Shareaza is a modern filesharing tool for your ease-of-use user. No in-depth knowledge of P2P networks is required;
Shareaza handles all the gritty details. By using the Gnutella 1 & 2 networks, as well as access to Edonkey2000, you can widen your search area, giving more
users per file, and more hits per search. The developers have released it as open
source software, with the expectation that the open source community will transform Shareaza into a movement of self-enhancing, self-repairing software.
Perhaps the best new feature in Shareaza 2.0, and subsequent versions, is that it supports the BitTorrent format, allowing you to
download large
files at breakneck download speeds. Once you have the BitTorrent file, double-clicking will automatically add the file to your download queue - adding a download monitor window will enable you to watch the Bytes fly as it gains speed!
Shareaza also offers a host of features for the user that wants to get in on hands and knees. Chatting between users is supported as well as skin customization and preview of media files, making Shareaza an
application that is really difficult to turn off. Suspicious readers will be glad to hear that malevolent users and companies can be blocked with filters and screens.
As a pratical matter, I find that Shareaza is quite robust, and links to hubs very reliably. Indeed, searching for popular files will inevitably result in too many hits from a range of distant users. Unlike some earlier P2P applications, Shareza performs routine
file maintenance, ensuring that your 'temp' directories don't get clogged with thousands of metafiles, resulting from erroneous or cancelled downloads.
Shareaza is a great way to get started into file-sharing, with it's bright, friendly interface, and it's easy, logical setup. I've used several other P2P application, and usually, I grow disenfranchised with them on some level. Shareaza is a total-package deal, and it's a very intuitive experience. And it's all open source!
www.shareaza.com
Published: August 17, 2005
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