iUseApple

Peer to Peer (P2P) and Bit Torrent on a Mac

Applications like Napster and Limewire are outdated by todays standards. Peer to Peer (P2P) applications of the past meant you could download a file from one source over the internet. Newer innovations like Bit Torrent allow you to download one file from many sources, while uploading parts of the file to others simultaneously.

But how does Bit Torrent work? Basically, there are Bit Torrent websites out there like PirateBay.org and IsoHunt.com where you can search for files. But these websites do not actually host the file itself, instead they provide a torrent file and the service of tracking. A torrent file coordinates the download of the actual file, while the tracker hosts the communication between people sharing the file. So, you download the torrent file from a website, then use a Bit Torrent application on your computer to open the torrent file and handle the download. When you download the file, you are called a leecher. After you are finished downloading the file, you are known as a seeder. It is important to seed the file to others for a period of time, so that the file can thrive. Bit Torrent depends on people seeding the file. The more seeders, the faster the download.

There are several Bit Torrent solutions for Mac OS X. The best application I’ve used is called Transmission. Transmission presents itself with a simple, yet powerful interface. This app is free and open source.

For sticklers of old school P2P, here is a directory of all the P2P Apps available for OS X.

iUseApple.com does not condone the theft of copywrited materials, nor does this site encourage the downloading of illegal files.