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History of limewire

LimeWire is a file sharing program which was set up as a music service on the Internet.  The program allows subscribers to the system to share music and other files amongst themselves.  This peer-to-peer system is hosted on the Gnutella network and is available in 31 languages.  Up until October 2010, there were two versions of the program.  One of these was free while the other, an enhanced version with superior functionality could be purchased for $35 with a year of updates.   The developer of LimeWire, Lime Wire LLC and its owner Mark Gorton, released the program to the public in May 2000. ·        LimeWire made their source code available to the public in October, 2001 as a Free Software initiative which allowed users to participate in improving the service.  The UltraPeer system was introduced to save bandwidth and speed downloads.  Swarm Download enabled users to download a single file from multiple sources and the capability to launch files while downloading was also introduced.   ·        In 2002 the UltraPeer system was improved and search speeds increased.  The ability to refine search attempts with more options was introduced.  The new metadata display brought a more refined display with better ergonomics and the Splash screen visuals gave a more contemporary appearance. ·        2003 and 2004 saw many important enhancements.  Bandwidth saving and improved download speeds were a main aim for this period.  Themes were introduced enabling users to change the appearance of their screens and iTunes integration was refined with downloads being added automatically to the iTunes library of a user.  The useability for OS X members was enhanced.  MAGNET links was introduced allowing automatic downloads to be set up.  In November 2004, version 4.2 introduced a firewall-to-firewall feature - the first peer-to-peer arrangement on the Internet to possess this feature.  Version 4.2 also includes BitTorrent support which allows 3 Torrent uploads and 3 Torrent downloads.      ·        2005 to 2010 saw further enhancements across the board.  Instant messenger was introduced using XMPP protocol and this allows subscribers to interact with other subscribers directly (one to one or in groups).  Security features were enhanced in every area including an optional filter to check for copyright infringements. ·        In May 2010, the court ruled against the Lime Group LLC in a copyright infringement case, charging that LimeWire was guilty of committing and enabling copyright infringement in the music industry.  In October 2010 the company was ordered to disable the system.  If you go to the LimeWire website you will see a copy of the injunction on the disabled home page.  A huge claim was threatened against Lime Wire and Mark Gorton by the Recording Industry Association of America based upon their estimate that over 11,000 songs distributed through LimeWire are copyright-infringed.  In May 2011 an out of court settlement was reached between Lime Wire and 13 record companies and Mark Gorton ended up paying $105 million to the complainants. Users with LimeWire versions prior to the launch of  5.5.10 are still able to connect to the Gnutella network and operate as they always have ensuring that the program is still being used by millions of users.  Other groups have taken the platform over and continue to offer the service to users.  These alternative services include LimeWire Pirate Edition, WireShare and FrostWire.  Sites like limewirefreedownload.org offer any potential user a quick and easy download of the program.