KaZaA founders to 'borrow' your PC to distribute content

Joltid, the Swedish peer-to-peer software company formed by KaZaA founder Niklas Zennstrom, has launched PeerEnabler, a secure content distribution technology that utilises users' own PCs to disseminate content for publishers. PeerEnabler essentially uses peer-to-peer software to get content even closer to the edge of the network that content distribution services like Akamai. But where Akamai mirrors content to servers around the globe and connects users' requests for content to their nearest servers, to improve users' access and download experience, PeerEnabler turns users' own machines into the equivalent of those local servers. So if a software company, say, ships an update via the PeerEnabler network, users may actually download the code not from the developer's server but from a nearby user who has already grabbed the file. Joltid's pitch is that this ensures users get a better experience and publishers "dramatically reduce bandwidth usage", presumably saving them money because they won't need to buy and operate as many servers in future.