P2P File Sharing

1. What is file sharing?
2. What is P2P File sharing?
3. What are some examples of P2P file sharing?

File sharing is when Internet users download files from each other. Usually there is one host and one recipient. Bandwidth is not shared.

Peer to peer file sharing is a more complex system of seeders and leechers where the bandwidth is divided. You upload and download at the same time. This type of filing sharing has been used both legally and illegally, the latter usually to download movies and music from other users. Record companies and movie production companies are outraged and are punishing those who violate copyrights such as the woman who was charged a $1.5 million fine for downloading 24 songs illegally.

More examples of P2P file sharing include users who want to exchange Linux software, taking a video of a movie in the theater and uploading it later on the Internet, swapping games, etc. It seems that most P2P file sharing involves more illegal activity than ever. A lot of people would rather take the risk to download content illegally than pay to get a legitimate copy. As we saw in the article I mentioned above, $1.5 million is not comparable to $15 or $20 for a CD or DVD. I would rather pay the lower price. 

The Next New Thing

It's kind of difficult to predict or create a form of new media that will actually be successful for a wide user base. As a consumer who cares about green energy, especially solar energy, I see people around me with their smartphones. They also tend to carry corded chargers with them due to the poor battery life of smartphones that have too many features in them that drain the battery. I personally do not own a smartphone but I can think of a solution to help the battery life issue. Instead of paying lots of money to buy a portable charger that is in the form of a phone case (AC powered), these portable chargers should be powered by solar panels and cells. Wouldn't that be more efficient and suitable for smartphone users? I don't  know if this sort of product already exists or not. I just think solar energy in the palm of your hand is a lot more convenient than carrying a cord everywhere.

Privacy and Confidentiality

Privacy and confidentiality are related to new media for countless reasons. In the example of social media, such as blogs, Facebook, and Twitter, everything you post is public regardless of what your user settings are. If it's published, anyone who has the means of seeing it will be able to. Nothing is every truly private on the Internet. Employers may find some "inappropriate" content on someone's page and decide not to hire him  or her. The problem here is that you don't know when they are accessing your information and what they are doing with it (maybe selling it to other people and organizations). A general guideline is: if you don't want it to be known to the world, don't post it.