DaBlade
10-01-2004, 02:31 PM
This is a story I originally wrote for Slyck, with the help of my Slyck friend Ooble, but now that I'm banned, and hate Tom, that might as well be dropped, so I thought I'd post it here. I hope you enjoy it.
[begin story]
WinMX (http://www.winmx.com/) is one of the oldest file sharing networks around, with a long and colorful history. The program started out as a Napster and OpenNap client. When Napster was shut down in 2001, all that was left for WinMX was OpenNap.
As a result, the developer, Kevin Hearn, CEO of Frontcode Technologies (http://www.frontcode.com/) decided to make his own network. The result was the WPNP, the WinMX Peer Networking Protocol. This network became very popular, mainly due to the many users that were using WinMX during Napster's reign. Among the client’s many features was secure hashing (http://www.slyck.com/dictionary.php?entry_id=41), making it nearly impossible for the likes of the RIAA to plant corrupted or fake files on the network. The network still has OpenNap (http://www.slyck.com/dictionary.php?entry_id=114) support, and has an excellent chat function, which has lead to the rise of trading chat rooms – places where people can find others with similar interests, and trade files with them. Movies, hard rock, Japanese pop – you name it, it’s there. The strength of WinMX, aside from its numerous features, lay in the fact that you were almost guaranteed to find what you were looking for. According to the latest estimates (http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,117637,00.asp), the network has around six million users – around 850,000 of them on simultaneously – making the network slightly smaller then the Ares network.
However, to the dismay of the network’s fans, WinMX has been left to rot since the release of version 3.31, on October 19, 2002. In August 2003, fans of the file-sharing application were given false hope when Frontcode estimated a beta version of WinMX v4.0 to be released around October 2003 (http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=216). This carried on for some months, until, faced with a constant slur of excuses and new release dates, a new project, OpenMX, was started in March 2004. The plan was to decompile WinMX, release the source code and make an open-source WPN client.
Then, in June 13, 2004, the unexpected occurred: Frontcode started a new series of beta releases. The Internet suddenly swarmed with articles featuring the supposedly new client. WinMX fans and users were however disappointed to find out that all that was updated was the chat function, and some minor bugs fixed. When a new client was publicly released – v3.53 –Frontcode promised a new version very soon, on their beta (http://www.winmx.com/beta/) site. This has yet to happen.
It has been speculated if the new beta round was a result of the now aborted OpenMX project. Slyck’s senior writer, Thomas Mennecke, has attempted to contact Kevin Hearn, but to no avail – there has been no response, in very familiar Frontcode fashion.
So, we now have a six million user question: will WinMX ever be updated, or will it dwindle and eventually collapse into the dust?
As usual, we'll unfortunately have to wait and see.
[/begin story]
[begin story]
WinMX (http://www.winmx.com/) is one of the oldest file sharing networks around, with a long and colorful history. The program started out as a Napster and OpenNap client. When Napster was shut down in 2001, all that was left for WinMX was OpenNap.
As a result, the developer, Kevin Hearn, CEO of Frontcode Technologies (http://www.frontcode.com/) decided to make his own network. The result was the WPNP, the WinMX Peer Networking Protocol. This network became very popular, mainly due to the many users that were using WinMX during Napster's reign. Among the client’s many features was secure hashing (http://www.slyck.com/dictionary.php?entry_id=41), making it nearly impossible for the likes of the RIAA to plant corrupted or fake files on the network. The network still has OpenNap (http://www.slyck.com/dictionary.php?entry_id=114) support, and has an excellent chat function, which has lead to the rise of trading chat rooms – places where people can find others with similar interests, and trade files with them. Movies, hard rock, Japanese pop – you name it, it’s there. The strength of WinMX, aside from its numerous features, lay in the fact that you were almost guaranteed to find what you were looking for. According to the latest estimates (http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,117637,00.asp), the network has around six million users – around 850,000 of them on simultaneously – making the network slightly smaller then the Ares network.
However, to the dismay of the network’s fans, WinMX has been left to rot since the release of version 3.31, on October 19, 2002. In August 2003, fans of the file-sharing application were given false hope when Frontcode estimated a beta version of WinMX v4.0 to be released around October 2003 (http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=216). This carried on for some months, until, faced with a constant slur of excuses and new release dates, a new project, OpenMX, was started in March 2004. The plan was to decompile WinMX, release the source code and make an open-source WPN client.
Then, in June 13, 2004, the unexpected occurred: Frontcode started a new series of beta releases. The Internet suddenly swarmed with articles featuring the supposedly new client. WinMX fans and users were however disappointed to find out that all that was updated was the chat function, and some minor bugs fixed. When a new client was publicly released – v3.53 –Frontcode promised a new version very soon, on their beta (http://www.winmx.com/beta/) site. This has yet to happen.
It has been speculated if the new beta round was a result of the now aborted OpenMX project. Slyck’s senior writer, Thomas Mennecke, has attempted to contact Kevin Hearn, but to no avail – there has been no response, in very familiar Frontcode fashion.
So, we now have a six million user question: will WinMX ever be updated, or will it dwindle and eventually collapse into the dust?
As usual, we'll unfortunately have to wait and see.
[/begin story]