Peer-to-Peer Systems and Me

Pulp reader susie was asking about peer-to-peer (p2p) software and said “i think it would be cool if u wrote a blog about the best ones or something.” This got me thinking about how often I use p2p software, what software I use, and for what reason do I use p2p. I then realized that I don’t use p2p stuff that much any more, but occasionally, I do fire up a few apps.

Here’s my story broken down into two sections, my philosophy on p2p and what p2p apps I’ve used. Let’s start with my p2p philosophy.

My p2p Philosophy
At this stage of my life, using p2p systems to find files is my last resort. Yep, my last resort if I can’t easily find what I’m looking for elsewhere. This elsewhere tends to be paid sites like the iTunes Store. For me, priorities are speed, quality, and accuracy of the download. While p2p downloads can be quite fast especially those using the BitTorrent technology, but I’ve been burned in the past with downloads that are corrupt, not what I was expecting, or flat out bogus stuff. This wastes my time since I have to search all over again.

When I was younger and had more time, I’d spend hours getting all kinds of stuff. Cable modem speeds? Ha! Anyone remember the days when downloading files was at 2400 baud then moving to a whopping 14.4kbps speed? As my free time has diminshed over the years but fortunately, my financial stability has increased, I started relying on paid sites and services. Within the iTunes Store, I can preview content, check out reviews, and buy what I want quickly. Costs are reasonable ($1 for a song, $10 for a CD), and I can even turn my loose change into iTunes credit. I don’t buy many television shows or movies so those higher costs don’t affect me too much. And, I know all the content purchased from paid sites like iTunes will be virus free. The iTunes Store makes it easy to find stuff, eliminating the need to scour the web and various p2p trackers to find what I’m looking for. Saves me time which I greatly appreciate and need.

Having said this, what happens when I cannot find content on iTunes? Say a television show like Smallville on the new CW network. I’m a basic cable kind of guy, so I don’t have access to the expanded channels on digital cable where the CW shows are broadcast in Hawaii. What is going on with the show? Last I’d seen Lana and Clark were getting frisky, but I’ve since lost sight of Smallville since I can’t access it, and it’s not available on the CW section in the iTunes Store. This is here p2p comes into play for me.

More about p2p apps in a later post…