LimeWire announced the release of its new client cersion 4.0. LimeWire
accesses the Gnutella P2P network, and has become popular for both its clean interface and as the most prominent
Gnutella client that supports Macs.
Quick review:
Version 4.0 is rolled out across the full LimeWire platform suite—Windows, Mac, and Linux. In Windows, the 5-MB
download transfers quickly and installs painlessly. LimeWire continues to offer Basic and Pro versions. Promised
improvements of the Pro version are more search results, faster download speeds, and no ads. Version 4.0 is guaranteed
to be free of spyware and bundled software, but only the Pro version is guaranteed free of ads.
The interface carries on the LimeWire traditions—clean and intuitive, with tab-delineated stacked searches.
Initiating a download splits the main window pane horizontally, with downloading files displayed below search results.
A left-hand toolbar allows you to restrict search results by file type (AVI, MPEG, etc.). Chatting is implemented with
a single click, though I have never found P2P suppliers to in a chatting mood.
LimeWire is elegant, easy, and safe to use. (Safe from adware, that is, not necessarily from the RIAA.) But Gnutella
transfer speeds… yecch. A properly configured computer running BitTorrent enjoys much swifter downloads. But the
hassle-free LimeWire usability is definitely a plus—I obtained the new program and was snarfing up Simpsons episodes
within minutes, without BitTorrent's nitpicky port forwarding and firewall tampering.
The Upshot: LimeWire is an easy, Dummies-style Gnutella app for traditional P2P that provides multiple searches in a
single window.
