The Download Blog

The first beta of the next generation of the uTorrent client is available and contains some useful upgrades that address how torrenting has changed in the past few years.

uTorrent 2's bandwidth cap options panel.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

A transfer cap feature has been added, which will allow users who have cap-limited bandwidth to throttle down their torrenting habits and stay away from overage charges or having their service shut off. The feature offers graphs and can show your upload and download usage by megabyte. Most importantly, you'll be able to set it to shut down uTorrent once your limit has been hit. It's also configurable, so you can set it to turn off uTorrent by either upload limit, download limit, or both.

uTorrent also supports UDP trackers, which are a new kind of protocol for tracker communication that uses noticeably less processing power. As more trackers use UDP, it will allow them to continue to function on lower-end machines, which should result in faster transfers as the client itself won't be slowing down the torrent.

Another back-end change for version 2 is support for uTP, an alternative communication method for torrent traffic that allows the client to automatically regulate bandwidth usage so that your local network isn't adversely affected. Unlike the bandwidth cap, which is a cutoff point, uTP will make sure that other locally-running programs can still use your Internet connection without taking forever to resolve sites.

The full list of changes can be read here.

Open-source and cross-platform media jukebox Miro upgrades to version 2.5, and the improvements bring drastic changes to performance and useful tweaks to the interface. Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, Miro 2.5 introduces a database overhaul so intensive that users with large collections of video and music might face a delay of more than 10 minutes when they first launch the new version. However, Miro states that the delay should be a one-time event.

Miro's new Audio interface.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

Once you've installed the update and launched it once, subsequent restarts should find program launch speeds of two to four times faster than before, says Miro.

Along with the database refresh, torrent fans should find better support for those file types and keyboard shortcuts have been redone to make it easier to navigate the program. Developers will appreciate the new documentation for hacking the database, while podcast junkies finally get direct support for audio podcasts.

Interface enhancements include a new library UI, categorized by the simple Video, Audio, and Other labels. Downloading from YouTube has been made easier, too, with a new button to facilitate that feature when you add YouTube as a sidebar site. Audio playback has received some surface tweaks as well, making it easier to navigate.

The full list of changes and bug fixes can be read here.

Back in July 2008, torrent tracker The Pirate Bay announced plans to encrypt the Internet. That hasn't happened yet, but they plan to offer a VPN tunneling service to the public starting April 1.

Dubbing the service IPREDator after the controversial Swedish Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED) that takes effect the same day. IPRED's main goal is to make it easier for copyright holders to acquire the personal data of suspected illegal file sharers.

By offering a VPN service that doesn't log its traffic, IPREDator is simultaneously setting itself apart from other Web-based VPN services and offering what looks like a way to legally evade IPRED. Without logs, users will be able to exchange data without worrying about a subpoena revealing to whom the data packets were going, or what their contents were.

Other details about the new VPN service are thin, except that users will be asked to pay a small premium, approximately $6.77 or 5 euros, for the service. It's also not clear if the service will be compatible with other non-file sharing uses, or if it will try to compete with other encrypted tunneling services like LogMeIn or GoToMyPC.

The current beta is free and can be signed up for at the IPREDator site, although it's taking only 500 testers. If anybody does get a chance to use the beta service, please post about it below.

Vuze 4.2 offers users a drag-and-drop video conversion option.

(Credit: Vuze)

Continuing to stake out a different approach to torrents, the latest version of Vuze integrates an auto-conversion feature for both portable screens and your television. Available for Windows and Mac, Vuze 4.2 offers a device drag-and-drop feature that automatically converts a video torrent from its native format to an appropriate one for iTunes, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, and then pushes it to your device.

Still in beta, the new Devices tab on the left nav will ask you to install a transcoder and a plug-in. Devices then detects iTunes or any of the devices when they're connected to your computer. When you choose iTunes, Vuze will push the video without user input. From there, you can sync the video to your iPod or iPhone. Xbox and PlayStation users will see the video streamed directly from their PC or Mac to their game console.

Two weeks ago, when Vuze asked in a poll on its Web site which devices users most wanted this feature for, the iPhone and iPod won by a long shot. With more than 25,000 respondents, the only major system that wasn't included in this update was the Wii--so you shouldn't be surprised if Wii support is in the works. There's no word on automatic support for other popular portable video players.

The conversion process is not particularly speedy, so if you're more concerned with speed than convenience you might not find the update useful. However, Vuze is certainly giving users who are looking for something between the basic uTorrent and the robust Miro an interesting and feature-rich third option.

Amidst the crowd of peer-to-peer file-sharing options comes an attempt to return file-sharing to its utilitarian roots and away from legal quagmires by emphasizing file-publishing. Free and open-source, LittleShoot is the brainchild of Adam Fisk, a LimeWire developer who wants LittleShoot to be "like Google for files instead of Web pages."

LittleShoot manages torrents as well as scouring the Web for most major file formats.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

Where most P2P programs are standalone clients, LittleShoot is a browser plug-in like QuickTime or Shockwave that should work with all major browsers. It utilizes an AJAX-based interface at LittleShoot.org to search, publish, and download files. Once you've downloaded and installed the plug-in, it will take you to the LittleShoot.org search page unless you opt out. From there, entering any search term will return results with hits from YouTube, IsoHunt, Flickr, Yahoo, and LimeWire. A SafeSearch option attempts to restrict inappropriate content.

The most recent version introduces torrent-handling abilities. Check out any torrent site, download the torrent, and LittleShoot will automatically start downloading it. LittleShoot lacks advanced features like throttling, but for a basic set-it-and-forget-it torrent client, it's not too shabby. Helpful links on the side make it easy to Twitter or Facebook the torrent, and a drop-down menu gives you access to dozens more sharing options.

Non-torrent files found by LittleShoot will open in a new window, but can't be downloaded directly.

Unfortunately, the publishing option wasn't working when I tested it. When you click "Browse," you can search your hard drive for files to share. Once you've chosen a file, you can tag it--however, the JPG and WMV files I tried to upload didn't work. Even with these drawbacks, LittleShoot looks like an interesting attempt to demystify file-sharing by making it more accessible than it's been so far.

When open-source video jukebox Miro was in beta and known as the Democracy Player, the biggest problem it had was stability. Graduating from beta fixed most of the problems, but not even a name change could erase the feeling that this Webware 100 winning program wasn't firing on all cylinders.

Miro's new interface is based on a faster-running foundation.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

In version 2.0 for Windows and Mac, all that's changed. At the top of the list of changes is a serious attempt to improve the usability. At least on my Windows XP machine, with 2GB of RAM, those modifications have paid off. The program flies now, where it used to struggle with takeoff. Using it all day, shutting it down, and restarting it intentionally, has produced no crashes or hiccups--it's as smooth as a CRT screen.

Miro 2.0 sports a pop-out button to watch videos while you browse.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The interface overhaul streamlines the design while keeping button controls in the same place, basing it all on widgets. It's not readily apparent what this means for the average user, because the workflow is practically identical to previous versions. Search for a video or channel, add it to the sidebar or subscribe to it if you want all content from that producer, and Miro begins to download the video. It defaults to delete videos after five days, but a button on the UI toggles a "save" switch.

Besides the interface, the other major change is that you can now pop out your playback screen from the main player. A button located near the controls at the bottom right of the window does the deed, so you can now continue watching videos--or at least playing them--while you surf in Miro for more even more vids.

Miro also defaults to grab HD content whenever available, including from YouTube. It also supports streaming Web sites, such as Hulu, and there's new support for audio podcasts as well. If you're familiar with previous versions, this one will be instantly recognizable, but if you're not you should still be able to use it without looking up instructions. If you're new to Miro, it does manage the all-important torrent. The new torrent engine is based on libtorrent, a faster delivery system than before.

The pop-out window offers a compromise between full screen and in-player playback.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The flaws left in Miro are minor. There's a lack of mouse-over labels, which would take the edge off the learning curve for new users or those who just can't be bothered memorizing what each button does. There are two search boxes, one on the sidebar and one at the top right of the main window. They both seem to do the same thing, so it'd be good if the designers could either label how they're different or get rid of one.

The new Miro is faster and easier to use, and worth checking out if you've dismissed it before.

If you're up on your pirate lore, or perhaps have your Pirates of the Caribbean plot flow-chart handy, you'll know that sea-faring criminals are no friends of Johnny Depp-devouring monsters. As it goes on the high CGI seas, so follow the stormy waters of the Firefox add-on world. Yesterday's Pirates of the Amazon plug-in, which adds torrent links to songs and movies in the Amazon.com store, is met today by The Kraken, a plug-in that adds Amazon.com links to torrent Web sites.

The Kraken adds Amazon results to MiniNova and The Pirate Bay searches.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The Kraken is extremely simple and there's no configuration required. When you visit popular torrent Web sites The Pirate Bay or MiniNova and search, Kraken will insert its own results box at the top of the site's search engine results that links back to Amazon.com. Kraken did not work with ISOHunt, Torrentz, or TorrentReactor when I checked them.

The plug-in defaults to showing only one result during your first search. To see more hits, click on the Show Top 10 Items for a longer list, or click on the Show All link at the bottom of the list to jump to the relevant Amazon.com page. Share opens a window to quickly e-mail off your Kraken results.

The Kraken obviously isn't going to change anybody's mind about torrenting copyrighted media, but it's encouraging to see that at least somebody out there has a sense of humor instead of firing off threatening and specious letters that probably cost more in attorney's fees than in recovering theoretically lost earnings.

Never let it be said that software publishers ignore the demands of their users, at least in the case of BitTorrent client Vuze.

Back in June, the popular BitTorrent client Azureus underwent some serious reconstructive surgery. The familiar layout of top buttons and a spreadsheet interface was wrapped up in a Web 2.0 package, tied off with a bow of peer ratings and reviews and an emphasis on video content. The old UI was kept but de-emphasized, and the application was renamed Vuze 3.1.

Vuze 4.0 has been redesigned in response to user complaints.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Although it kept Azureus' blue frog logo, fans were not amused. Vuze 4.0 is a direct attempt to incorporate user concerns and still try to push the app forward, although in a blog post today, Chris on the Vuze blog confirmed that the new silhouetted look of the frog is not going anywhere.

On to the important stuff. The new Vuze follows in the footsteps of iTunes, so if you're new to torrents the learning curve will be less steep than it was in Vuze 3.1. There's a menubar on the top, with a sidebar on the left for managing torrents and videos. Where you might expect album art in the old iTunes 6 layout, you've got a Friends panel for adding people to share your torrents with.

The search bar at the top of the central pane leads the eye directly to the rolled-in playback controls, and feels modern and slick. ShareThis has been built-in, and the former Advanced tab has been renamed My Library. Newbies will appreciate the three-step tabbed tutorial that launches in the main pane, and even experienced torrenters should find it helpful for getting their bearings in an entirely new layout.

There are some other slick touches to the client interface. F7 toggles the sidebar, a useful arrow makes it easy to hide the Friend pane, and using the hotkey combo CTRL+ 2, 3, 4, or 5 reveals a series of otherwise hidden panes. My Tracker, My Classic-Shares, Console, and Statistics are also available under Tools on the menubar. These panes open organically in the main program window or on the sidebar, and have been baked in well. They don't look like afterthoughts or what-the-hecks.

There are several useful new features. First off, Vuze users can now search a multitude of torrent trackers from within the Vuze interface. In addition to the Vuze tracker, users will see results from MiniNova and other independent trackers. Customizable search templates are not available, but you can now set up a private tracker that supports usernames and passwords. Subscriptions have also been revamped, with the ability to share anonymously and the ability to find a file that's part of somebody's torrent, and subscribe to just that file in that torrent.

Memory usage has always been an issue with Vuze and Azureus. The old Azureus clocked in at around 50MB when going full bore, and the new Vuze is around double that. It's still not as slim as some of the other torrent clients out there, but very few offer similar features. If anything, the new Vuze is most similar to open-source Miro, which is more of a multimedia player with torrenting support features.

If you're not into toolbars, watch out during the installation process for the Vuze toolbar and the Ask.com toolbar--both are opt-out. Even with those hang-ups, the new Vuze works well, has a slick design, and should appeal to torrenters who are looking for a bit more panache in their BitTorrent client.

A pre-release alpha version of a Mac version of uTorrent, the popular BitTorrent client for Windows, has been leaked to the public.

The details window of uTorrent's Mac client, now confirmed to be in alpha.

(Credit: TorrentFreak)

Available from the Swedish torrent Web site The Pirate Bay, the Cocoa-based client has been expected since 2006 when BitTorrent bought uTorrent and promised to develop a Mac version. There was little said since then, until this past August when uTorrent developer Greg Hazel announced that a Mac version would be ready ''in a few weeks,'' according to the torrent news Web site TorrentFreak.

Simon Morris, BitTorrent's vice president of product evelopment, responded to the leak by saying that the version currently in the wild was not supposed to get out and is not recommended for use, although he hopes that people now believe him when he says that there is a Mac uTorrent client in the works. There is an official notification list for eager users available at the uTorrent site. http://mac.utorrent.com/

Certain key features don't work yet, such as searching. Comments about the app on The Pirate Bay confirm its bugginess. So far it only seems to work on Intel-based Macs, and only those running OS X 10.5 or higher. Because this is an extremely early build of the client, it's not clear at this point how it will stand up to established Mac torrent clients such as Transmission, how it compares to its Windows sibling, or even if this means that a BitTorrent-branded Mac client is in the works.

Ironically, you'll need a torrent client to download this torrent client, since it's only available from a torrent Web site.

[Via TorrentFreak]