The History of Bit Torrent

Many programs use Bram Cohen's BitTorrent protocol to download media and other content from other users on the Internet. The original BitTorrent client, also by Cohen, is still available and allows users to share content via torrents.

Creation

Bram Cohen, a computer programmer, developer the BitTorrent protocol and released the BitTorrent client that was capable of using the protocol to download files in 2001. At the time, Cohen used the Python language to create the software and allowed others to download BitTorrent for free under the MIT License. According to The New York Times, the first usable version became available in 2002.

Rising Success

The BitTorrent client and protocol saw rising success in the early and mid-2000s. According to the New York Times, Japanese anime fans began using the software to share anime cartoons. In addition to this, other developers began creating their own clients that relied on the BitTorrent protocol.

Movie Agreements

Cohen came to an agreement with the Motion Picture Association of America to prevent the exchange of illegal movie content via the BitTorrent website in 2005 in an effort to limit piracy of movies. In 2007, Cohen's company unveiled the BitTorrent Entertainment Network, which provided users with legal movie and television content for a fee.

Current Version

BitTorrent, Inc. no longer provides access to its source material to other developers. As of BitTorrent 6.0, the program became a rebranded version of uTorrent, another torrent client. However, users can still download the software for free. As of August 2010, the most recent version of the program is BitTorrent 6.4

References

• The New York Times: File Sharing's New Face
• The New York Times:Web Site Agrees to Help Curb Access to Movies
• The New York Times:Software Tool of Pirates Gets Work in Hollywood
• NetChunks:The History of BitTorrent

Resources

• decentralization:BitTorrent - a new P2P app