Unlike more notorious P2P apps,
Grouper isn't designed to connect thousands of users; rather, it's meant for setting
up small, private networks of friends and family. It's not the first such software (WASTE comes to mind), but it's made
a big enough splash to garner an article in the LA Times about how
ordinary people are using it to share
home videos and how it's making the MPAA itch all over because they aren't invited to snoop on the small, encrypted
groups. All in all, it's a great, even-handed article and contains this naively optimistic quote from an MPAA
representative: "We hope Grouper will adapt its program to prevent the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted
material."
Via Boing Boing.
1. Check out Outhink.com SpinXpress too! It's similar to Grouper, but runs on BOTH the Mac and the PC. Better yet, SpinXpress does not require mucking around with router/firewall settings or asking for IT help (Grouper has a whole tutorial just on how to configure your router). SpinXpress is built from open source tools, is easy to install, costs nothing and is adware/spyware free.
http://SpinXpress.com
Posted at 4:32AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Markus Sandy