For nearly a decade now, downloading music for free off of the internet has either been a huge business, or a huge business killer, depending on which side you look at it from.  Those who oppose the downloading of free music (such as the Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA) won a major victory in October, 2010 when a suit they filed back in June of that year was ruled in their favor, forcing the LimeWire P2P file-sharing software to shut itself down.

Since then, free music lovers everywhere have been searching for that illustrious replacement to their once-favored LimeWire.  We’ve searched the internet high and low, and we’ve found you some software that you might just want to look into.  Now, Man Certified does not condone the uploading or downloading of copyright-protected material, and we suggest that you use these programs for legal uploads and downloads only, of course.  Now, with that being said, here are a few pieces of software that might just cure your LimeWire hangover.

1.)    Frostwire

As soon as LimeWire went down, Frostwire seems to be picking up their slack.  Frostwire claims itself to be an “absolutely free and open source”, and is P2P file-sharing software that runs off of BitTorrent and Gnutella.  According to their website, Frostwire has been around since 2004, and you can download a free copy of their software (version 4.21.3) right off of their home page.  If you happen to carry around an Android phone, there is a Frostwire app for you, if that’s your thing.  Don’t get too excited just yet; early research and opinion says the app doesn’t exactly set the world on fire, if you know what we mean.

2.)    Shareaza

Shareaza is apparently not bad, but you do have to be pretty careful.  There is a Shareaza.com copycat site that tries to make you download stuff that you DON’T want on your computer.  The real McCoy can be downloaded at shareaza.sourceforge.net.  (Another way to tell is that the fake Shareaza is offering “Version 7 for Windows” right now, as the real Shareaza is on version 2.5.3.0)  And speaking of downloads, apparently this one has some clout behind it.  Shareaza pulls from EDonkey2000, Gnutella, Gnutella2, and BitTorrent.  We hear that while Shareaza might be smaller than most, it can still get the job done.

3.)    Vuze (formerly known as Azureus)

Bust out your wallets, because this one has a pay-to-play service ($24.99/year), but Vuze seems to be the tech geek’s best friend.  Back in Q4 2010, Vuze threw its name in the hat for Apple TV, Research In Motion’s Blackberry devices, and even more Android devices than it already had.  Not to mention the pre-existing support for several different gaming systems, Samsung TV’s, and TiVo. The pay version of Vuze (called Vuze Plus) also has built-in antivirus software and gives you the ability to burn an unlimited amount of DVD’s.  (For $24.99, SOMETHING better be unlimited!)  Either way, we hear this one is pretty easy to use, even if you’re a novice downloader.  You can download this, or the free version (both 4.6) at vuze.com.

4.)    uTorrent

uTorrent nicknamed itself “a (very) tiny BitTorrent client” and “a powerhouse with a tiny appetite”  and they weren’t kidding.  According to Chloe Albanesius of PCMag.com, the latest version downloads at just 320KB for Windows.  It’s pretty much a skin-and-bones piece of software, but it has just enough oomph to download the few things you’ll want every so often. If you are looking into doing some heavy uploading or downloading, maybe uTorrent isn’t for you.  However, if you’re looking for something free and tiny that also can be used on Linux AND           Mac (yes, it’s supposedly stable) then maybe you should check this one out.

5.)    LimeWire (!?!)

OK, it’s not TECHNICALLY LimeWire.  It’s called “LimeWire Pirate Edition” or LPE.  Cool, huh?  Apparently a “secret dev [development] team” who had the stuff they needed, went “rogue” and posted this pirated version of LimeWire.  It’s very similar to the last version of LimeWire before the site got axed (5.5.10), but there have been a few changes.  For example, all dependancies on LimeWire’s servers are gone, the Ask toolbar has been unbundled, and all of the features of LimeWire Pro (you know, the version you were never willing to pony up for?)    have been activated for free.

Oh, and if you happen to like a little controversy while you download your latest beats, then this is definitely the software for you.  You see, it’s been in the spotlight lately thanks to a person who calls themselves “Meta Pirate”.  Meta Pirate claims that he/she/they/it took the open code from LimeWire when it shut down, “tweaked it” for lack of tech terms, and released it as a free service.  Now the RIAA is going after LimeWire (yep, again), saying that they had a former or current employee create this pirated version, and violated the court order to stop all operations.  Meta Pirate says they are totally independent of LimeWire, LLC, and did this all on their own, referring to themselves as “curious monkeys”.  Meta Pirate’s website has been shut down by court order too, but you can still download LPE from sites such as Tech Spot. Google it, you’ll find something.

You can’t make this stuff up, folks.

Related articles

• “Horde of piratical monkeys” creates LimeWire: Pirate Edition (arstechnica.com)
• RIAA and LimeWire on the Hunt for Creator of LimeWire Pirate Edition (readwriteweb.com)
• LimeWire is back as LimeWire Pirate Edition (geek.com)
• RIAA & Limewire On The Hunt For “Monkey Pirate”? (mwd.com)
• Limewire is back in new shape and looks (globalthoughtz.com)
• LimeWire: Seriously, don’t blame us for new “Pirate Edition” (arstechnica.com)