The idea of sharing media files over the Internet has become a controversial
subject as of late. While file sharing applications such as Napster are
currently under fire from the US government and from Music Recording companies,
one would think that no one would try to mimic Napster’s technology. Johnny
Deep, a computer consultant in Troy, New York, has been hailed as the creator
of “The Next Napster”. Deep is the mind behind “Aimster”, named after his
daughter, Aimee. Aimster piggybacks the common and very popular instant-
messaging services such as AOL Instant Messenger, AOL, and MSN Messaging
Service. Aimster, a free download from www.aimster.com, allows users to swap
files with users on the buddy lists, or there is the option of searching all
Aimster users with a “guest” option. Not only can users share audio files; they
can share their pictures, their winamp playlists, and any other file on their
computer. As of January 2001 Aimster racked up over 3 million users worldwide.
AOL and other messaging services cannot block Aimster use, since it does not
run through ISP Servers, rather, every Aimster member’s personal computer acts
as a server.
The controversy continues as more and more Napster wanna-be’s are thrown into
the mix. Deep believes that the Recording Industry will have less of a problem
with his software, since Aimster users only share their files with friends and
family on their buddy list, an act that is similar to loaning a CD to a friend
– which is hardly illegal. In interview, Deep was quoted as saying “A lot of
people say we’ll be sued not because we are doing anything wrong, but because
we are successful.”
In my opinion, file-sharing should not be getting the negative media attention
that it does. I am an avid user of all file-sharing applications: Napster,
Aimster, KaZaA and scour. I have over 600 mp3 files on my computer, and I’m
downloading three more while I type this. I use file sharing not only as a way
to download a song that I hear on the radio, but to look for new music. Once I
download two or three songs from a band and I enjoy them – I will then go buy
their CD. Think about it this way: Do you buy a car with out test driving it?
No, that would be ridiculous. So why should poor, starving college kids have to
spend $18 on a CD that we can’t be sure is any good?