LIMEWIRE review

What are the reasons that Limewire became so popular on the PC and on the Mac platform?

It is probably the most popular client for the Gnutella network. This file sharing network quickly replaced the famous old Napster after it has been shut down and is now more popular than ever..

The new cleaned up Java interface in version 4.1 of Limewire looks way better than earlier versions. You know it's made for the business of exchanging files and nothing distracts from that goal.

Because it is written in Java it can be used on any Operating System where java can be installed. That includes Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Unix and Solaris.

This has also disadvantages. It needs Java to run. That means you should take care that you always have the latest version of Java installed on your computer and it's quite "resource heavy".

Another reason for it's success might be, that it doesn't tackle you with ad-ware, nag-ware or hurting colors. It just convinces with a clear and transparent surface for searching, downloading, browsing and collecting files.

The various improvements regarding network performance and downloading from multiple sources, deliver considerably more search results and faster downloads.

Version 4.1 has some nice additions that help you getting the job done.

As Limewire is open source software, you can expect that it gets updated quite fast. The last version 4.1 is maybe not the fastest, but certainly a very stable and a good p2p file sharing program.


Plus:

* Clean interface
* No adware
* No spyware (at least it seems so)
* Downloads from multiple hosts (faster downloads)
* Good search and filtering functions
* You can customize most functions

Minus:

* Not enough protection against viruses because the Gnutella network is flooded with Junk. Especially watch out for files with the file size of 851,7, 69,4 or 0,00 Kb.
* Maybe a tick slower than Morpheus.
* May not run on Macs with the latest security updates.