BitTorrent

I have been meaning to comment on Bittorrent for quite awhile (and I will still probably write a bit more on the subject later), but I have been motivated for a quick comment by a Slashdot post on a PCMag article. The PCMag article is a review of a couple clients (I usually use Azureus), once you get past the introduction. I just wan't to comment that Bittorrent is NOT illegal. It is simply a piece of software which connects peoples computers for distributed file sharing without a lot of work, and server load. The trouble is, that people use it to do illegal/bad things (like the screenshot provided by the article).  Because it is easy on the central server, bittorrent is actually a good way to obtain software, especially if you upload what you download. Large downloads, like Linux distributions and online (free/legal) tv shows often use bittorrent to cheaply distribute their content.

Some examples:
http://linuxtracker.org/
http://revision3.com (See my post a couple days ago)
http://www.pbs.org/cringely/nerdtv/

Often, bittorrent is faster than a normal download on popular things (the download speed is effected by the number of people uploading and the amount you are uploading), combine this with the advantages for the content distributors and you have good reason to give it a try, just be sure to forward the necessary ports on your router/firewall (6881-6999 by default, if I remember correctly). I will try and post some more info later, but the article listed above should get you started. If you are using a uPnP compliant router, many clients will take care of setup for you.

Sorry for the minor rant and enjoy your evening ;-)