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"It's a big deal," said Andreessen, who met with Gnutella developers last week

http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-1983259.html?tag=st

Napster-like technology takes Web search to new level

By John Borland

Staff Writer, CNET News.com

May 31, 2000, 4:00 a.m. PT

First it was the record companies' nightmare. Now Yahoo and AltaVista might be next.

The loose group of open-source programmers responsible for the controversial Gnutella file-swapping software have turned their technology into what they say is a powerful new Web search tool.

By adapting the same technology now used to swap MP3 music files between hundreds of thousands of computer users, they say they've created a search engine that can be more up-to-date and potentially more targeted than search sites such as Yahoo or Lycos.

They've posted a rudimentary trial version--what they call a "proof of technology"--at InfraSearch. The bare-bones site is short on design and functionality at this point but provides a look at a search tool that goes beyond the capabilities of most existing Web search engines.

[...]

"It's a big deal," said Andreessen, who met with Gnutella developers last week and quickly became an admirer. "It will be a way for businesses to expose what they want people to find more easily."

It also is one of the first moves by what has been hugely controversial file-swapping software into the realm of unquestionably legitimate Web business. That's likely to take some of the legal shadows off the technology and could spur a new phase in development. [...]

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