Music/movie downloads?

[Gary - K7GLD]

Now that I have this super speed PC and hi-speed DSL, I'm sorta interested in maybe hooking up with one of the Internet outfits offering music and movie downloads - anyone here using one of them and have comments to offer?



I assume the better ones have decent selection of artists and music - but what about the movies they provide - much selection and quality?



I know music downloads fast on hi-speed DSL - but how long to download an average length movie?

 

[Headshot zod]

I'll assume your going to use some "peer to peer" software.



The problem with downloading movies/music is quality. The larger the file size the better the quality and the longer the download time. This is based on how its encoded. The next problem is that the person on the other end needs to have a highspeed connection also. If not it can take a long period of time, like all night. A song can be a few minutes, a full length movie can be an hour at best on a good night. Generally the software will tell you your connection speed and how much time is left.

 

[Kimber]

I've had good luck with WinMX for music.

 

[rkressg]

If you plan on using any type of "peer-to-peer" file sharing program, ensure that you have an Anti-Virus program with up-to-date definitions. I would recomend a program like Panda Anti-virus (do a google for it). But Norton is also OK, but not necessarly the best.



Next, get and install some type of ad-aware software. Do a search at www.download.com. A popular version of software is Ad-Aware SE (it is free) and can be found at www.lavasoft.de. Spybots is also another good one ad removal tool that can be found free (search for it at download.com).



Also, ensure that you configured and enabled your firewall (if you do not have one, get one) to aid in protecting your computer.



And as a last note, when you configure your computer, set it up so you are only recieving files, but not sharing them back out. This will kill your upload bandwidth, and possibly make you a target of some copyright infringement case.



As for file sharing programs, do a search for 'bittorrant'. I believe they have a decent program. I would not recommend 'kazza' as it places spy-ware on your computer, and if you attempt to remove it while kazza is installed, it will continue to reinstall any removed spyware.



Just my $0. 02

-Rich



P. S. I forgot, you can also check out www.apple.com for I-Tunes. I believe they have a library of music that you can download, but I can not remember the details.

 

[Andy Perreault]

I've had good luck with WinMX for music.

Same here. Check out http://www.winmx.com

Andy