BitTorrent (company)

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BitTorrent, Inc.
Private company
Industry Internet Software & Services
Founded 2004
Headquarters San Francisco, California, United States
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
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Products <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Consumer Freeware
  • Content Delivery
  • Embedded Software
Number of employees
 110 (2012)
Website BitTorrent.com

BitTorrent, Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, California, is a privately held American company that is responsible for the ongoing development of the BitTorrent peer-to-peer protocol, as well as the ongoing development of µTorrent and BitTorrent Mainline, two clients for that protocol.

Today, files transferred using the BitTorrent protocol constitute a significant slice of all Internet traffic.[1] The company was founded on September 22, 2004 by Bram Cohen and Ashwin Navin.

Products

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Main article: BitTorrent (software)

BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer computer program developed by Bram Cohen and BitTorrent, Inc. that is used for uploading and downloading files via the BitTorrent protocol. BitTorrent was the first client written for the protocol. It is often nicknamed Mainline by developers, denoting its official origins. Since version 6.0, the BitTorrent client has been a rebranded version of µTorrent. As a result, it is no longer open source and is currently available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X.

μTorrent

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Main article: μTorrent

µTorrent (or uTorrent; commonly abbreviated as "µT" or "uT") is a freeware, closed source BitTorrent client owned by BitTorrent, Inc. It is the most widely used BitTorrent client outside China.

It is available for Microsoft Windows, Android and Mac OS X. A µTorrent Server is available for Linux. All versions are written in C++.[2]

On December 7, 2006, µTorrent was purchased by BitTorrent, Inc., as it was announced on their official forum.[3]

BitTorrent/μTorrent Pro

Pro is the name received by advanced versions, formerly branded Plus, of BitTorrent and μTorrent are premium versions of the Windows software with additional features that are downloaded and installed when the user upgrades for $19.95 USD.[4] Pre-sales for Plus were announced November 29, 2011 and the upgrade became available December 8, 2011.[5]

When a user upgrades to the Pro version of BitTorrent or μTorrent they enable the following features:[6]

  • Anti-virus protection for acquired .torrent files
  • Integrated HD media player[7]
  • Transcoding capability with media codecs
  • Streaming playback while torrent is downloading[8]

BitTorrent Sync

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Main article: BitTorrent Sync

BitTorrent Sync[9] is a peer-to-peer file synchronization tool running on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It can sync files between computers on a local network, or between remote users over the Internet.

The BitTorrent Sync pre-Alpha program, announced in January 2013, was opened to general users on April 23, 2013.[10] On November 23, 2013, BitTorrent announced the release of version 1.2 of the client along with a beta version of the BitTorrent Sync API.[11]

BitTorrent Bundle

The company has released "Bundles" with artists such as Linkin Park, Pixies, Public Enemy, and Madonna. The Madonna Bundle, entitled secretprojectrevolution, was released on September 24, 2013 and consisted of the 17-minute film of the same name, stills from the film, and an option for those users who submit their email addresses and make a donation that also includes HD and 2K versions of the film, a VICE interview, and a message from Madonna.[12]

On September 17, 2013, the company launched "BitTorrent Bundles for Publishers", an alpha program for content creators to distribute bundles of any size and file type using the BitTorrent client.[12]

On September 26, 2014, Thom Yorke released his album Tomorrow's Modern Boxes as the first paid Bundle, priced at $6.00 USD.[13] On October 3, 2014, it was announced that the project had been downloaded over 1 million times, which included the free single and video plus the paid downloads; sales numbers have not been released.[14]

Other products and services

BitTorrent DNA

BitTorrent, Inc. also offers BitTorrent DNA (Delivery Network Accelerator),[15] a free content delivery service based on the BitTorrent protocol that allows content providers to distribute their content using the bandwidth of their users.

SoShare (beta)

On January 5, 2012, SoShare was released in alpha as "Share" within the μTorrent client, as a standalone desktop client and as a plug-in based web client.[16] On February 15, 2013, the SoShare beta was launched and repositioned as a user-friendly web application that uses the BitTorrent protocol, designed for creative industry professionals to share high-res photos, files and videos using the app's email system or public links.[17] From the official website, the service messages that registered users can send file bundles containing up to one terabyte of data per send, for free.[18]

BitTorrent Live (beta)

Currently in open beta,[19] BitTorrent Live was first announced in September 2011, and was first publicly tested on October 14, 2011.[20] BitTorrent premiered Live in public beta in March 2013.[21] The platform is currently used to showcase live streaming events of musical acts and DJs.[22]

BitTorrent Bleep

BitTorrent Bleep[23] is a multi-platform, peer-to-peer, serverless chat client available for free on Windows, Mac, Android and iOS.[24]

Project Maelstrom (beta)

On December 10, 2014, BitTorrent announced Project Maelstrom,[25] a Chromium-based browser project that enables censorship-resistant distributed Web publishing by utilizing the BitTorrent and DHT protocols.[26] Initially, the project was run as a closed alpha, but is now in beta and available for Windows only.[27]

Licensing

Additionally, BitTorrent Inc. licenses its technology and brands to corporate customers only. The BitTorrent Software Development Kit (SDK) for Devices enables partners to integrate BitTorrent technology into their hardware products.[28]

Awards & recognitions

In April 2006, BitTorrent was selected as 2006 Red Herring 100 North America Finalist.[29]

In June 2007, the company received CNET’s 2007 Webware 100 Award.[30]

In June 2007, BitTorrent was the recipient of 2007 DCIA Innovator’s Award.[31]

In November 2007, BitTorrent received Streaming Media Readers’ Choice Award.[32]

In May 2010, BitTorrent was recognized as one of the "2010 Hottest San Francisco Companies" by Lead411.[33]

In February 2013, BitTorrent was listed among the top 50 "Most Innovative Companies 2013" by Fast Company, for "using its power to help artists who get it."[34]

Standards work

BitTorrent Inc. also promotes development of the BitTorrent protocol through R&D and open specifications. Protocol development discussions are hosted on http://www.bittorrent.org. BitTorrent Inc. also contributes through more broadly focused standards bodies like the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) at the LEDBAT working group http://www.ietf.org/html.charters/ledbat-charter.html

Partners

According to the company's website, BitTorrent Inc. has announced partnerships with many companies, including, for venture capital, Accel Partners and DCM, technology partners ESA Flash Components, NTL:Telewest, Opera Software, and device partners Buffalo Technology, D-Link, I-O Data, Marvell Semiconductors, Netgear, Planex Communications Inc., and QNAP Systems, Inc.[35][36]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ http://www.bittorrent.com/sync
  10. ↑ http://blog.bittorrent.com/2013/04/23/bittorrent-sync-alpha-now-open-to-all/
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ BitTorrent DNA
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ http://www.soshareit.com
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ BitTorrent Bleep official website
  24. ↑ Bleep on the BitTorrent Blog
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ BitTorrent » SDK for Devices
  29. ↑ Red Herring Releases Short-List of Finalists for the "Red Herring 100 North America" Awards
  30. ↑ BitTorrent
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lead411 launches "Hottest Companies in San Francisco" awards
  34. ↑ Fast Company "Most Innovative Companies 2013"
  35. ↑ Partners. Bittorrent Inc.
  36. ↑ BitTorrent Inc. Launches the BitTorrent Entertainment Network. Press release. BitTorrent Inc. February 26, 2007.

External links

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