I'll show you mine if you show me yours! (WinMX)

Member Name: Blurbubble

Product:	WinMX
Date:	18/02/04 (1197 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Free, easy to use,

Disadvantages: No help/support online

I think I'm well overdue to write a music review. The problem was I haven't done one for so long and there are SO many CDs - old and new - that I'd love to write a review of that I really couldn't think which to start with. So I copped out. I've decided to review a music downloading software application instead?.well, it's still about music, innit?!

Back when I first got access to the internet at the end of 1999 the infamous Napster was alive and well and I soon found my way there and became hooked on it for a grabbing a few tracks here and there. It soon became something of an addiction and every night I'd sit here lining up some tracks to download and gleefully finding rare music that I'd given up hope of finding. Now, before we get into the morals, whys, and buts of downloading music from the internet I'll just put it briefly that I'm a bit of a fence-sitter on that one. I can see both sides of the argument but I am also well aware how the British pay well over the odds for their CDs and it's NOT the artists involved that get most of that excess cost. Now, in my own experience of my and my friends use of these music download programs we DON'T use it as an alternative to buying pre-recorded CDs. In a lot of cases I'm just looking for an odd track that I wouldn't buy anyway and only use to listen to on my computer. Then there is the extensive worn-out back catalogue I have on vinyl that I would love to buy on CD but either can't afford to or it is simply not available on CD. With newer tracks/bands I use it as a way of previewing the music before I decide to buy it or until I can afford to buy it. I can honestly say of the few CDs I have made from downloaded music I have later subsequently bought, or been given as a present, the genuine article - and that's the way I like!

Right, all that said and done, what of this WinMX program? As many people know Napster was strangled long ag
o and other, very similar, applications have been appearing to serve the same purpose. On the recommendation of a friend I decided to give WinMX a go. To say their website, as it is, is basic is an understatement - it really only consists of the pop-up download available to install to run the application. So this is another free to use file-sharing program - not just limited to music - you can share videos, games, films and most media files too although I think music is by far the most popular. WinMX is suitable to run on most current specification computers - Windows 98, XP, ME and 2000 and needs only a minimum of 64mb RAM and 166Hz processor. Having said that once you have the software up and running it's quite quick and simple to get the hang off, which is just as well as there is currently no supporting site or help section available! If you click on the "Help" link within the program you are merely taken to an "Under Contruction" page which seems to have stayed like that for well over a year now.
Unlike many of these programs WinMX contains no Spyware and you are not pestered by pop-up ads and suchlike while using it which makes a welcome change.

Once you're up and running you're faced with a basic grey box with a black background and coloured text (you can change the text colours, etc through the preferences tab) then you just wait for it to connect - this is indicated by the green light appropriately enough! Your next step is to find what you want to download so you'll need to click on the search box and enter the relevant details. If you want to search for more than one track at once you can open up to seven search boxes at once. Once you've spotted your desired file simply highlight it (if there's more than one press your control key and highlight all of them at once) and then click the "download" button and voila! If you're lucky your download(s) may start straight away but more
often than not you could end up in a queue for sometime. Even so you can see where you are in the queue and in the meantime search for a another source of the same track if you wish. Once everything is under way and running you can see the progress of all downloads indicated by a percentage bar and the file size log. When you've built up a library of tracks to share you'll also be able to see what people are uploading from you and so on - after all it is a file-SHARING site! I find it quite fascinating to see what's popular and you can become quite mesmerised by watching the download/upload progress bars (especially after a few drinks?..!)

Generally speaking I find most downloads quite fast but I am on 150k broadband connection. When I started using it I was on 56k dial-up connection and it was much slower with a 2 hour cut off so many downloads were interrupted or painfully slow. However any partial downloads are saved and you can always pick them and continue them later when you find the matching file on WinMX again so all is not lost! It once took me two or three weeks to get one track in its entirety! You can also see the connection speed of the person you are connected to (or rather the computer you are connected to!) so if your connections are the same/similar the process can be notably quicker.

A few more basic facts - when using the program for the first time you don't need to enter any personal details and, if you wish, you can change your user name each time you log in to it. The downside of that is that you cannot save users as favourites if they a library of tracks you wish to go back to. You can keep them on your "Hotlist" for as long as your current session but once you shut down nothing is saved so you just have to hope you can find them again and they may not even be using the same name! The program has an instant message facility (again only operational while program is in use) and you can set this to
your own required privacy level - no messages, only those downloading/uploading or all users. It also has an auto-responder facility so if you accept messages but leave it running while you're out/asleep/watching TV etc you can send back an auto-reply to that effect so people know they are not being ignored! There is also a chat facility but I have never used it myself although it looks to be much the same as any other chat facility on a quick perusal.

The "Shared Files" button takes you to a view of your own library of tracks where you can adjust settings and edit tracks to share. If, for some reason, there are files you do not want others to see/share you can exclude them within that section and also keep track of the files you have successfully downloaded yourself.

"Settings" is quite self explanatory - here you can set the number of downloads/uploads available for each session to limit usage and stop the system becoming slow with the sheer volume of exchanges going on. You can also adjust time-outs for connecting to users and queuing times, automatic searches, connection speeds, etc. A lot of it is a bit too technical for more to understand so I haven't used the more advanced settings but I'm sure the "power-users" among you will be able to set it for optimum performance.

Finally there is a "Downloaded Files" button which will take you straight to the chosen folder on your hard drive where you store your files so you can check and edit your files from there too which I find very handy.

I think I've rambled on long enough and covered all the essentials? In a nutshell it's free, easy and quick to use but there's no help centre and limited interaction.

So, go to www.winmx.com, give it a try and see how quickly you become addicted :o)

Summary: