Pro/Con: Limewire substantiates the best things are free
PRO: Shannon Patrick
Free music. What’s better than being able to get something for free, even if it is just a three-minute song? Limewire offers people free, easily accessible music. As well as the fabulous music, downloaders are able to get free movie clips and TV shows.
Now of course, you may be thinking that by downloading Limewire, your computer is going to get screwed up. That may happen, but so can identity theft or winning the $90 million jackpot.
As a Limewire user, let me just say how convenient it is to have a place to download music and not have to worry about giving out my credit card number. I still go out and buy CDs, but only when I like more than one or two songs on the album.
In addition, Limewire has rare music, including music from CDs no longer sold in stores. I had my experience of looking for “A Goofy Movie” Soundtrack, only finding it on eBay for around $70. So I had two choices in front of me: either buy the CD used for $70, or download the five songs that I liked for free. It was a no-brainer.
When I downloaded the “A Goofy Movie” soundtrack, I still didn’t have iTunes because of my fear of giving them my credit card number. It’s sometimes hard to trust any website or download product with your personal information, especially when it comes to money.
From the past two years of using Limewire, I’ve had only one problem with it. In order to fix it, I was forced to uninstall the program and then reinstall it. Other than that one little small problem, Limewire has never caused an interference with my laptop use.
So the next time you like just one song on a CD and don’t want to spend $15 on it, turn to the fabulous and free Limewire.
CON: Shawn Heavlin-Martinez
Like most college students, my disposable income is usually non-existent. I don’t have the money to go out and buy every single thing that catches my eye. Some of my peers have apparently circumnavigated this problem by using file-sharing applications such as Limewire. These programs essentially grant you free access to music, videos, or other files, all free of charge.
I enjoy free things as much as the next person, but I just can’t bring myself to support programs like Limewire. While I appreciate the fact that Limewire can save you money, it also opens the possibility that your computer will get dangerous viruses. We’re told as kids not to talk to strangers, and we should keep this in mind before downloading strangers’ computer files.
Sure, Limewire will save you $20 when you download that new U2 album. However, you’ll be kicking yourself when you look at how much a new computer is going to set you back after your computer gets flooded with viruses.
Even if none of these things concern you, the fact remains that Limewire is illegal. So, if you were cruising along reading this article thinking: “Pfft, viruses don’t scare me; I’ve got Norton Anti-Virus,” you’d better realize that there’s no “Norton Anti-FBI Kicking down Your Door and Throwing You in an Unmarked Van Blindfolded and Gagged.”
Remember, Guantanamo Bay doesn’t close for another year, and I imagine that every so often on a slow day, the FBI has nothing better to do than abduct South Orange County music pirates.