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WinMX - Powerhouse P2P
May 30, 2003
WinMX has always been at the forefront of P2P development. When its OpenNap support base took a back seat to the WPNP (WinMX Peer Networking Protocol), its popularity and resourcefulness soared to new heights. While the networks' number 1 complaint remains the queuing situation, a grand process is in motion to resolve this and many other idiosyncrasies with the WinMX client. To settle many false rumors regarding the health and future of WinMX, we chatted with Frontcode President, Kevin Hearn. We thank him for taking the time to participate in this interview.Slyck.com: What news can you give us regarding the latest developments of WinMX?
WinMX: Currently we are in the middle of a FULL re-write of the entire WinMX code base. This means the next version of WinMX we release (probably as v4.0) will be completely redesigned with several major improvements and several new features. While I can't speculate on a completion date yet, I can tell you that we are working as quickly as possible and progress thus far has been good.
Slyck.com: A posting to the WinMX newsgroup, supposedly from Frontcode, stated that development has stopped. This caused some concern because the headers checked out as coming from Frontcodes' IP. What insight can you give us?
WinMX: This is the first I have heard of this. We do not normally participate in _any_ newsgroup in any official capacity, nor do we regularly monitor the WinMX newsgroup. We only release official news on our web site.
Slyck.com: The delay has caused some concern. What can you tell us about this considerably delay?
WinMX:After v3.31 was released we did continue development of the v3 series. In fact, we got pretty far along in this development, almost to the point where we were ready to start beta testing a v3.4. However, during the late development stages it became more and more clear that we eventually needed to scrap the entire v3 core and start fresh, and that's what we did. We've been working on a fresh new WinMX for the past several months now, and it is coming along very well.
Slyck.com: Regarding the next release, what new features can we look forward to? Any radical departures from the current client? Perhaps some resolution to the "queue problem?"
WinMX:Here's a short list of new features off the top of my head:
e "Auto Enter Queue" and "Auto Find Sources" are gone, acquiring and managing download sources is done automatically by an intelligent algorithm that takes into account several dynamic factors such as connection speed, download speed, queue positions, etc..
A contact list that supports persistent WPN entries. Also a "user search" function gives users a straightforward way to find each other.
The Shared Files window is gone, a much more advanced "Library" window replaces it. The library also now updates silently on a completely separate background thread, so that annoying "Refreshing..." window is a thing of the past.
New meta info for several file types. (for example, most video files would have at least resolution, bitrate, codec, etc. listed)
Greatly simplified search window, less buttons, more meaningful columns.
Fully skinnable interface.
Chat rooms with more than just text.
A simple and optional integrated media player.
An automatic bandwidth throttle (of course the throttle will still be able to be manually adjusted.)
Slyck.com: Can we expect magnet link support in the future?
WinMX: We have already written and thoroughly tested the code for URL linking support, and it will definitely be in the next release.
Slyck.com: As always, is there any estimate on the population count of the WinMX network?
WinMX: The WPN is definitely growing at a healthy rate, but I don't have enough data available at this time to give any sort of meaningful population estimates.
With a continuously growing population, and significant changes on the way, we can certainly look forward to a long a healthy future from WinMX. While problems exist with the current client, patience and understanding are key to enjoying the vast amounts of information on this powerful network. Many understand and take these “problems” with a grain of salt, but if the future picture of WinMX is as colorful as Frontcode has painted, we ain’t seen nothing yet.
Slyck.com: Can we expect magnet link support in the future?
WinMX: We have already written and thoroughly tested the code for URL linking support, and it will definitely be in the next release.
Slyck.com: As always, is there any estimate on the population count of the WinMX network?
WinMX: The WPN is definitely growing at a healthy rate, but I don't have enough data available at this time to give any sort of meaningful population estimates.
With a continuously growing population, and significant changes on the way, we can certainly look forward to a long a healthy future from WinMX. While problems exist with the current client, patience and understanding are key to enjoying the vast amounts of information on this powerful network. Many understand and take these “problems” with a grain of salt, but if the future picture of WinMX is as colorful as Frontcode has painted, we ain’t seen nothing yet.
This story is filed in these Slyck News categories
P2P Clients :: WinMX
WinMX homepage
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