mp3s

Transmission is one of the very best choices for a BitTorrent client on the Mac, being both extremely lightweight (some users even manage to run the Ubuntu version on their cell phones!) and fairly feature-packed. Transmission's interface is easy to use--and easy on the eyes--and this open-source app provides a whole host of clever features and flexible settings, especially when it comes to managing your bandwidth.

Transmission lets you queue downloads, set "Speed Limits" for certain times of day, stop seeding when you've met a specified ratio, and more--all with live download stats viewable directly in … Read more

uTorrent is a free BitTorrent client, the Mac version (officially still in beta) of the popular, open-source uTorrent client for Windows.

Much like the lightweight uTorrent for Windows (also weighing in at less than 5MB), this version of uTorrent excels at downloading files quickly with minimal resource overhead. Even more stripped down than the Windows version, uTorrent for Mac gives you a familiar, three-pane interface, with support for multiple downloads and probably more drill-down details than you even need--including graphs, tables, and other specifics on seed, peers, pieces, and more. You can also throttle upload and download rates, and stop … Read more

FrostWire is a free, open-source Gnutella client and a fork of the LimeWire source code (and as such, it functions exactly the same). When you search for a file using FrostWire, you get results from LimeWire and vice versa.

However, the user experience differs in two ways. One is that the code is actually based on LimeWire Pro, the paid version of the popular P2P client, so users don't have to worry about simultaneous download restrictions, and they won't get bombarded by ads. Also, befitting the name, the interface has changed from green to blue and has been … Read more

Cover Stream is a standalone app designed to help you browse through and listen to your iTunes music, using a visual, intuitive, and unobtrusive interface that's similar to iTunes' Cover Flow.

You can use Cover Stream through your menu bar, in a separate window (which you can toggle to full screen, or to float on top), or both, and the app makes it easy to flip through albums and playlists, play music (including standard controls such as pause, shuffle, and volume, along with a host of system-wide hot keys), build a "Jukebox Mode" queue (including a shuffle … Read more

Unison 2 is a major update for this popular Usenet client, providing a much more modern interface to access one of the oldest and most arcane corners of the Internet.

Fans of Usenet typically come in search of discussion groups and binary downloads, and Unison's all-new, iTunes-style interface makes navigation easy, with a friendly directory system, threaded messages, and an immensely useful search bar. And given that downloads are a priority for so many Usenet users, Unison also has some thoughtful integrated features, like audio preview, automatic unarchiving (with unRAR and unPAR), and automatic skipping of unneeded files. Unison … Read more

You know what I like? Free stuff. Especially free music, like the kind Amazon seems to have in abundance these days.

For example, right now you can score a whopping 120 MP3 albums at no charge. Gratis. Nada. Zilch. Freebie.

Note: These are albums, not songs. And they cover a wide range of genres, from classical to comedy to Indian music to pop. I particularly like the 26-track "I Love the '80s, Vol.1 (1880s)," which features works from Brahms, Dvorak, and Mahler, among others.

If this sounds a bit familiar, it's because in the past I'… Read more

Free All Music, whose unusual business model is to show users a short video advertisement in exchange for letting them download an unrestricted MP3 file, began private beta testing of the service last month.

The process of watching ads, then downloading MP3s, is surprisingly painless. The site will limit you to a certain number of downloads per period (right now, users are permitted 10 downloads to start, plus an additional 5 every week, but those numbers could change before launch). Through a secondary advertising system, Free All Music shows banner ads noting that particular users have downloaded songs "sponsored&… Read more

If Firefox and iTunes hooked up, their hatchling could very well be Songbird. Basic usage bugs have gone the way of last season's molting, so this fun app that's part music player, part Web browser, and all about music discovery, management, and playback is ready for every day use.

During installation, it'll ask if you want to load your iTunes music directory or another media directory, or perform the task later. Processing 5,000 songs took about 3 minutes, which is not a bad pace. It then asks you which of the preinstalled Songbird extensions you want … Read more

Those of us who celebrate Chanukah may get eight nights of presents, but you X-mas folks get all the good music.

Thanks to Mrs. Cheapskate, who tinsels with the best of 'em, I've really come to enjoy Christmas songs over the years. Consequently, I'm always on the lookout for new (and cheap, natch) tunes to add to the holiday playlist.

Amazon has quite a bounty this year. For starters, check out these 29 free holiday tunes from artists like Tori Amos, Lady GaGa, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.

Over at Dealnews you can find 11 more holiday freebies from Amazon, … Read more