cheapprick
January 18th, 2003, 08:38 PM
Hi, welcome to the wide world of Filesharing.
There are as you have probably noticed a wide variety of applications or clients from which to choose. This write up will only center on some of the largest, giving very brief overviews and then links to places you can find more information on each. They are in no particular order. As well, there will be links to a place for each app here that you can ask questions about that particular client. These threads will be updated to be q&a's for already answered questions periodically.
Keep in mind that you can find all of these clients here (http://www.zeropaid.com/php/filesharing.php).
Direct Connect (DC)/ DC++
It traditionally has an image of being elitist, but as many could point out that title isn't neccesarily earned. Most public(non passworded hubs) will require some ammount of pre-existing files. Typically starting around 2 gb. This has the effect of keeping the quantity of files available quite high. The file requirements that must be reached can often be met by simply ripping the albums you presently own. DC and DC++ work on their own network. DC has specialty hubs for music, software and movies. The original DC (not DC++) has adware.
You can find a great deal of information on Direct Connect here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=6).
The official DC q&a is here (http://www.neo-modus.com/?page=Help).
You can ask your questions about Direct Connect here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6361)
Kazaa Lite /++/on and on
Easily the most widely used sharing app, typically housing the files of around 4 million users at any given time. It has the reputation as the most user-friendly/ most dangerous to use. Although there are certainly lots of files and people, the anti-p2p forces are hard at work trying to damage the Kazaa experience. You may find faked files, misnamed files, and viruses. It would be fair to say that you could find these anywhere, but Kazaa has the name for being the most infected by these types of files. Small amount of advice? Don't open an executable file from any app without virus scanning it first with an up-to-date scanner. You should be able to expect that this application will deliver the fastest downloads to you. These apps work on the FastTrack Network. Kazaa is a good all-purpose app.
You can find a great deal of information on Kazaa Lite/other alterations of Kazaa here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=37).
The official KL q&a is here (http://doa2.host.sk/) just click FAQ on the left.
You can ask your questions about Kazaa Lite/other alterations of Kazaa here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6361)
Piolet
This is a very new app, from the maker of a very old app. Piolet is a better version of the creator's older app, Blubster. Although it is very new, the Piolet community connects to the older Blubster network, so you can expect to find many people using it. Piolet is an audio file app.
You can find a great deal of information on Piolet here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=77).
The official Piolet forum is here (http://www.unitethecows.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=84).
You can ask your questions about Piolet here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6364)
Shareaza
Shareaza is a gnutella community app. It connects to the older Gnutella network, as well as to it's own Gnutella2 network. Gnutella has a decent following due to the fact that it is an open-sourced protocol. With this freedom for people to make their own app, there are many gnutella clients. Shareaza is known as one of the quicker gnutella programs. Shareaza is another good all purpose app.
You can find a great deal of information on Shareaza here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=60).
The official Shareaza FAQ is here (http://www.shareaza.com/faq/).
You can ask your questions about Shareaza here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6365)
eDonkey/eMule/Overnet
The eDonkey family exists on their own protocols. These apps are well established and have steady updates to the software. They all have steady followings, although not approaching the level of FastTrack applications. These apps are some of the best for movies and software, but are all-purpose.
You can find a great deal of information on these here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=7).
The official eDonkey site is here (http://edonkey2000.com).
You can ask your questions about these apps here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6366)
WinMx
This app is also running on it's own protocol, but can also connect to open-nap servers. It has had a steady update schedule until this last October when it's present version came out. WinMx has a large user base, with an estimated 1 million people. The download speeds are quite good, but it is common to wait in queue for popular files, as well some users are known to ask for trades or they will cut you off. WinMx is a good all-purpose application.
You can find a great deal of information on WinMx here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=25).
The official WinMx site is here (http://www.winmx.com/), but don't waste your time looking for a FAQ, they don't have one. A good FAQ can be found here (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/j.buchanan/index.html)
You can ask your questions about WinMx here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6367)
Note- there will be more to come, if you have suggestions, please post them in the Anyone/Everyone thread. I would like if nobody posted in this thread, and when complete, I'll ask a mod to lock it. Thanks everyone.
I still plan to add more gnutella clients, iMesh, possibly Soulseek, and any suggestions that fit.
There are as you have probably noticed a wide variety of applications or clients from which to choose. This write up will only center on some of the largest, giving very brief overviews and then links to places you can find more information on each. They are in no particular order. As well, there will be links to a place for each app here that you can ask questions about that particular client. These threads will be updated to be q&a's for already answered questions periodically.
Keep in mind that you can find all of these clients here (http://www.zeropaid.com/php/filesharing.php).
Direct Connect (DC)/ DC++
It traditionally has an image of being elitist, but as many could point out that title isn't neccesarily earned. Most public(non passworded hubs) will require some ammount of pre-existing files. Typically starting around 2 gb. This has the effect of keeping the quantity of files available quite high. The file requirements that must be reached can often be met by simply ripping the albums you presently own. DC and DC++ work on their own network. DC has specialty hubs for music, software and movies. The original DC (not DC++) has adware.
You can find a great deal of information on Direct Connect here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=6).
The official DC q&a is here (http://www.neo-modus.com/?page=Help).
You can ask your questions about Direct Connect here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6361)
Kazaa Lite /++/on and on
Easily the most widely used sharing app, typically housing the files of around 4 million users at any given time. It has the reputation as the most user-friendly/ most dangerous to use. Although there are certainly lots of files and people, the anti-p2p forces are hard at work trying to damage the Kazaa experience. You may find faked files, misnamed files, and viruses. It would be fair to say that you could find these anywhere, but Kazaa has the name for being the most infected by these types of files. Small amount of advice? Don't open an executable file from any app without virus scanning it first with an up-to-date scanner. You should be able to expect that this application will deliver the fastest downloads to you. These apps work on the FastTrack Network. Kazaa is a good all-purpose app.
You can find a great deal of information on Kazaa Lite/other alterations of Kazaa here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=37).
The official KL q&a is here (http://doa2.host.sk/) just click FAQ on the left.
You can ask your questions about Kazaa Lite/other alterations of Kazaa here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6361)
Piolet
This is a very new app, from the maker of a very old app. Piolet is a better version of the creator's older app, Blubster. Although it is very new, the Piolet community connects to the older Blubster network, so you can expect to find many people using it. Piolet is an audio file app.
You can find a great deal of information on Piolet here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=77).
The official Piolet forum is here (http://www.unitethecows.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=84).
You can ask your questions about Piolet here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6364)
Shareaza
Shareaza is a gnutella community app. It connects to the older Gnutella network, as well as to it's own Gnutella2 network. Gnutella has a decent following due to the fact that it is an open-sourced protocol. With this freedom for people to make their own app, there are many gnutella clients. Shareaza is known as one of the quicker gnutella programs. Shareaza is another good all purpose app.
You can find a great deal of information on Shareaza here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=60).
The official Shareaza FAQ is here (http://www.shareaza.com/faq/).
You can ask your questions about Shareaza here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6365)
eDonkey/eMule/Overnet
The eDonkey family exists on their own protocols. These apps are well established and have steady updates to the software. They all have steady followings, although not approaching the level of FastTrack applications. These apps are some of the best for movies and software, but are all-purpose.
You can find a great deal of information on these here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=7).
The official eDonkey site is here (http://edonkey2000.com).
You can ask your questions about these apps here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6366)
WinMx
This app is also running on it's own protocol, but can also connect to open-nap servers. It has had a steady update schedule until this last October when it's present version came out. WinMx has a large user base, with an estimated 1 million people. The download speeds are quite good, but it is common to wait in queue for popular files, as well some users are known to ask for trades or they will cut you off. WinMx is a good all-purpose application.
You can find a great deal of information on WinMx here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=25).
The official WinMx site is here (http://www.winmx.com/), but don't waste your time looking for a FAQ, they don't have one. A good FAQ can be found here (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/j.buchanan/index.html)
You can ask your questions about WinMx here (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6367)
Note- there will be more to come, if you have suggestions, please post them in the Anyone/Everyone thread. I would like if nobody posted in this thread, and when complete, I'll ask a mod to lock it. Thanks everyone.
I still plan to add more gnutella clients, iMesh, possibly Soulseek, and any suggestions that fit.