A while back I posted an entry on a variety of web browsers including Opera and Mozilla. This time's gonna be a review on a variety of peer-to-peer (P2P) software that you can download to download and share music from other people. Unfortunately I can't find stats on how many percent of people use what software, but apparently 35 million Americans use P2P software, which ultimately amounts to 29% of Internet users!

1) WinMX 3.31: At 752KB to download, WinMX is by far my favourite program to use while searching for music. (If you're here to prosecute me on grounds that I have illegally downloaded music, please refer to musicunited.org for details on why I don't fit in the category). WinMX, developed by Frontcode Technologies, is quick to load, rid of ads or bundleware (spyware and unwanted software that are installed with the program). You find the songs you want with no hassle, no fuss, and it's a relatively quick download from any peer. However, your choice might be somewhat limited, because it's not the top-downloaded program on the Net. Kazaa is.

2) Kazaa 2.6.3: You can debate on how to pronounce its name, but you can't omit the fact that it's extremely popular. As of this post, over 1.9 million people have downloaded Kazaa. And yet I've only downloaded it twice before ultimately resorting to uninstalling it. Why? Because at 7MB (a hundred WinMX's if you would) it's a big thing to download, and because on my slow computer it takes decades to load, not to mention the website and the annoying banner ads. It's not exactly my top pick, although undoubtedly you get the biggest choice in downloads.

3) LimeWire 4.0: LimeWire was a nice surprise in the sense that it's midway between WinMX and Kazaa. It's not as big as Kazaa and therefore doesn't take long to download, and there's just one ad for upgrading the software. The plus aspect of LimeWire is that it's incredulously fast. The song selection is not spectacular, but its good enough to find the latest hits. The GUI (graphic user interface) and the skin is pretty sleek too, not to mention the fact that it's also a cross-platfrom software (meaning you can use it on your Mac as well). It's on a different track too (the Gnutella network) which means that you are in the realm with most Mac P2P users.

4) eDonkey2000 v0.53: eDonkey (often referred to as eD2K) is nice and fast, another leeway between WinMX and Morpheus. It's not as slow to load as Morpheus, and its choice/range of selection of songs is widespread. There's one banner ad but it's hardly noticeable. The interface sorta reminds you of a Mac computer browser. At 918KB, its a nice bargain in terms of size too.

5) Morpheus 4: Morpheus isn't exactly top of the line either, sadly. It's reputedly got connections to iMesh and Kazaa networks, giving you more choice of downloading songs, but I found that hard to believe. Its nifty how some Matrix-souding woman says "Morpheus" when you load the program, but that's not exactly the whole point, either. The download is bundled with other software too and it takes a bit to load. The plus side is that it's also reputedly declared legal by a U.S federal court, which might settle some jumpy nerves you might have while downloading music.

Post your comments Written on Friday, May 21 at 10:02 PM