[e-privacy] [Fwd: [Announce] Project status update, and request for your help]

[mix]

------- Messaggio inoltrato -------
Da: Ian Clarke <ian at locut.us>
A: announce at freenetproject.org
Oggetto: [Announce] Project status update, and request for your help
Data: Wed, 14 Sep 2005 11:30:42 +0100

It has been quite some time since I last sent a status update to the  
announcement mailing list.

This is an exciting time for the project, we are essentially  
rewriting Freenet from the ground up, embracing that which has  
worked, and throwing out that which hasn't.  Furthermore, we are  
fundamentally improving Freenet's security, functionality, and  
usability.

Version 0.7 of Freenet aims to create a scalable "darknet", where  
users only connect directly to other users they know and trust. The  
purpose of this change is to protect users who may be placed at risk  
simply by using the software, irrespective of what they are using it  
for.

In this new approach, only people you choose to connect to will know  
that you are running the software. Previous attempts at "dark" P2P  
networks, such as WASTE, have been limited to relatively small  
disconnected networks, allowing you to exchange information with a  
few of your friends, not beyond that.

The core innovation in Freenet 0.7 will be to allow a globally  
scalable darknet, capable of supporting millions of users, nobody has  
ever achieved anything like this before. This is made possible by the  
observation that human relationships tend to form small-world  
networks, a property that can be exploited to find short paths  
between any two people. The work is based on  a talk given at DEFCON  
13 in July by Oskar Sandberg and myself [1].

Other modifications include switching from TCP to UDP, which allows  
UDP hole punching along with faster transmission of messages between  
peers in the network.  This will greatly simplify the task of getting  
a Freenet node up and running, our goal is that you run the software,  
and it "just works", with no mucking around with firewalls or  
complicated configuration files.

We have learned much over the past few years.  One of those things is  
that it is difficult to simultaneously do experimental research,  
while at the same time deploying a working usable piece of software.   
As a result, 0.7 will in may ways be a simplification of Freenet,  
sticking more closely to that which we know works, and for which  
there is a strong mathematical basis, and leaving the more "far out"  
ideas to the academic community.

Having said that, from the user's perspective 0.7 will have  
significant new functionality.  While previously Freenet only  
supported the insertion and retrieval of information, Freenet 0.7  
will support new modes of usage including the real-time broadcast of  
messages. Applications of this range from real-time anonymous chat  
(perhaps through the IRC protocol) to RSS-feeds.

The work on all of this is well underway, with experimental code  
already being tested by a small group of volunteers (you can often  
find them in the #freenet-alphatest channel on irc.freenode.net).  We  
anticipate the public release of Freenet 0.7 before Christmas this year.

Using donations through this website, the project has been able to  
employ one developer full-time, Matthew Toseland. Matthew has since  
become the backbone of the Freenet development effort.

The project requires $2,300 per month to pay Matthew's modest salary,  
but at the time of writing our funds are seriously depleted, our  
current Paypal balance is only $372.42.  For that reason, I am  
appealing to supporters of the project to, once again, dig deep and,  
if you can, make a contribution to the ongoing development of the  
project in the form of a Paypal donation, subscription, or an E-Gold  
donation if you would rather not go through Paypal.

You can make a donation through the donations page on our website at:

    http://freenetproject.org/index.php?page=donations

If, for whatever reason, you would like to make a donation through other
means, please contact me directly at ian at locut.us.

Many thanks,

Ian Clarke,
Coordinator, The Freenet Project.

Links:

[1] http://freenetproject.org/papers/vegas1_dc.pdf
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