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E-conomy / Paul Andrews
Restoring file-sharing's good name

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But one little guy from the old days, Laplink, is still with us. Formerly known as Traveling Software, the Kirkland company is rolling out an inventive suite of tools under the banner of "reinventing ourselves."

Those words come not from the irrepressible Mark Eppley, Laplink's founder. Instead, they are new Chief Executive Thomas Koll's way of communicating Laplink's updated vision.

There's a lot going on here, including a better way of moving your old PC to your new PC (settings, programs and files), of ensuring security over the Internet, controlling your PC remotely and fighting viruses.

But most intriguing may be Laplink's approach to exchanging information over the Internet. Basically, the company wants to restore file-sharing's good name.

It's a tall order, and questions remain about whether Laplink can succeed. But the company deserves kudos for at least attempting a different strategy in a highly problematic venue.

Anyone who used Napster in the early days understands the Internet's prowess for sharing digital content. Before the music industry got involved, before users knew what they were doing could be considered illegal, file-sharing was a brave new world of fans connecting with counterparts all over the world.

Then Napster got greedy, the music industry turned combative and lawyers found a new field of practice. Today, file-sharing ranks somewhere between shoplifting and wife-swapping.

Sure you can go to Kazaa or other free services and download all the stuff you want. In doing so, you not only invite that slimy feeling of digital thievery, you enter a lasting relationship with spyware, adware, pop-ups, viruses and similar interactive vermin.

File-sharing doesn't have to be this way, Koll says. If you want to swap files with family, friends and co-workers, you ought to be able to do it in a way that doesn't make you feel like you're trolling the Web's Tenderloin district.

Laplink has come up with ShareDirect, which enables Windows users to share folders and files with one another over the Internet — without the threat of viruses or the technical hoops of FTP (file transfer protocol) or VPN (virtual private networks). And without resorting to the most common, but least safe and efficient, means of file-sharing: e-mail.
 
Sharing a file with another PC becomes as easy as dragging a file from one folder to another on your computer. Just select the file or folder from the other computer and pull it to yours. Laplink and the Internet take care of the rest.

Right now, you're limited to Windows PCs, but Koll said Macintosh and Linux versions are being considered. Corporate firewalls will block the system, but ShareDirect can detect them and establish a 256-bit encrypted connection.

Music seems an obvious application here, which is where things get dicey. Koll acknowledged Laplink hasn't discussed ShareDirect with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). When it does, its defense will be that sharing over Laplink is akin to swapping a CD. It's a distinction that may get some pushback from the RIAA.

But ShareDirect isn't just, or even primarily, about music. Koll thinks data, photos and home videos are well-suited. For editors, publishers and content providers, text and multimedia file-sharing becomes far easier and safer. Small businesses and home offices have countless file-sharing applications.

For ShareDirect to work, it needs to reach a user level that kicks in the "network effect" — users begetting more users. For now, it's a worthy attempt at addressing an Internet dilemma.

ShareDirect's release is scheduled for mid-October. Till then, a free kick-the-tires version can be downloaded from laplink.com.

Paul Andrews is a freelance technology writer and co-author of "Gates." He can be reached at pandrews@seattletimes.com.