Academic Research Report Points to P2P Inevitability[转载]
八月 23, 2005 – 7:39 am |Tags: No Tags
Academic Research Report Points to P2P Inevitability
Will the file-sharing snowball ever slow down? Despite the threat of
legal action and a host of paid alternatives, average simultaneous user
levels continue to increase month-over-month. Now, a new research
report from academic research group and consultancy Oxford Analytica
points to continued P2P growth ahead, citing several factors. Those
include the global nature of the internet, which makes legal action
difficult, and an insatiable consumer demand for free files. According
to the group, that could be difficult or impossible to protect against.
"The central theoretical problem that must be cracked is to figure out
a way to place a copy limitation on the act of sale of a copyrighted
product," the group contends. "Several technical solutions have been
proposed, but they are vulnerable to being disabled by a hacker or
other skilled software uses."
For groups like the RIAA, this type of assessment has been heard
before. But is P2P an unstoppable juggernaut? Consumers like free
files, but they also like easy access. And so far, annoyances like
spoofed files, adware and spyware seem to be tolerated by users. Still,
those factors have encouraged some to convert to paid services, though
most seem willing to put up with the distractions. Looking ahead, more
competitive pricing on the paid end, particularly from entrants like
Yahoo Music Unlimited, could alter the landscape significantly. Whether
that will be followed by drops from paid download services like the
iTunes Music Store is speculative, though relatively soft demand could
put the focus on future pricing experimentation.
