BitTorrent is not only a peer-to-peer file transfer protocol but also the official software used to connect to the BitTorrent network. The software had not seen a major update in about two years until it bought out uTorrent, which reinvigorated the original BitTorrent client by adopting its new sibling’s interface and features. This includes the ability to pick which files in a torrent to download, throttle your Internet connection, and use the Web UI. However, the review also notes that BitTorrent’s search goes to BitTorrent.com, a pay-for-most-content site, whereas uTorrent’s search takes you to the MiniNova torrent site. The reviewer also notes that BitTorrent has taken drastic steps to reverse course and unsink its sinking ship by reducing memory usage and shrinking the install file size. However, the reviewer finds the description of the DNA feature to be nebulous and hard to understand.
It has an RSS tracker and a search bar, just like uTorrent, but there is one big difference. When you search for something on uTorrent, you go to the MiniNova torrent site. When you search on BitTorrent, you go to BitTorrent.com, which is a pay-for-most-content site. The BitTorrent client also has a menu bar item called “Get Stuff” that lets you access Movies, TV, Music, and Games at the BitTorrent content site.
BitTorrent has, without a doubt, taken drastic steps to change direction and stop its ship from sinking. Even though BT still uses more memory than its new sibling, it does so much less now than it did in the past. Version 5’s install file was almost 6MB, but version 6’s is less than 1MB, which shows that the new code has been added.
DNA is a small piece of software that comes with BT. The BT website calls it a protocol for “Delivery Network Acceleration,” but it’s hard to tell what it does from that vague description.
