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more on Opera integrates BitTorrent in upcoming browser
From: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Mon, 06 Feb 2006 10:15:01 -0500
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [IP] Opera integrates BitTorrent in upcoming browser Date: Mon, 06 Feb 2006 10:03:07 -0500 From: dsr () tao merseine nu To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net> References: <43E75D5D.4080408 () farber net>
The following is a press release from Opera Software. According to the release, the company is integrating BitTorrent into its browser. Unfortunately, this could cause adverse effects; Opera users may experience slow Internet performance because the BitTorrent software will saturate their Internet bandwidth allocations without their knowledge or consent. (The BitTorrent protocol is, as you may know, designed to try to use every scrap of available bandwidth not only to receive content but also to redistribute it.) Also, because BitTorrent is one of the preferred protocols for downloading of pirated movies and similar fare, the software will also doubtless turn many Opera users' computers into illicit sources of copyrighted material and subject the users to lawsuits from movie studios and sanctions from their ISPs. It will be interesting to see how this pans out, but I fear that the move will backfire very badly for Opera.
Apparently Mr. Glass has never bothered to research exactly how the BitTorrent protocol works. For every mention of BitTorrent, please substitute "FTP". Does it sound ridiculous now? The BT protocol only involves the user in downloading and rebroadcasting the specific files that the user has requested. When the download is complete, the user may continue to serve those files to other BT users, or may stop responding. Only if the user has requested illicit material will their machine participate in serving it, and that only as long as the user specifies after the download is complete. If the user is requesting an ISO of a Linux distribution, they can be assured that only that ISO is passing through their system. -dsr- ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as lists-ip () insecure org To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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