Ares Filesharing Software: Critical Comparison

Fortunately, there are a number of alternatives that have stepped up to the plate. These alternatives are based on the open source foundations provided by Galaxy, and as such lead to software that is substantially similar in operation. Developers are free to build upon - and substantially alter - these foundations, and many have done just that. The newer versions are developed by individuals or groups with the aim of solving one or more particular problems encountered by the open source community, meaning each one has emerged with a particular specialization.

These different versions of Ares now each dominate a particular niche in the market. The ability to solve a particular problem combined with niggles found in Ares Galaxy - fairly major 'niggles' such as failing to connect on an increasingly regular basis and a complete lack of customer service - mean the old master is often being spurned in favor of these upstarts.

The many different versions of Ares mean that some research is needed to find the correct version for your needs. Comparing and contrasting all current versions of Ares is a mammoth task that is outside the scope of this article; instead we will look at the three most popular variants at this time: Ares Vista, Ares Ultimate, and Ares Ultra.

Ares Vista was initially designed to work with the new security features implemented by Microsoft in their Windows software. Its release in late 2007 was perfectly timed: a short while after many file sharers who had upgraded to the Vista operating system were finding filesharing impossible. Ares Vista was a digital white knight in shining armor. This success was the platform for greater things, and Ares Vista has continued to improve since its impressive debut. In terms of overall user experience and ease of setup and use, Ares Vista is the platform to beat. More information at www.AresVista.com.

Ares Ultra, developed in 2006, is the relative 'old man' of the group. Ultra accelerated the trend started by earlier versions towards catering for a wider range of media files. Ares Ultra is the Ares version of choice for people wanting to share a wide variety of files, including images, audio, video, software and plain old documents.

Ares Ultimate is the newest of the three versions featured in this article. As other versions of Ares have slowly moved away from Galaxy's roots as a music sharing platform towards a more general media sharing application, Ares Ultimate has reversed the trend. It concentrates on sharing music files, and that alone.

Taking a big picture view, this variety can only be good for the software. The fact that the original Ares Galaxy is being pulled under by its leaner, meaner offspring is a completely normal consequence of 'natural selection' occurring in the software world. The time will come when Ares Vista turns from Pretender to King. There may, in turn, come a time when Ares Vista is forced to give up the title spot in favor of a superior competitor; only time will tell. Whatever happens, filesharing and Ares are here to stay.

Keep up to date with the latest Ares news, and stay ahead of the curve when it comes to your filesharing.