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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 2003)
ResNet limits students’ peer-to-peer file sharing Students using peer-to-peer media to download programs may find themselves in a superhighway traffic jam Andrew Black Environment/Science/Technology Reporter For students who spend hours with campus computers download ing movies, music or video games, life just got a little tougher. In an effort to increase campus In ternet speed, the University recently installed a $50,000 network program that restricts peer-to-peer file sharing by slowing Internet connections for users of programs such as Napster, KaZaA, Gnutella and Edonkey. Residence Hall Computing Ser vice Coordinator Norm Meyers said the new network program, which began in November, was needed to battle bandwidth-hungry peer-to peer software that tied up almost all University network resources. “Right now, peer-to-peer pro grams typically use about half of our network resources,” Meyers said. “But before we installed the new Packeteer program, they used 95 percent of our total network.” Meyers said the new system mon itors campus Internet traffic and di rects music, movie and video game downloads to slower, low-priority pathways. File-sharing users may find themselves stuck in the equiv alent of an Internet traffic jam while students using the Internet for oth er purposes will be cruising in the fastlane, Meyers said. Last term, approximately 150 warnings were issued to students who used too much bandwidth to download entertainment media, and 15 students had their campus Internet privileges temporarily re voked for repeated offenses. Computing Center Officer Jon Miyake said that a handful of stu dents using peer-to-peer software can affect the entire campus community. “If they’re aggressively using the bandwidth, the whole campus will see decreased speeds,” Miyake said. Meyers said the most ravenous file sharing application is KaZaA, a program that automatically hi jacks campus bandwidth by turn ing student computers into file dis tribution mega-outlets called “supernodes,” which are accessed by thousands of off-campus file sharing users. Students using file-sharing pro grams such as KaZaA also risk vio lating copyright laws outlined in the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Miyake said most students don’t understand the severity of copyright infringements, how easily the owners of copyrighted material can come after violators and the huge fines that ensue for continued copyright violations. “It’s a lot better for students to get caught by the University, rather than by the industry,” Miyake said. Senior Editor of Wired Magazine Jeffrey M. O’Brien said the enter tainment industry often targets file-sharing college students. O’Brien said students can serve as “virtual hubs,” responsible for the exchange of millions of dollars worth of content. “This happens at universities around the country,” O’Brien said. “The threat from Hollywood com ing down on campuses is borne out of fear, but you can’t stop tech nological progress.” Last term, MediaForce, a copy right watchdog based in New York City, filed formal complaints against 15 students for violations that included copyright infringe ment of Incubus songs and episodes of “The Simpsons.” “We work very closely with uni versities on behalf of certain clients,” MediaForce spokesman Gary Millen said. “And along those lines, we’ve been very successful.” Contact the reporter at andrewblack@dailyemerald.com. OSA continued from page 1 the two women appeared to make peace with each other. “We unified as a board by dis cussing our differences,” board vice chairman Andy Saultz said af ter the meeting. Saultz’s statement hardly reveals the tenor of the private session, in which tempers ran hot and emo tions flared before board members were finally able to reach a consen sus. But the vice chairman hit upon a crucial point: With a new state leg islative session beginning today, members acknowledged they need ed to unite and speak for the more than 70,000 students in Oregon they represent. Pilliod said she was grateful for the chance to discuss her job per formance with the board. “We wouldn’t be in these student leadership positions if we didn’t feel so passionately,” she explained. “Differences of opinion are good, but differences without dialogue won’t get you anywhere.” Most of the “dialogue” dealt with whether Pilliod’s appearance at a Democratic get-out-the-vote rally in October at the University of Oregon violated OSA partisanship rules. Af ter the executive session was brought to a close, board members resolved to form an ad-hoc rules committee, led by Burns, that will examine OSA bylaws and help come up with clearer standards. The two-hour session was the last segment of a six-hour marathon meeting where OSA members dis Today's crossword solution I_*_ Brook Reinhard Emerald OSA chairwoman Rachel Pilliod, right, takes notes Saturday morning at an OSA board meeting with vice chairman Andy Saultz, left cussed issues ranging from tuition hikes to family planning. As 5 p.m. rolled around, and the boardroom doors were opened, members breathed a collective sigh of relief. “It never happened,” mumbled Western Oregon University member Gregg Magnus, still in a daze. “An hour and a half of our lives just went through a vortex,” quipped Portland State University representative Miriam Gonzales. After the meeting, Pilliod restated her apology for several actions as board chairwoman. “Yeah, I apologize for any ill feel ings,” she said. “I also apologize for not understanding different situa tions (and) for reacting to things that took place.” Burns said she wasn’t surprised by what took place at the meeting. “I expected what was going to happen,” she said. “But I’m still glad I did everything I did. I think it ben efits the organization in the long run to have the increased accountability this brought about.” Contact the news editor atbrookreinhard@dailyemerald.com. Everything you need for class and more. Every book for every class and course packets, too. Art & School Supplies Huge selection of tools and supplies. Technology Academic discounts on software and computers. UO Gear Duckshop® sports wear & University of Oregon gear. Rush Hours: 7:45am-8pm January 6-9 7:45am-6pm January 10 The UO Bookstore is a non-profit organization serving students and faculty since 1920. UNIVERSITY OF OREGON BOOKSTORE Open daily • www.uobookstore.com • (541) 346-4331
