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A Short History of the Internet : A Digression
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The idea of linking computers together began in the early 1960s. The results were unsatisactory however. Sending files by telephone lines was a very slow process, and the lines tended to drop, so it could take a long time and several tries to transfer files correctly.
The effort to improve file transfer came primarily from two different sources:
Computer scientists wanted an efficient method to share files with their colleagues.
This is the way the Internet was originally designed to work. Any machine connected to the network would be able to send and receive information with any other machine. The only hindrance is in the differences in the powers of each machine.
How Do I Make My Computer a Peer?
By downloading the correct software. For free. Here are just a few of the programs.
Through these programs, you can exchange any files with anyone you want. That may seem fine and natural, but this is not the end of the discussion by any means....
This worries many people: being able to exchange any files includes those files that are under the protection of "intellectual property law." If people can share any file with anyone, it means that people can also take copyrighted content and share it with others who are not paying for it.
What has been the result?
Many lawsuits have been filed concerning the transfer of information using p2p software. One of the major cases was Metro-Goldwyn Mayer vs. Grokster. MGM claimed that users of the program Grokster were using it to exchange copyrighted files and that Grokster was at fault. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, Grokster lost, and they had to shut down their site. Look what happens now when you go to www.grokster.com.
Does this mean that all p2p software is illegal? Not by any means. File sharing has been declared legal; what is illegal is exchanging, or encouraging people to exchange, copyrighted files. Whenever one p2p program is shut down, another is created. New types of p2p software are created all the time.
It is safe to conclude that the legal situation is still very unclear. File sharing involves all sorts of rights, including privacy and free speech. New situations seem to be arising every day.
For more information on copyright, see the separate section on Citations, Plagiarism & Copyright.
Here are some places to try to keep up with the latest changes
Continue with: Places to Find Information
The idea of linking computers together began in the early 1960s. The results were unsatisactory however. Sending files by telephone lines was a very slow process, and the lines tended to drop, so it could take a long time and several tries to transfer files correctly.The effort to improve file transfer came primarily from two different sources:
- Computer scientists
- The Department of Defense
Computer scientists wanted an efficient method to share files with their colleagues.
The Department of Defense wanted survivability, that is, a way to guarantee that their forces could continue to communicate in the event of a nuclear war.
The solution they found was packet switching. A single file would be broken up into many smaller files (packets), and on each of these packets would be added the address of the receiver. Then, each packet would be sent through a different route through the net. So, the first packet of a file may be routed through New York City, the second through London, the third through Florida, and so on. If a line were down somewhere, the packet would go another way.
All the packets would be reassembled on the receiving computer, and if a packet happened to get lost somewhere, the receiving computer could request that the packet be resent. In this way, the entire network would be available for sending files, and if one part was down for some reason,other parts could be utilized. (This is why watching videos over the web can be strange sometimes: one of the packets may not arrive until after the later ones, and the computer has to "wait" until the earlier one comes)
The World Wide Web needs powerful computers and special software, plus desktop PCs and browsers.
There has been a tremendous competition over the years and many browsers died, but some are still around. New ones are made all the time.
Internet Architecture
Client-Server Architecture
This is the traditional networking method.
HTTP (e.g. http://www.aur.edu) stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, and tells the client machine that it must do additional work with the files it receives and not simply download them. The files must be processed in some way. With HTTP, it uses the browser. For example, most web pages (including this one) consist of many files: the text may be in several files, each image is a separate file, there can be little programs sent along with the page that run on your computer, and there can be several more types of files as well.
The task of putting these files together correctly falls to the browser. Naturally, some browsers work better than others.
Earlier, clients were much less powerful than today's machines and could only display what the servers sent. When people used these "dumb terminals," the client had to interact with the server to do anything. All the client could do was to send and receive information from the server.
Now that the local machines (clients) are so much more powerful, they can do far more of the work, including the almost instantaneous downloading, assembling, and display of many files together that go into a single web page.
Peer to Peer Architecture (P2P)
The solution they found was packet switching. A single file would be broken up into many smaller files (packets), and on each of these packets would be added the address of the receiver. Then, each packet would be sent through a different route through the net. So, the first packet of a file may be routed through New York City, the second through London, the third through Florida, and so on. If a line were down somewhere, the packet would go another way.
All the packets would be reassembled on the receiving computer, and if a packet happened to get lost somewhere, the receiving computer could request that the packet be resent. In this way, the entire network would be available for sending files, and if one part was down for some reason,other parts could be utilized. (This is why watching videos over the web can be strange sometimes: one of the packets may not arrive until after the later ones, and the computer has to "wait" until the earlier one comes)
Originally, there were several networks. Here are just a few of them:
|  |
These networks were merged into the Internet in 1991, and Tim Berners-Lee began to create the HTTP protocol and HTML, where people could use hyperlinks. This is the part of the Internet called the World Wide Web. |  Tim Berners-Lee Creator of the World Wide Web |
| This is why it’s so difficult to control the Internet: You can’t even nuke it! |  Internet Map. From: The Opte Project |
The World Wide Web needs powerful computers and special software, plus desktop PCs and browsers.
There has been a tremendous competition over the years and many browsers died, but some are still around. New ones are made all the time.
Internet Architecture
Client-Server Architecture
This is the traditional networking method.
Servers: big computers that serve files when requested Clients: smaller computers that people use to ask for files from the servers
|  |
HTTP (e.g. http://www.aur.edu) stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, and tells the client machine that it must do additional work with the files it receives and not simply download them. The files must be processed in some way. With HTTP, it uses the browser. For example, most web pages (including this one) consist of many files: the text may be in several files, each image is a separate file, there can be little programs sent along with the page that run on your computer, and there can be several more types of files as well.
The task of putting these files together correctly falls to the browser. Naturally, some browsers work better than others.
Earlier, clients were much less powerful than today's machines and could only display what the servers sent. When people used these "dumb terminals," the client had to interact with the server to do anything. All the client could do was to send and receive information from the server.
| "Dumb Terminal" Display To navigate and search these terms, the user had to use tab keys, arrow keys or the function keys (F1, F2, etc.). This was during the time before there was a "mouse" for pointing and clicking. |  |
Now that the local machines (clients) are so much more powerful, they can do far more of the work, including the almost instantaneous downloading, assembling, and display of many files together that go into a single web page.
Many innovations in the client-server architecture
is in the amount of work
done by the client
so that the server can do other things
is in the amount of work
done by the client
so that the server can do other things
Peer to Peer Architecture (P2P)
As local machines become even more powerful, other architectures become increasingly possible.
All points in this network are peers, i.e. equally free to send and receive information to any other peer. Some machines, e.g. a pager, may not be as powerful as the others, but a P2P network does not need a server.
This is the way the Internet was originally designed to work. Any machine connected to the network would be able to send and receive information with any other machine. The only hindrance is in the differences in the powers of each machine.
How Do I Make My Computer a Peer?
By downloading the correct software. For free. Here are just a few of the programs.
Through these programs, you can exchange any files with anyone you want. That may seem fine and natural, but this is not the end of the discussion by any means....
This worries many people: being able to exchange any files includes those files that are under the protection of "intellectual property law." If people can share any file with anyone, it means that people can also take copyrighted content and share it with others who are not paying for it.
What has been the result?
Many lawsuits have been filed concerning the transfer of information using p2p software. One of the major cases was Metro-Goldwyn Mayer vs. Grokster. MGM claimed that users of the program Grokster were using it to exchange copyrighted files and that Grokster was at fault. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, Grokster lost, and they had to shut down their site. Look what happens now when you go to www.grokster.com.
MGM vs. GROKSTER For differing opinions on this case, see the article by Pamela Samuelson, Three Reactions to MGM v. Grokster, 13 Mich. Telecomm. Tech. L. Rev. (2006), and S. Vaidhyanathan, Supreme Court's Unsound Decision (July 28, 2005) |
Does this mean that all p2p software is illegal? Not by any means. File sharing has been declared legal; what is illegal is exchanging, or encouraging people to exchange, copyrighted files. Whenever one p2p program is shut down, another is created. New types of p2p software are created all the time.
It is safe to conclude that the legal situation is still very unclear. File sharing involves all sorts of rights, including privacy and free speech. New situations seem to be arising every day.
For more information on copyright, see the separate section on Citations, Plagiarism & Copyright.
Here are some places to try to keep up with the latest changes
- Gahtan's Technology and Internet Law Blog
- Bitlaw
- Do various searches on C-Net
END OF DIGRESSION
Continue with: Places to Find Information
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j.weinheimer |
Latest page update: made by j.weinheimer
, Dec 15 2008, 5:49 AM EST
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39 words added view changes - complete history) |
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