The Register: Microsoft preps Napster clone

“Microsoft plans to ’embrace and extend’ peer-to-peer file
sharing technology with a Napster-style system of its own.
Codenamed Farsite, the program is currently little more than a
research project… Essentially, Farsite follows the true
peer-to-peer mode of Gnutella rather than Napster’s approach.
Farsite lets PC talk unto PC, without the need for a central server
to act as an intermediate directory, as is the case with
Napster.”

“…one of the application areas in which a certain open
source operating system that competes with Microsoft’s own
offerings is doing rather well is file sharing. So it might well be
to the Windows maker’s benefit to be able to bypass said systems
using client-based peer-to-peer sharing technology.”

“It makes sense, then, for Microsoft to have the appropriate
technology ready just in case. It can certainly afford to develop
the code and risk it never being used.”

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