Vuze Update: Less is more
Over the years, we’ve spent a lot of time listening and building the features you wanted us to add.
An equally important question is how we can improve Vuze by delivering less of what you don’t want. We heard you loud and clear when you asked for less clutter, less bloat, and less memory footprint.
With this release, we focused more time on removing features than adding features. It’s a useful exercise for any product that’s been around since 2007, and has been downloaded over 70 million times. As a result, the latest release is faster to start, faster to navigate, and uses significantly less memory (up to 3X less memory!).
How did we do it?
Redesigned Search
Our first job was to significantly clean up the search experience. The new search results page is less cluttered, enabling you to find what you’re looking for, as quickly as possible. You’ll notice two design improvements:
- Color-coded rank icon: Our goal is to guide you to the best result as quickly as possible (the largest green bar you can find on the search results page).
- Larger download button: One of the challenges of meta-search is the need to combine the designs of multiple disparate sites. We’ve added a large download button after clicking a search result to enable you to quickly download the content you want.
More importantly, we’ve optimized the browser integration for search to significantly decrease memory usage.
Faster Network, On Your Terms
You’ll also notice two changes that will significantly improve the performance of the Vuze HD Network:
- Default Vuze Homepage: Vuze HD Network is no longer the default page when you open Vuze. Software on your desktop is yours. If you simply use Vuze as a media manager (or downloader), you shouldn’t have to navigate through the network every time you open Vuze. From now on, Vuze will open to the last window you had open. If you only use the Library, you’ll only see the Library.
- Lighter Weight Network: For those of you who enjoy browsing the Vuze HD Network, you’ll notice a much simpler, faster, and less bloated design. The network is now powered by simple RSS feeds from some of the most popular video publishers on the web. As part of this change, you’ll also notice a change in the programming available on the network. Publishers that do not offer RSS feeds for their content are no longer available on the Vuze HD Network.
RIP Friends
Finally, you’ll notice that the Friends feature for connecting and sharing content is no longer part of Vuze. When we asked you last month which features were important to you, Friends ranked dead last (a ranking confirmed by internal Friends usage stats). While we still believe that sharing has a role in Vuze, the social media landscape has changed significantly since we launched Friends. Sites like Facebook and Twitter have spread like wild fire around the world. With this evolution, products like Vuze do not require their own social networking feature.
And for those of you who leveraged Friends to take advantage of faster downloads through FriendBoost, expect to see some alternatives for faster downloads in the not so distant future. Connecting with Friends should not be a prerequisite to faster download.
This “less is more” philosophy isn’t about a single release. We plan to continue these efforts over the next several releases (and beyond) to ensure that Vuze has the best possible user experience. That said, we believe that the “size” argument CAN be taken too far.
a (very) tiny mobile phone
Of course size matters. However, at a certain point, small size cripples the ability of a software application to have basic functionality like search and device integration. Let’s face it. Unless you still have a computer with a floppy drive, your computer’s memory is not likely to be a severe constraint. The key is to develop functionality that adds value, and to deliver this value in an elegant way (both in terms of user experience and resource usage). Expect us to walk this line moving forward.
Upgrade timeframe: Vuze 4.3 is a required update due to some significant back-end infrastructure changes that Vuze will be making by the end of November. As of December 1, Friends will no longer function across all versions of Vuze, and the Vuze HD Network will no longer function in older versions of Vuze. The back-end changes are required to decrease our costs in providing a free software program to our growing community of users.
We’re excited about the improvements, and hope you will be too. Take Vuze 4.3 for a spin, and let us know what you think.
UPDATE: The Vuze team just pushed live a series of updates based on your feedback (Vuze 4.3.0.4). In addition, this latest release includes expanded support for magnet links. Read more
Chris
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good work boys
hellz yeah! thank you! That comment about the floppy drive hurt me though.
I like it. I can already see almost half the memory usage of the last version, you guys really did a good job.
Please dont take out friends! its the best part! Having a big network of friends is awsome when they can share files with you; you get movies and music that you normaly wouldnt download.
you guys rock! can’t wait to see what new speed boost features you add to replace friends.
vuze sucks now i likeed the old one so pleas bring that back there were good stuff in old version this one has nothing.
Nicely done. As others have noted it’s faster, which to my mind is much more important than plugin bloat or feature creep. Thanks for this update.
Awesome job! Azureus first got my attention years ago to become my favourite with all of it’s customizing and the ability to prioritize parts & files (and block unwanted files inside a single torrent set).
Then they transitioned very nicely into Vuze which took everything I wanted straight to the next level! The Vuze HD Network was a great browsing ground to show me videos & series I didn’t know existed and has lead to some rentals, purchases, and trips to the movie theater based on what I saw right here.
I will admit that I never dipped into the Friends feature in Vuze…I was more into talking to my friends & getting them interested in Vuze & the good search results it had lead me to. So I won’t miss Friends because I still have good friends. (Grin)
Also, looking forward to that larger Download button on searched sites (inside Vuze) because some of the resulting sites can have misleading links so you have to click a few wrong buttons before you start the actual download. Great stuff, Vuze! Making my life easier all the time.
I used to use a lot of friends feature to boost transfers to my friends and vice-versa. I was not happy with the dead of it before a “new boost solution” appears.
I really like the idea, but I am having some slight issues when it comes down to downloading the update. I hope I can get it figured out before what I’m usuing now becomes completely obsolete.
Linked download page says Mac OS 10.4.8+ required for the new, faster, less footprint Vuze version, however downloaded installer won’t install unless OS is 10.5 at least.
Mac 10.4.8 users (Benjamin and silwit), select the Help menu in Vuze, and “Check for updates.” This should get the job done.
Vuze was recommended to me by a friend before as Azureus and I have shared it with my friends and we are all very happy with it. Azureus is very user-friendly and very professional. Thank you very much and keep up the good work guys…
Really nice! I have tried other clients but have always come back to Azureus or VUZE as it is now known. SIMPLY THE BEST, and it keeps getting better.
Thanks to all of you really!
I am so happy for you guys! I have been using your client for a very long time and i fucking love it! I love you to =) XOXO
Awesome!!! I love the new Vuze, already noticing the impact it has on my system, having more memory available.
I didn’t use the friends feature, and I don’t think i ever would. My downloads were plenty fast enough without the boosting!
The new format has messed up the search results display. Theres a seperate annoying window on the top right that hides most of the results. How do you get rid of it?
MR
please PLEASE bring the friends list back? PLEASE?
Bravi Ragazzi per il vostro impegno nello sviluppo di Vuze – Sono StealthOnAIR il mio nick name ovvio ))) volevo dire che mi spiace che avete levato amici perche’ io con altre persone abbiamo preso a cuore questo programma e avevamo creato una piccola comunita’ per vuze .. Abbiamo un canale di aiuto per vuze italia su irc Mindforge — Comunque ancora bravi — E rimettete opzioni AMICI — Certo non abbiamo un grande supporto ma abbiamo molta volonta’ che e’ quello che serve — Con le nostre piccole risorse andiamo avanti e crediamo molto in questo grande progetto — SALUTI A TUTTI DA STEALTHONAIR — Buona Giornata —
Hey!!!
I just suggested this through a feedback!
Wtf?
I’m now installing the update, and I hope I’ll see some improvements.
Good on you for going back to Vuze’s roots! I started with Azureus and now I’ve got it back!
It’s been a bit of a journey but worth it as this product is evolving well . . . keep up the good work and listening to your users.
now plz release x64 official installer!
it is really way way faster, THANKS!
I like Vuze but this new version gives a lot of troubles on my mac. Tekst disappering resulting in a blank page, the blue ‘new’ status of subscriptions not working, scrolling acting strang… I’m afraid I downloaded to soon had had better wait for a updated version.
Awsesome job. But did you have to insult us folks who still have a floppy drive attached to their computers? Did you ever consider that we may have both gobbs of memory as well as a floppy drive to be used for old legacy and I do mean old leagacy programs.
Regards,
Michael T