3. DC++

Summary: DC++ is based on the concept of a small group of people connecting to each other directly. The group of people is referred to as a "hub" and you can connect to multiple hubs. I put DC++ first because I feel that this program is different from most file sharing applications in that the groups can be small, people that you know and who you can ask to not share copyrighted material.

Figure 1: DC++ User Interface (click to enlarge)

Hubs are set up using YnHub as a server. It's a little bit of work to get it going, but once set up each person can transfer data as fast as their Internet connection or LAN will allow. Hubs are often set up at colleges where everyone in the dorm has the same cable service and are often used to share recorded programs. The legality of this sharing is somewhat of a gray area (at least according to this article) due to the nature of a dorm.

Speed: I have clocked DC++ downloads at 12 MB/s (that megabytes) across a LAN and 200 kB/s across the Internet. With a new router and gigabit LAN you could really push the envelope. The downside of this program is that you can only download from one person at a time, but the likelihood of completing the download is usually high. An interrupted download can also be resumed from another user for the same file.

Variety of Content: Depends on the interests of the people on the hub you connect to.

Other Comments: All files are hashed when they are added, which takes some time, but once this is done searching is very fast. This program can also be used for transferring files across a home network if you don't want to deal with Microsoft networking. No one can externally (from other LANs or the Internet) access a hub server until the proper ports are opened in the router that the server sits behind.

There are public hubs, but these run the risk of copyright violations since they require you to share varying amounts of media to get in and they generally appear to have little regard for copyright law. There is also no adware in this program.

DC++ is a direct connect client and although it is the most popular there are other options like Direct Connect. For you Linux lovers, vaulknut seems to be the client of choice.