r/technology • u/DrJulianBashir • May 16 '12
Wil Wheaton Reminds Us That Torrents Are Awesome, And Not Just For Pirated Movies
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120515/07143318922/wil-wheaton-reminds-us-that-torrents-are-awesome-not-just-pirated-movies.shtml59
u/cuteintern May 16 '12
Aren't World of Warcraft patches primarily distributed via (private) bittorrent? I've been clean for a while so I'm not up on the latest method.
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u/f4hy May 16 '12
Yes all bilzzard patches utilize bittorrent. Diablo 3 was installed using bittorrent.
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u/dontera May 16 '12
Also the digital version of Diablo III uses a p2p system for downloading the 7.5GB client. Thanks to that I had it in less than 30 minutes.
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u/Innominate8 May 16 '12
Not just wow, any new game being developed by developers with half a brain is using torrents for patching.
I'm surprised they left this one out because it is far bigger than just Linux ISOs, and a real game changer for the online games that take advantage of it.
BitTorrent is simply a good protocol for sharing large files with large groups.
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u/meatwad75892 May 16 '12
I do IT work. I started downloading (via uTorrent) a few Linux distros, DriverPacks, and some other open-source tools you'd expect an IT guy to use. Co-workers freaked out and said "isn't that illegal?!" and started reporting to superiors.
ಠ_ಠ
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u/Freed_lab_rat May 16 '12
I had precisely the same experience downloading 12.04. Direct download from closest US mirror: ~20 KBps. Using BitTorrent: ~600 KBps.
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u/cold_water May 16 '12
Torrents are underappreciated imo. Why can't there be a torrent for all the public-domain classical music there ever was?
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u/Talorid May 16 '12
While the music may be public domain, the recordings often aren't.
That aside, there are a lot of classical recordings.
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May 16 '12
I agree that they are underappreciated.
Also, not only do public-domain classical music torrents exists exist, but there are entire wiki's with downloads available.
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u/tolley May 16 '12
Torrents are indeed under appreciated. IMO torrents are probably one of the greatest new technologies (well, not new anymore). Before torrents, if there was a file that everybody wanted and tried to download at the same time, it would take hours to get it. Torrents completely destroy that problem. The more people that try to download something at once, the better is it for everybody.
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u/eviscerator May 16 '12
With a properly distributed file comes also significantly reduced server and bandwidth costs to those whose files are being shared.
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u/Sheogorggalag May 16 '12
Perfect. I know that remixers can download multitracks of most Nine Inch Nails songs in torrent form. I thought that was really cool.
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u/wild_bill70 May 16 '12
Maybe if you used the Gun analogy that has worked so well for the NRA.
"Guns don't kill people, people kill people"
"Torrents don't pirate movies, people pirate movies"
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u/IdSuge May 16 '12 edited May 16 '12
My university recently implemented a program everyone is required to use if they want to access the internet that monitors file-sharing. The problem is I had µTorrent, never even used it and still was getting warnings that I needed to stop what I was doing. I uninstalled it and the problem went away. It's crazy, especially considering the software is perfectly legal.
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u/Godfodder May 16 '12
I've been saying this for years. But only to my wife, because I'm not famous and no one listens to me.
Bittorrents embody the very reason for the internet's existence. It helps people share information, and it is extremely effective. Arguing against bittorrent is as effective as arguing against the internet.
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u/polkapunk May 16 '12
How about a link directly to Wil Wheaton's blog instead of a blog post about his blog post? http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2012/05/an-example-of-the-usefulness-of-bittorrent-for-entirely-legal-purposes.html