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Ask Bram Cohen about BitTorrent
It's a clever P2P 'information broadcasting' concept, as the simple diagram on the BitTorrent home page shows. It's gotten a fair amount of notice, especially here on Slashdot. And reader Ignorant Aardvark wrote to us about BitTorrent sites disappearing, possibly because of RIAA/MPAA intervention, so this technology is now generating some controversy as well. The person behind BitTorrent is Bram Cohen, and he's agreed to answer 10 of the highest-moderated questions about BitTorrent you post here. So ask away (after reading the project FAQ and other info about BitTorrent and Bram, of course). We'll run Bram's answers as soon as he emails them back to us.
Ask Bram? I'm so stoked!
If your bitterest enemies are people who hack the heads off civilians, then I would say you're doing something right.
Do you have a new url for the Matrix Reloaded .torrent file?
Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball(TM)
Because it's easy to maintain!
[code]
10 find w@r3z
20 get w@r3z
30 post w@r3z
40 goto 10
[/code]
I remember certain adult movies being released to test out bittorrent. Why are you only allowing tests of rather tame isos now?
MS Word Clippy completely rocks. It is one of the best features of any MS product. Do you plan on including a Clippy knock-off to assist befuddled users?
As a corollary to this question: if you did indeed forsee illegal uses of BitTorrent, would you happily admit to it on the record in a public forum?
And if so: would be interested in some property in the Florida Everglades?
> Measure Twice, Cut Once, Swear like a Sailor, buy another.
Ah, so you installed a new shower curtain rod last week too, eh?
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
Because Python has good scale-ability! *ba.doom.ching()*
Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
I was reading the FAQ in order to formulate an insightful, provocative question, when I stumbled upon this tid-bit:
- Does BitTorrent contain spyware or adware?
- No, BitTorrent contains no spyware, adware, or any other kind of -ware.
I applaud you for avoiding many of the pitfalls of other computer projects by avoiding the plethora of "-ware" that poisins many a good idea, but have you run into any problems avoiding the inclusion of so-called "soft-ware" in BitTorrent?As a follow up, since BitTorrent is obviously not (per the FAQ) software, what is it? Is it, as I suspect, an amorphous semi-intelligent entity working on gathering it's resources in order to become the Supreme Master of All?
Thanks for your time, and for your great contribution to free
Just because I doubt myself does not mean I find your position compelling.
Bram Cohen
;)
Extracurricular activities:
1992-3
Co-captain of Math Team, Stuyvesant High School
1992
1st place team, New York State Math League
Individual High Scorer
1992
Passed American Invitational Mathematics Exam (AIME)
So how often did you get wedgies at your school? Curious nerds NEED TO KNOW!!
whoops... I called him Brain not Bram... my bad...
"Are you pondering what I'm pondering, Pinky?"
"Well I think so, Brain, but burlap chafes me so."
Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
That's pretty amusing.
Good job finding a username that borks the system :)
Maybe you should use BitTorrent to reduce your bandwidth load and costs.
This post contains benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.