| There's
no reason your file-sharing application shouldn't
look good. The Mac OS-influenced interface of LimeWire
is one of the better-looking of the file-sharing
apps we tested. But looks aren't all this Gnutella
clone has: LimeWire creates a separate tab for each
MP3 search you perform in a particular session,
so you can look at the results again with a single
click.
The program features an open community of similar
users (defined by interests, computing power,
and bandwidth) to optimize search performance.
You can run unlimited simultaneous searches or
use the popular "Browse Host" ability
to find what you seek. The program automatically
configures itself for your connection speed and
computing power. The Resume Download feature should
be a breath of fresh air to anyone who has become
accustomed to "broken download" error
messages. The Buy button allows you to purchase
products related to your download.
This free version is supported by banner ads.
The $10 Pro version spares you the ads. Download
LimeWire
LimeWire review
LimeWire is a free and open source Gnutella peer-to-peer
network client released under the GNU General
Public License. The program allows users to share
files using the Gnutella peer-to-peer protocol.
It was the first file sharing program to support
firewall-to-firewall file transfers, a feature
introduced in version 4.2, which was released
in November 2004.
It is written in Java and hence runs on any computer
with the Java virtual machine installed. To facilitate
installation for casual users, the developers
release installation packages for Microsoft Windows,
Mac OS X, and for Linux, in RPM format.
Free LimeWire uses the SHA-1 and Tiger tree hash
cryptographically secure hash functions to ensure
that downloaded data is uncompromised. Although
Ed Felten and others have identified possible
vulnerabilities in the SHA1 algorithm, because
LimeWire does not rely on SHA1 alone these vulnerabilities
do not have many adverse implications for LimeWire's
verification of downloaded files.
The Windows version of the product installer
includes a stripped-down version of Sun's Java
installer which will download and install version
1.5 of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) if it
detects the machine doesn't have Java, or has
a version of Java below version 1.4.1.
Lime Wire LLC, the developer of the product,
distributes two versions of the program; a basic,
free version, and an enhanced version sold for
a small fee, which is said to offer faster downloads.
Prior to April 2004, the free version of the software
was distributed with a bundled program called
"LimeShop" (a variant of TopMoxie),
which was considered by computer security experts
to be spyware. With the removal of all bundled
software in LimeWire 4.0, these objections were
addressed.
Being open source, LimeWire has spawned several
forks, including LionShare, an experimental software
development project at Penn State University,
and Acquisition, a popular Apple Macintosh-based
Gnutella client with a proprietary interface.
According to a 28 June 2005 report in The New
York Times Lime Wire LLC may stop distributing
LimeWire due to the outcome of MGM v. Grokster.
However, new versions are being released (4.9
released on August 26) with smarter search results,
optimized downloads and other features.
About P2P
A peer-to-peer (or P2P) computer network is a network
that relies on the computing power and bandwidth
of the participants in the network rather than concentrating
it in a relatively low number of servers. P2P networks
are typically used for connecting nodes via largely
ad hoc connections. Such networks are useful for
many purposes. Sharing content files (see file sharing)
containing audio, video, data or anything in digital
format is very common, and realtime data, such as
telephony traffic, is also passed using P2P technology.
A pure peer-to-peer network does not have the
notion of clients or servers, but only equal peer
nodes that simultaneously function as both "clients"
and "servers" to the other nodes on
the network. This model of network arrangement
differs from the client-server model where communication
is usually to and from a central server. A typical
example for a non peer-to-peer file transfer is
an FTP server where the client and server programs
are quite distinct, and the clients initiate the
download/uploads and the servers react to and
satisfy these requests.
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