Blog: P2P

File sharing is the transferring of digital media content through various possible means such as phones, computers, the internet, etc. It usually involves two different users, one who is sending and one who is receiving. My most recent memory of file sharing is the airdrop function on Apple devices which allows users to send files like books, pictures, videos and etc. to others. P2P file sharing is a form of file sharing which usually involves peer-to-peer technology such as a third party software or something like that. My earliest memory of P2P file sharing was Napster which I remember caused a lot of controversy because it of how new the technology was and how it was deemed piracy. Some examples of P2P file sharing could be Napster when it was first introduced and game servers like Fortnite. Napster was a form of P2P because it connected people who had music available to share with people who needed music through some 3rd party software which created a network for these kinds of people. In the New York Times article, "Should Online Scofflaws Be Denied Web Access", the author touches upon some really interesting points detailing the law behind P2P softwares. It was interesting to read this because it showed exactly how medias like Napster violated ethics and later on, were found to violate the law. Sometimes P2P file sharing can be deemed as piracy so it is important to take note. Fortnite is important in the sense that it shows how much P2P file sharing has come. With games, users have had to in the past spend hours upon hours downloading various content by keeping up to date with game news and following instructions online. This was very tedious and game developers had to come up with a new idea. Fortnite was one of the first games to use P2P file sharing to automatically download new content onto user consoles without alerting users or requiring any additional steps. P2P file sharing has made gaming more efficient for both gamers and developers and it is a great example detailing how far we've come.