BearShare 8.1

BearShare is a peer to peer file sharing application that uses the Gnutella network. It is very popular because it has faster speeds when downloading compared to other p2p programs that use the same network. Also its community has grown a lot, and this is why users can find a lot of music and videos to download.
The interface is very simple, it contains a navigation pane, media player, and download list. The navigation pane on the left contains a menu with options such as MyLibrary, Search, People, Discover, iPod/MP3, QuickPlay, etc.
As mentioned before, BearShare has iPod/MP3 support; you simply connect your device and a wizard will automatically detect it. You can move your media to the portable player whether the files have been purchased or not.
A downside is that users necessarily have to register and provide an email to use the program, which is not good because nowadays free p2p file sharing programs are not legal in many places. Also, I found that the iPod management froze and didn't play the music correctly.
A Discover section is included if you want to find music by genre or simply see new artists and releases. Additionally, it has a in-built audio and video player so you don't need to open another program to check the music. It even works when the download is still in progress.
BearShare 8 has been improved amazingly. New stuff found on this version includes support for Windows Vista without issues, and also a better integration with iPods and MP3 players. Now users are able to drag and drop tracks between the player and the library. Besides, all downloads are distinguished with colors, green representing free downloads and golden files available for purchasing.
It is a great program, it contains everything you need to download and listen to media files.

Raul Iniguez

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