hey... one of 'the other guys' (fsgateway) is beta testing a software package that allows us to share our files instead of putting them on a local server (possibly faster download speeds!)?anyone care to discuss the pros and cons?-j

When Mikko and I are working on a project we sign on with AOL Instant messenger and send files to each other directly... it saves alot of time.Brian

Folks, we could use a few more beta testers. Just add a few of your favorite freeware files to share in a folder and your good to go.Click here for more info and to download the client needed:http://fileswap.fsgateway.com/Thanks y'all!http://fsgateway.com/images/frank.jpgwww.FSGateway.com

I can think of one major con immediately ;-)How are policing this?http://www.thesalters.org/images/Avsim_sig_KS.jpg

Ken, We are currently in beta as an idea test. We are going to Limit the File swapping to Registered Users Only, with a user name and password supplied. Me, you and flight simmer Bob are the Police. We know what is Pirated software and what is freeware. If someone complains, the person who has copywrited material and distributing it as such, His Account will be banned along with his IP from sharing files again. And also, the person will have to agree to a legal Agreement that he understands that this is freeware only software. And he faces possible contact of Federal Authorities.We are not trying to create another Morpheus, Just another way to distribute files that are freeware. Simmer Jack likes downloading from a server and Simmer Ron might want to browse people's creation.This all can be done without any software violations. We have lots of ideas and we are looking into all of them.Thanks for your feedback on this issue. Great Job you are doing here at AVSIM.

Direct Connect (like any other p2p) is impossible to police and with the strong dollar some would say thank God for that!! LOLI just had a look in there and Frank requested that I remove my payware files which happened to be in my general directory, so one would assume that he is approaching it in the manner to which you show concern.Lets face it, at the end of the day if you want to download freeware files and you have a fast connection, it is both easier and faster to do it from this site or flightsim.com rather than try and transfer it from a user with a 33/56k dial-up!!Dave B

I see. I understand you are not trying to create another Morpheus or Kazaa or Gnutella or etc etc etc.Thanks for the explanation, and for the compliment!http://www.thesalters.org/images/Avsim_sig_KS.jpg

I wouldn't say impossible Dave. This will be a by membership only and not open to the general public. Members will be verified before being allowed on the network. What I did manually with you will be automated. I wouldn't dare put something like this open to the public for abuse! LOLRemember it's BETA ;-)http://fsgateway.com/images/frank.jpgwww.FSGateway.com

Don't you just wish that all of the Instant Messanger's (AOL, YAHOO, ICQ, MS) worked together, at least then it would be quicker to swap files, you also know who you are giving them to.Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) most users in the UK have a dynamic IP, so banning them from a "SHARING" network would only work until they dial back up.

>Don't you just wish that all of the Instant Messanger's >(AOL, YAHOO, ICQ, MS) worked together, at least then it >would be quicker to swap files, you also know who you are >giving them to. >>Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at >it) most users in the UK have a dynamic IP, so banning them >from a "SHARING" network would only work until they dial >back up. >>!!> Your right, dynamic IP's do change. There you can fix the problem by looking up the ip range of where the ip is comming from and ban the range of ip.Also, The person has to register with a valid email address account. We haven't decided if we won't allow free email accounts in yet or not, I guess it would depend on abuse.Viruses are a concern in everyones life today. If you are security minded, have a good virus checker and set your virus checker to look for updates dailey, check everything that you download before you open it. You have a chance you will be virus free.Thanks for your feedback, very good points gazzareth.

.... I know what you mean about blocking the IP range - the only downside being that if you do that for a big ISP then you can block out a lot of people. I am with BTInternet in the UK and I remember a year or so ago IMDB blocked every address they have due to the actions of one muppet - made for a lot of annoyed people !!!Of course the fact they have to register might help .. .. ..

Update on Beta, it is now only for registered users and no longer accessible publicly. To register your user name and password please visit:http://fileswap.fsgateway.com/beta.htmThe main url for the beta is still:http://fileswap.fsgateway.com/Thanks to all who have participated and provided us with excellent feedback!http://fsgateway.com/images/frank.jpgwww.FSGateway.com

I'm siging up, sounds interesting.MikeOcala, Florida

Besides the policing issues that have already been touched on, the main problem potential I see would be one of reliability. I try to limit my downloading to known, stable sites such as Avsim or I go directly to the authors web site where available. Especially for any kind of executable software. Doing this doesn't guarantee I won't ever get a hacked or virus infected file, but it does limit the opportunities. When people start swapping files back and forth between each other, you have no way of knowing what you're going to get. Texture bitmaps and stuff like that are OK, but I wouldn't trust getting much else from an unknown source.Mike Stone

>Folks, we could use a few more beta testers. >Just add a few of your favorite freeware files to share in a >folder and your good to go. >Click here for more info and to download the client needed: >http://fileswap.fsgateway.com/ >>Thanks y'all! >>http://fsgateway.com/images/frank.jpg >www.FSGateway.com So this would be like Imesh or Napster. If you already own Imesh then you already have this feature on your computer. Do a search for a file name and you might find it. I;ve found a thing or to that way.