If you download and compile the source for Limewire, will it still have spyware/adware?

no

In fact, you can decompile com/limegroup/gnutella/gui/GUIMediator.class from the release versions with jad (http://kpdus.tripod.com/jad.html), set SHOW_ADS = false, recompile GUIMediator.java, rebuild the jar and then you have an ad-free version. I wrote a script that automates all that for me.

You could even download the latest source from limewire's public cvs:

cvs.limewire.org

...

Oh - and you'll also get the compile scripts when downloading the source.

Anyone else who decompiles open-source software???

I have built from CVS using ant before. The reason I decompile the file instead of building from source is that I want to use the official version that LimeWire released, just without the flashing ad banners. And I don't know how to check out their code based on some kind of release version label so I get a release instead of the latest, possibly broken code. aIt also takes forever when I've checked out the code from CVS in the past.

cvs -d server:[email protected]:/cvs co -r prod-263-java118 limewire

all releases are named: prod-[version]-java118

Or you could just cough up $9.50 for the pro version