Peer-to-Peer Systems.

The article discusses peer-to-peer (P2P) computing, focusing on its usefulness as a means of making innovative services easier to deploy. Its popularity as a means of sharing music and data files is noted, and the spread of P2P systems into the realm of commercial content distribution and internet telephony is discussed. P2P's lack of centralized control or dedicated infrastructure is described as both a strength and a weakness. The advantages of using P2P technology as an inexpensive way to test experimental services are emphasized.