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