The BitComet BitTorrent client makes some interesting new features and updates in its latest stable release, version 0.87. Unfortunately most of them are pretty bad in my opinion and detract from what a good BitTorrent client’s core mission should be — DOWNLOADING CONTENT!!

The first is the incorporation of a new “resource browser” that seems to be an IE clone, something that makes me as a Firefox user cringe just seeing it open on my screen. The developers cal it a way to “accelerate open web pages” but, first of all, IE is no way to do that, and secondly, why are they now concerned with web browsing?

I think the new sidebar ads may be a hint as to where BitComet is headed. It now sports “IN-CLIENT” ADS that actually made me angry after I installed and opened it up. I mean ads? C’ mon now. It’s hard to say that they should be holier than though considering BitTorrent Inc. has its own video store and Azureus has Vuze yet, at least they haven’t resorted to the lowest common denominator and spammed up their BitTorrent clients with ads and other junk.

Moreover, if you are currently using or were think about using BitComet I urge you to think again and run away as fast as you can. Compared to uTorrent, let alone Azureus, BitComet is the now the “Wal-Mart” of BitTorrent clients: cheap, ugly looking, and probably made in China.

Here are the release notes:

GUI Improved: add an option in BT task properties dialog to add this torrent file to my shared torrent list
GUI Improved: add “view task” command to the context menu of my shared torrent list
GUI Improved: add a filter in the toolbar of peer shared torrent list
GUI Improved: display peer shared torrent file number in peer shared node of fav list
GUI Improved: add an option to enable BT task search for HTTP/FTP download source in preferences dialog
GUI Improved: add commands to import/export task list and global settings under file menu
GUI Improved: add “rename task” function in context menu of task list
GUI Improved: detail error information will be displayed in tooltip when mouse cursor hover on the red-cross icon of a task which encounter error like disk full
GUI Improved: task rating information will be displayed in tooltip when mouse cursor hover on comment region of the task list
GUI Improved: add hotkey Ctrl+Home/End to move selected tasks to the top/bottom of task list
GUI Improved: support scroll information in all panes on which the mouse cursor is hovering by rolling mouse wheel
GUI Improved: add an options in preferences dialog to enable submit video file snapshot after task download finish
GUI Improved: add an options in preferences dialog to enable protection against ARP cheating attack from LAN
GUI Improved: new designed BitComet resource browser to accelerate open web page from BitComet
GUI Improved: improve displayed information layout in task summary pane
GUI Improved: add “minimize to system tray” to system menu of BitComet button in windows taskbar
GUI Improved: delete file check box in task delete dialog is displayed in red color
GUI Bugfix: View/download list/Columns menu does not work after switch UI language
GUI Bugfix: all tasks will be displayed as in queue if enabled auto-start task when download rate below specified value
GUI Bugfix: all tasks displayed in task list will be removed if launch clear recycle bin in recycle bin context menu even they are not in the recycle bin
Core Bugfix: fix a bug sometimes lead to memory leakage
Core Bugfix: handle some BT task with zero-size file incorrectly

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Billed as the “next evolution of quality broadband entertainment,” Azureus unveiled its new Vuze service today stocked with what it claims is the “largest library of Hi-def videos.”

Now I still don’t understand why Azureus has taken such a niche approach to content but, considering that it has to find a viable way to compete with the BitTorrent Entertainment Network, this just may be the way to go. I don’t know that Hi-def content is popular enough to make the service highly lucrative in the onset but, over the long term as the price of Hi-def equipment lowers in price, it will certainly find itself in a better position.

Formerly code-named Zudeo, the site claims to attract more than two million visitors a month. What they do when they’re there isn’t specified by the company, though I’d be willing to bet that a good number if not majority is there to simply download the BitTorrent client server rather than to purchase video content.

Vuze now offers dramatically enhanced features and premium content from around the world, including the hit BBC television series Sorted. Azureus also announced that it has entered into an agreement with Showtime Networks for distribution of its original programming, which includes shows like Weeds, Dexter and The L Word (I recommend checking out Dexter if you haven’t already).

Vuze breaks new ground by offering a powerful tool set of enhanced features and functions that enable content providers to easily publish, showcase, and distribute high resolution, long form content in High Definition or DVD quality over the Internet. The big push, in addition to the industry produced HD content, is for high quality self-published content by the community at large.

“Vuze recognizes that the next generation online video experience lies within the integration of licensed and self-published content showcased in a theater-like viewing environment,” said Gilles BianRosa, CEO of Azureus. “The millions who make up the Vuze community–publishers, editors and viewers–can share long-form video and download licensed content, and experience it in High Definition on their own computer or plasma screen.”

Additional enhancements to the Vuze open entertainment platform include a completely revamped navigation system and search engine, designed to accommodate the massive influx of content from publishers, large and small, and help viewers quickly find what they want.

It also provides more options for publishers to syndicate and monetize their content through rental and purchase models. The entire experience, from search and discovery to payment, download and play, has been tightly integrated into the application. Publishers can also distribute their work directly from the application. Vuze also serves as an alternative, low-cost distribution and marketing platform for content providers to distribute content to a global audience.

Azureus also notes that Vuze will make premium content “…available at a very low cost, and offer several popular TV show episodes for free.” The details of which are unstated.

Its current content partners include BBC Worldwide, Showtime Networks, A&E Networks (including A&E, History Channel, and Biography), Bennett Media Worldwide, G4 TV, National Geographic, and Starz Media so they do have some decent content to work with.

Obvious DRM and pricing concerns aside, when it comes down to it, it’s all about content, content content first and foremost. Nobody’s even going to stop and take a look if all a service has to offer is second-rate shows from second-rate channels. Vuze seems to have a decent collection of content at the moment but, whether it’s enough to lure sufficient customers is unclear. I don’t think “self-published” content will ever have the impact that they hope it will and so I think that it’s important that they focus on continuing to build a network of content providers.

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/tech_news/Azureus_unveils_Vuze’;

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SOULXTC: “walkin’ the streets of P2P”

It incorporates it’s new video sharing site Zudeo.com directly into the new user interface, allowing users to browse, publish, download, and even rate content all directly from the BitTorrent client server itself.

According to Techcrunch, “Azureus said that they are trying to ‘centralize and go viral,’” and “…each listing will have a user rating and an embed code called Azureus Magnet so that users can share the content on other sites.”

The article furthers:

“Media companies are embracing digital media distribution,” said Jarl Mohn, current chairman of the board of CNET Networks and an Azureus board member, in a release sent to TechCrunch on Friday. “Zudeo provides a very effective and secure P2P platform to distribute content to their audience.”
“Today, content creators and publishers can use Zudeo to freely promote and distribute their digital creations, with no limitation in length or video quality,” BianRosa said. “Furthermore, they can use our social networking tools to expose their content throughout the web, including blogs and social networks. Similarly, movie, games, and music fans can access a growing catalog of high resolution media content and share it with their friends easily.”

The focus of the site will be on high quality DVD and HD content, and will soon be partnering with 20 major TV and film studios to provide additional free programming for downloading.

Exactly what type of content will be offered at and at what price is as yet unclear but, it marks another bold step in the efforts of file-sharing applications to go “legit” and find a viable business model to capitalize on digital video distribution.

SEE STORY: “Could BitTorrent Inc. be the new model for file-sharing legitimacy?”

With more than 1.5 million Azureus users connected on average at any given moment, the potential for this new content fro mat is tremendous.

Now let’s take a look at the new features in Azureus 3.0 BETA.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Publishing Content

Browsing and Download Content

Publishing Content

For publishing content to share to with other the steps involved are fairly simple. The video must be between 1MB and 16GB in size and be, of course, non-copyrighted material. Audio content has no restrictions other than being non-copyrighted.

You must first download and install the new Azureus 3.0 BETA and create a quick user account so that you can rate and publish content for others to view and share. Once this is done click on the “Publish” tab to begin the process.

The Publish menu has 2 types of sharing listed, though only 1 is currently available. The Private option is a tantalizing new feature that is “coming soon” and will eventually be a quick, convenient, and secure way to share video files with friends and family using the tried and tested speed of BitTorrent. But, for now, Public is our only option.

To finish this page, choose the type of file to be shared, whether it is a single file or archive (.RAR/.ZIP), or a folder.

The next step is to describe, tag, and submit a thumbnail for the content you are publishing. Take a look at the screenshot below.

After agreeing to the disclaimer concerning liability and copyright, select to “Publish” the video you are submitting.

Lastly, you will then be able to begin uploading your video or audio files and share with others, the process of which you can view by selecting the “Home” tab.

Browsing and Downloading Content

Selecting the “Browse Content” tab in Azureus 3.0 BETA, you will see a wide range of options to choose from. .

Content is divided between video and audio, with the available viewing options being “Hot, “New,” Popular,” “A-Z,” and “Coming Soon.”:

You can also view content by the time it was published, either “Today,” “This Week,” “This Month,:” or “All-Time.”

There are even a few content channels available which are: “HD,” Films,” Tony Hawk-Boom Boom Sabotage,” Animation,” Fan Films,” and “Trailers.”

There’s a lot of interesting and cool content available, the most notable of which, in my opinion, is “Reign of the Fallen,” an independently made new “Star Wars” movie published in DVD .ISO format.

From the site:

As the Sith spread across the galaxy, subjugating planet after planet, a lone warrior seeks out a weapon of legend to save his people.
In the times since great wars laid waste to Prias, its people have learned to embrace a simple life, away from the perils of technology and war. As the mighty Sith army spreads across the galaxy, subjugating every planet in its path, all the people of Prias can do is wait, their world protected by an energy shield held in place by ancient towers. While the people wait in fear, one Jedi trained by Master Oram Bren will be chosen to be the future leader of Prias, a title decided by a vote of the entire population of the planet. But little do they know that one Jedi’s dark secret could spell their doom.

I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet but, the trailer makes it look like a fairly worthwhile movie to watch.

In addition to the “Home” tab, you can also view your currently uploading and downloading files by selecting the “Advanced” tab at the upper right-hand portion of the menu, or in the “View” menu selection.

This is the display that long-time Azureus users will be most comfortable with as it the old style way of observing of what torrent trackers are loaded and running in the file-sharing program.

Additionally, this display is essential for the usual basic features of Azureus like, “Transfers, Views, Tools, and Plugins.”

All in all the new Azureus 3.0 BETA looks very promising. It’ll be more conclusive when the “Private Sharing” function is available, as it may prove to be an easy way to share audio and video files with family and friends using the proven power and speed of BitTorrent.

DOWNLOAD AZUREUS 3.0 BETA NOW

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SOULXTC: “walkin’ the streets of P2P”

With the ever increasing amount of TV shows available to watch on TV, it has become even tougher to try to view them all. With a ridiculous 500+ number of cable channels available to us its surprising that some shows are even watched at all.

The rise in popularity of foreign UK-based shows such as “Dr. Who,” “Torchwood,” “The Office,” and others, has only hastened the need for time-shifting capabilities.

Unfortunately not everyone has a DVR or TIVO available to them, so arises the need for alternative time-shifting capabilities.

There’s a whole number of ways that one can get TV content from the internet and onto their PC but, to keep it simple we’ll be limiting it to 3 of the best methods here for you in this guide.

1. TV Links
2. Peekvid
3. Torrent Episode Downloader (TED)

TV Links

My personal favorite amongst all of the existing “on-demand” viewing sites, TV Linksmakes finding and watching your favorite TV shows as easy and painless as possible.

With a few simple clicks you can find almost anything and everything you’d want to watch.

What makes the site particularly nice is that it is virtually AD-FREE and thus loads like a dream.

Offerings on the site include all of the standard favorites, and the list is updated almost daily.

Some of the more popular fare available includes, Battlestar Galactica, The Simpsons, 24, Lost, Torchwood, Prison Break, and Jackass.

CHECK OUT TV LINKS

Peekvid

This site’s not bad. I wouldn’t call it my personal favorite but, there are others who do.

The site’s filled with popups and ads and can really drive you crazy if you’re not using Firefox as your internet browser.

Other than these few shortcomings the site is pretty well laid out and provides a set of TV show link alternatives if for whatever reason they become disabled on TV Links.

It too provides some of the more popular TV show fare like Battlestar Galactica, 24, Lost, Prison Break, and Jackass but, doesn’t have shows like The Simpsons or Torchwood available.

Moreover, I’d mark this as a backup site to TV Links, as it doesn’t have as much TV content available and is filled with ads and popups.

CHECK OUT PEEKVID

Torrent Episode Downloader (TED)

This for the more advanced users out there, the ones who are already familiar with how to use BitTorrent to download content and programming.

It basically centers around using a program called the Torrent Episode Downloader, or TED for short.

The program is a sort of RSS utility for your preexisting BitTorrent client server, searching for shows by title and episode using default RSS feeds that can be customized to your liking.

To use the utility do the following:

Select the “New Show” tab.

Next choose the show you wish to download. As you can see I selected “30 Rock,” a super hilarious show starring Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, and Alec Baldwin, which is really worth watching if you haven’t already.

It will then show the default RSS Feeds it will be using to download the particular TV show you selected. The sites are of course public tracker sites, which don’t always have the latest episodes or a plethora of seeders to guarantee quick download times. Thus, if you select the “add” tab you can add an additional RSS Feed from whichever private tracker sites you are a member of and augment the ability to get the content you desire.
As far as individual series are concerned, you can see the “Current Season” and “Current Episode”boxes at the bottom of the dialogue box. Here you can pick a show by season and episode simply by entering the numbers particular to your request.
The nicest function is the “Get Latest” tab towards the bottom right-hand part of the dialogue box. Pressing it will make it retrieve only the the most latest aired episode that is available. A very nice feature if you’re unsure what the number of the current episode is.

As TED finds the shows you requested it will automatically load the torrents into your BitTorrent client server and being downloading the desired content.
As it finds the shows you selected it will show the progress of its search in its main menu, with your BitTorrent Client Server showing the actual progress per download.

Overall, Torrent Episode Downloader is a great tool to use for acquiring TV content. Granted it’s not as quick and easy as using TV Links but, if you’re looking to actually download the content it’s the way to go.

DOWNLOAD THE TORRENT EPISODE DOWNLOADER

In short, these 3 methods will allow you to watch the TV shows you want wherever and whenever you like. With such a relatively high number of interesting TV programming available to watch these days, this is about the only way you’ll ever get to watch it all.

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SOULXTC: “walkin’ the streets of P2P”

Offering more than 5,000 titles, from digital movies, TV shows, games, Japanese anime, and other media, the BitTorrent Entertainment Network (BEN) aims to succeed in finally making its famed BitTorrent client server a mechanism for paid legal video content downloads.

Bram Cohen, BitTorrent’s co-founder and chief executive and the inventor of the technology, said the new store would offer a compelling alternative to the illegal system. “I think what consumers want is a good experience,” he said, “and the first part of that is making the content they want available legitimately.”

It will work slightly differently than rival video content download services like Apple’s iTunes or Microsoft’s Xbox Live service, in that movies will only be rented while TV shows will be purchased outright.

After “purchasing” a film online and downloading it to your PC, the movie will “expire” 24 hours after you begin watching it or 30 days overall.

New flics like “Superman Returns” will cost $3.99, while classic movies like “Reservoir Dogs” will cost $2.99. Video content will only play in Microsoft’s Windows Media Player 11, which is secured by Microsoft’s anti-piracy DRM software.

TV episodes will cost $1.99, which is a similar to the price charged on competing sites such as Apple’s iTunes.

Here are some examples of what’s currently being offered:

Little Miss Sunshine ($3.99)

Saw III ($3.99)

A Clockwork Orange ($2.99)

Beetle Uncensored ($3.99) (from Howard Stern show fame)

Breaking Bonaduce ($1.99)

Chappelle’s Show ($1.99)

Ashwin Navin, BitTorrent’s co- founder and CEO, said the company had secured the right to permit users to buy outright digital copies of films, but that the studios wanted to charge prices that would be too high for most consumers. “We don’t think the current prices are a smart thing to show any user,” he said. “We want to allocate services with very digestible price points.”

“I just don’t know who in marketing at the other stores thinks that $25 movie downloads are going to do it for consumers,” said Navin.

“We’re really hammering the studios to say, ‘Go easy on this audience,’” Navin said. “We need to give them a price that feels like a good value relative to what they were getting for free.”

But he added that the anti-piracy software that will protect files in the new store, which the studios insist on including, will make the experience more cumbersome for users.

For his part Bram Cohen, creator of the BitTorrent protocol and BitTorrent Inc.’s co-founder and chief executive, isn’t happy with the DRM restrictions also.

“We are not happy with the user interface implications” of digital rights management, or D.R.M., Mr. Cohen said. “It’s an unfortunate thing. We would really like to strip it all away.”

I agree as it really seems like BEN will be nothing more than a fancy “Netflix” or something. Not only can you not transfer movies to other device to watch but, you never actually “own” the movie.

Cohen furthers:

DRM causes major usability problems for all users, which is a major issue in and of itself. Some of the usability issues are fundamental, and some are limitations of the currently available systems, but as Steve Jobs obliquely indicated in his recent statements about DRM, a lot more of the problems are fundamental than the people who insist on DRM schemes for their content are willing to admit.

The other issue is one of technical viability – can DRM fundamentally work? For many games, the answer is essentially yes – some part of the game play requires interacting with a server, and permissioning can simply be done there. For media files, things are fundamentally different. They’re stand-alone items, containing no programmatic instructions of their own, which must by their nature be displayed in a raw copyable form to be used. Under that threat model, nothing short of hobbling the user’s computer to be a DRM player first and a computer second is capable of stopping a DRM system from getting cracked for long. Even with that hobbling, a little bit of external hardware (for example, videotaping the computer screen) can bypass the limitations anyway.

I think overall that the pricing and selection are pretty good but, the system of DRM protections and portability restrictions make it a non-starter in my book.

As Navin himself points out, “We need to give them a price that feels like a good value relative to what they were getting for free.” Well said. At $4 bucks for little more than an overnight video rental, BEN has yet to sell me on the merits of its new service.

To boot are the movie studios not taking into consideration the fact that I am paying the bandwidth costs necessary to transport the movie to PC? No discount for that heh? It’s $4 bucks for a movie rental at Blockbuster Video and the like, so when you take into account that their only current costs are loading it onto a central server, unlike the production,. shipping, stocking, etc. costs associated with a brick and mortar retailer, why is the price the same? So much for getting a deal.

Moreover, I don’t think the new BitTorrent Entertainment Network will live up to the hype or the expectations that BitTorrent users had hoped for. Central to the dashed hopes will be the twin issues of price and DRM. Time will tell if the movie studios relent and give BitTorrent Inc. more leeway in addressing these concerns but, I think it will be years before they comfortable enough to fully embrace the new BitTorrent distribution platform.

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/tech_news/Does_BitTorrent_Inc_s_new_video_store_live_up_to_the_hype’;

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SOULXTC: “walkin’ the streets of P2P”

The subject of much debate between those who regularly use the BitTorrent P2P protocol is what the best client server to use is.

Three are those who swear by uTorrent with it’s low memory footprint. In fact, a recent survey claims that uTorrent’s nearly 3 times as popular than Azureus for precisely this reason. Of course, there also those that swear by Azureus with it’s numerous features and plugins that that make it a choice for users with enough RAM and CPU to spare.

Either way, the guide below will take you through the Azureus setup process and beyond.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• Installation
• Port Configuration and Testing
• Save Path
• Optimal Settings
• I’m All Set Up, Now What Do I Do?
• So How Do I Download Stuff?
• How Can I Speed Up My Downloads?

INSTALLATION

To start, download and install the latest version of Java RE. Azureus needs this software to function properly.

Then download and install Azureus itself.

Now change the desktop view of Azureus to make installation easier by pressing CTRL +1 as pictured below.

It should then look like this…….

PORT CONFIGURATION AND TESTING

Now if your operating behind a router, please check out our guide on PORT FORWARDING. Briefly, Port Forwarding is basically opening and establishing a dedicated or open port for the Azureus to use for downloading and uploading data to and from other BitTorrent users.

First select NAT / FIREWALL TEST from the main TOOLS tab.

This will bring up the NAT / Server Port dialogue box. This box will allows us to both select and test a port for Azureus to use. Remember, the range of recommended ports to use is from 49512 to 65535, and the selected port must be forwarded if operating behind a router. As you can see in the picture, I went ahead and used port 49513 to make it easy and then TESTED it. Since it came back “OK!” I then APPLIED those settings.

It’s that easy.

When you finally use Azureus to download files, you’ll find that this NAT / Firewall test is truly important. If you’ve properly set up your port configuration you will almost be guaranteed to see the magic “green face” alongside each download that “means everything’s going fine.” You’ll smile as long as it smiles, keep that in mind.

SAVE PATH

This may seem pretty basic to some, but you wouldn’t believe how many people I’ve come across who can’t figure out where the heck their downloads are.

First select OPTIONS from the TOOLS menu.

Then scroll down to FILES and edit the “Default Directory” folder. It has an additional option for moving completed files to a separate location if this suits your needs as well.

OPTIMAL SETTINGS

To optimize your download speeds you must first do a SPEED TEST to determine your connection speed. Select SPEED TEST from the TOOLS menu.

Now test your upload speed as shown below. Remember the number shown

Then select CONFIGURATION WIZARD from the TOOLS MENU.

Keep selecting NEXT until you arrive to the type of user prompt. Select ADVANCED and then press NEXT.

Lastly find your corresponding upload speed from the SPEED TEST and select NEXT.

That’s it. You’re finished. Congratulations.

I’m All Set Up, Now What Do I Do?

Check out our extensive list of BitTorrent tracker sites for the latest and greatest in download sites. Also, I suggest reading our story on Private versus Public Tracker Sites to get an idea of what to expect from each.

So How Do I Download Stuff?

First you need to find what’s called a BitTorrent tracker site, it’s a site which has the actual torrent files that allow users to connect with one another and share data (CLICK HERE FOR TERMINOLOGY).

In the picture below I use the LegalTorrents site since I show actual downloading and wish to of course comply with copyright laws. As shown I selected the download arrow in order to download the torrent file and thus the corresponding content.

The files should then appear in Azureus and begin downloading.

For a more honest representation, here’s how it would look if you wanted to download content from The Pirate Bay, the world’s largest BitTorrent tracker site.

Using “Star Wars” as the search query, I selected a Star Wars e-Book to download.

Then simply select the file and then DOWNLOAD THIS TORRENT.

Easy enough right?

How Can I Speed Up My Downloads?

Try using BitTyrant if you’re suffering from slow download speeds and you’ve exhausted all other options as mentioned in the guide on how to Improve Your BitTorrent Download Speeds. It’s basically a modified version of Azureus that promises to increase your download speeds by up to 70% on public tracker sites compared to regular versions of Azureus.

Azureus has introduced a few neat new features: send to a friend, auto upload speed, GUI improvements and OSX changes, along with major bug fixes. Click here to download Azureus

Send to a friend: A wizard to sending a link to content to a friend or to embed in a web page (e.g. a blog). This will be useful for small to medium sized webmasters who want to effieciently share thier content.

Send to a friend explained

When you click the “Send selected via email / webpage”, an Azureus popup message appears. You have 2 options, either by email or blog/webpage. Clicking on email will create a URL link to “getazureus.com” Example: “http://getazureus.com/getContent.php?magnet=SLSEKPQS7KJ7IBFMZYHYEQLZH2IMUQPL&name=azplugins_2.0.jar”. Clicking on this link will take you to a webpage where you can download the selected torrent file from getazureus.com. If you select the webpage option, Azureus creates a JavaScript snippit that allows webmasters to post this snippit on a webpage for others to download. This link will also take you to getazureus.com. Click here to download Azureus

Auto Upload Speed: Controls your upload speed based on the latency (speed) of your internet connection as gauged by pinging other members of the Distributed Database. Several reports have been sited that users have upload speeds turned up to high and are loosing bandwith to uploaders.

Other notable features:

– OSX: Open .torrent files into Azureus via Finder/Desktop/etc.
– Renaming of a download directories.
– Moving of data files on torrent removal from Azureus.
– Interface improvements – more information: date added, idle times, new info view, file piece view; more per-torrent options.
– New remote control plugin – AzSMRC
– LAN Peer Finder retains peers more effectively; explicit LAN peer identification.
– Reduced CPU usage when connected to large numbers of peers.

Click here to download Azureus

#########################################
Full Change Log
#########################################

FEATURE: Core | Reduced CPU usage, especially in some unusual conditions [MjrTom]
FEATURE: Core | Explicit local subnet and peer injection option for Lan Peer Finder [Parg]
FEATURE: Core | Auto upload speed [Parg]
FEATURE: Core | DND completion handled better [Parg,TuxPaper]
FEATURE: Core | Added option for per-torrent max upload speed when upload busy [Parg]
FEATURE: Core | Ranges allowed for port listing to ignore peers from. [TuxPaper]
FEATURE: Core | Added option to move completed download on removal [amc1]
FEATURE: Core | Signed updates for increased security [Parg]
FEATURE: Core | UDP fallback on connection fail [Parg]
FEATURE: Core | Support for initial crypto tracker spec [Parg]
FEATURE: Core | Faster queued torrent startup [Parg]
FEATURE: Core | Option to disable tracker support for full-scrape [Parg]
FEATURE: Core | Added ability to rename the directory save name for a multi-file torrent [amc1]

FEATURE: UI | File pieces shown in files view [Parg]
FEATURE: UI | Ability to best guess folder you want to save torrent data to based on existing torrents [TuxPaper]
FEATURE: UI | Filter for Config Options [TuxPaper]
FEATURE: UI | “Help -> Generate Debug Info” to help us solve bugs [TuxPaper]
FEATURE: UI | Ability to customise the speed intervals for download / upload speed menus [amc1]
FEATURE: UI | Ability to rename the displayed title of a download [amc1]
FEATURE: UI | “date added”, “idle up”, “idle down”, “req in”, “req out” colmns added to MyTorrents [Parg]
FEATURE: UI | manual file recheck order [Parg]
FEATURE: UI | Option to remember passwords [Parg]
FEATURE: UI | OSX: Open .torrent files into Azureus via Finder/Desktop/etc [TuxPaper]
FEATURE: UI | Option to send popup message when download of a torrent (or individual file) has completed [amc1]
FEATURE: UI | Ability to change behaviour of popups: auto-hide behaviour and adding timestamp to messages [amc1]
FEATURE: UI | Torrent-info panel added to show MyTorrent’s column attributes in a single place. Torrent encoding moved from General tab to here [Parg]
FEATURE: UI | Progress warning to user when long file operations in progress that would otherwise hang the UI [Parg]

FEATURE: Plug | Simple NAT-PMP implementation [Marc Colosimo]

CHANGE: Core | Reduced starting many pieces instead of completing current ones [MjrTom]
CHANGE: Core | Further modifications to optimistic disconnect algorithm [MjrTom]
CHANGE: Core | Longer scrape delays: [TuxPaper]
– 1 hr min for torrents in stopped state
– 2 hrs min for torrents in error state
– 3 hrs min when tracker sends no torrent info (no hash error)
– As per usual, flags->min_request_interval will override next scrape time
CHANGE: Core | Asynchronous existing torrent loading at startup (makes startup feel faster) [TuxPaper]
CHANGE: Core | Disk read cache disabled by default [Parg]
CHANGE: Core | Better detection of unix OSes (Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, etc) and custom ports that do not conform to our install structure [TuxPaper,Parg]

CHANGE: UI | More time periods in folder-rescan list [Parg]
CHANGE: UI | Option to hide toolbar [TuxPaper]
CHANGE: UI | Option to disable program icon for name column (may speed up OSX users) [TuxPaper]

CHANGE: Plug | Use UPnP to read external IP address if possible [Parg]

BUGFIX: Core | Fix for pieces not completing due to too many snubbed peers [MjrTom]
BUGFIX: Core | Better handling of invalid peer/seed count from tracker [TuxPaper]
BUGFIX: Core | ed2k hash wrong on block boundaries [Parg]
BUGFIX: Core | upload slot default now applied correctly (was fixed at torrent add time) [Parg]
BUGFIX: Core | Various seeding rules fixes, mostly related to Seed:Peer ratio, 1st Priority, or ‘None’ ranking mode [TuxPaper]

BUGFIX: UI | speed graphics failing on high speeds [Parg]
BUGFIX: UI | Per-torrent options view now synced with global defaults and has “reset” button [Parg]
BUGFIX: UI | Slide-in alert message not closeable (GTK+ users) [TuxPaper]

Digg It!

Azureus is currently implementing a “content layer” where commercial downloads will start to appear. Users will be able to search for certain keywords, or browse through the available content by tags.

Azureus is downloaded almost 2million times every month, and it has a strong and dedicated community. This spring they received an award for “most popular open-source software” at the first annual SourceForge.net Community Choice Awards. However, it is unclear how the public will respond to the paid content that will start to appear in Azureus.

Now if you aren’t using the Azureus BT client server already, you may download it here at Zeropaid. In addition, if you need assistance with setting it up, a guide on that too may be found here at Zeropaid.

The first thing we want to do is of course find a torrent so that we may download some files and have an example of throttling for us to go over. Being that I cannot show an example here that incorporates a torrent from one of those "illegal" sites, I have had to be creative and use a site called Legaltorrents.com.

To prove that the site truly is "wholesome" and legal in nature, I’ve provided a few pictures here to disprove the skeptics at large (you can never be too careful these days).

As you can see, it reads "Monotonik is a net music label that exclusively releases music online in the mp3 format. All of our releases are freely downloadable and distributable under a Creative Commons License that allows free non-commercial distribution…"

So now that that’s out of the way let’s get down to business. Returning to the Legaltorrents.com site, I selected the torrent for Monotonik Net Label’s 2006 releases to download.

Now after the torrent loads let’s reprise an important note. If the health status of the torrent, denoted by a face, that you see in the main window is any color other than green, chances are your ports are not properly forwarded, in which case a guide for doing so can be found here at Zeropaid.

Now after loading the torrent we will see it begin to download, its speed shown below.

In order to make the picture plain, we will rightly need several torrents downloading simultaneously in order to throttle them. Returning to Legaltorents.com, I quickly selected 2 other torrents to download in the Azureus BitTorrent client server. I’ve included snapshots below so that you may see and verify the process.

After loading each of the torrents and ensuring that all are "healthy," it’s important to double-check that our "upload" setting is optimized. For me this means a setting of approximately 50kB/S based on my internet connection speed.

Now that the torrents are all properly downloading it’s time to go over all this "throttling" business.

First off, an issue of foremost concern when it comes to downloading from private tracker sites is ones "ratio," or the amount you’ve downloaded vs the amount you’ve uploaded. Many have made the mistake of leaving a torrent unattended for a period of time only to return and find themselves unexpectedly banned from the private tracker site that they downloaded from. The reason being that they were able to download something at a far greater rate than they were able to upload it, thus causing their ratio to spiral downwards and in turn result in their getting banned. The easiest way to keep this from happening is by merely "throttling", or dialing down the maximum download speed you will allow for that specific torrent. How do you do this you ask? Read on.

To throttle the maximum download speed first select the torrent you wish to do so for. Then "right-click" the torrent and scroll over as shown below, from "Advanced" to "Set Down Speed." to the desired setting. Now being that, as shown, the download speed greatly surpasses the speed 130 to 15, we will throttle the download speed to 20kB/s. It will mean that our download time will increase dramatically but, it will ensure that we are able to maintain our download to upload ratio as well. To note, this of course important only on private torrent sites and not on public ones like Torrentspy for instance.

Conversely, if a given torrent was using all the upload bandwidth and thereby choking off the ability of other torrents to download at a decent speed, you can throttle that as well. It’s the same process for throttling the download speed to a point. FIrst select the torrent whose upload speed you wish to throttle. Then "right-click" it and scroll across from "Advanced" to "Set Up Speed" to the desired setting. Sometimes if left unchecked a torrent will upload data at a rate that will max out your upload bandwidth capacity, thus as an example we will throttle this ones to 20kB/s. You really don’t ever want to go below 15kB/s when it comes to uploading speed, and recall that the faster your upload rate the faster your download rate. However, if you have multiple torrents downloading and one is using all your upload speed then it’s a good idea to set a maximum for it. The images below should the process more clear for you.

Okay so now that we’ve gone over how to throttle the speeds of torrents that are solely downloading, it’s a good idea to address a scenario whereby you have a mixture where some torrents are seeding as well. Having allowed 2 of the torrents I downloaded to finish, we now have a good example to go over. If you’ll notice in the picture below the selected torrent is seeding at a rate of 28.8kB/s. Now again, being that I have a maximum upload capacity of 52kB/s or so with my internet connection, 28.8kB/s is more than 50% of my total capacity, especially if my global rate is set at 50kB/s. What this means is that there is much less available for what I am downloading that what I am sharing. This may be fine for the gratuitous type, but I like my downloads to be the center of attention at all times. So what we can do here is throttle the maximum upload speed for the seeding torrent. To do so do the same as described previously by first "right-clicking" the torrent and then scrolling from "Advanced" to "Set Up Speed" to the desired setting. A setting of 20kB/s is more than adequate.

Okay that pretty much covers throttling and then some. The last thing of interest that I think deserves some mention is the priority status of each torrent. When downloading a mere couple torrents or so it’s not as important, but with a handful or so it can mean all the difference. Notice below that there are 3 torrents currently downloading. The one currently listed as 3rd in priority, Monotonik 2006, is really first in priority in my mind. Its speeds aren’t affected tremendously as again, there only a few downloading, but could be a problem if I added another torrent or so. Irregardless, by increasing its’s priority, which is done by selecting the torrent first then by clicking the up arrow, we increase the number of connections it will be able to make with peers via its tracker. Alternately, you can use the down arrow to diminish a torrent’s priority and thereby number of connections as well.

Moreover, I hope this article give you a bit of insight into what measures you can take to get the most from your internet connection and so too Azureus, your BT client server.

Table of Contents

Installation

Configuration

Installation

From the “Plugins” tab at the top of the Azureus BitTorrent client server program, scroll down and select “Installation Wizard” from the available choices.

The installation will be “By list from sourceforge.net.” Make the selection accordingly and click the “next” tab.

From the Installable Plugin List, scroll down and check off the “SafePeer” plugin to download and install. Finish up by clicking on the “next” tab.

The installation type, unless you maintain an advanced PC user setup, will be to “Install the plugin(s) for all users.” Select the “finish” tab to start the installation.

In the Installer dialogue box, select the “Install” tab.

The plugin will then begin to download and install itself accordingly. “Close” the installer box window when it has completed downloading.

Configuration

Now it’s time to setup and configure the SafePeer plugin. In the “Plugins” tab, scroll down and select SafePeer.

This will bring up the SafePeer dashboard where we will setup and configure the plugin to make sure it will perform and function as we desire.

The first thing we want to do is ensure that the first to boxes are checked off. We both want to enable the plugin, which is obvious, as well as enable its very brain, the “Blocklist manager” The blocklist is exactly what its name implies. It is a list of IP addresses that it actually blocks from connecting to your computer. The Blocklist manger takes all the guesswork out of which IP addresses are to be blocked, using a main and secondary URL database of IP addresses.

The second thing we want to do is decide on an interval that it will periodically update the blocklist fro the plugin. The default interval is 6 hours, more than frequent enough to keep it up to date. In fact, one could even dial it down a tad to perhaps even 12 or 24 hours. To make an adjustment, note that the numbers are laid out as hours, minutes, and then seconds.

To finish and save the selections on this page, click the “Save” tab at the the bottom of the page.

Next, it’s time to configure the second SafePeer plugin tab, “Blocklist.” Click the tab at the top of the page to open it.

We are going to leave each of this settings as they are by default. The Blocklist URL is the main blocklist that Safe Peer uses as its list of IP addresses to prevent from connecting to your PC. If you know of another that you wish to use you may enter it here, but the one from BlueTack that is already entered is the one that you will want above all others.

Leave everything else as is, and finish the SafePeer plugin setup by selecting the “Save” tab at the bottom of the page.

In order for the changes and selections we made to take effect we must restart Azureus. As shown in the picture below. From the “File” tab, select “Restart Azureus” for the program to do just that. The plugin is now loaded, configured and quietly working its magic behind the scenes.

For the curious, take a look at the log of blocked IPs from time to time to see what addresses it has prevented from connecting to your computer. The “history” can be found in the location shown in the picture below on your PC.

The “history” will look as it does here. Notice the date, time, IP address, and name of the entity it blocked as shown below.

Well, that concludes the setup and configuration of the SafePeer plugin. For those who previously used PeerGuardian to perform this task of blocking IPs from connecting to your PC, this plugin allows you to use it instead and thus free up more memory to run Azureus itself.

NOTE: For those currently running the Azureus BitTorrent client server, a guide on the “Top Azureus Plugins” to use can be found here at Zeropaid.