File Sharing

1.  File sharing is often viewed as when a view is made accessible from within a set 'network' that others then have access too.  It can be something posted online or accessed through the internet.

 2.  P2P file sharing stands for peer-to-peer file sharing which became to be known during the days of Napster and Morpheus.  The way it worked was a user could "share" a file, be it a movie, song, anything really.  You would then be able to download the song through the client and have it on your own computer.  It was deemed highly illegal and the source of numerous lawsuits.

3.  The most recent edition to the P2P file sharing area seems to be the "torrent" (Thompson 2005).  The way a torrent works is you find a file you'd like to download from a site such as PIrateBay which then is downloaded to a downloading client such as Transmission.  Transmission then parcels together thousands of pieces from thousands of users in order to re-create the file.  It's very similar to the Napster and Limewire of old except much harder to track down due to the way it downloads thousands of pieces from thousands of users rather then Napster which was strictly from one person to another.