Bittorrent, the company, has released the stable version of their popular torrent client µTorrent. More than four million users have downloaded pre-release versions of the software from the developer forums.
µtorrent 3.0 introduces several new features. Before I take a closer look at those, I’d like to point out that µTorrent 2.x users need to download the new version from the developer website. There is no automatic update from version 2 to version 3 of the client at the time of writing. The latest version of µTorrent is available at the official download page. The torrent client is available for windows, Mac and Linux based operating systems. Users need to pay close attention to the installation dialog, as it includes offers to install unrelated software on the computer.
So what’s new in µTorrent 3.0?
The press release and official blog post list several new features. Lets take a look at each of them:
- Streaming: µtorrent 3.0 users can now start viewing videos after they have started to download them in the client. This is done with the help of the progressive download feature which prioritizes the beginning of a video file on download. Users can click on the Streaming button to start viewing videos they download right away. This feature is not available for all video file types or supported by all media players.
- µtorrent Remote: Access your µTorrent client and downloads from the web. Start, stop and monitor your downloads and uploads even if you are not near the computer that runs the software.
- Ratings: Torrents can now be rated and commented on. This has been added as a quality control mechanism.
- Drag and drop sending: Simply drag and drop files that you want to send into the drop area of the client. uTorrent creates a web link which can then be shared with recipients.
- Portable Mode: A portable mode has been added so that uTorrent can be started from portable devices and without installation.
Another feature addition is uChat, a chat application that can be installed from the Find Content panel in uTorrent 3.0.
The company furthermore is now advertising µtorrent Plus on the company website which appears to be a paid version of the popular client.
A 12 month subscription costs $24.95 and includes built-in antivirus protection, a HD media player, converter for mobile devices and the ability to remotely download contents. The Plus version is advertised under Apps in the free client.
The core features remain free. The new version of uTorrent adds several interesting and free versions to the popular p2p software. Especially the native ability to make the client portable, stability enhancements and the ability to watch movies while they are downloading are welcome additions. Utorrent Plus on the other hand does not seem disturb the core file downloading and seeding capabilities of the program. It instead adds programs and features to the software that some users may find useful, and others absolutely unnecessary.
© Martin Brinkmann for gHacks Technology News | Latest Tech News, Software And Tutorials, 2011. | Permalink |
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Post tags: bittorrent, linux software, mac software, p2p software, utorrent, windows software
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