eDonkey2000 - Man oh man. I've had a real bitch of a time trying to get this program to work properly time and time again. Due to all the problems I got, I couldn't really review it - and that was really annoying as I've been told by so many people that this program is really great to use to get large files and the such. But now, EVENTUALLY, I have got it up and running to a reasonable standard, but I'm still occasionally having the same problems as before.

Anyways, eDonkey - its a multiple server based file-sharing client much like Direct Connect. The client automatically tries to connect you to a server as soon as you log on and this is the problem that I guess I'm still having occasional troubles with. Before, whenever I started the program, the client tried to connect me to a server, but I kept getting the message "Can't connect to....(whatever IP)". I didn't know why this was - it could've been because of my firewall, or simply because I had a shitty connection to the net - to be honest I'm still not sure - but whatever it was, I can now connect to a server albeit with persistent.......persistence :) I dunno, some people had the same problem as me, most of the others didn't.

Ah well, lets forget all that crap for a minute and talk about the actual program. Like I said before, this file-sharing program is comparable to Direct Connect. Normally, on clients such as Morpheus and Gnutella, you have to connect to a main network in which everyone else using the client is also connected to. With eDonkey (and of course Direct Connect) it isn't like that - when you start the program there is a choice of servers in which you can connect to - usually all specialising in certain types of files such as Divx movies or whatever.

Once connected to the server of your choice (if that is possible...:) you can then start searching for files. And the search facility available is pretty good too (see screenshot above). You can search for any type of media (Audio, Video etc) - but you can also search using the AND/OR commands, search through format and size of files, or even search for a user itself. These usually bring up extra options - much like on Morpheus, which is pretty cool.

Oh yeah, and the layout and interface is pretty easy to get to grips with. There are tabs at the top allowing you to navigate different windows, and everything looks very 'windows' like, so you shouldn't have much troubles with it. Does look a little ugly, though....

Features of eDonkey include a "hotlist" type thingy to keep track of your mates to see when their online, as well as a chat facility (see screenshot above) allowing you to.....well, chat. Unfortunately, the hotlist feature ain't as great as, say, the one on Napster mainly because your rarely are able to connect to the same server twice, and for that reason, it isn't as useful as it could be. Also, there is this thing on eDonkey which allows you to group some of your shared files as "Collections" so other users can search through it. A pretty pointless feature, but hey. A feature that is lacking unfortunately is an internal player of some sort, but that's not such a great loss.

eDonkey seems to be a bit buggy also. I'm often been told that my eDonkey client is out of date, and so I try to download the 'newer one', but when I do, it says "You already have the latest version eDonkey". Which is odd.

But one main strength of this client is the downloads. The reason why this is a great program to use is because, like Direct Connect, there are many large files in the form of games/applications and the such to download. But, where eDonkey steps ahead of Direct Connect is the fact the eDonkey supports multi-source downloads (see screenshot below) . Which. Is. Fantastic. Y'see, that was the main downfall of Direct Connect - the download speeds were achingly slow mainly due to the reason that there wasn't this feature of multi-source downloads. Because of this - eDonkey is a better program then Direct Connect to get large files...

BUT, what's this? A lower score then Direct Connect? Whys that I hear you cry? Well, simply because of all the trouble I've had with connecting to servers, and unfortunately, still am having. Direct Connect seems to be much more reliable then eDonkey, and its this unreliability of connecting to servers that I am constantly having to deal with that's eDonkey's main downfall. Also, when trying to get files, I've often found myself being queued which can be annoying (also see screenshot). However, you must understand that I write these reviews under my own experience - and I do know that there are a lot of people who haven't had as much of a problem with this file-sharing program as I have had. And if you do happen to be one of those people, then consider eDonkey to be better then Direct Connect - despite the lower score I have given it.

SUMMARY: I've had a real tough time with this program. The fact that it has taken me a while before I was able to connect to a server has put me off the program. However, I am now finding it easier to connect to a server on this client, and, since then, I have been able to get some really great files. Just think of this program as being Direct Connect but a little easier to use, and, of course, with the added feature of multi-source download which really increases the download speeds so much more.

Pros :  A lot of great files available - Probably the best program to use to get large files - Great search facility - Popular client - Multi-source downloads

Cons : Sometimes its really hard to connect to servers. - Interface looks a bit ugly - You'll often find yourself queued to get files - Buggy

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