Dubbed “Share,” the new application is targeted at people who want to share large files with a private group of people, as opposed to uploading them via a public BitTorrent site for all the world to see. With the tagline “No more storage limits. No more fees” it also takes a stab at the increasingly popular cyberlockers.

Although the software uses BitTorrent under the hood, people are not required to create torrent files. Instead, they can select files on their computer, pick a person or group to share them with, and the application takes care of the rest.

According to BitTorrent’s chief strategist Shahi Ghanem the new application fits perfectly into a world where media files grow larger and larger by the day.

“With today’s consumer cameras/video recorders producing stunning quality, traditional media sharing requires concessions. With Share, you don’t have to crop photos, reduce resolutions or cut video length to easily share something with your friends, family and colleagues. It’s much faster than traditional ‘cloud’ solutions and easy for anyone,” says Ghanem.

Those with a keen eye for detail may see similarities between “Share” and the “Project Chrysalis” client that was released last year. The new application is an improvement over the Chrysalis client, directly based on input from users.

“After evaluating the user response and feedback, we realized we had the right goal, but users identified challenges with the implementation. Ultimately, we took what we learned and started again from scratch. Share was born,” Ghanem explains.

The Share project is currently in an early Alpha phase, but once it has matured the application will be integrated into the existing uTorrent and BitTorrent Mainline clients. Although some might find this useful, there is also a group of uTorrent users who would prefer to keep a lighter client.

In recent years uTorrent has been augmented with quite a few extra bells and whistles, features that some traditional BitTorrent users are not interested in. To address these concerns, we asked whether BitTorrent Inc. would consider releasing a more basic version of the popular client as well.

“We might consider it in the future – it’s definitely not out of the realm of possibility,” we were told. “Right now, even with the new features, the client is still very small and efficient on resources. We also review features very frequently, and if they aren’t being used, we are always open to removing them.”

A uTorrent “light” may indeed not be a bad idea to please the angry mob. Those who are less resistant to change are of course invited to give Share a spin.

Source: BitTorrent Releases New “Share” Application

The San Francisco based company claimed to have suffered significant losses and demanded compensation for the ongoing patent infringement.

The original patent at the center of the lawsuit is titled “Media file distribution with adaptive transmission protocols.” It describes a file-sharing system consisting of a file database, a transfer client and a distribution server.

“By making, operating, using and/or selling [uTorrent and BitTorrent Mainline] and or other software, BitTorrent has infringed and continues to infringe, contribute to the infringement, or induce the infringement of at least claim 1 of the ’944 patent,” the complaint read.

Judged by a layman’s eye the patent did not appear to apply to BitTorrent, but depending on the judge’s decision the case could have a disastrous impact on the BitTorrent community. More than 100 million people use uTorrent every month, half of all active BitTorrent users in the U.S. and Europe.

Luckily for them, it didn’t go that far.

Last week District Court Judge William Alsup signed a joint motion to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning the case is closed and can’t be refiled in the future. Each party further agreed to bear its own attorney fees and other costs. Additional details on the motivations behind the dismissal were not provided.

BitTorrent Inc. is happy with the outcome but didn’t wish to comment any further on the case.

“We were very pleased that the plaintiff dismissed its case with prejudice,” was all the company’s spokesperson told TorrentFreak.

Tranz-Send Broadcasting Network have also dismissed the case against Kontiki Inc., who it accused of a similar patent violation.

Kontiki offers a media content delivery technology that is hybrid of central servers and P2P transfers. Unlike BitTorrent Inc, Kontiki’s user base mostly consists of businesses who can use the software to stream and distribute video. According to the complaint, this software also infringes on the aforementioned patent.

The dismissal comes as a surprise. Court documents filed two weeks ago show that Tranz-Send anticipated that the case would be heard by a jury during a full trial. BitTorrent and Kontiki on the other hand preferred an early summary judgment and requested compensation for the costs they incurred during the process.

Despite the above and for reasons unknown, all parties eventually decided that dismissing the case was the best option.

Source: Patent Violation Lawsuit Against BitTorrent / uTorrent Dropped

By using a certified application users can search for files that are shared on BitTorrent, download these files, and play them directly on their computers, TV or mobiles devices. Everything is bundled into one system and downloaders don’t have to worry about conversion, codecs or file-formats.

Today BitTorrent Inc. and TV manufacturer Vestel announce the launch of the first digital TV that will come with this built-in BitTorrent support. By embedding BitTorrent technology directly into the the TV hardware the two companies hope to appeal to a wide audience of people who are looking for an even more simple way to enjoy downloaded content in their living room.

“Consumers want all types of personal media and Internet content in their living rooms and the TV remains the most desired device for consuming this digital media, regardless of source,” Vestel’s Hakan Kutlu said commenting on the announcement.

“BitTorrent certification helps our TV line meet this consumer demand and ensures that Vestel products remain at the forefront of technology innovation and adoption,” Kutlu adds.

The first BitTorrent certified TV will be demoed tomorrow in Berlin, Germany at IFA, one of the world’s largest consumer trade shows.

Aside from convenience, the main reason for BitTorrent Inc. to develop the new BitTorrent ecosystem is to simplify the downloading process for less tech-savvy people. Right now, many people drop out after installing a BitTorrent client because they find it too complicated to download and play content.

“The world of digital media has become unnecessarily complex and results in an increasingly fragmented consumer experience. People want access to their entire content library – personal media, Internet files, and artist approved content – regardless of source, media type, or file format,” BitTorrent’s chief strategist Shahi Ghanem said.

BitTorrent told TorrentFreak that more certified devices running Chrysalis software will be announced this fall. Two years ago BitTorrent already partnered with device makers such as Netgear and D-Link to bring BitTorrent to set-top boxes and NAS devices, but these don’t run on Chrysalis yet.

BitTorrent’s efforts to simplify the user experience and become more integrated into devices doesn’t mean that the development of uTorrent will stagnate. The Chrysalis project has replaced the former mainline BitTorrent client, but uTorrent will continue to be developed separately. And with more than 100 million active users a month, that is probably a wise decision.

Source: World’s First BitTorrent Certified Digital TV Launches

Over the years uTorrent’s target audience has also changed. BitTorrent was still a geek thing in 2005, but today its users include hockey moms, grandparents and many others who are not generally classified as computer experts.

This wider appeal naturally translates into user growth. Today uTorrent’s parent company BitTorrent Inc. confirmed to TorrentFreak that uTorrent has officially surpassed 100 million active users a month. By comparison, this is more active users than the much-hyped social network Twitter, and almost quadruple the number of users uTorrent had three years ago.

“This is a big milestone for uTorrent and adds to what has been a tremendous year of growth for the client,” Shahi Ghanem, Chief Strategist at BitTorrent told TorrentFreak.

We’re grateful for our users and we want to thank our global community for their amazing support. We take every bit of user feedback to heart when building uT and we remain committed to keeping it the world’s fastest and lightest BitTorrent client,” Ghanem added.

Although the 100 million milestone is already quite an achievement, one of the main challenges in the future is to keep even more newcomers on board. Previously it was reported that hundreds of thousands of people download uTorrent every day, but that a significant percentage of this group don’t become regular users.

To tackle this problem of “bouncing” users, uTorrent has made changes to its client in recent months that aim to keep more novices on board. An example is the “simplified view,” allowing users to minimize parts of the uTorrent interface to focus attention on the most essential client features. And that’s just one of the many changes the company has made.

Later this year will see another change in course for uTorrent as BitTorrent Inc. launches a paid version of the client. Branded “uTorrent Plus,” this version of uTorrent will come with several added features including the ability to convert videos and transfer files to external devices. More details on this project are expected to come out in the coming weeks.

By reaching 100 million active monthly users the uTorrent brand is stronger than ever before. It is also an indication the BitTorrent’s popularity in general is still growing, despite fierce competition from direct download sites and streaming services. Indeed, BitTorrent is here to stay.

Source: uTorrent Breaks 100 Million Monthly Users

There is no doubt that BitTorrent’s user base is impressive, but there is still a lot of untapped potential. Both uTorrent and BitTorrent’s mainline client have a relatively large bounce rate. That is, a large number of new users try the software a few times, but don’t become regular users.

“During 2010 less than a third of new client downloads resulted in a new monthly active user,” BitTorrent’s Simon Morris told TorrentFreak. “Plenty of people download and install the client, but can’t figure out how to use it, and then uninstall it very quickly,” he added.

To change this, BitTorrent Inc. have been working on a new project with the aim of keeping those users on board. Today marks the release of the first Alpha version of this new client – codenamed project Chrysalis.

“The best products out there don’t have any significant educational hurdles – it is just obvious how they work. This is what we’re ultimately aiming for with this new project, although it will take time to get there. The client we’re releasing today is just a starting point,” Morris told us.

Today’s release is a very early Alpha, but it should give a good indication of where BitTorrent Inc. is going with their new client. By default it is filled with several prominently placed ‘apps’, such as those from TED and VODO, which provide access to downloads. This means that users will see content right away when they start the client

One of the main reasons why some users don’t come back to the client is a perceived lack of content. New users sometimes don’t know where to find content so the current version of Chrysalis should address this issue to some degree. In addition, the simplified user interface should be more welcoming to people who are new to BitTorrent.

Overall the Chrysalis client behaves quite intuitively. Downloads are added by a single click and show only basic information. Once a download is finished media files can be launched in a media player directly from the app. Starting, stopping and removing files can be done with a single click as well.

The client is built on the uTorrent v3.0 codebase but in the future new and unique features will be added as well.

“The first project Chrysalis beta is aiming at cleaning up the overall user experience and transforming a technical and data-rich experience into a cleaner more media-rich experience. This in itself will not be sufficient to solve the attrition problem, but we hope it will establish a new platform on which to build,” Morris said.

Another subtle change compared to the BitTorrent Mainline client is the more prominent placement of the search box. Users can type in search terms here and are, interestingly enough, redirected to a Google search for torrents. A surprising move, since Google just banned the words ‘uTorrent’ and ‘BitTorrent’ from some of its services.

Chrysalis is not intended for the more experienced BitTorrent user, but BitTorrent hopes it will appeal to a wider audience than their other clients do now. If all goes well, the dummy-proof client will completely replace the current Mainline client, which currently is a clone of uTorrent.

Time will tell whether this approach will be effective. Luckily, uTorrent users don’t have to panic as TorrentFreak is assured that their favorite client will always be available and developed separately. The Alpha release of Chrysalis is available for download starting today, currently limited to Windows operating systems.

Source: BitTorrent Inc. Releases Dummy Proof Download Client

“Un’organizzazione con una velata brama di potere,” we read on the uTorrent website.

For those who don’t speak Italian, Google translates this sentence to “An Organization With a Veiled Desire for Power.” Another translation provided by an Italian friend of TorrentFreak is “An Organization With a Slight Craving for Power.” Both translations have pretty much the same meaning, but they also have very little to do with a BitTorrent client.

So what organization is uTorrent actually referring to? Is uTorrent’s parent company BitTorrent Inc. craving for power? We’re lost here.

The answer to the above question is not very hard to find of course. Those who look at the english uTorrent website will see the tagline “A Powerhouse With a Tiny Appetite,” referring to the client’s minimal use of resources and full set of features.

Somehow, this tagline has been translated into something that has little to do with the intended meaning. We’re not really sure where the mistake was made either, because most of the automatic translations come up with a different result. It’s clear though that the tagline got lost in translation, to say the least.

The error was mentioned last week to the staffers in the uTorrent IRC-channel, but thus far hasn’t been corrected. We just notified BitTorrent Inc. about the unfortunate message on their Italian page and assume that this ‘bug’ will soon be fixed.

Let’s hope they check with a native speaker next time, before putting it out to millions of people.

Source: uTorrent: An Organization With A Slight Craving For Power

The first new app added to the ‘market’ this morning is the VLC player app. VLC is a popular media player among BitTorrent users, and not just because it is free. It also includes a huge number of video codecs so it can play virtually every video file available.

With the VLC app, uTorrent users now have a shortcut to play media files in VLC directly, without having to open folders or even extract archives. Users only have to click on the app and it will display a list of recently downloaded torrents which they can play in VLC with just a single click.

Admittedly this app is not a technological breakthrough but it does save on time and annoyances, especially for those who have never used VLC before. According to BitTorrent Inc. “..it’s a perfect match to the varied file types in the BitTorrent ecosystem,” a description we subscribe to.

The second app that was launched today, named uCast, adds a new and interesting feature to uTorrent. With uCast, uTorrent users have the option to create an RSS feed of the (selected) torrents they are downloading, and share this with friends who are also avid BitTorrent users.

This enables users to easily share a selection of torrents without having to lookup the original torrent download links. The RSS feed, which BitTorrent calls a TorrentCast (example), can be easily imported into uTorrent or any other client that supports RSS downloads.

One of the best features is that new torrents can be added to the uCast feed later, by simply selecting a recently downloaded torrent from within the app. This makes sharing torrents with friends easier and a lot more convenient than it is now. It’s can be compared to a torrent blog, or a living mixtape as BitTorrent Inc. describes it.

“Your TorrentCast is like a living mix tape, because you can add files at any time and your friends will instantly get them. You can also open up your TorrentCast to collaboration, so your friends can also add files to it,” BitTorrent Inc. writes.

In addition to maintaining these TorrentCasts alone, users can also invite others to collaborate on the feeds. By entering a password others have access to the feed, and the option to add or remove torrents. This added social layer and broadcast functionality is by far the most innovative app we’ve seen from BitTorrent Inc. thus far,

It will be interesting to see how the two new apps are received by the public, but they are certainly more useful and promising than some of those previously announced. The TorrentCast app uses the uca.st domain ‘short url service’, and you’re of course free to share yours below.

The VLC and uCast apps are available now in the app market and both require the latest stable version of uTorrent.

Source: uTorrent Adds VLC Media Player and Torrent Broadcast Apps

In May, BitTorrent Inc. introduced its Idea Bank section, which allows uTorrent users to submit and vote for features, tweaks and ideas they would like to see implemented in their favorite client.

Since its introduction hundreds of suggestions have been submitted to the Idea Bank and these have been voted on by thousands of users. Already nearly 60 proposals have been accepted and implemented by the team and many more are pending. Below is an explanation of the Top 8 most voted-for-and-accepted additions coming to a uTorrent client near you soon.

1. uTorrent for Linux

As reported in June, uTorrent for Linux is finally on the way. With more than 5300 votes, this is the most popular suggestion received thus far.

“We’re making good progress on the Linux client,” reports site admin Firon. “Sit tight and we’ll have a client out soon enough.”

2. More detailed priorities for multiple files in torrent downloads

For torrents that contain multiple files, such as one for a music album with 10 tracks, at the moment it’s possible to force uTorrent to prioritize the download of those tracks, albeit primitively. Currently there are just three settings – low, medium and high.

“We’ll either add up to 16 priorities or have a per-torrent option to auto-prioritize the files in order,” explains Firon. “Though not the pieces, so we’ll still do rarest first.”

3. Send an email when a download completes

With increasing bandwidth and users increasing their set up knowledge, BitTorrent downloads are completing faster than ever before. However, with increased speeds comes an increased appetite for higher quality and therefore larger downloads, xvid versus DVD-size videos for example. Inevitably this means that users will be away from their machines when certain downloads complete. With email notifications, completion will be reported immediately.

“The current plan to implement this is to simply have a generalized, global option to auto-run an app after the torrent completes,” says Firon. “We’ll add a few variables to the existing run after function and make it global, so you can script it to your heart’s content.”

4. Only share files while the computer is idle

While some users will be sharing files all the time, many will want to use their full bandwidth for other duties while they’re sat at their desk. Inevitably full-scale BitTorrent up and downloading will affect performance unless the client is carefully configured. This solution will mean that only when a user is finished his work will file-sharing kick in. Firon reports that the feature will likely include a configurable idle period.

5. Scan for viruses when a download completes

Although there is less chance of picking up a virus when using uTorrent combined with a reputable torrent indexing site than other protocols, no method of file-sharing is immune to these threats. An automatic virus check will ensure that nothing slips through the net.

“The current plan to implement this is to simply have a generalized, global option to auto-run an app after the torrent completes,” says Firon. “We’ll add a few variables to the existing run after function and make it global, so you can script it to your heart’s content.”

6. Password lock uTorrent

Anyone with a shared computer or one within reach of an inquisitive child will be familiar with the fear associated with potential download interference. With the use of a password, torrent transfers can continue unabated and in privacy, no matter who is at the machine.

“This will be integrated with the boss key functionality, so you can use the boss key to ‘lock’ µTorrent,” explains Firon. “When you press it again, it will ask you for a password.”

7. Move torrent files and data with one click

Anyone who has needed to move their downloaded .torrent files and the associated data to a new place on their computer will know what a drawn out manual procedure it can become when lots of files are involved.

“Yes, managing files kinda sucks in µTorrent right now,” admits Firon. “We’ll try to get this done for 2.2 as well to make it easier. Set download location will probably be renamed and will move the content for you, all in one step. Oh, and we’ll make ‘Relocate’ on the Files tab work the same way.”

8. UNRAR and move files support

Anyone downloading large files split into multiple .RARs will be familiar with the associated unpacking, deleting and moving procedures. This new feature will allow those who don’t want this manual distraction to streamline the process.

“The current plan to implement this is to simply have a generalized, global option to auto-run an app after the torrent completes,” says Firon. “We’ll add a few variables to the existing run after function and make it global, so you can script it to your heart’s content.”

9. uTorrent will become Open Source!!

BitTorrent Inc. are certainly listening to their users and the Idea Bank is a great idea in itself, but don’t expect every suggestion to be implemented. Especially this one….

Source: Eight Cool New uTorrent Features Coming Soon

With uTP, uTorrent has become more ‘network aware’ as it will throttle itself if congestion is detected in the network. The uTorrent teams hopes this improvement will eliminate the need for ISPs to throttle BitTorrent traffic, while its users should see less interference with other local applications and possibly faster downloads.

As advertised, uTP does indeed sound like a much-improved version of BitTorrent, but the reality is more nuanced. Over the past month there have been a lot of complaints from users who have seen their speeds decrease dramatically due to the implementation of the new protocol and not all developers are that exited either.

Increased overhead compared to the older protocol is cited as one of the reasons for the speed issues and some ‘fixes’ have been suggested on the uTorrent forums. There is a great upgrade guide submitted by community member Rafi which tries to solve these issues, but in the end uTorrent should address these concerns themselves. By default, uTP should perform equally well or better than its predecessor.

One of the steps to improve the implementation of uTP has been taken this week as BitTorrent Inc. decided to open source the code. By doing so they are inviting other BitTorrent developers to help improve uTP and to implement it into other BitTorrent clients to increase compatibility.

“uTP continues to evolve, and open sourcing the code will be essential in its continued development and adoption,” BitTorrent spokesperson Jenna Broughton told TorrentFreak in a comment. In response to the critique about slower speeds, Broughton adds that “BitTorrent has always believed that being transparent with users about technology and product developments is key.”

“uTP is a smart approach to managing network congestion, and we are encouraged by the early results we have seen from independent tests as well as our own, which indicate that uTP does not degrade download speeds and may indeed be faster,” Broughton adds, without going into detail on the speed issues that have been reported by many users in the forums.

One of the reasons uTP has been developed is to make traffic shaping and BitTorrent throttling by ISPs obsolete. Unfortunately there has not been any feedback from major ISPs on these issues, so the magnitude of uTP’s effect on their networks remain unknown.

“We have not received any formal feedback from ISPs. Informally, several technical insiders have confirmed a noticeable shift in traffic from TCP to uTP, and they seem generally positive about the deployment thus far. Universally, they commend the spirit of cooperation in helping manage congestion on the network,” Broughton told us.

Although it’s widely appreciated that uTP is now Open Source, developers of other clients are not all that eager to implement it yet. Vuze, one of uTorrent’s major competitors, told TorrentFreak that they will keep an eye on how it evolves before they make any decisions. Others have pointed out that uTP still has a long way to go before it becomes mainstream.

That said, there are bound to be issues when one is trying to innovate. There are still a lot of issues to be addressed with uTP, the most important being good speeds for everyone by default. The future will tell whether uTP is really the improvement BitTorrent Inc. claims it to be.

Source: BitTorrent Open Sources ‘Improved’ BitTorrent Protocol

The Canadian Radio, Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is currently looking into the traffic management practices of Canadian ISPs. Several hearings were held to examine the Internet traffic management practices being used, and check that they are in accordance with the Telecommunications Act.

Although not invited to the hearings itself, BitTorrent Inc. filed a late submission (pdf) to the CRTC this week, standing up for Net Neutrality.

“The hearings have clearly exposed some highly discriminatory traffic management targeting the BitTorrent protocol, which is no surprise to our users in Canada,” Simon Morris, BitTorrent’s VP of Product Management told TorrentFreak. “We really hope the regulators will act in the interests of citizens, innovation and free speech, rather than in the narrow interests of monopolies,” he added.

Last year, the company was also actively involved in FCC’s investigation into Comcast’s BitTorrent traffic shaping. Not only are such network management practices a direct threat to BitTorrent’s business model, it also hurts individual users and other businesses.

“Economically, P2P enables a very cost effective means to reach an audience. Fewer computers to buy or provision means that media distribution is no longer the domain of those with deep pockets. P2P allows small Canadian companies, as well as individuals, to distribute their works through the Internet to a global audience at relatively little cost,” BitTorrent writes in its filing to the CRTC.

One other group of victims are independent artists, who publish their work on BitTorrent in increasing numbers. In the hearings the CRTC was already told that blocking or restricting BitTorrent traffic could mean that independent filmmakers are unable to publish their work.

But large companies are in the same boat. “P2P is not just the domain of the independent artists, even major media companies are coming to the realization that P2P technology provides a faster, more efficient, more reliable way to distribute mass media,” BitTorrent writes.

In their filing BitTorrent Inc. mentions CNN’s P2P powered stream of Obama’s inauguration as one example how P2P can benefit large companies. Canadian public TV broadcaster CBC also got a mention, as they used Mininova’s services to distribute

If ISPs have to manage their networks, they shouldn’t target any specific applications or transfer protocols. Discriminating against BitTorrent would hamper innovation and potentially impair freedom of expression, the company told the CRTC.

Source: BitTorrent Stands Up for Net Neutrality

On the one hand this offers newcomers to BitTorrent a familiar interface to find all sorts of torrent files directly from the uTorrent homepage. The search engine uses Google’s search algorithms to find .torrent files on sites such as The Pirate Bay and isoHunt. BitTorrent Inc. profits from this through search based ads that Google adds to the search results.

This seems to be a win-win situation for everyone but for reasons unknown, Google no longer allows uTorrent to use the custom search program. When entering a keyword into the search box on the website the following error is returned (see picture). BitTorrent Inc. has now removed the search box but they have no clue why they have this problem with Google.

Simon Morris, BitTorrent’s VP of Product Management told TorrentFreak that there is indeed a problem but that they yet have to find out the details. At this stage we can only guess at the reasoning behind the lack of functionality. Most BitTorrent sites are not allowed to serve Google ads because they link to copyrighted content, but since uTorrent was only linking to these sites indirectly through Google’s own search engine, this seems less likely.

Yet there are more BitTorrent oriented sites that have faced similar problems. The Pirate Google, another website that uses Google’s custom search had similar problems recently.

uTorrent’s search has been down for around 5 days now, so one could expect a technical issue to be resolved by now, but until we hear back from Google the actual cause is open to speculation. The net effect is the same though – uTorrent’s revenue from this source isn’t rising as planned.

Update: We heard from “The Pirate Google” admin that Google did indeed block inbound queries from his site. He found a temporary workaround but this proves that Google is actively blocking (these) torrent related sites. Don’t be evil?

Source: Google Custom Search Cuts uTorrent Off

In the tough economic climate, which already caused several layoffs at the company, BitTorrent Inc. decided that it was best to close their video store completely. Simon Morris, BitTorrent’s VP of Product Management told TorrentFreak: “After a great deal of soul searching we decided to close down the Torrent Entertainment Network content store.”

“Its about focus and economics,” Morris added. “We want to focus on core technology rather than merchandising and given the harsh economic environment, we can’t afford to continue to invest in endeavors that don’t come close to break-even.”

Together with the closure of their entertainment network, the company reintroduced its search portal for BitTorrent users. Unlike before, there are no torrents indexed or tracked by the companies servers. Instead, it uses a branded version of the Ask.com search engine, where BitTorrent sites are prioritized in the search results.

When BitTorrent Inc. had its own search engine, the company had an agreement with the MPAA to filter search results. According to Morris this is no longer needed now. “We agreed to filter search results when we were in the business of torrent search, but that work is also discontinued. This is Ask’s search engine, not ours.”

“The decision to work with Ask is simply an effort to provide people who come to download the client with a place to go next,” Morris added. While the search engine will generate some income, most future revenue is expected to come from content publishers that use BitTorrent’s DNA, and deals with device manufacturers.

Source: BitTorrent Shuts Down Video Store, Brings Back Search

Valleywag reports that the company has now decided to lay off its sales and marketing department, due to failing attempts to sell the entertainment store to Best Buy. This means that the development of uTorrent, specifically the long awaited Mac version, is not in danger.

The BitTorrent entertainment network was launched February 2007 and offers movie rentals starting at starting at $2.99. Before the store launched, BitTorrent Inc’s co-founder Ashwin Navin said that the store was going to compete with BitTorrent sites like The Pirate Bay and mininova, as he said, “If we’re not competing effectively with piracy, we’re not going to win.”

There never was any real competition however, mainly because the movies are infected with Windows DRM. The company never wanted to use DRM. In fact, Bram Cohen told TorrentFreak in an interview that the DRM issue is causing an awful lot of headaches, but that most of their content partners are insisting on it.

BitTorrent’s Ashwin Navin was a bit more outspoken about it. He said that DRM is “a time bomb waiting to happen,” and that it will inspire people to pirate content. One thing we can be sure of, it didn’t help to convert illegal downloaders to go legal.

If online video stores want to compete with their pirate counterparts, the pricing should be reasonable, the catalogue extensive, and all without DRM. The BitTorrent store failed to meet these standards, and unfortunately, 12 people lost their job because of it.

Update: In a comment received after publication of the article, Ashwin Navin told TorrentFreak that the layoffs are not related to the failing entertainment store.

Source: BitTorrent Fires 20% of Its Employees

Why would the company open source uTorrent?
There are many reasons for them to do so. One of the many advantages would be to get it quickly and easily ported to other platforms such as OS X and Linux, a task the company has promised to get done. “[uTorrent is] lacking an implementation for Mac and Linux. We will improve uTorrent in these arenas,” said Ludvig Strigeus, the developer of uTorrent in an interview that followed the announcement. Until now he has refused to release non-Windows versions of the client. Also, if uTorrent were made Open Source it would be a lot less likely for its development to stagnate or slow down, there would always be someone ready to maintain and improve upon it.

Reasons not to open source uTorrent
The motivation behind BitTorrent Inc’s acquisition of uTorrent could very well be to have a client that can be customised and morphed to integrate with the upcoming BitTorrent Video Store. If the company were to open source uTorrent, it would not be able to stop users from creating a “clean” version of it, ie. without any Video Store-specific features. This “enhancing” of uTorrent is something users of the client are dreading. A reader of TorrentFreak posted a comment in reaction to the acquisition announcement, “R.I.P. uTorrent!” In a discussion here at TorrentFreak, we came to the conclusion that adding a content store to the client won’t affect most users’ decision to use the program or not. iTunes is a good example of people using a program because of its features, not the openness of its source code. After all, even Azureus will soon have a bundled content store.

By acquiring uTorrent, BitTorrent Inc now has almost 50% of all BitTorrent users in its grasp. They’ve probably paid a hefty price for the client and it’s only fair if they choose not to make it Open Source. The company said in an IRC discussion that followed the announcement that the source code of uTorrent will remain closed for now, but gave no clues as to what their future plans might look like.

Source: Will BitTorrent Open Source uTorrent?

Windows DRM has been completely left behind in the portable media player market. The iPod can’t play content restricted (read: infected) by Microsoft’s little virus, and neither can Microsoft’s very own Zune! So, the only consumers who’ll be able to watch videos they have purchased from the BitTorrent Video Store away from their computers will be those who own Creative, Dell, Archos or any one of the other compatible devices. This is, assuming the content from the store will be protected with Janus, Microsoft’s Windows DRM for portable devices. If it isn’t, it won’t play on any portable device at all.

In September of this year Ashwin Navin, the co-founder of BitTorrent Inc said that his company foresees a future without DRM. Although, even then, the company had said that they would use DRM, Navin also made it clear that it would only be in the early stages. Let’s hope the POA hasn’t changed.

Navin made his standpoint on DRM quite clear when he said that “the bottom line is that DRM is bad for the content provider and it’s bad for the consumer.” About foreseeing a future without DRM, he said that he thinks “the future will not be marked by digital rights management. It will be marked by advertising-supported content that’s clear of DRM.” The inventor of BitTorrent, Bram Cohen too says that the company is “very concerned about the usability problems DRM introduces,” and that they are “educating [their] content partners about the lost commercial opportunity.”

To be fair, BitTorrent Inc is only walking down the path of limiting consumers’ rights because it is being forced to. The company is clearly against DRM. According to Cohen, it is the only way they have been able to strike deals with content creators. He says this is “at the insistence of [their] content partners.”

Source: BitTorrent Video Store to be Infected with Windows DRM