Perhaps," said David Copans, vice president of business development and chief financial officer for Applied Metacomputing, which makes technology for creating file-swapping tools. "But I think Napster will have no significant impact on the future of computing." No black hats here In essence, peer-to-peer networks provide a way to link PCs together without the need for powerful central computers, known as servers. Software developers have come to see peer-to-peer architecture as a revolutionary way to store and search for any data in a network, including on the Internet. Despite legal clouds over Napster, peer-to-peer projects remain a magnet for developers and capital. Start-up OpenCola, for example, recently received a $3 million investment infusion from Mosaic Venture Partners, Angel Investors and Torsar. Groove Networks, a system being developed by Lotus founder Ray Ozzie, just announced that it has signed its 100th development partner.