BitTorrent for Dummies

I've always been a fan of "For Dummies" books. I can't get enough of them, and learning there was one of these titles about BitTorrent made my day, since I had been very much in the dark about this technology... in general in the dark about anything remotely related to Peer-to-Peer for more than three years. So I gave the book by Susannah Gardner and Kris Krug a shot, and it was all that I expected. After a primer on the technology, the purpose of BitTorrent in the spectrum of peer-to-peer protocols out there and tools to find, download and manage torrents, the book deals head on with the copyright implications of downloading illegal torrents, offering resources to help find legal (and fun) torrent material. While a few of the chapters were about topics that were slightly peripheral to the main subject (production and promotion of torrents, for instance), the bulk of the book was fantastic for the newbie (a.k.a. ME!) to get on the know about BitTorrent and start getting my first streams of torrent juice flowing into my machine's hard drive. [...]

Gardner describes the basic idea behind BitTorrent. How someone downloading runs a BitTorrent client that can in turn upload portions of a file to another client. This is the distinguishing characteristic of the network, as realised by Bram Cohen. You can see from the book that the client is easy to obtain from various websites, and easy to set up and run. The etiquette is that if you download a file, that you should keep your client connected to the net. So that it can answer quests from others. Which is probably how you were able to quickly get the file in the first place. While the book advises that you should not download copyrighted material like movies, one has to wonder how many readers will actually desist.

Napster was a program/company/concept that excited millions of people before it blew up because of violating copyright laws. Other organizations such as KaZaA came in to do the same thing but were careful to not violate the copyright laws that got Napster. The critical thing was that Napster facilitated illegal copying by providing users with technical support. Huh? you might well be saying, but this comes from Chapter 6 on Understanding BitTorrent and the Law. BitTorrent is a freeware package (but the developer will accept donations) that facilitates peer to peer file sharing. It is perfectly legal to use for the copying of non-copyrighted material. This book, like most of the 'For Dummies' books is a complete introduction to using the software and includes a lot of extra comments on sites that have BitTorrent materials for downloading, on searching for additional content, on using BitTorrent for distribution of materials inside large organizations. Like with most of their books, it is well written, covers the material well, and is quite complete.

BitTorrent is one of those file-sharing technologies that I've heard about but never really understood. To remedy that, I got a review copy of BitTorrent For Dummies by Susannah Gardner and Kris Krug. I now understand why this is such a better architecture than others... Contents: Part 1 - Getting Started with BitTorrent: Cluing In to BitTorrent; Downloading BitTorrent Files; Playing BitTorrent Files Part 2 - Managing BitTorrent Content: Finding BitTorrent Content; Storing BitTorrent Content; Understanding BitTorrent and the Law Part 3 - Creating BitTorrent Content: Creating Audio Files; Shooting Digital Video; Capturing and Editing Digital Video Part 4 - Delivering BitTorrent Content: Making and Tracking Torrents; Seeding Your Torrents; Promoting Your Torrents Part 5 - Getting More Out Of BitTorrent: Hunting for Additional Content; Protecting Your Content; Using BitTorrent in Organizations Part 6 - The Part of Tens: Ten (Or So) Common File Formats for Sharing Your Content; Ten (Or So) Things You Can Do To Stay Safe From Viruses; Ten Fun BitTorrent Downloads Index Now the first thing that comes to mind when discussing peer-to-peer software for file sharing is the illegal downloading of copyrighted software. Gardner and Krug make sure that the reader has *no* defense along the lines of "I didn't know it was wrong". They do a great job in explaining the laws, why downloading certain material is illegal, and how to find sites that have legal content for downloading. That won't stop people from using it to get the latest Madonna single or video, but you've been warned. After that's out of the way, they explain how BitTorrent works and how your behavior when using the software affects all other users. After reading the book, I now know all about seeds, swarms, and leeches. I also know where to go to start using BitTorrent for accessing and distributing my own material. The only "problem" I have with the book is with Part 3. It's on how to create video and audio material like podcasts or home videos that can be digitized and stored online. It really isn't material that's specific to BitTorrent usage, and it will only appeal to people who want to create content to share with others. In fact, I've seen much of this material covered in books on podcasting, and it seems to make more sense in a book like that. I think that if you already want to create content, BitTorrent isn't going to be your driving technology like podcasting might be. It's not bad material... I just don't think I would have included it here. Basically, an interesting book on a technology that is redefining how content is controlled and distributed in the digital world. If you want to know how to make it part of your world, it's worth reading...