Now That LimeWire has been Shut Down: What Other Programs Can I Use?

LimeWire is now officially dead. So now the question is, where will you download music or videos? Are there any more programs like LimeWire?

There are a number of file-sharing programs created by various software companies or independent programmers. This particular article is about three specific programs that could replace LimeWire in your daily life.

Unfortunately, this was written especially for Windows users. Although a Mac version may be lurking around somewhere. This particular article is also for people searching for a new program, only basic introduction will be done and unanswered questions are better saved for more research.

First of all, what is LimeWire and why do people like it?

In the words of the great Wikipedia:

LimeWire is a free peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P) client for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and other operating systems supported by the Java software platform. ^{LimeWire uses the gnutella network as well as the BitTorrent protocol.}

Now what this means is that anyone who has a copy (either purchased or acquired by other means) of an MP3, MP4 or whatever format of music or video can upload it via LimeWire. Subsequently, anyone who has the LimeWire Program could simply type in a search of any particular song or video title, artist or album and a list of results come up and it could be downloaded for free. The simple requirement? Internet connection and it doesn't even have to be fast if you're patient enough. And you'll also need a Java Runtime.

Simple. Easy. Free.

Unfortunately, the inevitable happened. After 10 years of operation, a New York federal judge shut them down or at least the good parts.

So without further ado, three free P2P file-sharing programs.

To ease up the transition we start with the closest one to LimeWire, FrostWire.

FrostWire is a peer-to-peer file sharing program for the gnutella and BitTorrent protocols. FrostWire is also written in Java. It has most of the functionality of LimeWire and its a completely free download. It looks just like an earlier version of LimeWire except that it's blue! LimeWire users need no introduction to this one since it's practically the almost same thing.

Try FrostWire for yourself and see if it feels the same as LimeWire.

Click here to download FrostWire.

eMule "is a free peer-to-peer file sharing application for Microsoft Windows. eMule now connects to both the eDonkey network and the Kad network. The distinguishing features of eMule are the direct exchange of sources between client nodes, fast recovery of corrupted downloads, and the use of a credit system to reward frequent uploaders. Furthermore, eMule transmits data in zlib-compressed form to save bandwidth."

Meaning it has its own network of users and it uses the Microsoft Visual C+++ code and not the Java. The program in itself is still easy to use. The drawback would be the disorganized search results since they overlap each other.

Click here to download eMule.

BearShare "is a peer-to-peer file sharing application originally created by Free Peers, Inc. for Microsoft Windows."

BearShare is free although an upgraded version is sold much like LimeWire. Bearshare is a Gnutella-based peer-to-peer file sharing application, with a support forum. This looks and feels more commercial. A user is given a homepage which is pretty much like a social media site. You can buy MP3s and ring-tones, at the same time, download music for free which is quite ironic. This program is particularly easy to use and has a better media player than LimeWire. The search is very organized. This may also prove faster than LimeWire. BearShare Lite is the freeware version of this program.

Click here to download BearShare Lite.

This article is not intended to encourage free-downloading. This article is for the purpose of information.

All these programs are under the GNU General Public License which means sharing is completely free and legal. So don't be afraid to download them.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia