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Napster.com banned at some universities for clogging networks (2000)

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Re: Napster.com banned at some universities for clogging networks (2000)

#111
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Grooveshark came close, but it was always going to get shut down

Hotline was pretty exciting. Did anyone else here get involved with this? [0] Back when broadband had just hit Seattle I ran a server on an old PowerPC IA paraphrased quote from a user: > I am actually signed to TVT records but it this server’s contents that enables my creativity. These days I pay for everything, but that testament to digital freedom sticks with me. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotline_Communica…

I'm actually logged into an hl server as we speak! (Higher Intellect) .. Still some of my favorite internet memories. I still insist my fast typing speed is due to chatting for hours and hours every night on there :)

Re: Napster.com banned at some universities for clogging networks (2000)

#112

There was something about piracy in the times of Napster, emule and the like. It really made you feel like you knew some incantation to get access to the whole world's information. In practical terms, I have access to far more content now (music on Spotify, shows and movies on streaming services, tutorials, online classes, etc) and yet our reach doesn't seem as wide as it seemed in those times. Perhaps it was just th…

far more doesnt mean far more wide range. With P2P you could browse a server for the popular, as well as a bunch of things you d never heard. And it wasnt just music, just about anything , specifically very obscure stuff. anarchist material was something often uploaded. It was like you could see the whole jungle. Google is instead a zoo.

(Incidentally, what is the current evolution of gnutella, or any P2P that allows to browse the remote server?)

Re: Napster.com banned at some universities for clogging networks (2000)

#113
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, Hotline… 1998…

Fond memories of Hotline too. Is there a replacement or equivalent for Hotline today?

Hotline is still around. There's also KDX. You can get clients here[0]. Hit the default tracker (hltracker.com) to find servers :)

[0] https://preterhuman.net/gethotlinekdx.php

Re: Napster.com banned at some universities for clogging networks (2000)

#114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You got a brief, glorious whiff of what a world without artificial scarcity is like. We'll get another whiff when someone invents Star Trek style replicators, before they are also outlawed by the moneyed interests who benefit from lack of abundance.

We have already "Star Trek style replicators", at least for information. They're called "digital computers". But humanity isn't ready to handle that it seems.

that is exactly what parent said. information replication is free, but it has been siloed by the large coprorations because big tech trumps prosperity . Looks like star trek got their abundance utopia wrong.

Re: Napster.com banned at some universities for clogging networks (2000)

#115
post #2

Back then we were moving a terabyte a week on one Hotline Server alone. Napster was already way way more popular (and accessible).

I'm so happy to see so many people mention Hotline in here! Aahhh the good ol' days :) Indeed, when Napster came along, it wasn't too surprising to me .. that is, other than the true p2p nature of it, rather than server/client/tracker. That was indeed awesome. But there was also a bit less accountability so you got a lot of sketchy/crappy stuff, whereas hl servers (and users) had somewhat of a reputation to uphold (IMO).

Re: Napster.com banned at some universities for clogging networks (2000)

#116

There was something about piracy in the times of Napster, emule and the like. It really made you feel like you knew some incantation to get access to the whole world's information. In practical terms, I have access to far more content now (music on Spotify, shows and movies on streaming services, tutorials, online classes, etc) and yet our reach doesn't seem as wide as it seemed in those times. Perhaps it was just th…

far more doesnt mean far more wide range. With P2P you could browse a server for the popular, as well as a bunch of things you d never heard. And it wasnt just music, just about anything , specifically very obscure stuff. anarchist material was something often uploaded. It was like you could see the whole jungle. Google is instead a zoo. (Incidentally, what is the current evolution of gnutella, or any P2P that allows…

You reminded me The Eye [1], an archive of stuff like that including old software and an overwhelming bunch of non-mainstream and abandoned things

[1] https://the-eye.eu/

Re: Napster.com banned at some universities for clogging networks (2000)

#117

There was something about piracy in the times of Napster, emule and the like. It really made you feel like you knew some incantation to get access to the whole world's information. In practical terms, I have access to far more content now (music on Spotify, shows and movies on streaming services, tutorials, online classes, etc) and yet our reach doesn't seem as wide as it seemed in those times. Perhaps it was just th…

It's because you were younger. It happens to everyone. You think younger people now don't feel the same way you did? And that they won't wistfully be talking about the times that Youtube gave them all the content they could ever dream of? Maybe. But I wouldn't count on it.

respectfully disagree. i remember also things before the internet of 2000, like TV, but not fondly at all. and in my mind somewhere around 2004 things strayed from the linear progress i had in mind for the future of the internet.

what has changed culturally is pseudonymity became real names, with all the baggage that comes with it, and that makes people more conservative. If you want an objective measure of that, look at the attitudes towards nudity. Nowadays, crypto is a space that brings back anonymity, and you can see all the chaos it brings with it. but chaos is mystery and people also love those

Re: Napster.com banned at some universities for clogging networks (2000)

#118

I was working in IT at a large British university when Spotify launched, and we had to block certain ports because early versions of Spotify used a peer to peer swarm to reduce the load on their servers, and it was so popular with students that it was completely jamming up the network.

afaik Skype also was using peer-to-peer until Microsoft bought them.

Re: Napster.com banned at some universities for clogging networks (2000)

#119

There was something about piracy in the times of Napster, emule and the like. It really made you feel like you knew some incantation to get access to the whole world's information. In practical terms, I have access to far more content now (music on Spotify, shows and movies on streaming services, tutorials, online classes, etc) and yet our reach doesn't seem as wide as it seemed in those times. Perhaps it was just th…

Arguably without Napster the major music labels would never have accommodated the iTunes Store and then Spotify. We’d still be slinging physical media around as the only non-radio option. If you didn’t live through that time I think it’s hard to appreciate how necessary the disruption was for moving the industry forward.

I think it's ripe for it yet again.

Re: Napster.com banned at some universities for clogging networks (2000)

#120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's because you were younger. It happens to everyone. You think younger people now don't feel the same way you did? And that they won't wistfully be talking about the times that Youtube gave them all the content they could ever dream of? Maybe. But I wouldn't count on it.

They have never downloaded a video off Napster or Limewire and realized it's actually... well, not the video they wanted.

How else would we even know Japanese puke porn existed!
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