Dozens of Great Alternatives To LimeWire

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After more than a decade of loyal service, LimeWire was shut down yesterday by a U.S. Court. As LimeWire was one of the world's most used P2P-applications, the shutdown affected millions of people, mostly casual downloaders. Luckily for them, there are plenty of alternatives and potential replacements former LimeWire users can choose from.After a lengthy court battle, LimeWire lost its case with the RIAA yesterday. The New York District Court demanded that LimeWire shut down its entire operation, including all searches and uploading and downloading that occurs through the client.

In a response to the decision LimeWire made its client unusable, leaving millions of users with no other option than to find an alternative. The good news is that there are several applications and services that are ready to act as a replacement. We will discuss a few of them below.

FrostWire

FrostWire is a popular free and Open Source P2P client supporting both Gnutella and BitTorrent downloads. The application was first released in 2004 by members of the LimeWire Open Source community. FrostWire is similar to LimeWire in use and layout, and is fully compatible with iTunes. There are versions available for various operating systems including Windows, Mac, Linux and even Android.

FrostWire has always emphasized the non-infringing use of their client. In 2008, the client introduced its FrostClick service through which it promotes independent artists, which has been very successful.

MP3Rocket

MP3Rocket is another LimeWire spinoff with a very similar look and functionality. It works on Windows and Mac and the application supports both Gnutella and BitTorrent downloads.

Unlike its name suggests, MP3Rocket is not limited to finding MP3s. It is capable of downloading any file format including video files and software. In addition to downloads, MP3Rocket also has hundreds of streamable radio and TV-channels.

BitTorrent

The two applications we discussed above both support BitTorrent downloads, but like LimeWire they were rarely used for this purpose. The main reason is most likely that many of its users don’t really know where to find .torrent files. For those who want to switch over, here is a list of some decent torrent sites.

LimeWire users who want to give BitTorrent a try might also want to consider using a dedicated torrent client such as uTorrent, Vuze or Transmission.

Music/Video Streaming

Music fans who don’t mind streaming tracks in their web browser actually have a few alternatives. Grooveshark is one of the most elaborate music services. It holds more content than the average download store, supports playlists and works on various mobile phones.

For video streaming there are perhaps even more alternatives. There are literally hundreds of sites one can choose from, although we have to warn of excessive popups on most sites. A Google search for “movie streaming” should be enough to get going.

Usenet / Newsgroups

Usenet is another good alternative to download all sorts of files, but depending on the service you sign up for it can be a bit harder to figure out than the other alternatives. Also, any good Usenet service requires a paid subscription, which is the trade-off for getting one of the fastest and most anonymous download services.

Direct Download Sites / Search Engines

There are numerous sites that search open web directories or allow saving of otherwise streaming music. BeeMP3, DilanDau, MRTZCMP3, MP3Hunting and various Mulve-style alternatives such as the PirateApp and Firefox plugin Vkontakte DL are just a few of those available.

More More More

The alternatives discussed above are really just the tip of the iceberg. There are dozens, if not hundreds of alternatives to LimeWire that can be used for sharing and finding files. This includes some of the older LimeWire versions that are reportedly still working. Other notable P2P applications are Soulseek, Ares and eMule.

It never ends.

Article from: TorrentFreak.

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[nsane.forums]

Now that LimeWire is gone for good, I've taken the time to compile a list of 10 alternative P2P programs that are available.

With U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood having recently issued an injunction ordering LimeWire to disable the "the searching, downloading, uploading, file trading and/or file distribution functionality, and/or all functionality" of the famed file-sharing program many former users have been searching for a viable alternative.

LimeWire still says it plans to to return as a subscription-based "ecosystem" that will give subscribers "complete and instant access to their entire [music] library and catalog across their desktop, devices, and in the cloud," but it's likely not to have much appeal for those who used LimeWire to download music, movies, TV shows, etc..

With this in mind I've taken the time to compile a list of 10 alternative P2P programs that are available.

1. BitTorrent

The personal favorite of many a file-sharer, BitTorrent breaks files down into smaller packets so that thousands of people can share the same file simultaneously. This scheme is particularly useful for trading large video files.

With BitTorrent, high demand can actually increase throughput as more bandwidth and additional "seeds" of the file become available to the group.

In contrast to other file-transfer protocols, BitTorrent is designed to work better as the number of people interested in a certain file increases. BitTorrent can support about a thousand times as many downloads as HTTP.

2. Usenet

Usenet is one of the oldest, and arguably safest, computer network communications still in use, having been first conceived way back in 1979 by a pair of Duke University graduate students to basically post messages as a sort of public bulletin board system.

Users download content from Newsgroups, the better ones of which require a nominal monthly subscription fee.

The benefit is that it offers relatively fast download speeds while simultaneously offering a great degree of safety and security.

3. Frostwire

FrostWire uses both the Gnutella and BitTorrent protocols to download content. It's been around since 2004 and enjoys a loyal following.

FrostWire includes much of the functionality of LimeWire's free version, as well as a few of LimeWire Pro's payment based upgrades.

4. MP3 Rocket

MP3 Rocket is a P2P program for the Gnutella and BitTorrent protocols.

MP3 Rocket offers live on-demand streams for more than 3,000 movies and TV shows, a Live Radio feature offering more than 1,000 live radio stations, and a Game Player providing access to more than 1,000 games.

5. MP3 Rocket beta

I include this one because I mentioned it yesterday and it holds promise for a new wave of clients that take advantage of the large volume of content that already exists legally on the web.

MP3Rocket beta is a "time-shifting tool" that so far harnesses the music selection of YouTube to deliver "even faster" MP3 downloads. It has an easy to use user interface that lets you search through existing videos for conversion to an MP3 download.

6. WinMX

Then there is WinMX. Yes, after all these years, there is still an active community of WinMXworld. Typically, users can connect to WinMX via the help of WinMXWorld where patches can be retrieved to get the client and network working again.

7. KaZaA Lite

KaZaA Lite is a hacked version of the original KaZaA Media Desktop that was created by users who were angered by the network's inclusion of secretly embedded spyware and adware in the software.

It provides access to the same FastTrack network as the P2P program Kazaa Media Desktop, but does not require users to install any third-party software or view any banner ads.

8. Shareaza

Shareaza offers connections to the Gnutella2, Gnutella, eDonkey, and BitTorrent networks. It's easy to use and users should have no trouble quickly figuring out how to search, check our network status, and customize the interface through a healthy choice of skins. Shareaza also has a decent built-in media player for common audio and video formats. Other features include a chat client and the ability to schedule transfers.

9. Ares

Ares is a free open source file sharing program that lets you search and download just about any file shared by other users. With Ares you can also join chat rooms or host your channel and meet new friends.

Latest versions support BitTorrent and lets you preview audio and video files downloads in progress.

10. eMule

eMule is a file-sharing client based on the eDonkey2000 network, but offers more features than the standard eDonkey client. This client also now include a new serverless network based on Kademlia. The client is also open source but under the restrictions of the GPL License. eMule is one of the biggest and most reliable P2P file-sharing clients around the world.

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