OK, just wanted to report back, for anyone who is interested.
The torrent file that can be found in the post I linked above
is in fact still active and I have downloaded and installed it and it is a good file.
For those not familiar, the torrent format basically takes a very large file and chops it up into a lot of small pieces, which you can simultaneously download from a (usually large) number of "peers" in a "swarm." This is also a decentralized method of file distribution, which cannot be shut down (by
S***L's lawyers) as easily as a single file being hosted on a site somewhere. If anyone here is interested in acquiring the MediaCat 2010-1 version, it can be found in the torrent above. If you are new to torrents, I would recommend the uTorrent client as it is lightweight, does not contain any scam/crapware, is fully featured, easy to set up, and free.
A few caveats, however, about using the above referenced torrent. After I finally downloaded the large file, I mounted the .ISO (raw DVD format) file to a "virtual" DVD drive using a program called DAEMON Tools (this way, you don't have to burn any physical media). Then I could open it as if it were a DVD in a real drive. The installation "DVD" right away said that the catalogs were expired. So I stopped what I was doing right there before going any further and did the following:
- I disabled my internet connection.
- I closed out of all running programs.
- I turned off any software that could be affected by changing the date (SugarSync, Dropbox, etc. maybe A/V software, depending on make?)
- THEN I changed the system date on my computer back one or two years (don't remember how far exactly, but so that it was before the expiration date). Also, I kept the date the same and just changed the year (in other words, moved the date back by exactly one or two years).
- Then I installed the software from the DVD and ran it for the first time.
I did not have any problems, by following these steps. I will note that upon installation (or first opening) a box popped up and it appeared that the MediaCat software was trying to "phone home" (it said "checking for updates" or somesuch). Now I don't know if the software will download new service bulletins, or (my thought was) it was probably checking for updates to the viewer software itself (perhaps including something that kills it?).
Now I have used the software a couple times since then, each time following steps 1-4, above. And I have yet to have any problem.
As an aside, I was poking around the installation DVD and I discovered that the MediaCat program is only a "viewer." All the content can be found on the installation DVD (or in the folders where it is installed onto your computer, if you did a full installation). So if you are pooched somehow with your installation, and desperate, you
could find whatever you are looking for by sifting through all of the files until you got to the right ones. That would be a lot of work though, it is much easier to use the Catalog.
Finally, another user has contacted me with an even newer version (V 3.33, mid 2011 release) that has apparently been modded so it won't expire until 2285. If there is enough interest, I suppose I could dork around and spend the time and get that turned into another torrent, and we could start distributing that.
Those who prefer to mail DVDs are of course, free to continue to do so. In fact, Fish, I apologize for sort of hijacking your thread. In fact, if enough people show interest in the torrent instead of the physical media (PM me?) I suppose I will go ahead and start another thread with that info...
