File-sharing in the dark (internet speakeasies)

Richmond Times Dispatch ^ | 10-5-03 | MATTHEW FORDAHL

[putupon]

SAN JOSE, Calif. Just as Prohibition drove drinkers underground in the roaring'20s, the music industry's crackdown is pushing many song swappers away from the open Internet and into what amount to cyberspace speakeasies.

These high-tech Cotton Clubs usually require users to be trusted or at least know someone inside. The files, instead of out in the open, are encrypted - the 21st century equivalent of hiding bathtub gin under a fake floorboard.

[boris]

Hmm. I found freenet so slow (took essentially the age of the Universe to initialize on a 3-Ghz P-IV) that I won't use it. Anybody have comments?

--Boris

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Lighten Up, Francis!

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[Michael Barnes]

The freenet network is currently in a state of fracture. You might try Entropy.

Check out /. today. It has an article on the chaos in freenet world and a few links to other "net's inside the net" packages..