Archive for March, 2011

Author Blazes New Path for Book Publishing with ‘Captive’

by BitTorrent on March 31, 2011 in Featured Content with 7 Comments

Over the past six months, we’ve worked with an ever-increasing stream of filmmakers and musicians to spotlight their content to our community. The goal is to experiment with different technologies, programs and platforms to help artists connect directly with you, and just as importantly help you discover great new content. 

As we continue to build out the App Studio and our artist programs, we’re also listening to feedback from you about what you are looking to download. Armed with your iPads and Kindles, books are repeatedly high on your wish list.

Today, we’re really excited to partner with our first author, Megan Lisa Jones, to distribute her book Captive. It’s a fantastic psychological thriller with a very timely storyline of political intrigue amidst terrorism and captivity. Download it free today. The torrent is here, or simply install the app in your client’s App Studio – you’ll love it. Want a physical copy? Buy it at Amazon (reviews too).

One of the things we really like about Megan is her adroit understanding of technology. She gets the fundamental technological benefits of BitTorrent – how files can be downloaded ultra-fast. She also believes that publishers must embrace technology and the Internet audience, and work with it. We applaud her decision to help us continue with our experiments and blaze a new digital trail for authors. 

Check it out and let us know what you think! And while you’re at it, go download some of our other recent releases, such as the awesome film Zenith (Part 1) and Sick of Sarah’s indie-rock album “2205.” Plus, don’t miss Episode 3 of Pioneer One, just released earlier this week by our friends at VODO!

The Curious Case of Caps and Congestion

by BitTorrent on March 23, 2011 in Other with 4 Comments

If you are interested in data caps and network congestion challenges, GigaOm graciously allowed me to share my thoughts today in a guest post (full version available here).

In a nutshell, I believe data caps will do nothing to solve the congestion challenges. ISP bottlenecks almost exclusively occur at peak times. Even if your monthly usage is capped, will you stop using the Internet during the Internet’s rush hour? Of course not. You’re more likely to save your GBs for peak times.

I also proposed two ideas that together would significantly help ISPs. The first is voluntary traffic management on behalf of applications and software service providers. For example, thanks to BitTorrent’s µTP protocol released last year, our traffic doesn’t contribute to network congestion. Why? Because µTP can sense bottlenecks and self-regulates to avoid contributing to congestion. uTP yields to priority traffic, much like traffic on the freeway yields to emergency vehicles. 

The second idea is congestion-based pricing. If we are truly trying to solve is peak hour congestion (and by relation preserving ISP fixed-cost network economics), then congestion-based pricing is one idea with enough merit to pursue, though it implies widespread changes. The IETF’s CONEX working group is looking at ways to expose congestion to the endpoints and intermediate service providers, which would be an necessary building block for congestion based pricing on the Internet. Like London toll roads that kick in during rush hour, peak hour pricing would give consumers and application providers incentive to use heavy-bandwidth services during off-peak hours. For example, rather than running your data back-up continuously, you might schedule it for late night.

A big thanks to GigaOm for giving me a platform to share my thoughts, and I welcome your feedback and ideas as well. BitTorrent’s in a unique position to understand global traffic patterns, and our goal is to be a part of the solution for a healthy Internet.

Eric Klinker, CEO

BitTorrent Ecosystem: Zenith Part One Takes the Spotlight as Sick of Sarah Passes One Million Downloads

by BitTorrent on March 16, 2011 in Featured Content with 4 Comments

Way back in January (seems like yesterday), our team was at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. There we unveiled the BitTorrent Ecosystem, an orchestra of software, devices and content.

Since then, we’ve successfully launched the Alpha of our upcoming Project Chrysalis software. The content aspect is also on a roll, and I thought I’d share some updates.

Today, we’re very excited to announce a new spotlight film, called Zenith (watch the trailer!). It’s a psychological thriller that’s been a huge hit with critics and film festival goers. Part One is available for download today, or download the App in the App Studio (found in your BitTorrent Mainline and µTorrent clients). We encourage you to contribute donations through our friends at VODO here.

Punk band Sick of Sarah has rocked the community and last week blew past the one million download milestone. Congratulations to the band! If you haven’t downloaded the album, go check it out in the App Studio (or download the torrent). Or hit up a concert in your neighborhood, and buy merchandise here. This is a major accomplishment and a thrilling development, as it illustrates the willingness of the BitTorrent community to support new artists. The album was released directly to the BitTorrent community and promoted on BitTorrent.com and µTorrent.com homepages; offered to new users during the installation of the BitTorrent Mainline and uTorrent software; and offered for free download in the company’s new App Studio. If you’re at SXSW, be SURE to check them out tonight at Cedar Street Courtyard at 8:30 p.m.

Recent spotlights have also included Pioneer One Episode 2 and Beyond the Game. More on the way, so clear out some hard drive space!

New µTorrent for Mac Beta

by BitTorrent on March 3, 2011 in Announcements with 5 Comments
With Apple continuing its run of new products, we thought all you Mac lovers might appreciate a round of upgrades for our µTorrent for Mac client. Today, we’re happy to deliver a new beta including many  of the features your PC-based compatriots love the most. Download the beta here, and please share feedback in our Mac forums.

Key New Features:

 

  • - µTorrent Remote: Simple, secure access to µTorrent from anywhere. No complicated network configuration required. Add and manage your torrents from any browser, mobile browser and even an Android native app. 

 

 

  • - Feeds: Subscribe and follow torrent RSS feeds right inside µTorrent. Set up Smart Feeds to auto-magically fetch torrents and start downloads for you.

 

 

  • - Scheduler: Now you can set µTorrent to start, limit and stop activity at regular intervals throughout the week. This is a valuable feature for those of you stymied by metered and shared networks.

 

 

  • - Advanced controls and info: Want more control and information about what’s happening behind the scenes? Upgraded logging features include much more detail. Also, feel free to access the double-secret-super-advanced preferences (they’re hidden behind CMD+OPT+,). Use sparingly and wisely.

 

Thank you in advance for giving it a try…we look forward to your thoughts.

Brett

Project Chrysalis Update: Alpha Arrives

by BitTorrent on March 3, 2011 in Announcements with 6 Comments
Did something new just appear in the forums? 

 

Yes! We just posted the very first build of the new BitTorrent client (codename Project Chrysalis). It’s our first preview version, an alpha test build. We posted it because we’re asking for your help.

Chrysalis is a major change for BitTorrent – a metamorphosis of features and style. The goal is make downloading torrents easier, intuitive and more streamlined, while retaining all of the power and sophistication you currently enjoy at the core. While this first version is intended to testing and vetting the overhauled user interface, more features are coming soon. Stay tuned.

 

In the meantime, if you love testing brand-new software and don’t mind testing an English version in a Windows environment (running IE 8), please give us a hand in polishing the final product. Download it today.

 

More details are available in the new BitTorrent forum. We appreciate all the feedback.
Simon