First of all, what happened to Gnotella, which won the last smackdown by a nose? I tried all day to get Gnotella to connect to the Gnutella network, but I was never successful. I suspect that it has something to do with the foibles of the Gnutella network used by Gnotella, LimeWire, and BearShare. However, only Gnotella couldn't connect, so it gets the boot.

As with the last file-sharing smackdown, the chart seems to indicate that Audiogalaxy wins by a long shot. Not so fast, Tex. Try downloading music by artists such as Britney Spears, Metallica, Miles Davis, and Johnny Cash with Audiogalaxy, and you'll find X's next to the search results instead of the satellite symbol denoting a download. Click the X, and you'll get a notice that reads "SEARCH PROHIBITED...You cannot request this song due to copyright restrictions. Please try a different search." Now, I'm sure that Audiogalaxy is just making this token effort to appease the big record companies. Unfortunately, this smackdown isn't about pleasing anyone except for MP3 downloaders, so obstructing these files pretty much disqualifies Audiogalaxy from the contest. On the other hand, it returns results for files that are not currently being shared; if you choose one of those, it will be downloaded to your machine the next time the person sharing the file signs on. This makes Audiogalaxy the place to download rarer music from independent labels, which, at this time, are not being blocked. Overall, I can't recommend a program to the general populace that blocks access to the songs most people want. But for those looking for rarer fare, it's often the only way to go.

iMesh doesn't sort for duplicates, didn't return many results, and involuntarily logged me off a few times during testing, so it's out of the running. WinMX did fairly well but also doesn't sort for duplicates. One neat WinMX trick: if you happen to know the address of an OpenNap server (open source Napster-protocol servers run by private individuals), WinMX can connect to it, which would probably increase its numbers dramatically.

Mac users, unfortunately, don't have a choice in the matter--LimeWire is the only file swapper compatible with their beloved OS. Luckily for them, it weathered the smackdown admirably.

For Windows users, Morpheus and Grokster are a close second. In fact, many users prefer the stable, efficient supernode system that these apps use to the quirky, fully decentralized Gnutella network used by LimeWire and BearShare. However, as the numbers indicate, one program takes the cake. It returned the cleanest results, sorted for duplicates, and connected to its network with ease.

The winner of file sharing smackdown part deux is BearShare. Download it and join the party.

		Meeting people is easy People who like the same music tend to like each other--just ask anyone who's ever subscribed to an e-mail list dedicated to a certain band. A free Winamp plug-in called FavorAmp will help you find others who are simpatico with your kind of music. FavorAmp makes a note of the song you're listening to by reading its ID3 tag. Click the smiley face in the taskbar, and you'll get sent to a Web page that lists everyone else who has recently listened to the same song, artist, or genre. You can chat with your new friends via ICQ or using the same taskbar smiley-face icon, which smiles even wider and blinks when there's an incoming message. I wasn't able to find many people listening to the same music that I was, but FavorAmp is relatively new, and the more people who use it, the better it will get.   Download FavorAmp