Ok, going down the list, I have pretty much become disappointed with just= =20 about every p2p file-sharing application for Linux that I have encountere= d. =20 As a note, I've stayed -away- from Java ports of other more popular p2p a= pps.
mldonkey - In spite of downloading both the shared and static binaries, a= nd=20 then the source code (followed by compiling it), I never got it to work. = At=20 all. SoulSeek - the Linux port of SoulSeek is quirky at best. It works, and f= or a=20 fairly limited network, the users are quite enthusiastic. But it kept=20 dropping out on me, and I got very few files. There are numerous tiny=20 glitches with the interface. I kept it, and use it from time to time, bu= t=20 stricltly for MP3's. Qtella - the interface was slick, worked well, and gave me the best exper= ience=20 with the Gnutella network I've ever had (as far as ease of connection goe= s). =20 However, it crashed frequently, which is disturbing in the Linux world. = And=20 the only files that I actually could get were very small files (1-2 megs = in=20 size). =20 Edonkey - I have had a relative amount of success with Edonkey, but the=20 transfers are slowwww. And after I let it run for a few hours, it hogged= =20 almost all of the bandwidth on my LAN (I have a 1.1 megabit down/256kb up= DSL=20 connection). However, I have gotten a few large files with it. The=20 interface is quite functional. However, setting up Edonkey is an exercis= e in=20 doing things in -exactly- the right order. Again, transfers are slow as=20 molasses. This is definitely the p2p app for a 24/7 connection. Overnet - I have had even more success with Overnet (mostly because of wh= at I=20 learned from Edonkey). The network is slick, and you are transparent to = it. =20 But the transfer speeds are just as slow as Edonkey. 1-5 kps is not=20 uncommon. And over time, the uploads seem to almost overtake my bandwidt= h,=20 but the downloads never seem to speed up. An exercise in masochism. =20 I didn't try Limewire, or a half-dozen others, because they were Java app= s.=20 Any suggestions? -David Jackson
