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Freenet
The Freenet project aims to create an information publication system similar to the World Wide Web (but with several major advantages over it) based on the protocol described in Ian Clarke's paper A Distributed Decentralised Information Storage and Retrieval System. Information can be inserted into the system associated with a "key" (normally some form of description of the information such as "/text/philosophy/sun tzu/the art of war"). Later anyone else can retrieve the information using the appropriate key. In this respect it is a little like the World Wide Web which requires a URL to retrieve a particular document. Unlike the Web, information on Freenet is not stored at fixed locations or subject to any kind of centralized control. Freenet is a single world-wide information store that stores, caches, and distributes the information based on demand. This allows Freenet to be more efficient at some functions than the Web, and also allows information to be published and read without fear of censorship because individual documents cannot be traced to their source or even to where they are physically stored. To participate in this system users will simply need to run a piece of server software on their computer, and optionally use a client program to insert and remove information from the system. Anyone can write a client (or indeed a server) program for Freenet, which is based on an open protocol. Reference implementations of these programs are being written in the Java programming language. Why is Freenet interesting? Freenet does not have any form of centralized control or administration. It will be virtually impossible to forcibly remove a piece of information from Freenet. Both authors and readers of information stored on this system may remain anonymous if they wish. Information will be distributed throughout the Freenet network in such a way that it is difficult to determine where information is being stored. Anyone can publish information. They don't need to buy a domain name or even a permanent Internet connection. Availability of information will increase in proportion to the demand for that information. Information will move from parts of the Internet where it is in low demand to areas where demand is greater. Our Review: Freenet is unique in the increasingly crowded file-sharing market. While easily the most idealistic of the bunch when it comes to purpose, Freenet is also the most difficult to use. Lacking your typical user interface and search options Freenet opts for Java and HTML for navigation and the use of data 'keys' (very much like a URL) for finding things on-line. If you are looking for a quick and easy way to grab MP3s then forget it - Freenet is slow, awkward and unreliable compared to the user-friendly likes of BearShare and Napster although itis intriguing to check out what is available (the selection of classic novels to download was a nice surprise). In the end one must remember that Freenet is still very much a beta product and unlikely to hold much appeal for the casual user. On the other hand, those interested in new and exciting ways to share data should probably give this a go - after all, it's a worthy cause.
Licence: Freeware Version: 0.3.6 OS: Win 95/98, Win 2000, Win NT Date: 2001/12/28 Developer: Free Network Project Size: 469.52 KB		Free download
Yippee Ratings Breakdown (5 is best): Installation: 4 Interface: 3 Functionality: 3 Documentation: 3