[Crapshoot E-Zine] Issue 9: 3.3.2002

From: csezine@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: "Crapshoot" <csezine@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 3 Mar 2002 21:11:46 -0500
        
      Issue 9: 3.3.2002
      There have been MAJOR updates to rjol.net. I wrote a guest book, a 
counter, and a URL-submission program that allows visitors to add their 
favorite links to the links page. I've been getting into the programming 
language Perl lately.

      I have a friend who might be interested in writing for The Crapshoot. She 
writes short stories, and damn, is she good at it, although they are a little 
gory.

      I'm really pissed off by the change to Morpheus, but it's nothing I can't 
deal with. You can read more about it below.

      BTW, at Brainbench, I got HTML 3.2 certified. Yeah!

      Until next Sunday, see you later, and enjoy this issue of The Crapshoot.

      R.J.
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      Morpheus: Then and Now
      By R.J.

      When Napster fell, people were searching for a new file-sharing client. 
There were many choices available, but most people found Morpheus and KaZaa as 
the best clients. They used the same network, but KaZaa installed adware. Times 
sure have changed, though.

      Morpheus was a great program. Downloads and searches were fast and easy. 
You could even watch/listen to what was to the part of a download that was 
done. You could find almost anything you wanted, from movies to software to 
MP3s. Everyone was using it.

      It did have its downfalls. You could only do one search at a time and a 
maximum of one hundred files resulted from the searches. It would crash 
occasionally, too, but overall, it was the best program available.

      Unfortunately, Music City (the maker of Morpheus) decided to make a 
devastating change to the Morpheus client. They switched it from the KaZaa 
network to the Gnutella network. Gnutella has its advantages and even more 
disadvantages.

      Yes, you can search for more then just music. Yes, it allows you to get 
more then one hundred results per search, and it allows you to do more then one 
search at a time. Yes, the new Morpheus's interface is nicely designed. But, 
Gnutella/Morpheus lacks.

      I've had nothing, but bad experiences with Gnutella clients. In 
Gnutella/Morpheus, the searches don't allow users to specify the file type they 
wish to search for. Downloads are slow as hell (on my 56k modem, I got less 
then one kb/s on average), and it takes years to connect. It's file selection 
is limited in comparison to Morpheus/KaZaa, but that should improve. That's not 
even the worst of it.

      When I tried to play a few MP3s in Morpheus/Gnutella, it opened WinAmp to 
play them, but started loading copy after copy of the file. Within seconds, I 
had twenty-five copies of one of the MP3s I wanted to play in the WinAmp 
playlist. When I opened Task Manager to close the program (it wasn't 
responding), I found that at least ten copies of the program were opening. It 
was insanity! I had to close Gnutella/Morpheus and all of the copies of Winamp. 
When I played one MP3 or video, it worked fine.

      As of now, I completely disagree with Music City's decision. If they 
choose to say with this change, then I hope it'll improve. If you don't mind 
adware, then I recommend switching to KaZaa. You might be able to install 
KaZaa, run Lavasoft's Ad-Aware to remove the adware, and still be able to use 
KaZaa. I haven't tried it.
     

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      Site of the Week
      By R.J.

      Brainbench

      BrainBench is a company that allows individuals to get technical 
certifications by taking an online test. Prices range from free to $50. You can 
even order printed certificates. I took the free HTML 3.2 certification test 
and scored 2.8. You need a score of at least 2.75 to pass. The scores range 
between one and five.
     

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      Links

      Music City
      Morpheus
      Kazaa
      Gnutella
      Brainbench
[Crapshoot E-Zine] Issue 9: 3.3.2002

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