File Sharing on the Internet Essay -- Computers Technology Essays

File Sharing on the Internet When we think of pirates, we see scruffy men with unshaven chins, a bandana, a gold earing, a black patch on one eye, and a wooden leg, men with guns in hand, riding the seas in their wooden ship proudly flying the terrifying skull and crossbones. Well, pirates these days look much different. In fact, you may be sitting by one right now. They are ordinary people who have come to enjoy the technologies the Internet provides. These pirates are boys and girls, women and men, who habitually root themselves in their desk chairs with eyes fixed on the computer screen. But today's pirates have something in common with the pirates of days lost in history. Both steal what doesn't belong to them. Today's pirates sail the Internet on the prowl for a treasure chest of downloadable files. In the age of technology and information, the Internet has become widely used for a variety of reasons. I, like many other college and high school students, love to download things off the Internet. Everything is right there in front of me. With a few clicks of the mouse and some intelligent searching strategies, a world of information awaits my curious mind. There's much to be found: movies, computer games, books, reference guides, almost anything you want is there to download. My favorite thing to download is music, and it's easily accessible on the Internet. I admit I am one of those who indulges in the popular practice of downloading music from servers. At first, the hot thing was to use Napster. If I heard a good song on the radio, I would remember what it was called and who sang it so that I could download the song and have it available to hear whenever I wanted. After a while, record companies realized that thi... ...ongs from CDs I don't have, and as soon as I have the means I plan to finish collecting their CDs. I am like the many Wilco fans and other music fans who aren't trying to cheat record companies and artists by getting the CDs online for free. In light of everything, today's pirates, like those of the past, are in control and can't be stopped. Only by taking drastic measures and infringing on people's rights to copy CDs legally for legitimate purposes will the pirating be stopped. However, pirating music is not all that bad, and in many ways is actually good for artists, record companies, listeners, and especially people who love music. Sources cited: Levy, Steven. "Turning Off the Music Tap." Newsweek 13 May 2002: 40. On-line. Proquest. 10 Oct 2002. Available at http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?Did=0000001189692564&Fmt=3&Deli=1&Mtd=l&Idx=4&Sid=13&RQT=309.