When I read through the third chapter of Rheingold's book "Smart Mobs" it was like I was travelling back in time. I remember a few years ago sitting in front of my computer and downloading song after song after song. Napster was huge and everyone (or at least I thought) knew about it. I can't recall exactly how I found out about it....but I definitely remember when all the debate and controversey began.
Peer to Peer networks are a good thing, in my opinion at least. They allowed me to discover new music and find out how a band sounds before buying the CD. I understand why most people would be against these programs....but that doesn't change my view of the topic. When Rheingold talks about "killer apps" I completely agree that Napster WAS the killer app for p2p software. It was the number one. Napster was a household name.
They (Lars Ulrich & others) complained enough to get the courts to make Napster change and become a pay service with limited songs.....instead of free and limitless. After Napster was being forgotten about, multiple similar programs began to takeover. Morpheus, Kazaa, BearShare. They all had unique names but all had the same purpose. To allow people to share. With every technology there are problems.....but Napster was something that should have stayed free.
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