On Wed, Jun 18, 2008 at 10:42:22PM +0800, Adrian Chadd wrote: [...]
<random type="idea from tonight"> If only there was a way for a SP to run a BitTorrent type service for their clients, subscribing the BT server(s) to known-good (ie, not warez-y) torrents pre-seeded from trusted sources and then leaving it the hell alone and not having to continuously dump specific torrent files into it. </random>
Modifying the P2P protocols might help find good seeds, etc. However, I always like to take this thought a bit further and combine it with a particular Network Neutrality "solution." Imagine a world where "Net Neutral" means that you have a neutral layer 2 architecture and you're free to choose the layer 3 provider. (Model it on US West/Qwest's original DSL product.) Then, sprinkle in a *bunch* of ISPs that must have transparent layer 3 policies. Let them block/fold/mutilate/spindle/synthesize packets at their whim -- as long as they *tell* the customer what they're going to do. In the end, I can see ISPs that do *nothing* to your traffic, and charge what we would call "normal" pricing. There would be cut-rate ISPs that would promise best-effort, but will throttle if they have congestion issues. If you're an ISP, you might even try to cut a deal with the RIAA and/or MPAA so your customers have *fast* access to legitimate content. As a content provider, I would look seriously into subsidizing the access costs so that I could capture an end user... Guess I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue...