"The joy that isn't shared dies young." - Anne Sexton (KaZaA)

Member Name: ILoveJackDaniels

Product:	KaZaA
Date:	23/02/02 (1136 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to Install and Use, Large Community, Decentralised Servers

Disadvantages: Spyware, May soon become unavailable, Spyware

The internet ... ahh how we all love it. Since its inception it has become both a gargantuan library of every piece of knowledge imaginable, and a communication device the likes of which has never before been seen. There are, of course, many faces to the internet, and many users who utilise it each in their own unique way.

Part of the power of the internet is its lack of a hierarchy. There is no all-controlling entity and no system of regulation with any power to change any one part of it. Peer to peer file sharing is one of the many results of this lack of control. A huge number of people regularly swap media files (MP3s, movies, software, games etc), many illegally, using programs like Audiogalaxy, Limewire, WinMX and, until the loss of their court case, Napster.

Kazaa (see footnote) is currently the most popular of the file sharing programs. It has been downloaded, according to the makers, over 38 million times. Napster is peanuts by comparison.

People have been drawn to it for a number of reasons, the latest of which is simply that it is well known. However, it did not become well known without having a few edges over its rivals.

The first of these is simply the ease with which one can use it. Downloading the software (under 2 minutes), installation and signup are all quick and easy affairs, and before you can say "Unreal Tournament isn't as good as Deus Ex", you are ready to go. Searching is just as simple. Enter a few choice keywords in the search field, choose the category you wish to search (eg music, video etc) and click on search. A list of files will appear to the right of the search box, complete with estimated download time. Double-click on the file and it will then appear in your downloads section, along with the filename and current status of download (eg queued, connecting, searching etc). When the files are finished, you can run them from a shared folder area within Kazaa (though there is an option t
o change the directory to which they are saved - very useful for advanced users).

This is one of the places is scores very highly over the competition. Many pieces of peer to peer file sharing software rely on the user connecting to servers themselves, and this can often be a slow and lengthy process, especially for newer users. Kazaa handles all connections for you automatically, meaning that one server being overloaded will not necessarily slow down your downloads.

Other pros include its ability to resume downloads. If the user you are downloading a file from suddenly goes offline, it will not affect your download, as long as they are not the only user with that file. The ability to download from serveral people at once is also very helpful in ensuring that your downloads stay reasonably fast.

Next up on the list of pros is the stability of the program. I don't mean that in a "Will it crash my computer?" way (though it runs without hitches), but in the way it cannot be shut down. Bear with me here. Napster was closed down, and instantly the software became useless, because without Napster's central server, nobody could exchange files. Kazaa operates without a central server, so even if they are suddenly ordered to cease operation, it won't make any difference to the file sharing community, who probably woulnd't even notice. They could keep swapping files as easily as ever.

Finally, due to the vast number of users on Kazaa, finding rare and unreleased material is a piece of cake. Live tracks from bands that have never been released, unofficial software patches and even videos of gigs can be found easily. This is why its popularity continues to grow at such an astounding rate.

There are, however, a number of cons to mention as well as the pros. First on this list is pretty major, depending on which way you look at it.

You may or may not have heard of spyware. Spyware is simply software t
hat resides on your computer and delivers information to the people that wrote it. In most cases, it is harmless, does little to slow down your pc or your internet connection and collects no personal information. However, that is in most cases. Some software is bundled with spyware, and no mention of it can be found in the documentation with the software. This is thankfully not the case with Kazaa - it does use spyware, namely fron Cydoor technologies, but this is pretty much harmless. I simply object to having anything on my PC that I consider to be invasive, and this is one of those programs.

The other major problem with Kazaa is very recent news. The company that originally created Kazaa have been ordered by a Dutch court to stop distribution of the software. However, they completed a sale of the entire package days before the ruling, to a company in New Zealand. Thus, the ruling of the Dutch court is pretty much worthless. However, this means a new version of the software has had to be realeased, and this seems to have thinned out the number of users considerably. Thus, there seem to be less files available, making it much harder to find those rare gems.

Overall, it is still a good piece of software for file sharing. It is by no means the worst, and probably not the best, but can't be beaten for popularity. It has an attractive interface, and is very easy for newer users to get to grips with, but lacks some features that more experienced net folk may enjoy. I hesistantly reccomend it, but with the advice that new users look to other programs and get to grips with those if possible, as Kazaa's future looks anything but certain.

You can download the program from www.kazaa.com or www.download.com, and it is, of course, free (well, adware).


*** Footnote ***

Kazaa and Morpheus (www.musiccity.com) are essentially the same program. They look a little different, but they use the same network (hence have the same
users and same files available), with the only notable difference being that Morpheus includes no spyware at all.

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