Peer to Peer, find out what file-sharing applications you should use with your Mac.

Peer to Peer (P2P) is a way to share resources in a network. Compared to the client model where the file or resource is hosted centrally on one computer. All these clients divide the workload between each other making the load on the central server much less severe.

This is not only a way to transfer files but can also be used to share processing power for example, like Apples X Grid. However most people use this technology for file sharing use, and this page is about just that.

BitTorrent Clients

uTorrent for Mac
It is safe to say that uTorrent have been the most successful torrent client on the Windows platform and now mac users have the possibility to try it. It is known to be lightweight and consume less resources compared to other torrent clients. However it is still in the beta stage. I have used it for a while and it seems to work quite well. This is the BitTorrent application I personally recommend!. If you need a torrent client get the utorrent for mac. You wont be disappointed.

Transmission
Before uTorrent Transmission was the best Mac OS X BitTorrent client for me. It is lightweight, in other words it do not stress your system that much, open source and free. The interface is clean and tidy without any nonsense, Transmission do what it is supposed to do and does it really good. And it still does!

Vuze (formerly know as Azureus)
I used this client for a while but stopped using it because it drained the resources of my computer. This application has also evolved into something more than just a torrent client. Now it is a online entertainment platform that allows you to watch, publish and share original DVD & HD quality video. Check it out if you want, you might like it.

Tomato Torrent
Based on the original BitTorrent application, some people swear by using this. I tried it once but didn't really like it so much, maybe you do ?

XTorrent
Many people like this client, but it is not free it costs $25 for a single user license. Still i think this a really good client, and worth what it costs. Some of the features are: iTunes, iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV support. Time and user-activity sensitive bandwidth limits. Custom download folders. Search suggestions. Watch-folder auto-download. Automatic port configuration (UPNP & Airport NAT-PMP). Seeding ratio controls. Innovative fragment status view. Growl support. And more.

Other P2P Clients

Acquisition
I think this peer to peer application is good if you want to download music. It is not free but still i feel it is worth what it costs, $25. You can search and download files from millions of Mac and Windows users. Optimized for fast transfers - Gnutella and BitTorrent. Sends the downloaded files automatically to iTunes.

aMule
If you have used eMule on Windows before this might be your savior. This client connects to the ed2k network that allows you to download files. It is licensed as freeware and it works good in Mac OS X.


FrostWire
Gnutella based client based on Limewire. Freeware. Some of the features include BitTorrent support, Proxy Support, Firewall to firewall transfers and no spyware or Adware. This application is like limewire for mac.


ShakesPeer
ShakesPeer is a peer to peer (P2P) file sharing program. It is a client for the Direct Connect protocol. The main goal of ShakesPeer is to create a fully featured client, compatible with DC++, that runs on Mac OS X with a native Aqua GUI. The program is released as Open Source under the GPL License.

There are more Peer to Peer applications of course, but to list all would probably make you more confused i assume. Still, if you feel something is missing or deserves mention on this page do not hesitate to contact me and I will fix it up right away.