Bearshare Music

[Jonelle Rycroft]

BearShareis a peer-to-peer file sharing program that not only allows you to download the latest music and video but you can connect with friends and make new ones who are into the same artists. The users can easily access other profiles, pictures and their music libraries.

BearShare has one of the best collections of retro music in various genres. In fact the BearShare program is compatible with Apple iPod and other MP3 devices as well.

BearShare was a peer-to-peer-file-sharing-application originally created by Free Peers, Inc. for Microsoft Windows and also a rebranded version of iMesh by MusicLab, LLC, tightly integrated with their music subscription service.

The principal operators of Free Peers, Inc. were Vincent Falco and Louis Tatta.[2] Bearshare was launched on December 4, 2000 as a Gnutella-based peer-to-peer file sharing application with innovative features that eventually grew to include IRC, a free library of software and media called BearShare Featured Artists, online help pages and a support forum integrated as dedicated web browser windows in the application; as well as a media player and a library window to organize the user's media collection.[3]

Following the June 27, 2005 United States Supreme Court decision on the MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. case the BearShare Community support forums were abruptly closed during negotiations to settle an impending lawsuit with the RIAA.[4][5] The webmaster and forum administrator immediately created a new site called Technutopia and the same support staff continue to support the gnutella versions from there. A few months later the unused Community window was removed from BearShare 5.1.[6]

On August 17, 2006, MusicLab released a reskinned and updated version of iMesh named BearSharev6 which connected to its proprietary iMesh network instead of gnutella.[9] BearShareV6 and its successors offer paid music downloads in the PlaysForSure DRM controlled WMA format as well as free content in various formats, chiefly MP3.[10] Like BearShare they also include a media player and embedded online and social networking features but with a Web 2.0 style, somewhat similar to MySpace or Facebook.[11][12] Free content provided by users is automatically verified using acoustic fingerprinting as non-infringing before it can be shared. Video files more than 50 Mb in size and 15 minutes in length cannot be shared, ensuring television shows and feature-length movies cannot be distributed over the network. Only a limited set of music and video file types can be shared, thus excluding everything else like executable files, documents and compressed archives.

In August 2006, MusicLab released a variant of the original BearShare gnutella servant, called BearFlix, which was altered to limit sharing, searches and downloads to images and videos. Shared videos were limited in length and duration, similar to limits in BearShareV6. The first release was version 1.2.1.[13] Its version numbers appear to start from 1.1.2.1 in the user interface but it presents itself on the gnutella network as versions 6.1.2.1 to 6.2.2.530. This version has since been discontinued by MusicLab and no longer available on their websites; however, it remains in wide usage[citation needed].

Three variants of the original BearShare gnutella servant were distributed by Free Peers: Free, Lite, and Pro. The Free-version had higher performance limits than the Lite version but contained some adware.[16][17] The Pro version had higher limits than both the Free and Lite versions but cost US$24. Version numbers in this series ranged from 1.0 to 5.2.5.9. Though lacking MusicLab's support a wide spread of BearShare versions from 4.7 to 5.2.5.6 remain the second most popular servant on gnutella, alongside LimeWire.

Old-School fans of the gnutella versions tend to favour the last of the beta versions, 5.1.0 beta25,[18] because it has no adware, is hard-coded for performance levels roughly between Pro and regular (ad-supported) versions and has the unique ability to switch between leaf and ultrapeer mode on demand, a feature deemed necessary for effective testing. No other gnutella servant has enjoyed this capability.

The most recent MusicLab version, V10, was available by free download from their support website[19] and "Pro" features could be unlocked with a six or twelve-month subscription. Access to premium content required a $9.95 monthly subscription. Customers in Canada and the U.S.A. could opt for a $14.95 monthly "BearShare ToGo" subscription which allowed downloads of premium music to portable music players.[20]

BearShare is a freeware (though, ad-supported) filesharing application which has been jumping through legal hoops for some time now. It specializes in downloading legal movie and music content and currently integrates some social network aspects along with file searching and sharing.The current incarnation of BearShare gives users the ability to search only through music and movie-type files which does a great job of filtering out unwanted malware such as viruses and spyware applications notorious on these types of filesharing networks.As a reliable and legal alternative to what was known as Limewire, BearShare is a perfect candidate as an application to grab media files from the Internet, especially with the demise of many online file hosters like MegaUpload in the recent past.The application is fully compatible with your portable music devices such as the iPhone, iPad, and iPods along with devices by other manufacturers like Sony Walkmans and iRivers. BearShare will also let you import settings and aspects of other filesharing applications like Limewire.The social network aspect of BearShare gives users the interesting and perhaps unique ability of connecting with people across the globe who share a taste in music styles.Overall, BearShare is a modern and safe filesharing application which is limited to downloading only known video and audio files. Be aware that when you get around to installing BearShare, you certainly want to uncheck the extras it tries to install, as your browser homepage may be affected.Features of BearShareDiscover and download free music and videos.Free MP3 music downloadsIPod and MP3 players support.Share your profile, make new friends.Compatibility and LicenseBearShare is available for free and released under the open source GPLv2 license on Windows from P2P filesharing software. The license provides the options to freely download, install, run and share this program without any restrictions. The source code for BearShare should be freely available and modifications are certainly permitted as well as the option to inspect the software.

BearShare Software is a free peer-to-peer file-sharing platform that allows users to download and share music, videos, documents, and other digital content. It has been around since 2000 and is one of the oldest P2P programs still in operation today.

The software features an advanced search engine for finding exactly what you are looking for, and it also has some powerful tools to help you manage large collections of files. With a wide range of artists, genres, and content available for free download, BearShare is an ideal platform for music lovers and digital media enthusiasts alike.

Tribler is an open-source P2P platform designed to make downloading and sharing music, videos, documents, and other digital content easier and more secure. It offers advanced security features such as a decentralized search engine and hidden services.

BearShare is safe and reliable software for downloading music and videos. It supports multiple types of media files, such as MP3s, videos, images, documents, etc. There are many alternatives to BearShare that offer different features and advantages. However, BearShare does not support mobile devices. Still, with its advanced security features and easy to use interface, BearShare remains a popular choice for downloading music and other digital content.

Hello all. Itunes is great for my iPod, but I would also like to use ShareBear for an additional music source. I had it before (prior to purchasing my iPod) and I experinced a problem or 2 on my computer. Is there a way to bypass my computer and simply down load it directly to my iPod via Wi-Fi access? I tried it and a got a "Safari cannot download this file." message. Hope there's an anwer. Thanks, Charlie

Social networks and P2P download systems are two of the most popular phenomena on the Internet, and now, thanks to BearShare, we will be able to access both of them from the same interface.

The program allows us to download all kinds of songs and videos from other users, providing us the method to find them by using the search engine that the application has. Nevertheless, the really important feature of the application is the social network that it integrates, that will allow all the users to get to know other people that share the same music interests as them. This provides the users with a great way to get to know new groups and artists.

Another feature that is worth highlighting is, without a doubt, the "Discover" option, that will automatically show the users artists that according to the application are similar to those that they like, with information about the latest projects that they have launched.

BearShare also integrates a multimedia player, that will allow users to enjoy the contents that they have downloaded without having to exit the application, as well as offering them the possibility to burn the downloaded files onto a CD or synchronize them with an iPod.

Music P2P services Bearshare and iMesh are now completely offline. Both services provided users with peer-to-peer options to both locate and download music and audio files of all types. iMesh, in particular, let users find and download paid music, giving it some notably legal functionality. This was highlighted in 2004 when the company paid the RIAA $4 million and was allowed to operate without interference.

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