Peer-to-Peer computing is defined as a network-of any size, even across the Internet- where individual computers connect and exchange files and information directly without a central server. The most popular P2P application has been the sharing of MP3 files by websites such as Napster. Other services such as Gnutella have grown rapidly as well, with more than 40,000 computers connected through Gnutella at any one time. In addition, a new product-Groove-is one of the first P2P business applications that allows people in organizations to share files without the need for a client/server relationship.

Table of Contents

Contents at a Glance. Introduction. Part I: Understanding the P2P Revolution. Chapter 1: Why P2P Will Be Important to You. Chapter 2: What P2P IsNand What It IsnOt. Chapter 3: The Many Applications of P2P. Chapter 4: Who Profits from P2PNand Who DoesnOt. Chapter 5: P2P Privacy and Security. Chapter 6: P2P and Intellectual Property. Chapter 7: Issues and Obstacles. Part II: P2P File Sharing. Chapter 8: Understanding P2P File Sharing. Chapter 9: The Napster Story. Chapter 10: The Gnutella Network: The Next Napster?. Chapter 11: Aimster: File Sharing via Instant Messaging. Chapter 12: The KaZaA/MusicCity Network. Chapter 13: Audiogalaxy and Other Media--Sharing Services. Chapter 14: Freenet: A Different Kind of File--Sharing Service. Chapter 15: Harvesting the Hidden Internet with Distributed Search Engines. Part III: P2P Communications. Chapter 16: Understanding P2P Communications. Chapter 17: AIM, Windows Messenger, and Other IM Services. Chapter 18: Internet Telephony and Video Conferencing. Part IV: P2P Collaboration. Chapter 19: Understanding P2P Collaboration. Chapter 20: Collaborating with Microsoft. Chapter 21: Groove Networks and Other P2P Groupware. Chapter 22: P2P Gaming. Chapter 23: The Writeable Web and Other P2P Collaborative Applications. Part V: P2P Distributed Computing. Chapter 24: Understanding P2P Distributed Computing. Chapter 25: Distributed Computing in Action: SETI@home. Chapter 26: Distributed Computing Applications. Part VI: P2P Applications Development. Chapter 27: Understanding P2P Applications Development. Chapter 28: Sun: JXTA, Jini, and Java. Chapter 29: Microsoft: .NET. Chapter 30: Other P2P Development Tools. Appendix: P2P Resources. Index.

Author Biography

Mike Miller has authored more than three dozen nonfiction how--to books in the past decade including Sybex's Discovering Bluetoothand PowerPoint! IDKYCDT. He has established a reputation for explaining technical topics to nontechnical readers, and for offering useful real--world advice about complicated topics. He is also the President of the Molehill Group, a writing/consulting firm based in Carmel, Indiana.