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. The company was founded on September 22, 2004 by Bram Cohen and Ashwin Navin.
Products
BitTorrent
BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer program developed by Bram Cohen and BitTorrent, Inc. 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
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 and Mac OS X. A µTorrent Server is available for Linux. All versions are written in C++.[1]
On December 7, 2006, µTorrent was purchased by BitTorrent, Inc., as it was announced on their official forum.[2]
BitTorrent/μTorrent Plus
Plus versions of BitTorrent and μTorrent are premium versions of the software with additional features that are downloaded and installed when the user upgrades for $24.95 USD.[3] Pre-sales for Plus were announced November 29, 2011 and the upgrade became available December 8, 2011.[4]
When a user upgrades to the Plus version of BitTorrent or μTorrent they enable the following features:[5]
- Anti-virus protection for acquired .torrent files
- Integrated HD media player[6]
- Transcoding capability with media codecs
- Remote access to files in the client's library
BitTorrent Live (beta)
Currently in open beta,[7] BitTorrent Live was first announced in September 2011, and was first publicly tested on October 14, 2011.[8] BitTorrent premiered Live in public beta in March 2013.[9] The platform is currently used to showcase live streaming events of musical acts and DJs.[10]
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.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13]
Other products and services
BitTorrent, Inc. also offers BitTorrent DNA (Delivery Network Accelerator),[14] a free content delivery service based on the BitTorrent protocol that allows content providers to distribute their content using the bandwidth of their users.
Licensing
Additionally, BitTorrent Inc. licenses its technology and brands to corporate customers. The BitTorrent Software Development Kit (SDK) for Devices enables partners to integrate BitTorrent technology into their hardware products.[15]
Awards & recognitions
In April 2006, BitTorrent was selected as 2006 Red Herring 100 North America Finalist.[16]
In June 2007, the company received CNET’s 2007 Webware 100 Award.[17]
In June 2007, BitTorrent was the recipient of 2007 DCIA Innovator’s Award.[18]
In November 2007, BitTorrent received Streaming Media Readers’ Choice Award.[19]
In May 2010, BitTorrent was recognized as one of the “2010 Hottest San Francisco Companies” by Lead411.[20]
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."[21]
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/led bat-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.[22][23]
See also
References
External links
One of the most used torrent clients in the United States.
