newfangle
hates you.
Hi all, I am just curious.
Do you use file sharing programs.
- Thread starter newfangle
- Start date
BlueMonday
Can I Kick It?
Of course I use p2p software. It has become the most convenient and easy to use method of obtaining software, movies, games, and music. A year ago you had to know your way around an ftp to get anything...but nowadays, even computer morons can get their hands on and use software to connect them with pirates around the world. I still love using ftps, but the speed and sheer amount of goods available on p2p networks makes using them irresistable.
Option 3 for me: Edonkey2000 all the way 
Yeah I know it's wrong but some software is just not worth buying but I want it anyway. And sometimes it even animates me to buy something: I just bought WarcraftIII AFTER I downloaded it and found that this one is definately worth $50
Yeah I know it's wrong but some software is just not worth buying but I want it anyway. And sometimes it even animates me to buy something: I just bought WarcraftIII AFTER I downloaded it and found that this one is definately worth $50
starlifter
Deity
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2001
- Messages
- 4,210
Believe it or not, I have never used any p2p before. I have used other methods, like regular surfing to web pages to "obtain" certain things I want to try. 80% of the time, it turns out to be junk, and I'm glad I didn't waste $50 on the piece of junk. But... when something is good, then I personally go out and buy it. Railroad Tycoon II is one example.... I never would have taken a "chance" on in in the store, but when it turned out great, I bought it. Warcraft II is another example. I bought Civilization II based on people's recommendation without "trying" it first. Then I bought it for friends and family after I began playing it (I'd never played Civ I)!!!
Anyway, I'm going to try Pale Horse's recommendation. Should be interesting......
Anyway, I'm going to try Pale Horse's recommendation. Should be interesting......
starlifter
Deity
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2001
- Messages
- 4,210
Well PaleHorse76, U B Da man. And BlueMonday, too. I've just installed and run WinMX and Shareaza . Both are doing fine so far (no spyware, no BS, etc.). The p2p aspect is pretty cool, too. I was able to find an MP3 that I figured it could not locate, much less DL. Looks like I'll need to get DSL again if I use much of that stuff, LOL. It's funny to watch people try and download MP3s from my own machine to theirs (I only have 56K, which is merely about 24K on my upload side, hehehe).
Anyway, very interesting. Note to all: Do not download or use Kazaa. It has all kinds of spyware in it. Kazaalite is the version that some people have chopped all that crap out of, but all Kazaalite sites were impossibly slow to download and try it.
Thanks all.
Anyway, very interesting. Note to all: Do not download or use Kazaa. It has all kinds of spyware in it. Kazaalite is the version that some people have chopped all that crap out of, but all Kazaalite sites were impossibly slow to download and try it.
Thanks all.
redtom
Proudhonist
Have you heard that some major Record companies are going on to these sites and checking who and what people are downloading. Then, through, some computer wizardry can check your IP address. They are saving these on big computers and are soon going to start legal action!
The fools!
If any record company does it then there will be a backlash as people download the record companies music and stop buying there CD's.
It doesn't affect me because I download rare tracks of bands I like that are never going to released, so I believe I'm innocent.
Also, how can it be called stealing when the thing your "stealing" is not physical. I know my legal mumbo-jumbo, there is simply no actus reus although there is mens rea.
Anyway, i thought i better share that with you just in case!
The fools!
If any record company does it then there will be a backlash as people download the record companies music and stop buying there CD's.
It doesn't affect me because I download rare tracks of bands I like that are never going to released, so I believe I'm innocent.
Also, how can it be called stealing when the thing your "stealing" is not physical. I know my legal mumbo-jumbo, there is simply no actus reus although there is mens rea.
Anyway, i thought i better share that with you just in case!
BlueMonday
Can I Kick It?
Time for a BlueMonday review:
Kazaa, Kazaa Lite, Morpheus, and other FastTrack clients: One of the familes of Napster clones. I've been using these types of p2p apps almost exclusively since the demise of Napster. I've found that if you're just looking for small files (mp3s for instance) these are the best to use. Particularly the newer FastTrack clients which allow you to download off of many users simultaneously. If you have broadband, you'll usually be able to donwload faster than you can play the track.
The other family of Napster clones is the Gnutella clients. I've never particularly liked any of the Gnutella clients, but there are people who swear by them. Once again, they are best for small files.
I think both types of Napster clones have suffered in the last year or so from a greedy and generally unwelcoming user base. Although you will get great speeds on these p2p apps, I've found that getting files in excess of 50 MBs is a questionable action. Most people will log onto these networks, download what they want, then get off. So if you want to get a full movie, the person you're downing off of will usually leave before you can finish it. Compound this with the sheer amount of horrible crap (eg Sony handicam in the theatre type movies) that is available, getting a movie or CD image or large compressed file off of Kazaa or what have you is a NO NO in my book.
Direct Connect: So you want a DVD rip or ISO, huh? This is one of the better places to get it. For those of you who have never used anything other than a Napster clone, this one will be a little different. Instead of automatically being logged onto a server on the FastTrack or Gnutella network by the client, you will be presented with a list of available servers to which you will choose to connect. Every 'hub' has certain restrictions (or none at all). They may require you to have a certain amount of data available (some even require 50 or more GBs worth of shares), be on Broadband or T1 lines, or have a certain amount of slots open for others to download off of you. Likewise each hub may have a specialty. Some trade in MP3s or Movies or Games, some in all categories.
The secret to getting the best out of DC is to find one hub that you really like, get to know the people in there, and share what you have with them. Now of course, there is another kind of hub: the private hub. When you start up DC and pull up a list of servers to connect to those are all public servers, open to anyone who meets the entry requirements. Private hubs have access restricted to the public so that only people on an invite list can come in. A lot of internet communities (especially warez forums) have private hubs. If they like you, they might let you in. I've on one of these, and this is definitely the best way to get what I want.
There are a few shortcomings with DC, however. Since you're on only one server and have search access to only members on that server, searches can be very limited in scope. That's why I prefer to use one of the Napster clones when I'm trying to get music, you have a huge user base to search from. With DC you only have the people on that server to search from. Also, DC can only download a file from one person at a time, so you're stuck with a download speed of whatever upload speed they can spare. But I feel that the higher quality of both people and files on DC coupled with smaller, closer knit communities makes DC one of the best choices for p2p clients.
eDonkey2000: This client has a serious duality problem. Although the amount of stuff and quality available on this client is unbelievable, it is the hardest client to use effectively. First the good things. Not even Direct Connect can contend with the sheer amount of goods on ed2k. When it comes to getting DVD rips, or ISOs this place is the City of Gold. And this is not just because of the sheer amount of goods available, but also because of the way ed2k downloads. Every file is broken down (hashed) into very small chunks ranging from 500kB to 4MB. So when you ask to download a specific file -let's say a 700MB DVD rip of Austin Powers- the client will seek out as many people as it can find with that file and download one of those chunks from them. So to get Austin Powers you may download chunks of the complete file from 100 or more different people.
Another advantage unseen in any other p2p app is that with the hashing thang files in the process of being put together during a download are shared. You may only have 30% of the chunks necessary to finish the file, but what you have already is available to be downloaded by other people. Likewise, people who only have partials of that file can also upload to you which expands the file availability into unimaginable amounts.
Now, on top of all that good stuff you also get another goodie with ed2k: hyperlinking. On an html page you can put a direct link to a file available on ed2k. Since this invention, several sites have sprung up specifically in the business of indexing files on ed2k. One of these sites (which I shall keep nameless) has indexed over 1500 full DVD Rips, ISOs of Games, Consoles, and Applications, along with a nice selection of full length XXX vids and is responsible for well over 5 petabyes of distributed goods. But that's just the creme of the crop. They also have a forum where all the action takes place. On the forum they have indexes of just about every movie and every piece of software ever made.
Now, like I said at the beginning, ed2k can be hard to use. When you try to download a file it looks for other users with that file on all the servers it knows about. So how does it find servers? You have to add them into the program. So what you need to do is go to one of the serverlists (like the ocbMaurice list) and add all the servers on the list. Without a good list of servers, ed2k will never find anything. And the really stupid thing is that ed2k will remove servers periodicall from the list. So if you want to do some serious downloading, you'll need to update the serverlist every day or every time you use it.
Also, you have a network ID. I'm not sure how this works or why it does it (no one has ever given me a good answer) but if you have a low ID# you're screwed and will never download anything faster than 2K/sec. You want at least a nine digit ID#. In addition, I've found that the program usually has problems transferring files from the temp form to the finished form, so you'll have to manually rename and move the fiels yourself from .temp to .avi or .iso or whatever. The program also moves sporadically. It may download off of 20 people at once, or be waiting on a hundred queues and not doing anything. I've waited hours downloading at less than 4KB/sec only to come back and find it moving at 150KB/sec. I'd say that if you have broadband and have a good serverlist, you'll average between 20-60 KB/sec on ed2k.
Kazaa, Kazaa Lite, Morpheus, and other FastTrack clients: One of the familes of Napster clones. I've been using these types of p2p apps almost exclusively since the demise of Napster. I've found that if you're just looking for small files (mp3s for instance) these are the best to use. Particularly the newer FastTrack clients which allow you to download off of many users simultaneously. If you have broadband, you'll usually be able to donwload faster than you can play the track.
The other family of Napster clones is the Gnutella clients. I've never particularly liked any of the Gnutella clients, but there are people who swear by them. Once again, they are best for small files.
I think both types of Napster clones have suffered in the last year or so from a greedy and generally unwelcoming user base. Although you will get great speeds on these p2p apps, I've found that getting files in excess of 50 MBs is a questionable action. Most people will log onto these networks, download what they want, then get off. So if you want to get a full movie, the person you're downing off of will usually leave before you can finish it. Compound this with the sheer amount of horrible crap (eg Sony handicam in the theatre type movies) that is available, getting a movie or CD image or large compressed file off of Kazaa or what have you is a NO NO in my book.
Direct Connect: So you want a DVD rip or ISO, huh? This is one of the better places to get it. For those of you who have never used anything other than a Napster clone, this one will be a little different. Instead of automatically being logged onto a server on the FastTrack or Gnutella network by the client, you will be presented with a list of available servers to which you will choose to connect. Every 'hub' has certain restrictions (or none at all). They may require you to have a certain amount of data available (some even require 50 or more GBs worth of shares), be on Broadband or T1 lines, or have a certain amount of slots open for others to download off of you. Likewise each hub may have a specialty. Some trade in MP3s or Movies or Games, some in all categories.
The secret to getting the best out of DC is to find one hub that you really like, get to know the people in there, and share what you have with them. Now of course, there is another kind of hub: the private hub. When you start up DC and pull up a list of servers to connect to those are all public servers, open to anyone who meets the entry requirements. Private hubs have access restricted to the public so that only people on an invite list can come in. A lot of internet communities (especially warez forums) have private hubs. If they like you, they might let you in. I've on one of these, and this is definitely the best way to get what I want.
There are a few shortcomings with DC, however. Since you're on only one server and have search access to only members on that server, searches can be very limited in scope. That's why I prefer to use one of the Napster clones when I'm trying to get music, you have a huge user base to search from. With DC you only have the people on that server to search from. Also, DC can only download a file from one person at a time, so you're stuck with a download speed of whatever upload speed they can spare. But I feel that the higher quality of both people and files on DC coupled with smaller, closer knit communities makes DC one of the best choices for p2p clients.
eDonkey2000: This client has a serious duality problem. Although the amount of stuff and quality available on this client is unbelievable, it is the hardest client to use effectively. First the good things. Not even Direct Connect can contend with the sheer amount of goods on ed2k. When it comes to getting DVD rips, or ISOs this place is the City of Gold. And this is not just because of the sheer amount of goods available, but also because of the way ed2k downloads. Every file is broken down (hashed) into very small chunks ranging from 500kB to 4MB. So when you ask to download a specific file -let's say a 700MB DVD rip of Austin Powers- the client will seek out as many people as it can find with that file and download one of those chunks from them. So to get Austin Powers you may download chunks of the complete file from 100 or more different people.
Another advantage unseen in any other p2p app is that with the hashing thang files in the process of being put together during a download are shared. You may only have 30% of the chunks necessary to finish the file, but what you have already is available to be downloaded by other people. Likewise, people who only have partials of that file can also upload to you which expands the file availability into unimaginable amounts.
Now, on top of all that good stuff you also get another goodie with ed2k: hyperlinking. On an html page you can put a direct link to a file available on ed2k. Since this invention, several sites have sprung up specifically in the business of indexing files on ed2k. One of these sites (which I shall keep nameless) has indexed over 1500 full DVD Rips, ISOs of Games, Consoles, and Applications, along with a nice selection of full length XXX vids and is responsible for well over 5 petabyes of distributed goods. But that's just the creme of the crop. They also have a forum where all the action takes place. On the forum they have indexes of just about every movie and every piece of software ever made.
Now, like I said at the beginning, ed2k can be hard to use. When you try to download a file it looks for other users with that file on all the servers it knows about. So how does it find servers? You have to add them into the program. So what you need to do is go to one of the serverlists (like the ocbMaurice list) and add all the servers on the list. Without a good list of servers, ed2k will never find anything. And the really stupid thing is that ed2k will remove servers periodicall from the list. So if you want to do some serious downloading, you'll need to update the serverlist every day or every time you use it.
Also, you have a network ID. I'm not sure how this works or why it does it (no one has ever given me a good answer) but if you have a low ID# you're screwed and will never download anything faster than 2K/sec. You want at least a nine digit ID#. In addition, I've found that the program usually has problems transferring files from the temp form to the finished form, so you'll have to manually rename and move the fiels yourself from .temp to .avi or .iso or whatever. The program also moves sporadically. It may download off of 20 people at once, or be waiting on a hundred queues and not doing anything. I've waited hours downloading at less than 4KB/sec only to come back and find it moving at 150KB/sec. I'd say that if you have broadband and have a good serverlist, you'll average between 20-60 KB/sec on ed2k.
starlifter
Deity
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2001
- Messages
- 4,210
That was a very helpful writeup, Blue Monday! As someone who has not even tried File Sharing until today after reading this thread, it is quite informative. I've let Shareaza run quite a bit today, even when I've been gone, which uses Gnutella. I've had tens of thousands of "hits" on the MPs that I've let go online, but less than 100 Downloads, presumably because I'm not connected via broadband and the node/leaf system does not need much from me.
I've noticed Shareaza/Gnutella uses hashing, as I can see it taking slices of some of my stuff, and ditto for my Downloads. It goes without saying that people would be much better off with broadband of some sort for all but the smallest downloads ... some items averaged out to be in terms of days for one file.
Whoops, as we are speaking, Shareaza crashed for the first time. Oh well, it's done good overall. Time to try WinMX for a more detailed comparison.
I've noticed Shareaza/Gnutella uses hashing, as I can see it taking slices of some of my stuff, and ditto for my Downloads. It goes without saying that people would be much better off with broadband of some sort for all but the smallest downloads ... some items averaged out to be in terms of days for one file.
Whoops, as we are speaking, Shareaza crashed for the first time. Oh well, it's done good overall. Time to try WinMX for a more detailed comparison
.Pliny The Elder
Prince
I used to use Audiogalaxy, last year, when I had cable. used Morpheus for a while, too, when it 1st came out. Now I'm back to dialup :-( I'm glad I got what I did, when I could. I have about 22 cd's of mp3's (about 3700-3800 tunes). Believe it or not, almost all of these are songs that I had already paid for, years ago...vinyl copies. Remember vinyl? 
What few I hadn't bought, I doubt if I could find, to buy...I have obscure tastes, at times
What few I hadn't bought, I doubt if I could find, to buy...I have obscure tastes, at times
I found edonkey like a week ago, I think the chunk system it uses is genius.... I also noticed it fragments the hell out of your hard drive. When I used Napster I mostly downloaded music that I could never hear on the radio, I really thought Napster was great, and I hates the RIAA for taking away a great promotional tool to small artists worldwide as they try and make Britney Spears and P Diddy the only option to listen too.
I like WinMX....I have had good results with it but I get to the point where I have 607,773,395 out of 609,xxx,xxx of a movie left and it is really aggravating waiting for it to finish ....it's only the damn credits!
I also like DLing music on WinMX, it allows you to search by Bitrate....the search form isn't as nice as Napster's was but it allows a big range and you can set the range to be just one bitrate which is a feature that I really like. Thanks for the Eminem songs that I won't buy because the CD is copy protected and more than likely won't work in my computer (which is the only place I listen to songs). Music company shot itself in the foot again.
....it's only the damn credits! I also like DLing music on WinMX, it allows you to search by Bitrate....the search form isn't as nice as Napster's was but it allows a big range and you can set the range to be just one bitrate which is a feature that I really like. Thanks for the Eminem songs that I won't buy because the CD is copy protected and more than likely won't work in my computer (which is the only place I listen to songs). Music company shot itself in the foot again.
anarchywrksbest
Deity
I used teh Original Morpheus, then Kazaa (both are identical) now I use Kazaa only. I have a 56k modem but if I leave my computer on over night i can get a good 100,000kb
Morpheus is now very changed...
Blue, have you tried http://www.overnet.com/ ? That is a new version of eDonkey2000 that doesn't require connecting to servers....according to the eDonkey webpage that is. I am goign to DL it and try now.
Edit: Scratch that, trying eDonkey again. Is an ID of 1321488708 good?
Blue, have you tried http://www.overnet.com/ ? That is a new version of eDonkey2000 that doesn't require connecting to servers....according to the eDonkey webpage that is. I am goign to DL it and try now.
Edit: Scratch that, trying eDonkey again. Is an ID of 1321488708 good?
BlueMonday
Can I Kick It?
I've heard very good things about overnet so far, but since it's still in beta stage, I'm going to bide my time untill they finish it. I personally love the idea because one of the things that makes ed2k a little b**** is the servers.
You've got a great ID, so as long as you've got a good server list and are connected to one of the servers you're golden.
