Thread: KaZaA

How do feel about programs that do this?

"MILLIONS of internet users who have downloaded the popular Napster-style network KaZaA for swapping music and movies are about to find themselves part of a worldwide system that uses their computers to work for big business.
KaZaA's file-sharing technology has been secretly packaged with a software component - presently dormant - that can plug member PCs into another network, Altnet.

And Altnet will offer that network to companies as computing power and storage space, potentially using millions of PCs worldwide.
........
Altnet will be activated in four to six weeks, linking member computers and using their hard drives to store files and their unused computing power for commercial supercomputing."

From

http://news.com.au/common/story_page...E15306,00.html
(but the link will only be valid for a few days from 5 April 2002)

When did we stop owning our computers?
Whats next?
Could they get my car to go out and become a part-time taxi?
These type of things should be OPT_IN not OPT_OUT.

hm funny... as programmers we constantly struggle for time and space... and when someone decides to use it wisely, we offer a privacy issue... which we fundamentally understand is arbitary as much as the states of our harddrives are over time. we don't say 'oh i sure miss my first install of XP...' with emotion after our 15th reformat...

People who use my programs know they are using one.

My objection is that it is hidden from you and comercial. I have no objection to distributed computing, I am part of the SETI distributed computing network.

In fact I don't use KaZaA. I do however feel it is wrong for a comercial application to try and use my PC without permission.

So you have no problem with me wanting to make money with your PC, using your internet bandwidth without telling you?

well of course i have a problem with it... but if i agreed with the cause [and knew about it, of course] then i'd go for it... just think of the possibilities! i was moreso pointing out how interesting it was [as would be the nature of many of my posts and commentation] thank you.

I use Kazaa. Only for legal stuff of course !

>When did we stop owning our computers?

When we signed their Terms of Service saying in the last quarter that in your idle time your bandwidth will be used. Not read it ? Me neither. But is was there. You can disable it in the options I believe.

Originally posted by nvoigt
You can disable it in the options I believe.

Is it the "Supernode" option?

>Is it the "Supernode" option?

Nope, the checkbox below, something about using bandwidth when idle. Maybe only in version 1.6+

>it's spyware components

Well, I wouldn't call this spyware. It's not spying.

>so what is the supernode option?

If you need a full definition, look it up in the manual. It's about who keeps file indexes and stuff.

>the spyware

Could you be somewhat more explicit ? Noone mentioned spyware here, so what are you talking about ?

>and the ad components

I didn't install all the junk that came with it. I believe the ads in the lower left can be removed using ad-aware or some other tool, but who cares ? It's the net, who gives **** about ads ?
See, ignore, be happy.