Get it while you can (FrostWire)

Member Name: Ghumphrey

Product:	FrostWire
Date:	02/07/09 (134 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Allows you to try artists you wouldnt normally try before you buy

Disadvantages: Lots of bugs and spyware

Frostwire

I have been using Frostwire over the past year or so and it's been one of the best peer to peer sharing programmes that I have used. I have previously used Limewire which seemed to be full of viruses and bugs. However whilst frostwire is not completely bug free is seems to be on the whole a much better and safer programme to use.

What is Frostwire?

Frostwire is a peer to peer sharing programme. The programme itself is open source meaning it's free to download and once installed on the computer the user can then share and search for audio, video, pictures or software that they are looking for. It uses the Gnutella and Bit torrent protocols and is written in Java. The programme was released in 2005 and previous user of lime wire will be very familiar with Frostwire functions.

My opinion

Aside from the rights and wrongs of it Frostwire is a very impressive programme. I could hear a track on television or radio and have it downloaded via frostwire in literally the blink of eye. I remember the days when downloading one song on napster would take a whole evening. On Frostwire and with broadband I could download an album in less than five minutes. In fact the longest part of the process is typing in the song or artist your looking for.

Like all these things Frostwire does have some drawbacks. A lot of the files have hidden bugs or spyware. These don't seem to have that much affect on overall performance of the computer but if left untreated could potentially be quite dangerous. I would tend to scan each file downloaded to make sure they are bug/virus free.

Also if your really into your music Frostwire is good but its no substitute to a proper CD as some of the songs download as damaged or as if they are jumping throughout the track. This can be very frustrating if you have the song playing and player is far away and you have to go change the track. The other thing is that a lot of the search will bring up dodgy files. These are pretty obvious and sometimes have porn names. Not ideal if a younger person is looking for their favourite artists.

Overall it's a great invention. Peer to peer sharing is a good thing. I would love to see a one off monthly fee for one that's really good and bug free. Even with its problems I still think it worth using especially in these harsh economic times. In my opinion its only a matter of time before all these sort of sites are closed down so you might as well get it when you can.

Summary: Good programme and very easy to use

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