This 6 page report discusses the concept and development of peer-to-peer or P2P applications and what they have meant in terms of file-sharing and distributive computing. Peer-to-peer applications take advantage of the computing resources available on each individual system that connects with a larger network in order to share information and/or processing power. It is what allows for long-distance collaborative work on projects, as well as an increased ability to utilize the combined strength or power of multiple systems when one user ostensibly only has access to one computer. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: D0_BWp2papp.rtf
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certain that the new structure of computer use would move computers out of businesses and into society at large. Companies would have the ability to be in immediate and direct
contact with their consumers and suppliers, and businesses that were slow in adopting the new technology would find themselves rejected by customers who would expect more and expect it to
be delivered more quickly than ever before. Obviously, they were correct in their predictions. Finding any workplace that is not dependent on some form of computerized system would be
as rare as finding a business that still does the majority of its communication using a Selectric typewriter and postage stamps. One example of the expansion and capabilities of the
"new" work environment is that of workers, colleagues, businesses and customers being directly linked to one another through their computers. Peer-to-peer applications, also known as distributed computing, takes advantage of
the computing resources available on each individual system that connects with a larger network in order to share information and/or processing power. It is what allows for long-distance collaborative work
on projects, as well as an increased ability to utilize the combined strength or power of multiple systems when one user ostensibly only has access to one computer. The applications
were initially assumed to be limitless and it would appear that such assumptions have been proven out. History of P2P In 1986, IBM announced that it was introducing what it
called "Token-Ring." According to Churbuck (1986), this would dramatically expand the connectivity options that could exist between personal computers (PCs) and mainframes. Churbuck noted that IBMs development offered "...
a basic approach to office networking, ... that give users the ability to use a PC as an intelligent terminal in mainframe sessions have. ... The implication is that such