As you undoubtedly know, these exchanges allow users to sign-on and share files with other users who are currently signed onto the system. Being heavy users of these programs, we thought it would make sense to review the primary offerings and weigh in with our favorites. First, a few definitions. These files are searchable and made available to other users who are currently logged-unto the system. Likewise, their files are made available to you.
Users are able to designate which files on their hard drives are available for sharing.
Launched in September 1999, Napster is the original and most well known example of this genre. Everyone logged-on has access to everyone else's files. Since there is no central server, each computer logged onto the exchange becomes both a client and a server. Like the centrally indexed exchanges, users are able to designate which files on their hard drives are available for sharing. The gateway portals are a new class of Internet portal which have just become available in the last month or so.