Gnutella

The entertainment industry may want to see the end of peer to peer (P2P) file sharing networks, but it doesn’t look like we will be seeing the end of these programs any time soon. In fact, the popularity of these networks only seems to be increasing, with millions of users logging onto P2P networks every day to swap files with people all over the world. There are tons of different P2P network options online, but one of the most popular and well known P2P systems is the Gnutella network. What makes Gnutella so popular? There are several explanations. One of the main reasons for Gnutella’s popularity is the speed of the system. Gnutella servers outnumber servers on other networks, so connections and downloads are faster.. Gnutella Mac software is one of the only software applications that gives Mac users a P2P option (most P2P programs are only compatible with Windows) and there is also a Palm Gnutella client for PDA use. Another reason for the popularity of the Gnutella is that the many Gnutella clients give users plenty of options.

Gnutella Network – Open Source Code
Gnutella may offer a network through which people trade copyrighted software, but they do not hold their own copyrighted material to a higher standard. In fact, on principle, the Gnutella software writers believe that information on the internet should be open to all. That is why Gnutella is open source software, meaning they make their software code available to anyone, free of charge. Gnutella not only makes their code available to people, but they actually encourage them to take the code and try to build upon it, creating more efficient systems for everyone. Not everyone shares Gnutella’s attitude, however. The music industry has filed a suit against Gnutella, and The Gnutella vs the recording industry case is expected to come to trial in summer 2007.

Get Gnutella
There are a few ways to download Gnutella – you can go to the Gnutella home page, or you can download from any of the Gnutella clients. Make sure you are downloading the latest form of the software, Gnutella 2. Because Gnutella is constantly being changed and improved upon by users, even if you already have Gnutella on your computer, it is a good idea to check in with the Gnutella website every now and then to make sure you have downloaded all of the necessary updates to make your system run its best.