---------- Forwarded Message ---------- Subject: O'Reilly Network Announces openp2p.com Web Site Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 12:32:27 -0800 (PST) From: Denise Olliffe To: farli@wiredglobal.com FYI: OPENP2P.COM WEB SITE AIMS TO HELP DEVELOPERS CREATE THE INTERNET'S NEXT GENERATION New O'Reilly Site Covers the Fast-Moving World of Peer-to-Peer Technologies O'Reilly Network's newest technology web site, openp2p.com, launches today with technical, analytical, and news coverage of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) technology. Best known because of the music file-sharing site Napster, Peer-to-Peer encompasses a broad collection of technologies with far-reaching implications for Internet and computer usage in general. Key technologies related to P2P include Microsoft's .NET, Java, and XML. As Red Herring author Lee Bruno wrote in a special issue on the technology, "P2P is likely to forever change the way we think about sharing digital information across networks." Today's issue includes: * "The Parable of Umbrellas and Taxicabs," an essay by Clay Shirky which suggests that the future of distributed computing will be controlled by companies that control the desktop. Shirky writes extensively about the social and economic effects of the Internet, and is a keynote speaker at The O'Reilly Peer-to-Peer Conference. * "The Power of Metadata," a technical essay by Rael Dornfest and Dan Brickley on the need for standardized metadata on P2P systems. The essay will be published in the O'Reilly book "Peer-to-Peer: Harnessing the Power of Disruptive Technologies." * Tim O'Reilly's guide to the best sessions at O'Reilly's Peer-to-Peer Conference, to be held February 14-16, 2001, in San Francisco. In future weeks, the site will include interviews with Bill Joy, chief scientist of Sun and inventor of JINI, legal expert Lawrence Lessig, and Intel P2P advocate Bob Knighten. openp2p.com consists of: * Feature articles, profiles and interviews with P2P technologists and leaders * Daily digest of P2P news via O'Reilly Network's groundbreaking Meerkat, a news syndication system * Collections of important articles and papers on P2P * Information on The O'Reilly P2P Conference, including coverage of the event and content from its presenters * Selected essays from O'Reilly's upcoming book, "Peer-to-Peer: Harnessing the Power of Disruptive Technologies" * Weekly email newsletter on the latest developments in the P2P world * A rich archive of the most important articles, documents, and papers on P2P The new site's goals are two-fold. The first is to help developers create the P2P technology that will represent the next generation of the Internet. The second is to help managers and executives understand the directions that P2P is going, and how those directions will impact information services over the Internet. openp2p.com also features a directory of P2P companies, as well as catalogs of important articles, white papers and proposals, in such areas as distributed file sharing, distributed computation, instant messaging, P2P on devices, peered web services, distributed metadata, security, reputation and trust, performance and reliability. O'REILLY & PEER-TO-PEER openp2p.com is one aspect of O'Reilly & Associates' comprehensive interest in P2P. From February 14-16, O'Reilly will host The Peer-to-Peer Conference in San Francisco. O'Reilly's upcoming book, "Peer-to-Peer: Harnessing the Power of Disruptive Technologies," to be released at the O'Reilly Conference, is another demonstration of the company's interest in this influential group of technologies. THE IMPORTANCE OF PEER-TO-PEER TECHNOLOGIES Peer-to-Peer describes a decentralized network in which all computers function as equals. While there are a number of variations of P2P, not all of which strictly adhere to this definition, P2P is understood to represent a significant shift from the client-server model which has reigned in the computer industry for many years. P2P is already being used for many applications besides Napster: distributed computing, collaborative and interactive workgroups, device-to-device communication, instant messaging, and presence management. Stanford law professor Lawrence Lessig, author of "Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace," has said, "P2P is the next great thing for the Internet. We haven't even begun to understand or imagine the possibilities." FURTHER INFORMATION http://openp2p.com/ The Parable of Umbrellas and Taxicabs by Clay Shirky http://www.openp2p.com/pub/a/p2p/2001/01/18/shirky_umbrellas.html The Power of Metadata by Rael Dornfest and Dan Brickley http://www.openp2p.com/pub/a/p2p/2001/01/18/metadata.html Tim O'Reilly's Guide to the P2P Conference http://www.openp2p.com/pub/a/p2p/2001/01/18/tim_conf.html The O'Reilly Peer-to-Peer Conference http://conferences.oreilly.com/p2p/ Peer-to-Peer: Harnessing the Power of Disruptive Technologies edited by Andy Oram http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/peertopeer/ O'Reilly Network http://www.oreillynet.com/ # # # ------------------------------------------------------- -- Jim Bliss comes from within, ignorance from without