Back in the day

I was a LimeWire user back in the day, I can’t lie. A few years back it was pretty good for popular file sharing, but that’s what it was, for popular file sharing only. I guess this attributed my fading interest in its use, I just never found what I was looking for. Have things changed?

Now, a few years later, I hear that the Gnutella network is still alive and kicking and that LimeWire is actually one of the headstrong leaders in the file sharing department. This surprised me a bit since it didn’t have that much of a following at the time of its conception. Let’s see if time has improved this Gnutella file sharing client in the review.

New and improved

The 4.0 version is a lot trendier than its predecessors, with an overall nice and intuitive layout. Everything is set up to be as easy-to-use as possible. Yes, it does use P2P, so for those against this form of file sharing, beware.

Everything looks revamped and improved from what I remember it. The interface now houses some cool icons with some added features (a button matrix and a quality-connection meter). You’ve got a progress bar, file info bar, quality (star rating), and more general features than I remember seeing on previous versions.

Well, I think LimeWire has surely proved itself as one of the leading competitors of the Gnutella network, but there are some things that could improve it slightly. I’m specifically talking about its Adult Filter. Even when I enabled the filter, I was still getting a large amount of adult material slipping through the cracks (I mean a lot).

Not unlike most clients, I feel it can be sluggish at times since it depends on how many people are on, but I guess that’s just like any other file sharing client. It's Java based, so you’re going to have to remember one thing, the longer you leave it on, the more memory it’ll chew up (just a warning).

I will have to say that the skins make this file sharing program pretty cool, but my favorite feature of all has to be the Direct Connect feature that lets you directly tap into a specified IP address (for a quick exchange of files). Another cool addition was the ‘What’s new’ feature right next to the Direct Connect. You can now check out all the latest files that have been added to the Gnutella network.

I was a big fan of Ares before I took a look at LimeWire, but I may have to rethink where my loyalties lie. I’m quite impressed with the overall ease and simplicity of the whole product. To simplify what you’re looking for, LimeWire offers you fields for title, artist, album, track number, genre, year, length and bitrate.

Hovering over any of your search results gives you a little more information on the file you’re viewing. I think that there are a lot of good things in this program that may be overlooked by others. Not only does it separate your searches by tabs, but it gives you file type icons to easily differentiate between what you’re downloading.

The last thing that I think should be implemented into all file sharing programs is the freeloading preference. This means that you can cut off anyone who you don’t deem worthy of your files since they don’t share their fair share. Online file sharing communities can’t grow and prosper off of jealous freeloaders and I think that this program identifies those main themes.

The Good

This has got everything you are looking for in a P2P Gnutella file sharing program. It’s got a thriving user community, an abundancy of files and you’re more than likely to find what you’re looking for. The interface is clean and simple with fun features like ‘What’s New’ and my new found favorite Freeloader option.

The Bad

It’s Java, so it might bog a little if you leave it running for a while. The Adult filter needs some fine tuning because a lot of files manage to squeeze by even when it’s enabled. Aside from that, I can’t name too many things.

The Truth

This is by far one of the best Gnutella file sharers I’ve seen. Aside from the java and filter issue, I can’t see too many things that are wrong with it. Along with LimeWire, you should give Cabos and Ares and DC++ a try, they’re all worthwhile file sharers. This would almost get a 5/5 except for the fact that you typically leave it running and the java slowly starts eating away your system’s resources. Other than that, it’s fantastic.

Check out the screenshots below.