The OS X Bittorrent client XTorrent got released as a public beta a few days ago. The new version features enhanced search functionality, giving users the ability to include torrent sites of their choice, as well as Twitter integration and performance improvements.

The improved performance should largely be due to the fact that XTorrent switched from the libtransmission library to its own implementation of Bittorrent. From the delevoper’s blog:

“Xtorrent 2 features a brand new torrent engine named Xcore. This engine has been designed exclusively for Mac OS X and written in 100% Cocoa. The result is a lightweight, powerful, and very stable download engine that supports torrent extensions such as encrypted message streams.”

I tested XTorrent over the weekend and found it to be a very clean and responsive torrent client. The design is definitely something others have looked at and learned from, and the integrated RSS feed catcher is an important bonus for users that need this feature but otherwise prefer lightweight clients like Transmission. Read more »

TVU Networks this week introduced PVR-like functionality for its P2P TV platform, letting subscribers record 300 or so live TV channels from around the world, including Cartoon Network, BBC World News and Telemundo. Users can record shows in real time or schedule them for later. Due to the nature of the service, however, there’s no TiVo-like programming guide available; Mountain View, Calif.-based TVU essentially picks up signals from its broadcast partners and redistributes them with the help of P2P technology.

That also means users have to install the startup’s software in order to make use of the DVR functionality — or watch any of the TV channels in real time, for that matter. And finally, they have to cough up $2 per month for TVU’s DVR service. But while all these factors make the service seem unlikely to succeed, something tells me that TVU’s audience is a forgiving one. Continue reading on Newteevee.com.

L.A.based start-up Media Hog officially launched the open beta of its S4ve.as one-click hosting service this week. S4ve.as offers unlimited file hosting (as in: files can be as small or as big as you want), and the service is currently both free and and-free, but it comes with a catch: Files can only be downloaded for 24 hours, after which they expire.

Media Hog was founded by a couple of Napster veterans. We’re talking the music service, not the file sharing platform, but that didn’t stop the start-up from trying to venture into the world of P2P. Media Hog’s original idea was to launch a file sharing platform that would feature files from users as well as sponsored content from media companies.

The founders pitched this idea to entertainment execs in L.A., but received a somewhat muted response. However, it doesn’t hurt to chit chat when you’re already in Hollywood’s offices, and the Media Hog folks kept hearing one thing over and over again: What we’d personally really like to see, folks in the business told them, would be an easier way to share files for work.

And S4ve.as aims to offer just that. Users don’t have to register, and the site automatically spits out Bit.ly links to its files, something that should make the Twitter crowd happy. There are not really any additional features at this time, but I’ve been told that Media Hog is carefully watching the behavior of its users to see what the service should offer next.

Despite being ensnared in legal proceedings with the MPAA, isoHunt is continuing to grow. Adding fuel to the ’significant non-infringing use’ argument is their latest partnership, with the Creative Commons music distribution site Jamendo.

When BitTorrent sites have come under attack by media groups and their battalions of lawyers, it’s usual for them to pull up the drawbridge and keep the site going as is, and try to get the case over with as soon as possible.

The other option is to close down and hunt for a settlement, but isoHunt, like its other big-site brethren, hasn’t. Despite a legal campaign that’s now over two years old, it continues to grow and add features and functionality.

One of these new developments has been the addition of increasing numbers of Creative Commons (CC) licensed material. Creative Commons media is licensed by the creator, to be shared – usually with some restrictions – and is the same license used by TorrentFreak.

It’s not a niche license, instead it is becoming increasingly popular, with Nine Inch Nails having released their Ghosts album under a CC license earlier this year.

read more

Call me a party pooper, but I couldn’t care less about Guinness Book records. I also don’t like overloaded servers that make me wait for forever, so here we go:

Firefox 3.0, English (US). Windows (7.1MB) (via The Pirate Bay)
Firefox 3.0, English (US). OS X (17.2 MB) (via The Pirate Bay)

I didn’t upload the torrents, but I double-checked the signature of the Windows copy and did a SHA1 checksum comparison for the dmg file – these are legitimate 3.0 finals, the same files that would be available at Mozilla.com if the server wasn’t down.