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BitTorrent (was: Microsoft edging toward ... )
On Saturday, Feb 12, 2005, at 23:42 US/Central, Bryan J. Smith wrote:
> On Sat, 2005-02-12 at 19:39 -0600, Robert Citek wrote:
>> Now enter FLOSS, BitTorrent, and inexpensive broadband. With FLOSS
>> getting more and more press, people are beginning to realize that they
>> could keep their existing hardware and install FLOSS instead. But how
>> do they get FLOSS? Answer: use BitTorrent and download the FLOSS over
>> your inexpensive broadband connection.
>
> Again, how did this differ than CD swaps or downloads from friends
> before?
How: Shear volume per unit time. It's the same process but much faster
and easier to set up. You don't need a dedicated ftp server or http
server. All you need is a dedicated tracker and at least one
downloader with a full copy of the file.
> I don't see this causing an increased adoption of Linux.
Perhaps not linux, but I would guess BT + broadband is causing
increased adoption and acceptance of FLOSS. BT itself is OpenSource
and runs on Linux, Mac OS/X, and Windows (and probably many other OSes
by now). Once people get more comfortable with the concept of FLOSS,
then, yes, I do believe more people will start using Linux.
> It's merely an avenue.
Yes, BT is an avenue. But not merely an avenue. It is a fundamentally
different way of distributing bits. If nothing else, BT differs from
ftp and http in that BT spreads out the distribution workload among the
clients.
BTW, for comparison, major changes in societies have happened when
there were changes in the avenues by which people got goods and
services. For example, the West opened up with the building of the
Transcontinental railroad, suburbs popped up with the advent of the
automobile, the world became smaller because of the airplane. In this
day and age we can even make virtual trips to places across the world
in a matter of seconds. For example, I can visit Mount Saint Helens
with a click on this link:
http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/index.shtml
Getting goods and services from here to there is, and always will be, a
big challenge for businesses.
> BSD, Linux and other development and adoption was going on well before
> cheap broadband.
Agreed. BT + broadband makes getting the software easier. Not
everyone can host an ftp or http server. But, every Joe or Jane can
participate in BT.
>> We are becoming very comfortable with getting software
>> (and other items, e.g. orders, contracts, etc.) over the 'net.
>
> At the same time, we have rampant spyware issues.
Spyware is a totally different issue. BT + broadband is only a means
to get the software. It makes no guarantee as to what kind of software
you get. You can get spyware via CD swapping, ftp, http, and even
sftp, just as you can via BT.
> And yes, I have been recommending The OpenCD very often since I first
> heard about it a few years ago.
It's a bummer they don't include a BT client, even though TheOpenCd
itself is available via BT:
http://www.theopencd.org/
index.php?option=com_static&staticfile=download.html
http://hirisemultimedia.com/TOCD2.iso.bz2.torrent
>> So, while I agree that business consumers will challenge Microsoft, I
>> believe they will be looking to non-traditional distributors and
>> non-traditional distribution methods, such as BitTorrent.
>
> But there is still a lot that comes from the traditional OEM channels.
Agreed. But I suspect that may be changing. Again, I could be wrong.
Regards,
- Robert
http://www.cwelug.org/downloads
Help others get OpenSource software. Distribute FLOSS
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