Topic: Emule - Yaaaaaawn!

[chorleydave]

This isn't exactly a suggestion - it's more of a "don't bother" recommendation.

Does anyone else use emule?  What a load of crap.  It goes like this:

You try to get a file and get put in a queue.  You can then stay in the queue for days.

Eventually you get a connection, but you'll be lucky if you see a transfer rate of anything more than 4kb/s, twenty times slower than Limewire or even Kazaa which will transfer at 80+kb/s.

As soon as you have got a few megabytes of the file, it then allows others to upload from you and so slows down your transfer rate even more.  Now, as some people here will know, I don't mind helping out WHEN I HAVE GOT THE MEANS TO HELP OUT IN THE FIRST PLACE.  But poncing off me when I have just one can out of a six pack just ain't on.

To give some idea, I used Limewire to get a 200MB plus file on Sunday,  starting at 3:45PM and by the time I had got back from watching the ManU vs Newcastle match it was downloaded.  I have just tried to get a similar file from emule and although it started downloading the ETA was 19 days, 8 hours and 23 minutes when I pulled the plug.  

Well, can't hang around.  I have an appointment with Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel.

[Simon]

I think it much depends on the upload speed of the original seeder, as to how fast torrents will download.  The advantage is that although you are uploading simultaneously, you can usually limit your upload speed, but with some clients (I am not familiar with emule), this also adversely affects your download speed.  The emphasis with emule and the like is 'sharing', and you only get back what you are prepared to put in.

The problem with Limewire and Kazaa, as you will no doubt be well aware, Dave, is spyware, particularly in abundance on Kazaa (which also seems to contain the most viruses), unless you have either Kazaa Lite, or *cough* pay for Limewire Pro.  Another disadvantage is that you are potentially sharing back more than the one file you are downloading, and caution should be used when setting up these programs, so as not to allow everyone and his dog access to all the files on your PC!

I think there's a balance between the two, especially if you have a fast connection.  I tend to leave torrents downloading / uploading overnight, but these are usually fairly large files.  With Azureus, or Bit Comet, I can download roughly 700Mb in around 4-5 hours, depending how many seeds there are.  I have also found that torrent clients generally don't seem to contain spyware, unlike many of the 'free' versions of the P2P sharing clients, such as Kazaa / Limewire, etc.  For a free (and spyware free) P2P sharing client, which also doubles up as a torrent client, I would suggest trying Shareaza, which can easily be found on any search engine.

[Sandra]

Emule is different to torrents Simon.
Its more like winmx and other P2P but doesnt seem as bad for me as Dave says although I have had the odd file which has done as Dave says.
I rarely use it but have found it very useful on the odd occasions when I have been unable to find a file from other sources as its got a very large user base but the speed isnt ideal for large files if theyre available elsewhere  

[Simon]

Emule is different to torrents Simon.

Oh.    Well, I did say I hadn't use it!  :grin:

[chorleydave]

I would suggest trying Shareaza, which can easily be found on any search engine.

I took Simon's suggestion and downloaded Shareaza.  OK, I hadn't anything to lose, because having nothing at all would be an improvement on Emule.  However,  I have to say that Shareaza is definitely the business. I have been trying to get hold of a "file" for weeks using various P2P programs, but within a few minutes of installing Shareaza I had found it, started the download and by the time I woke the morning after it had given me 77.8% of it.  I came home from work, reconnected, got the rest and it's all up and running.

Thanks, Simon.  

[Simon]

No probs, Dave.    Sometimes you don't get so lucky with Shareaza, as you occasionally come up against long queues, and there seems to be no way of telling how long you will have to wait to start your download, but on the whole, I find it very useful.

[sam]

oh another program you might find useful is limewire - it might actually run the same networks

[Simon]

Shareaza searches more networks than Limewire, which accounts for sometimes getting queues, and Limewire, unless you get the Pro version (from Shareaza *cough*), contains spyware.  Allegedly.  

Another advantage with Shareaza is that it can also act as a Bit Torrent client.