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BitTorrent Chat Demystified

Posted by timothy on from the like-chat-roulette-but-different dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Can you really do group chat with no central server? BitTorrent's Patrick Williams has developed a new app that leverages a distributed architecture to eliminate the need for any servers — even to host a buddy list. He says magnet links are the key."

4 of 71 comments (clear)

  1. Magnet links by jmitchel!jmitchel.co · · Score: 4, Funny

    Magnet links, how do they work?

  2. I did it at Apple in 1991 by hchesley · · Score: 5, Informative

    Reference: Harry R. Chesley, "Asynchronous Background Networking on the Macintosh," Develop 5, Winter 1991. It was called Rumor Monger.

  3. Can you? by JackSpratts · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yes, and it's called WASTE. Came out in '03 and I've been "running" a decentralized mesh non-stop ever since.

  4. IRC by wcoenen · · Score: 5, Funny

    Good old IRC isn't centralized either! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netsplit