After a delay of almost three months, thefacebook.com launched its affiliate file-sharing program, Wirehog, at Dartmouth last Friday. After a week, the service is still generating a lukewarm response.
Created by Andrew McCollum, Adam D'Angelo and thefacebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, Wirehog offers students a new way to transfer files. The program allows users to access files within their friend groups and is accessible through thefacebook.
Users said they have been frustrated by problems with the software and have even had problems accessing the program at all in some cases. Others said they had trouble sharing the files they wanted.
"Every time I try to log on, it keeps saying, 'You are not connected,'" Alana Bond '07 said.
McCollum, a Harvard junior, acknowledged that there have been complaints but dismissed any thought that Wirehog has serious problems, explaining that a few glitches were inevitable during initial release.
"We're still developing, so most of the technical problems are just to do with learning how to use [the program]," McCollum said.
Originally scheduled for release in November, Wirehog has been delayed due to technical problems. The delay, however, was due to caution rather than any significant flaws in the software, according to McCollum.
"We just want to take it slow, so that the whole site doesn't slow down," McCollum said. "We didn't want to overextend our resources."
Wirehog uses existing friend groups on thefacebook to allow users to share files. Unlike existing peer-to-peer programs, where users search a network of computers, Wirehog allows people to log onto their friends' individual computers and browse files specifically designated for sharing.
"We created [Wirehog] to let you be able to get [files] you cannot find anywhere else, like pictures from a friend's party or music from your friend's band," McCollum said.
Wirehog is meant to be an alternative to mainstream peer-to-peer programs like Napster and Kazaa. McCollum and his co-creators are counting on the more personable design to draw users to the program.
According to McCollum, user are able to download files specifically attuned to their tastes and have the incentive to share their files, as well, since the files will only being accessed by people they know.
Since its release at the College last week, Dartmouth already has the third largest number of users among connected schools. McCollum said the new software, which 50 students downloaded Tuesday alone, has been well received.
But most students seem unenthusiastic. Many have never heard of Wirehog, and few use the new program.
Although Frank Gutierrez '07 had originally downloaded the program enthusiastically, he rarely uses it because no one else was on it.
Other Dartmouth students have found the limited selection on Wirehog to be unappealing.
"I don't use it that much because other people have music I don't like," Noah Hall '07 said
So far Wirehog has been released at Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Yale and Dartmouth, but is set be released at many more schools and will eventually be open to the general public.
"We're planning on pretty rapidly expanding," McCollum said. "We'll soon be opening it up to everyone to download, not just schools."
