BearFlix - A Review
BearFlix roars out of the cave with swarming, hashing, fast downloads and a video player, but hibernates when confronted with proxies.
BearFlix almost configures itself, and its toolbar and icon interface is geared toward novices. (Configuration options help advanced users suit the program to taste.) Based on the popular BearShare, and connected to the Gnutella network, this utility is optimized for video files. Simply enter a search term, and find files immediately. As with all P2P networks, there's no guarantee the files are available, accurately named, or virus-free. However, BearFlix's file-rating option helps users self-police spam off the network.
BearFlix uses hashing to discover identical files across the network, making file swarming easy without user intervention. We found that files downloaded very quickly, but BearFlix took slightly more system memory than Firefox 2. However, it includes a video player to help forestall memory creep. This freeware version includes a banner ad, and download speeds are slightly crippled. Advanced users will note configuring BearFlix is easy but will be disappointed the program lacks proxy server support.
Novice peer-to-peer users will find BearFlix a great entry-level P2P program, but most users will prefer an application geared to files of all types.
