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μTorrent

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µTorrent
Developer(s)BitTorrent, Inc.
Initial releaseSeptember 18, 2005
Written inC++
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
Mac OS X 10.5 (Intel only)
Wine officially supported[1]
Size264 kB
Available in43 languages
TypeBitTorrent client
LicenseFreeware
Websitehttp://www.utorrent.com/
File:ΜTorrent icon.svg
The original icon

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 most used BitTorrent client and the second most popular P2P application.[3] BitTorrent, Inc. claims that there are at least 28 million unique users using µTorrent per month.[4]

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.[5] The code has also been employed by BitTorrent, Inc. as the basis for version 6.0 of the BitTorrent client which makes that client a re-branded version of µTorrent.

History

Early development

Out of general discontent with bloatware, Serge Paquet suggested to Ludvig Strigeus that he make a small and efficient BitTorrent client. Strigeus began to conceptualize the plans for the program's development, which, at the time, did not include making the client feature-rich. After initially working on it for about a month during the autumn of 2004 (the first build is dated October 17, 2004), mostly during his free time before or after work, Strigeus ceased coding µTorrent for a year. He resumed work on September 15, 2005, and three days later, the first public release (version 1.1 beta) was made available as freeware, and began generating feedback.

Advertisements

In early versions, Strigeus had built in a web redirection via nanotorrent for search queries entered through the search bar that displayed advertisements in a frame on the web browser. Some users thought this suspicious because tracking could be implemented by recording the IP addresses of those downloading/receiving the advertisements, and the search functionality could easily be used to track user queries through whichever web-interface the client is going through to execute the search. After a short trial period, the advertising was disabled, mitigating possible concerns.[6]

A later version of the software has, instead of ads, a "search all sites" feature, which is a keyword-based search bar that delivers listings of torrent files at different trackers. A frame at the top displays advertisements (server-side) in the browser when the search function is used. In version 1.5, no ads are present in the program itself.

As of build 463, a redirect bypass feature became available in the Advanced options.

PeerFactor SARL

On March 4, 2006, PeerFactor SARL[7] announced the signing of a six-month contract with Strigeus for the development of "new content distribution applications on the Web."[8] PeerFactor SARL is a relatively new company formed by former employees of PeerFactor, which was a subsidiary of the French anti-piracy organization Retspan.

Ludde stated that his coding for PeerFactor SARL was to use his expertise at optimization of the BitTorrent protocol to create a .dll which PeerFactor SARL intended to use as part of a distribution platform for files in a corporate setting.[9] At the time there was some speculation that μTorrent may have been modified to spy on users on Peerfactor's behalf [10] [11], however to date (even following μTorrent's acquisition by BitTorrent, Inc.) no evidence has been produced to support these allegations.

Ownership change

On December 7, 2006, µTorrent was purchased by BitTorrent, Inc., as it was announced on their official forum.[5] µTorrent will continue to have its own website and community for now, and the µTorrent code base will remain closed source. Ludvig Strigeus, the writer of µTorrent, will serve as a technical consultant, but BitTorrent, Inc. will do the majority of the development work.[12]

On September 18, 2007, BitTorrent 6.0 was released, which is a re-branded version of µTorrent. As a result, BitTorrent 6 is closed-source (unlike BitTorrent 5.x and before, which were open source software) and is currently only available for Windows.

Mac version

Screenshot of the Mac OS X version of μTorrent
File:ΜTorrentAppIcon.png
The icon for the Mac OS X version

A separate version of µTorrent for Mac OS X has been in development for years.[13] As of November 27, 2008 a beta version (Intel x86 only) is available for download on a separate section[1] of the website.[14]

Release history

Version Size Release date
1.0.0 77 kB
1.1.7 98 kB 2005-10-22
1.2.2 107 kB 2005-11-25
1.3.0 115 kB 2005-12-10
1.4.0 130 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
1.8.2 264 kB 2009-01-24

Pronunciation

"You" (u) or "Micro" (μ)

The author of µTorrent wrote in 2005, "I usually say 'you torrent' because it looks like a u", and offered "microtorrent" and "mytorrent" as candidate pronunciations.[15] 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.

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.

Features

Features present in µTorrent include:

Size

µTorrent is shipped as a single stand-alone compressed executable file, and does not require installation through an installer, which is available for trivial installation. Recent versions have included the ability to install themselves on first run. Small executable size is achieved by avoiding the use of many libraries, notably the C++ standard library and stream facilities, and creating substitutes written specifically for the program. The executable is then compressed to roughly half of its compiled and linked size using UPX.

Reception

μTorrent is praised for its small size and the minimal computer resources it uses which sets it apart from other clients. Commonly the only criticism it faces is that it is closed source. 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] It was mentioned in the Sakaal Times.[30]

See also

References

  1. ^ http://wiki.winehq.org/AppsThatSupportWine
  2. ^ FAQ Page: How can µTorrent be so small and so fast? on http://www.utorrent.com/faq.php, the µTorrent FAQ page; accessed July 13, 2007.
  3. ^ Eric Lai, "Study: LimeWire Still Top P2P Software; UTorrent #2", Computerworld (April 17, 2008); Retrieved on October 22, 2008.
  4. ^ "uTorrent Grows to 28 Million Monthly Users". TorrentFreak. 2008-12-25. Retrieved 2009-01-13.
  5. ^ a b "µTorrent and BitTorrent Join Forces". µTorrent.com forums. 2006-12-07. Retrieved 2006-12-08.
  6. ^ "Post by administrator "Firon" in thread "The search bypass nanotorrent.com"". There's no data collected, it's just used to display ads for certain keywords ... It was used as a domain instead of being integrated into the client so the ad thing could be turned off later easily if the response to it was negative. Also, it may be used in the future to provide a "search all sites" feature.
  7. ^ PeerFactor SARL's website.
  8. ^ "uTorrent Sign Six Month PeerFactor Agreement" by Michael Ingram, published by Slyck News March 4, 2006.
  9. ^ "uTorrent, PeerFactor SARL deal" by Alex H., published on P2Pnet on March 13, 2006; accessed April 18, 2006. The article recounts a December 2005 interview with Strigeus about the ramifications of the PeerFactor deal.
  10. ^ P2PNet - Bizarre uTorrent, PeerFactor deal
  11. ^ Slyck News - uTorrent sign six month PeerFactor agreement
  12. ^ BitTorrent Inc Buys uTorrent. Torrentfreak.com. December 07, 2006.
  13. ^ "FAQ: Is there a Linux or Mac version?". Retrieved December 5, 2008.
  14. ^ "TorrentFreak - uTorrent Releases Long-Awaited Mac Version". November 27, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2008.
  15. ^ Post by Ludvig "ludde" Strigeus in thread "µTorrent Namesake" on forum.utorrent.com, the official µTorrent forums; accessed April 18, 2006.
  16. ^ µTorrent - The lightweight and efficient BitTorrent client - FAQ
  17. ^ Forum thread "Translation status" on forum.utorrent.com; accessed April 20, 2006.
  18. ^ Forum threads under "User Interface Design" on forum.utorrent.com; accessed April 24, 2006
  19. ^ µTorrent FAQ - Answer about Embedded Tracker
  20. ^ At A Glance
  21. ^ Patrick Norton (2006-11-06). "uTorrent Review". PC Magazine. Retrieved 2008-09-20. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ PC Magazine. Published 01-MAR-08.
  23. ^ PC World. Published 01-MAY-07
  24. ^ http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-client-comparison/
  25. ^ http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/peersharing/f/torrentclients.htm/
  26. ^ http://www.wired.com/software/softwarereviews/news/2006/10/71979
  27. ^ http://www.pcauthority.com.au/GroupTests/35845,labs-test-torrent-clients.aspx
  28. ^ http://lifehacker.com/5052582/best-of-the-best-the-hive-five-winners
  29. ^ http://www.download.com/uTorrent/3000-2196_4-10528327.html#editorsreview
  30. ^ http://www.sakaaltimes.com/2008/11/04203442/Affordable-gift-ideas.html
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