I was recently banging on about the ABC and podcasting re-iterating Steven Bounds’ suggestion that the ABC could lower the cost of distributing podcasts by distributing them over BitTorrent when the very next day I hear that the ABC are considering doing just that.
The ABC is also considering file-sharing technologies such as BitTorrent to make it easier for users to download large video files, Mr Moran [ABC new media and digital services technical production manager] says.
“Our research is indicating that significant enough numbers of our audience have faster connections now and we are certainly actively considering using BitTorrent,” he says.
“There’s a feeling that we might lag a little bit behind actual audience capacity and expectation, and I think the commercial networks more so than us but we are actively considering it.
“I’d like to see it as soon as possible.”
Veryily it will be a good thing. Except then I’ll need to work out how to get BitTorrent to work :(.
It is indeed good news. Especially because it shows the ABC is up with the right technology. Torrent is easy. You’ll be fine.
Good on ole Aunty. As FXH said torrenting is easy and very friendly.
Don’t try using Morpheus tor Bit Torrent on your employer’s network – not because of copyright issues – but because it can open up the network and set off alarms all over your IT department. I installed Morpheus last month and was downloading a file just before lunch. By the time I got back to my office to find a swarm of IT guys who had shut down my computer.
What Chris says is true — BitTorrent is currently not looked on with kind eyes by most corporate IT personnel, and will either be blocked altogether or treated as a breach of Appropriate Use Guidelines. Definitely a home use technology at the moment …
It gets blocked for much for the same reasons that Instant Messaging networks such as MSN Messenger and ICQ are considered a Bad Thing — it’s seen as bypassing all the firewalls and other layers of corporate protection put in place, and a big time-waster.
In other words, we’re currently seeing the classic knee-jerk reaction to new technology — just like with email and the Internet. In 3-5 years I suspect that BitTorrent will be an integral part of most corporate IT systems — distributed, reliable file transfer is just too useful to ignore.
Don’t use it at work.
But at home – download a tiny but feature-packed client called “utorrent”, install an anti-corporate-spying program (peerguardian 2) and then you’re ready to go. Torrents of all types (and states of legality) can be found at mininova.org and isohunt.com.