No, It's Not the New Napster

Welcome to the BitTorrent and BitTorrent client news section of Quartermeg.com!

Bram Cohen estimates that a third of all Internet bandwidth these days is tied up in his file-distribution program called BitTorrent. If that's right, the program that the 30-year-old New York native (now living in the Bay Area) wrote in 2001 is now responsible for one in three bits moving on the Net. BitTorrent, which cleverly exploits peer-to-peer technology to move big files speedily (especially media like music and video), is both a scary reality (piracy!) and enticing possibility (efficiency!) for Hollywood. Forty-five million people have used it, many for illegal copying. But for whatever reason, Cohen has so far been spared the fate of Napster and Grokster, and has yet to be sued by record labels or movie studios. In fact, he recently flew down to L.A. to take a meeting with top movie-industry lobbyist Dan Glickman. And investors see a future in BitTorrent: Cohen's company recently received $8.75 million in venture capital. Though no one knows what's in store for BitTorrent, the program and its creator are definitely in for a wild ride. Cohen shared his thoughts about it via his cell phone in California.