Also known as streamload.com
Streamload is a service that allows internet based anime fans to trade files (much like Napster) without having to serve them off their own hard discs or internet connection.
Users can upload files to the streamload servers and make them available to others either by making them public (if the user owns the copyright) or by 'sending' the file to a 'friend'. What streamload hopes to achieve is users buying and selling content on their servers; however take up is limited as files are checked for copyright violation before allowing a user to sell them.
Once a user has either uploaded a file or had the file sent to them they are able to stream, view or download the file.
The clever bit is that each file is only stored once on the servers, even if uploaded multiple times. Using a similar concept it is also possible to validate that a user already possesses a file with the use of checksums. This technique improves 'upload' speeds massively.
Streamload makes it's money by charging for bandwidth usage, but provides a free service up to a certain size of file.
The service lost a lot of its following when it upped the price and reduced the cap on the free file size.
Can be found at www.streamload.com