Hi I made an interview with Jed McCaleb, the main programmer of eDonkey and Overnet, which is the serverless version of eDonkey… So, here it is:
Most people find eDonkey difficult to use, and would say that it lacks user friendliness, and the user interface isn’t appealing. Will this be different in the case of Overnet?
Yes the Usability and user interface are high on our list of things to fix for Overnet. By its very nature it is easier to use since you don’t have to connect to a server.
What about scalability? Will Overnet be able to search more users than edonkey?
Yes Overnet is designed to be very scalable. It should be the most scalable file sharing network yet created. You are able to search *all* users connected to the network. All other systems have some limit like just the users connected to your super node or just the nodes within x hops.
Large decentralised P2P networks are getting polluted with fake files. Will Overnet suffer from the same plague?
Probably. But I think more and more files will come from weblinks so they will be more reliable. Also Overnet like the donkey shows the filename that other users have for the file. In this way it is pretty easy to spot fakes.
Some networks such as Gnutella consume a relevant amount of bandwidth just to stay connected to the network, while others like FastTrack consume almost nothing. What will Overnet do?
Overnet uses some bandwidth when you first start up but soon it calms down and uses nearly nothing to maintatin your connection to the network.
It has been more than a month since the preview release of Overnet.. Anything new since then?
Mainly bug fixes and refining the search algorithm. I’m trying to not add many new features until the current set is very bug free and solid.
When do you estimate the final release will be finished?
Well it is software so there is never really a final version. It is in a state now where it is certainly usable.
Once Overnet is finished, do you think there will be any more need for eDonkey?
eDonkey will undoubted stick around for years to come. There is still a use for it in setting up private networks and networks where you need more control over what the clients are doing. But for a mass filesharing network Overnet is definitely superior.
eDonkey is spyware-free. Will it be the same in Overnet?
Yes Overnet is and will be spyware free.
Will it be required to connect to a server to get the hosts list, or will Overnet be completely free?
No you only need the contact info for one other node on the network to join. The installation ships with a bunch of contact info preloaded so there should be no need to contact a central server.
Will users be able to share files anonymously, or will their IP address be visible?
IP address will be visible. To make anonymous sharing work you must expend
a lot of bandwidth.
Last question.. Are you worried about lawsuits, now that the network will probably grow?
Overnet is a legitimate tool. It has many more uses than just piracy. I hope that will become more clear to everyone as time goes on. And the idea of suing p2p companies becomes as ridiculous as suing the makers of FTP software or webservers or any piece of software that allows you to transfer files from one computer to another.
Related Posts
- eDonkey Hybrid & Overnet releases
- Serverless Edonkey : OverNet Beta Released
- Slyck.com’s eDonkey/Overnet Interview
- eDonkey BETA HYBRID released
- Edonkey´s OVERNET + WASTE = KDrive 0.9
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