Any bittorrent users wanna help distribute VF stuff?

Having just (finally) discovered bittorrent, I have to say I like it. I think if I were to get people interested, I could share files much more quickly and efficiently than I am now. The way bittorrent works is this:
-you click an http:// link that has a .torrent file in it.
-you will get bittorrent's standard "where do you want to save the file" dialogue box
-once you choose a place to save the file, you start downloading it and... here's the kicker... automatically start uploading it to other people who are attempting to save it at the same time.

In other words you automatically share ONLY the file you are downloading. No other files are shared. It doesn't have any upload requirements or special shared folder. You are simply forced to use your outgoing bandwidth to share the file you happen to be downloading.

When you're done downloading it, you have a choice - click the "finish" button to immediately stop sharing it, or don't press finish... which automatically keeps the file open for sharing with others.

The downside to that is that it makes sharing several files clutter up your taskbar.

The upside obviously is that you're never forced to share much of anything and sometimes you'll get really nice speeds for a new and popular file that everyone's grabbing.

Ok, anyway, are many of you using this? If I shared VF files and like 100 other people were using it, a popular VF movie (or whatever) could be spread around pretty quickly and efficiently. Right now we have the VFDC media server and it's keeping people happy... but some files like the green book DVD were too popular to be hosted on that server (we'd be risking using up the bandwidth allowance because the file is huge, 2 700 meggers). Files like that would be ideal for bittorrent. It'd be fun to experiment and see what kind of speeds we reach for really popular files.

 

I use it, though my upload speed is the same as yours... I'd be willing to distribute larger VF-related files like tournament DVD rips etc. We'd need way more users doing it though.

On a side note, Bit Torrent is great for downloading all the new stuff, movies, games, etc. - since hundreds of people are downloading the same file at the same time. I'd still use KaZaA Lite for single mp3s and Direct Connect for full albums - music isn't that easy to find on Torrent, and even if you do find something, it may takes ages to download due to unpopularity.

 

I tried to use bitorrent a few months ago but didnt know what the heck to but now that you have expalained it i'll give it another go.

 

Though I'm leaving the 15th to go back hom, I'll be back the weekdn of labor day and be on the T1 here. I'd be more than hapyp to BT the files sometimes. I want the green boook vids /versus/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

Help me figure out how to get the Linux GUI going and I'll help. /versus/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

As far as I know bittorrent has no (or next to no) gui. You install it, and then when you click a sample bittorrent link like:

http://phobal.ca/suprnova/torrents/niyowins.exe.torrent

you will get a dialogue box that asks you where you want to save the file (after a half second of temp-internet-file-stashing). The dialogue box is pretty typical for just about any operating system with a GUI. All that remains once you start the download is a box showing you the progress meter and a few clickables like "cancel" and "about".

Anyway, good luck with the linux distro, and I hope it works. Don't give up on it. It's really reliable and efficient.

 

Linux version of Bit Torrent actually works better and it's way more stable, since it's the native platform for it. Windows BTs are only conversions of the main app.

 

You got a link? I installed it a while ago, but the README that came with it was total bullshit. Didnt' even tell you how to run it.

I've got no problem with running non-GUI programs... just need to know how to run the damn thing.

 

http://bitconjurer.org/BitTorrent/ - author's website
http://www.dessent.net/btfaq/ - Bit Torrent FAQ

 

Just to add to GLC's post, I use bittorrents for downloads, but make use of the application called BURST.

Burst Download Link

Basically this provides you with an interface to manage your ongoing torrent downloads.

You can keep track of each one indvidually in a summary tab in the application and can even control the upload bandwidth and max upload speed for each download.

Definitely recommend it if you are about to get into torrent downloads, /versus/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Cheers,