Everything at the click of a button (KaZaA)

Name: pastyorf

Hello doyoo user, You have to be logged in to use these functions... Login or register Close window

Send message to member

Product:	KaZaA
Date:	18.03.03 (368 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nearly every file available, Excellent quality files, Quick downloading speed

Disadvantages: sometimes the files take days if only 1 person has the file, very slow for 56k, but expected...

I first saw Kazaa at a friends an instantly knew I had to download it. The first version (v1.72) I downloaded was from the Kazaa official site. I installed it and swept the C drive for adware, as I do for any piece of software. I was shocked at the number of pieces of spyware it had just placed onto the C drive. So I uninstalled the software and searched for a spyware free version. It only took a few mins. Kazaa Lite.

Totally adware free and much quicker than the other one. I'm currently running the Kazaa Lite v2.02.

Web
The first button in Kazaa is for browsing the web. I have never used it, as generally when downloading anything I do not surf the net or run anything else in the background.
The new version of Kazaa has cut the annoying loading of the Kazaa homepage out of the web area. This used to slow down the time it took for the program to connect to the net.

My Kazaa Lite.
This is where all the files downloaded can be accessed from within the application. As the files come in they are divided into categories. All, Audio, Document, Image, Other, Software, Other. These sections can become reather heavy on the ram of the pc. I found that when Kazaa was handling 5gb of files the program became sluggish and resource hungry as it tried to manage all the files.
There is also a playlist section to create playlists from the audio and video. The new feature in Kazaa v2 allows these playlists to be shared as files.

Once the program has connected to the net, Theater, Search and Traffic become available.

Theater
Theater is where you can watch mpeg's that are partially downloaded or video files from the hard drive. I would recommend downloading divx 5 from the net though as many of the codec's used by the video's are not common ones that are easily availabe. The theater tends to use up hd space though when viewing a partially downloaded mpeg. The Temporary internet hidden files
can reach gigabits in days if not cleared out.

Search
Search connects you to the p2p network and finds as many people as possible that have the file you are searching for. I always check the extension of the file I am downloading as there are viruses related to the exe files in kazaa.
If quality of a file is important then arrange the searched file by quality and select the highest. But also select a file that has more than one person who has it, as it can take days or months to get a file that only one person has.
Kazaa has an average of around 160kbps on audio which is rather poor but its size of file versus quality.
I frequently download tv programs of file size 400mb+ and when one of those is unwatchable its a real pain. Often every episode of a series is available on kazaa. For example, friends or charmed. Only a few episodes of each are not available. If you have ever missed an episode of a program this is one of the best places to find it.

Traffic
Traffic is where you can watch all the downloads you have selected. It can be slow and tedious watching a 400mb file come in on a 56k connection. Kazaa allows you to pause the download and continue when you like. You can also use options to find files like the one selected, or more files from the user you are downloading.

Overall the software is brilliant. There is a plentiful supply of files to download from the users of p2p. Most files are good quality. I'd definitely recommend if you have broadband. And if you have dialup, just persevere with the terrible speeds.

Summary: