I'm pretty new to the whole file sharing thing and, of course, I love it. I am now sharing 100 files - but they are all files I have downloaded. I'm not truly adding anything new to the network. I have much that I would like to share but own a Sony VAIO computer that comes with it's own proprietary music player. When I record music files (all completely non-copyrighted and legal of course ) it records them as OpenMG files which aren't usable to anyone not owning a Sony. Do I have something on my computer already that I can use to create sharable files?

And in perusing the boards here I've seen people talk of using the network for games and things that aren't music. I'm intrigued but wouldn't even know how to look. Any suggestions?

That's about it. I'm looking forward to being a good Gnu-bie and sharing bunches of files with y'all. Be well.

The Professor

Excellent attitude.

There are plenty of free or shareware music rippers around. I use several different programs but I think MusicMatch is considered to be a reasonable all-in-one package. Try www.musicmatch.com

There are all kinds of files on the network. Before you start downloading programs you should make sure that your virus checker is up-to-date (actually - you should do this anyway).

Until you are more confident generally, I wouldn't worry about downloading programs (games). Downloaded programs are usually not packaged as neatly as shop bought programs (they can be a bit of a challenge to install).

Best advice at the moment is to play around - You'll look for something and find something else of interest crops up - which will lead onto...

Mark

Personally I use CDEX http://www.cdex.n3.net/ you can download a copy from their site.

In terms of alternative uses for gnutella you should consider file distribution because currently the demand for content is overwhelming and there simply isn't a lot of people doing solid sharing.

I assume this is due to legal concerns as people may not be willing to leave their hosts running for long periods of time fearing legal action by the many companies monitoring activity on the Gnutella network looking for illegally shared content.

Hope this helps.

http://www.leeware.com

Thought it would be polite to just say thanks for the tips. I'm on my way to download your suggestions and hope to have some great stuff up to share soon. I appreciate the responses.

The Professor