Developers of the BitTorrent file-sharing process have opened an experimental data-synchronising tool up to the public.
The developers of the BitTorrent file-sharing protocol have unveiled what they describe as a new "multimedia format" called a Bundle.
BBC: BitTorrent reveals Bundle file to package media content
The resulting 650 Gigabyte bittorrent file is the digital Pompeii that is the subject of an interactive excavation that allows you to wander through an episode of recent online history.
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The three-year research was carried out by a team of computer scientists who developed software that acted like a BitTorrent file-sharing client and logged all the connections made to it.
Allegedly, from September 2009 until September 2011, the defendants obtained separate audio and video for motion pictures showing in theaters, and then edited and combined those components into one infringing movie file, which was shared among thousands of IMAGiNE Group members through the BitTorrent file sharing technology.
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UKNova has stopped offering BitTorrent links after becoming the latest file-sharing site to be targeted by copyright defenders.
Anyone using file-sharing service BitTorrent to download the latest film or music release is likely to be monitored, UK-based researchers suggest.
Many view BitTorrent as an evolution from older file sharing programs such as Napster and Kazaa in an attempt to stay one step ahead of the copyright laws.
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Though the failed pilot never received a network pickup, it leaked onto file-sharing service BitTorrent and, thousands of downloads later, it proved there clearly was an audience for it.
File-sharing sites comprise both file-hosting and BitTorrent tracking sites each of which may have different legal status in different jurisdictions depending on interpretation and enforcement of various copyright laws.
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Even with a broadband connection and a sophisticated file-sharing schema like BitTorrent, illegally downloading and swapping movies is far more difficult than trading songs.
Kang pointed out that Genachowski was dealt a setback when a court decision last April supported Comcast's ability to manage a notorious file-sharing application called BitTorrent that was slowing down the system.
That, the company argues, will prevent the ripped DVD files from ending up on Bittorrent or other peer-to-peer file-sharing networks.
But legit players in the file-sharing biz quietly use Bittorrent for its network efficiency, while introducing new distribution and revenue opportunities for creators, and offering new media discovery sites for consumers.
ENGADGET: Editorial: Legal torrent sites are innovators of media consumption
San Francisco-based Bittorrent, for instance, has worked to bring file-sharing out of the hands of pirates and into the mainstream, cutting deals with companies like Fox, Paramount and Viacom to distribute legitimate peer-to-peer content.
San Francisco-based Bittorrent, for instance, has worked to bring file-sharing out of the hands of pirates and into the mainstream, cutting deals with companies like Fox, Paramount and Viacom (nyse: VIA - news - people ) to distribute legitimate peer-to-peer content.
When Bram Cohen first authored the BitTorrent spec in 2001, the intent was to improve file-sharing performance of existing single-source arenas -- Napster, KaZaA and their ilk.
ENGADGET: Editorial: Legal torrent sites are innovators of media consumption
"All the monitors observed during the study would connect to file-sharers and verify that they were running the BitTorrent software, but they would not actually collect any of the files being shared, " he said.
BitTorrent.com's experiments hint at an emerging media distribution and discovery future for the file-sharing protocol.
ENGADGET: Editorial: Legal torrent sites are innovators of media consumption
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