BitTorrent Loses Recent CEO, Adds Crypto-Currency To uTorrent (variety.com)

Longtime BitTorrent executive and recent CEO Rogelio Choy left the company just 6 months after its acquisition by blockchain entrepreneur Justin Sun. Coincidentally, Choy's departure comes just as BitTorrent is doubling down on blockchain tech: The company announced Thursday that it is adding a crypto-currency to its popular uTorrent client.

From a report: Choy had been BitTorrent's chief operating officer from 2012 to 2015. After a 2-year stint at an on on-demand startup, he rejoined the company in 2017 as its CEO. His departure was confirmed by a company spokesperson Thursday, who said that he "decided to pursue other opportunities." One possible point of contention is BitTorrent's increased focus on crypto-currencies: The company announced Thursday that it was adding a crypto token to its popular uTorrent Windows client. The token will initially allow uTorrent users to achieve faster download speeds. The exact reasons for his departure are unknown at this time, but a source close to the company suggested that there had been disagreements about the direction of the company.

Comments

Could be big.

[NFN_NLN]

If the intent is to have leechers send microtransactions to seeders this could be big news. Seeders dropping off is the Achilles heel of peer-to-peer file sharing.

qBittorrent

[Anonymous Coward]

https://www.qbittorrent.org/

"The qBittorrent project aims to provide an open-source software alternative to ÂTorrent"

Works better for me. Ignore currency miner appplications wearing the skin of well known products, and use community-focued open source tools wherever you can.

Re:qBittorrent

[thewolfkin]

https://www.qbittorrent.org/

"The qBittorrent project aims to provide an open-source software alternative to ÂTorrent"

Works better for me. Ignore currency miner appplications wearing the skin of well known products, and use community-focued open source tools wherever you can.

ugh.. oh man but I prefer the uTorrent UI so much. I've tried so many alternative BT applications and they all suck at having a tight UI except for utorrent even with the bloody ads that for whatever reason pimp my utorrent isn't removing anymore.

Re:qBittorrent

[Kjella]

ugh.. oh man but I prefer the uTorrent UI so much. I've tried so many alternative BT applications and they all suck at having a tight UI except for utorrent even with the bloody ads that for whatever reason pimp my utorrent isn't removing anymore.

I see the qBittorrent UI about two seconds every time I add a torrent file and five seconds when I launch a finished file. Why do you spend enough time with it to care?

Re: qBittorrent

[c6gunner]

Mine misteryously stopped working a couple years back and started throwing some python errors. I reinstalled it a few weeks ago thinking a newer version might have resolved the problem ... and it's still throwing the same damn errors. Would love to try it again but it just won't work, and support is nonexistent.

Re:qBittorrent

[thewolfkin]

ugh.. oh man but I prefer the uTorrent UI so much. I've tried so many alternative BT applications and they all suck at having a tight UI except for utorrent even with the bloody ads that for whatever reason pimp my utorrent isn't removing anymore.

I see the qBittorrent UI about two seconds every time I add a torrent file and five seconds when I launch a finished file. Why do you spend enough time with it to care?

because I do things like actually USE my bittorrent client. I sometimes download mega packs and priorotize or deprioritize. I use the pop up download viewer so I can keep track of what's going on with a download when I'm not live on the client. Yeah maybe if you torrent once a month it might not matter to you but most of us need more interaction than that. Honestly if you need so little interaction you might be better off with something like Transmission which has a poorish user interface when you're working with a lot of torrents but it's perfect for light use

This is not the first time

[Ecuador]

This is not the first time utorrent has "adopted" crypto-coin tech. They are known to bundle Litecoin miners with their torrent client and install it covertly, something that has forced most self-respecting torrent communities to ban utorrent (at least versions after 2.2.1).

Re:This is not the first time

[Highdude702]

Deluge/Deluged is still better.

Great idea...not

[hAckz0r]

I don't think for a moment that people will just be buying "bandwidth" with this.

Now when you download somebody's digital life works, or other intellectual property, in the form of torrented movies or games, etc. some other unknown third party can directly profit by making it available to you for a little bitcoin? You used to get all this stuff for free, but now there are profit motives involved as well. Who would have thought that some third-party person would eventually learn how to directly profit off of someone else's digital demise. The black market is going to eat this up. All it takes is a little free money to screw things up royally for everyone.

Re:Great idea...not

[Zocalo]

Now when you download somebody's digital life works, or other intellectual property, in the form of torrented movies or games, etc. some other unknown third party can directly profit by making it available to you for a little bitcoin?

I think you missed the part about the utility of having your torrenting of somebody's digital life works, or other IP, permanently recorded in a blockchain to the MPAA, RIAA, and their like. Sure, if you want that *NIX ISO or some Creative Commons a little quicker then perhaps, but anyone with a clue who wants to commit a little copyright infringement is going to avoid this - and, if they're paranoid enough, the client too - like the plague.

Re:Great idea...not

[Kjella]

I don't think for a moment that people will just be buying "bandwidth" with this.

This is already the business model of most premium file sharing hosts. You get very slow/limited download for free, allegedly you pay for bandwidth. Those who provide premium links that drive a lot of traffic get kickbacks. Guess what most popular links are? This looks like the same principle just with less desirable protocols and less plausible deniability.

Re:Great idea...not

[Kjella]

What, is utorrent going to arbitrarily slow down ALL traffic if you don't buy a token? (...) So this is some convoluted way of bribing seeders to bump their bandwidth to you. Why would you do that when you could just use any other torrent client on the planet and say fuck utorrent users altogether?

Because those "other torrent client" seeders haven't got any reason to stick around so the torrent is quickly abandoned or left incomplete if it's not very popular. I assume the theory here is to create users seeding lots of torrents at very, very low speeds fishing for crypto currency. The positive side is that it could keep a lot more "long tail" torrents alive, the negative side is that uTorrent users could end up hoarding bandwidth for coin rather than seed for free.

Re:Great idea...not

[Falos]

If the coin is arbitrarily exchanged, sure.

If the coin is redeemed only through seed/leech mechanisms/priority/whatever, you might as well have a black market for internet points.

Well, okay, technically you can buy socnet likes and shit, but you get my point.

Why the fuck does anyone use uTorrent?

[o_ferguson]

You can't even set it to leach at 1k upload max. Just use Bittorrent - you know, the actual bittorrent software. uTorrent is a fucking joke already.

Re:Why the fuck does anyone use uTorrent?

[Aighearach]

bittorrent is what people call the technology, so don't expect people to even know you're talking about somebody's Brandybrand(TM). They should choose a new brand, one that is whimsical instead of functional. That's true even if their old brand was originally whimsical before it became functional.

And in any case, deluge is way better.

Re:Why the fuck does anyone use uTorrent?

[o_ferguson]

No deluge throttles your D/L if you throttle your U/L. I use Deluge when I'm seeding something, but not as my regular leacher.

Re:Why the fuck does anyone use uTorrent?

[Highdude702]

I have never had this happen ever. I think you are either mistaken, or your ISP is fucking you. Try full stream encryption.

Re:Why the fuck does anyone use uTorrent?

[o_ferguson]

Whatever dude idgaf it did it for me and Bittorrent's client doesn't. I have no need to test it further.

Re:Why the fuck does anyone use uTorrent?

[Highdude702]

So, your ISP throttles torrents, you blame torrent client... proceed to use torrent client that forces ads and now is going to make you pay for bandwidth. lol have fun.

Re:Why the fuck does anyone use uTorrent?

[o_ferguson]

No, my ISP doesn't throttle shit and I don't pay per use for bandwidth. I used the software you are dick-riding. I saw the results it produced, and they were inferior. Please fuck off.

Re:Why the fuck does anyone use uTorrent?

[Highdude702]

Wow don't cry about it. I simply said you're mistaken as I said I have multiple torrents seeding with upload limits set. Still max my connection(100mbit) using deluged As I type this. So you get mad and throw a fit because you're wrong. I bet you have a lot of friemds..

Re:Why the fuck does anyone use uTorrent?

[Aighearach]

No deluge throttles your D/L if you throttle your U/L. I use Deluge when I'm seeding something, but not as my regular leacher.

Not correct. Many clients show preference for other clients that are actively uploading. If you don't even upload while you download then you're not a full participant in the swarm. Each client limits the number of other nodes that it connects to. Strong preference is of course given to clients that are available to download from.

For example, if you only connected to clients that were downloading, your own download stay at 0%, and you'd have nothing to share. When you're uploading fast enough to stay in another node's group of connected nodes, then you're both uploading and downloading at the same time, so you're both actively maintaining a spot in each other's connection pool. If you're only downloading, you're only downloading from the original seeder; and that person's client is trying to stay connected to the higher quality nodes that are distributing the data down the tree.

It is basic and obvious; you have to upload at some minimum speed on a per-node basic for those nodes to notice you exist and to consider you a useful part of the swarm. So turn down the max number of upload slots so that you can give full upload speed to a few nodes at a time, and you'll find those needs keep you in their connection pool more often.

Deluge gives you complete control over the fine details, you don't have to wonder if it is slowing you down. You just have to learn enough about the technology to figure out how to match the settings to your available resources. You probably only need to turn down the number of upload slots, so you're not spreading your upload bandwidth between too many connections and causing them all to think you're too slow. Even with 10% the upload bandwidth as download, this works really well and you should have no problems. Just make sure that you also have 10% the upload slots as download slots. It also helps in most cases to limit the total number of concurrent connections to under 100; I use 35 total, and 2 upload slots. I have no trouble using all my available download bandwidth with those settings, and my ratio stays really really low, I'm still mostly only leaching. And yet, torrents with low numbers of slow seeders, then my ratio goes up and everybody wins and we get our download.

Re:Why the fuck does anyone use uTorrent?

[o_ferguson]

Jesus fucking christ. Are they paying y'all to pimp Deluge now. Bittorrent, fresh install, load up one torrent from a magnet. Throttle UL's to 1kbps. DL speed stays close to my pipe speed. Same thing with Deluge, my DL drops to about 10kbps tops.

Re:Why the fuck does anyone use uTorrent?

[Aighearach]

Look, asshole, do you really get paid to have opinions on the internet?

If yes, go to "shut up troll." If no, go to "fuck off, why did you think other people do?"

It is fucking open source. It doesn't benefit if you use it, or don't use it. There is absolutely fucking nothing to shill for unless you're impressed by a number on a screen that increases. If you learned some programming, you could just make your own number display that increments as high as you want.

You respond to attempts to educate you with details by being a dumb-ass. That's why your DL drops. Fuckin' morons, there is just no shame anymore in being this stupid.

Re:Why the fuck does anyone use uTorrent?

[o_ferguson]

I'm sorry, where did I ask to be educated about Deluge? I didn't. I specifically asked a question about uTorrent, which NONE OF YOU ASSHOLES answered.

Re:Why the fuck does anyone use uTorrent?

[Aighearach]

You didn't ask any question. You gave your opinion, other people gave other opinions, then you started whining and lying about deluge.

You needed education, because you were whining in public about stuff that isn't broken, or even hard, you just didn't know how to do it. And you're being an asshole too, bug that's OK. Being whiny+ignorant+dishonest is a really lame combination.

Being wrong and not even having asked or listened?! Are you sure you're a nerd? Are you sure you matter?

Re:Why the fuck does anyone use uTorrent?

[o_ferguson]

Are you fucking illiterate? "Why the fuck does anyone use uTorrent? " It's the headline ON YOUR OWN RESPONSE. Don't tell me I didn't ask a question when I clearly did, you jackanape.

Hasn't been worth using in a while

[DarkRookie2]

Since, what, 1.7? 1.8 maybe.
I pretty sure that was the last version that didn't have any ads.

Re:Once

[LinuxIsGarbage]

Money is involved, people have a reason to get interested and take their cut. Cue death of uTorrent.

Given the malware they've been bundling in their installers for years, I'm surprised they aren't already dead. I abandoned them over 5 years ago.

This could be interesting

[AHuxley]

The moving of content and payments away from traditional services.
The artist/creator gets funded away form the politics of banks, CC, membership platforms, social media.
The user has their own bandwidth move the content globally.

"The token will initially allow uTorrent users to"

[guacamole]

The token will initially allow uTorrent users to achieve faster download speeds.

WTF does this mean? On a good day, with many peers, the bt client should download fast enough to saturate a typical home broadband connection (in the US at least). Are they now going to make the downloads artificially slower so that people pay for faster downloads?

Re:"The token will initially allow uTorrent users

[Highdude702]

I've seen large torrents saturate 10gbps datacenter links. IMO it is them saying they're going to throttle downloads otherwise.
They are at least giving an incentive to throttle your seeds if you don't pay. Which defeats the purpose anyways.. Maybe the R/MIAA have a part in this?

Re: Shitcoin

[johnsie]

Barbra Streisand https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Sad what utorrent has become

[iampiti]

utorrent, another example of great software being turned into crap by greed.
Thankfully, a bittorrent client isn't something as complex as an office suite so there're plenty of alternatives that're as good or better than utorrent ever was.
So, if you keep using it it's your fault.