Azureus - IMHO the best when it comes to torrents!

[brotherS]

Hi!

I want to recommend http://azureus.sourceforge.net/ - IMHO it's the best BT (BitTorrent) client around! It's Java-based and works on Windows, Linux and Apple, see for yourself how Azureus compares to other BT clients: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_BitTorrent_clients

If you want to try it, please also read the great http://azureus.aelitis.com/wiki/ - if you can't find an answer for your problems there (unlikely ) there's even free live support in an IRC channel: http://azureus.aelitis.com/wiki/index.php/IRC

The latest official version is 2.3.0.4, if you like you can use the http://azureus.aelitis.com/wiki/index.php/CVS version with more features (I only use CVS versions).

Do *not* try it if your PC still only has 128 MB of RAM

[mouser]

i've been using the free bitspirit for a while - but have no idea how it compares.

[brotherS]

Azureus really is the Swiss Army Knife of torrenting I tried a few different clients myself, I was missing something everywhere.

[Mark0]

I second that.
Most versatile, feature packed and still easy to use for any BitTorrent things.

Bye!

[Carol Haynes]

Excuse my ignorance ... can someone explain the advantage of using Bit Torrents?

From what I have seen it appears to be distributed file sharing - but there seems to me to be a huge potential for getting nasty files and opening your system to hackers.

[Mark0]

BitTorrent is not really a file sharing program, like for example eMule, Kazaa, etc.
It's more a file transfer protocol (like FTP, or even HTML in some sense) that just happens to leverage on a file swarming / P2P tech to delivers files with great efficiency, even with "small pipes".

For example, it enable a small developer to deliver his last ZIP package to a giant audiences even from his small home server.

Since you (the BitTorrent client user) have to click on a .torrent link to begin the download, there's not really much more risks involved than downloading from any others "usual" HTTP/FTP links.

You may want to give a look to the BitTorrent home for a better explanation than mine!

P.S.
Sorry, I know my English is terrible. I hope to be understandable! I'm also glad that there's a Spell Check button on this forum!

[Carol Haynes]

Sorry, I know my English is terrible.

Hey don't worry - it's a hell of a lot better than my Italian ;-)

[mouser]

if you look at the politial blogs and stuff, a lot of video clips are shared via bittorrents because it means that one site doesnt have to host the file and provide all of the download bandwidth; instead the file is automatically spread around and shared by everyone downloading.

[mouser]

http://www.betanews.com/article/BitTorrent_Gets_875_Million_Backing/1127849732

BitTorrent, the peer-to-peer technology that has become one of the most popular methods for sharing files, has landed $8.75 million in funding, according to reports. Venture capitalist firm DCM-Doll provided the cash infusion and intends to bring BitTorrent to Hollywood's doorstep.

But whether BitTorrent can shed its pirate image and appeal to content owners remains to be seen. The technology is currently used almost exclusively for the illegal distribution of copyrighted material by end users. Recent statistics have estimated that 33 percent of P2P traffic is attributable to BitTorrent.

[Nighted]

I find the use of ed2k links and related clients (eMule) far superior to torrents which need a file to start...but that's just me.

[Mark0]

I think I have a new favorite in the BitTorrent clients arean:
uTorrent

It's a standalone EXE of less than 100KB, no installation needed, that eat up less than 5MB of RAM when running at full steam! Quite feature packed too (less than Azureus, but more than many others).

Bye!

[brotherS]

I still prefer the all those nice Azureus options

That one may be a good choice for old PCs without enough RAM though.