDNet News, March 16, 2000)
• Nullsoft Steps Up to the Plate but Strikes Out?
(by Giancarlo Varanini, March 22, 2000)
• Can Gnutella Cover the Spread?
(by Giancarlo Varanini, March 23, 2000)
• Watch out, Napster - it's Scour.net!
(by Giancarlo Varanini, April 4, 2000)
• Gnutella ignites porn, pirate worries
(by Bob Sullivan, April 13, 2000)
• Gnutella clone hits the Mac today
(by Adam Gillitt, April 18, 2000)
• Gnutella porn surfers exposed
(by Bob Sullivan, May 4, 2000)
• Digital Music Anarchy
(by Matt Carolan, May 17, 2000)
Feedback
• Discuss Gnutella now
