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Estonians key to writing Kazaa code
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) -- When Swedish software developer Niklas Zennstrom cast about for help in writing the Kazaa file-sharing software, colleagues raised eyebrows when he chose three unheralded youths from little-known Estonia. And jaws dropped when the program that Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu and Jaan Tallinn wrote from their spartan, two-room office quickly became the leading software download on the Internet -- CNET's Download.com distributes about 14 million copies a month. Specs definedZennstrom knew what he wanted Kazaa to do when he hired the shy, 20-something Estonians, who favor faded jeans and T-shirts. He wanted to let any two computers trade files seamlessly, without going through a central server. He just didn't know how to do it. "It was the Estonians -- the three of them, not a full research department -- who came up with the programming code," Zennstrom said. "That was the key." The 36-year-old, lanky Swede said the software, pounded out in four months and first posted online in late 2001, worked almost glitch-free from the start. It set usage records within the year. "It was amazing. They are very skilled," Zennstrom said in a recent interview during a business trip to this former Soviet republic, a 45-minute flight from Stockholm. "Were we surprised at how successful Kazaa's been?" chimed in Heinla, his blond, disheveled hair flowing to his shoulders. "Yes, really surprised." Sharing computersThat the breakthrough -- which led to litigation and accusations of thievery from the music industry -- occurred in this ex-communist state of just 1.4 million people was no fluke, said Zennstrom. This Baltic state known more for pulp and paper exports has leapfrogged older technologies with investment help from nearby Finland -- the home of Nokia Corp. The Estonian programmers who wrote Kazaa still work from the same modest premises at their company, Bluemoon Interactive, sharing two or three computers. A U.S. court recently tried to force the programmers to give depositions in a copyright lawsuit filed by the entertainment industry. But a Tallinn judge said they didn't have to comply because the request was vague. In an interview, the programmers defended their work. "We didn't see ourselves as creating vehicles for pirates -- but as creating vehicles for the music industry itself and others like them," Heinla said. Bursting with priceMost Estonians burst with pride that their countrymen provoked such a global-scale fuss. "People are very impressed," said Kristjan Ostmann, an editor at Estonia's Postimees newspaper. "Their work is brilliant." Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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