File sharing is alive and kicking with these 15 Napster alternatives.

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XoloX is not an antibiotic, but it is a cure for frustrated file-sharing fans with high-speed connections and plenty of free space on their hard drive. Based on the Gnutella network, it claims to take the best tech aspects of Napster, BearShare, eDonkey, and KaZaA and wraps them in a sophisticated, friendly program.

In the blink of an eye, the download and installation is complete. XoloX comes without baggage -- it's free of spyware and advertising. You can begin searching for files immediately. There is no form to fill out, no user name to register, just a basic, functional, and clean interface with three sections -- search, transfer, and files. You can search for any kind of file and specify if you want audio, video, image, program, document, or "any type." Supposedly it's the first Gnutella client to allow downloading from different sources like Morpheus, KaZaA, and Grokster.

Program gets wiser with use
Other features that display consideration for the user include the option to auto-hide porn and poor search results. Search results turn blue after you click on them so there is no confusion when attempting to download a particular title.

All search results automatically update as users log on and off so you don't have to keep refreshing to get the most current selection. Each search remains at the top of your screen like a file tab so you can click back to it at any time while you conduct other searches. Very supportive.

The more you get to know XoloX, the smarter it gets. It auto-resumes downloads if you or the person with the file logs off and on again. If the same download is available from several sources, XoloX will take a bit from each so as not to drain one person's bandwidth. Brilliant. Many of the files we selected downloaded in record time.

Download report

We used these search terms with other Napster alternatives such as Audiogalaxy. The purpose of the search was to get a feel for the availability of widely used search terms, as well as more obscure bands and song titles.

  • Radiohead -- approximately 3,300 search results
  • Apples in Stereo -- approximately 103
  • Metallica, "Enter Sandman" -- approximately 207
  • The Beatles, "Yellow Submarine" -- approximately 93
  • Dr. Dre, "The Watcher" -- approximately 16
  • 'N Sync -- approximately 2,288

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