μTorrent
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 µTorrent 2.0 in Windows 7 |
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| Original author(s) | Ludvig Strigeus |
| Developer(s) | BitTorrent, Inc. |
| Initial release | 18 September 2005 |
| Stable release | 2.0 (build 18488) (5 March 2010) [+/−] |
| Preview release | Windows: 2.0.1 Beta (build 18408) (2 March 2010) 2.1 Alpha (build 18304) (23 February 2010) Mac OS X: |
| Written in | C++ |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows Mac OS X 10.5 (Intel and PPC) Wine (Linux) officially supported[1] |
| Size | 282.8 kB |
| Available in | 52 languages |
| Development status | Active |
| Type | BitTorrent client |
| License | Proprietary freeware |
| Website | www.utorrent.com |
µTorrent (or uTorrent and commonly abbreviated as "µT" or "uT") is a freeware, closed source BitTorrent client by BitTorrent, Inc. It is available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. Both versions are written in C++.[2] It gets the "µ" in its name from the SI prefix "micro" meaning one one-millionth and it refers to the program's small footprint. The program is designed to use minimal computer resources while offering functionality comparable to larger BitTorrent clients such as Vuze or BitComet.
The program has received consistently good reviews for its feature set, performance, stability, and support for older hardware and versions of Windows. A report showed that µTorrent is the second most popular BitTorrent client (after the Chinese Xunlei).[3]
The program has been in active development since its first release in 2005. Although originally developed by Ludvig Strigeus, since December 7, 2006 the code is owned and maintained by BitTorrent, Inc.[4] The code has also been employed by BitTorrent, Inc. as the basis for version 6.0 of the BitTorrent client, a re-branded version of µTorrent.
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[edit] Features
Features present in µTorrent include:
- Teredo / IPv6 support.
- Micro Transport Protocol preliminary support as of 1.8.2 with full-support added in 2.0.
- UPnP support for all versions of Windows, without needing Windows XP's UPnP framework.
- Protocol encryption (PE).
- Peer exchange (PEX) with other BitTorrent clients.
- libtorrent and clients based on it like Deluge have full µTorrent PEX support.
- Transmission and clients based on libTransmission have full µTorrent PEX support.
- KTorrent has full µTorrent PEX support as of 2.1 RC1.
- Vuze, formerly Azureus, has full support as of version 3.0.4.3.
- RSS ("broadcatching").
- "Trackerless" BitTorrent support using DHT, compatible with the original BitTorrent client and BitComet.
- User configurable intelligent disk caching system.
- Full proxy server support.
- d-source (unlike BitTorrent 5.x and before, which were open source software) and is currently only available for Windows.
[edit] Release history
Version Size Release date 1.0.0 77 kB 1.1.7.2 98 kB 2005-10-22 1.2.2 107 kB 2005-11-25 1.3.0 115 kB 2005-12-10 1.4.2 142 kB 2006-01-11 1.5.0 155 kB 2006-03-08 1.6.1 173 kB 2007-02-15 1.7.7 214 kB 2008-01-25 1.8.5 282 kB 2009-10-29 2.0.0 311 kB 2010-01-25 [edit] Mac version
Screenshot of the Mac OS X version of μTorrent (up to 0.9.2)
The icon for the Mac OS X versionA separate version of µTorrent for Mac OS X 10.5 (commonly abbreviated as "µMac") has been in development for years.[16] As of November 27, 2008 a beta version (Intel x86 and PPC) is available for download on a separate section[1] of the website.[17]
[edit] Ask.com toolbar
As of version 1.8.2, the µTorrent installer gives the user the option to download and install the Ask.com toolbar. This is done on the first run of the program and the user may explicitly opt-out of this feature by deselecting it.[18][19] The developers stated the addition was needed for funds to continue development.
[edit] Pronunciation
The author of µTorrent wrote in 2005, "I usually say 'you torrent' because it looks like a u", and offered "microtorrent", "mytorrent" (as "my" [myː] is the Swedish pronunciation of the greek letter µ) and later "mutorrent" as candidate pronunciations.[20] The symbol μ, which is actually the small Greek letter Mu, stands for the SI prefix "micro" meaning one one-millionth and refers to the program's small footprint.
[edit] Easter eggs
Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (March 2010) - If the user opens the About screen ("Help" > "About µTorrent") and then press the "T" key, it will start a built-in tetris game called µTris.
- Clicking the µTorrent logo in the About screen will play a synthesized sound similar to Deep Note.
[edit] Contributors
Original development was performed by Ludvig Strigeus ("ludde", from Sweden), the creator of µTorrent. Serge Paquet ("vurlix", from Canada) acted as release coordinator, and had intended to work on Linux and Mac OS X ports. He maintained the µTorrent website and forum up until the end of 2005, but is no longer affiliated with µTorrent.
Development after the purchase by BitTorrent is performed by developers Greg Hazel ("alus"), Arvid Norberg ("arvid", author of libtorrent), Jan Brittenson ("CodeRed"), Richard Choi ("rchoi") and Ryan Norton ("RyanNorton") at BitTorrent Inc. Strigeus remains as a technical consultant.
Other tasks continue to be performed by ongoing contributors. Giancarlo Martínez ("Firon", from Puerto Rico) maintains the µTorrent forums and FAQ. Carsten Niebuhr ("Directrix", from Germany) developed and maintains the µTorrent Web User Interface. Timothy Su ("ignorantcow", from Malaysia) is the designer of the current website.
[edit] Reception
μTorrent is praised for its small size and the minimal computer resources it uses which sets it apart from other clients. PC Magazine gave the program a positive review saying that it "packs an outstanding array of features".[21] and was also listed in their Best free 157 software tools.[22] It was also in PC World Magazine's 101 Fantastic freebies.[23] The Manila Standard Today said it is the "hands-down best utility for downloading large files in Windows". The website TorrentFreak.com said it was the most feature rich BitTorrent client available.[24] About.com said it was the best BitTorrent client available citing its small size and minimal impact to the rest of your computer's speed.[25] Wired.com said its "memory footprint is also ridiculously small".[26] The PC Authority magazine gave it a 6 out of 6 stars.[27] Lifehacker.com has continued to rate it the best BitTorrent client available.[28] CNET.com gave it a 5 out of 5 stars saying it features "Light and quick downloading".[29]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Wine Support Honor Roll". http://wiki.winehq.org/AppsThatSupportWine. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ "FAQ: How can µTorrent be so small and so fast?". BitTorrent, Inc.. http://www.utorrent.com/faq/misc#faq14. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ "Thunder Blasts uTorrent’s Market Share Away". TorrentFreak. 2009-12-04. http://torrentfreak.com/thunder-blasts-utorrents-market-share-away-091204/. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ a b c "BitTorrent Inc Buys uTorrent". TorrentFreak. 2006-12-07. http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-inc-buys-%C2%B5torrent/. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ "Forum: TRANSLATORS NEEDED!". BitTorrent, Inc.. 2006-07-02. http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=11517. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ "Forum: User Interface Design". BitTorrent, Inc.. http://forum.utorrent.com/viewforum.php?id=6. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ Read this first - Falcon introduction (2.1 build 18069) - Forums - µTorrent - The Lightweight and Efficient BitTorrent Client
- ^ "Documentation: How to Make a Torrent". BitTorrent, Inc.. http://www.utorrent.com/documentation/make-a-torrent. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?pid=439079#p439079
- ^ "FAQ: What are µTorrent's system requirements? (Archived version)". BitTorrent, Inc.. http://web.archive.org/web/20080619055556/http://www.utorrent.com/faq.php#What_are_.C2.B5Torrent.27s_system_requirements.3F.
- ^ "FAQ: What are µTorrent's system requirements?". BitTorrent, Inc.. http://www.utorrent.com/faq/index#faq0. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
- ^ "Forum: The search bypass nanotorrent.com (post by Admin "Firon")". BitTorrent, Inc.. http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?pid=53755#p53755. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ a b "uTorrent Sign Six Month PeerFactor Agreement". Slyck.com. 2006-03-04. http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=1117. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ "uTorrent, PeerFactor deal". p2pnet. 2006-03-04. http://www.p2pnet.net/story/8158. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ "Bizarre uTorrent, PeerFactor deal". p2pnet. 2006-03-06. http://www.p2pnet.net/story/8097. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ "FAQ: Is there a Linux or Mac version?". BitTorrent, Inc.. http://www.utorrent.com/faq#faq3. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ "uTorrent Releases Long-Awaited Mac Version". TorrentFreak. 2008-11-27. http://torrentfreak.com/utorrent-releases-mac-version-081127/. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ "Forum: µTorrent 1.8.2 released". BitTorrent, Inc.. 2009-01-24. http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=52947. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ "uTorrent Is Going to Make Money With a Toolbar". TorrentFreak. 2009-04-22. http://torrentfreak.com/utorrent-is-going-to-make-money-090422/. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ "Forum: µTorrent Namesake (post by creator "Ludde")". Ludvig Strigeus. 2005-09-20. http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?pid=47#p47. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ "Review: µTorrent 1.2.2". PC Magazine. 2006-11-06. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1911890,00.asp. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ PC Magazine. Published 01-MAR-08.
- ^ PC World. Published 01-MAY-07
- ^ "BitTorrent Client Comparison". TorrentFreak. 2006-04-11. http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-client-comparison/. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ "What Are The Good BitTorrent Software Packages?". About.com. August 2009. http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/peersharing/f/torrentclients.htm/. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ "The Best of BitTorrent". Wired.com. 2006-10-23. http://www.wired.com/software/softwarereviews/news/2006/10/71979. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ "Labs test: Torrent Clients". Australian PC Authority. 2006-03-14. http://www.pcauthority.com.au/GroupTests/35845,labs-test-torrent-clients.aspx. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ "Best of the Best: The Hive Five Winners". Lifehacker. 2008-09-21. http://lifehacker.com/5052582/best-of-the-best-the-hive-five-winners. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ "Review: µTorrent". CNET. 2008-11-06. http://download.cnet.com/uTorrent/3000-2196_4-10528327.html. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
[edit] External links
- Official Website
- uTorrent: A Beginner's Guide to BitTorrent Downloading by Jared M
- p2pnet uTorrent interview by Alex H
- Can great software live in 130 kilobytes? by George Ou
901 in progress...BitTorrentCompanies People Technology Clients
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