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BitTorrent in trouble - one fifth laid off

7 August 2008 3:53 by Matti "Siggy" Vähäkainu | 18 comments

BitTorrent in trouble - one fifth laid off Peer-to-peer company BitTorrent Inc. is laying off over a fifth of their employees. The company was forced to drop 12 of their 55 employees after a disastrous failure in marketing their online media store. According to Valleywag, the $15 million deal with giant electronics retailer Best Buy was cancelled, because of an FCC ruling on file sharing.

In addition to developing the widely spread and adopted BitTorrent-protocol, the company has collaborated with major movie and television studios such as 20th Century Fox, Comedy Central, Lionsgate Films, Paramount, Warner Brothers and Spike TV, as well as network device manufacturers D-Link and Buffalo. The aim of the collaborations was to distribute TV shows and movies legally via P2P networks.

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    13thHouR (Inactive) 7 August 2008 4:40 Send private message to this user   
    Maybe the MPAA masters ala Sony and Disney want full control over distribution too, and are pulling ranks to thwart bittorrents efforts, or maybe it's bittorrents stance against DRM and again why neither Sony or Disney have signed up?


    This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 7 August 2008 4:56

    susieqbbb (Member) 7 August 2008 4:41 Send private message to this user   
    But there lies the problem..

    Why do users of p2p networks want to pay for anything when they can get it for nothing.

    So placing videos for sale is really worthless
    13thHouR (Inactive) 7 August 2008 5:01 Send private message to this user   
    Originally posted by susieqbbb:
    But there lies the problem..

    Why do users of p2p networks want to pay for anything when they can get it for nothing.

    So placing videos for sale is really worthless
    it's a distribution method dude. The problem is finding companies willing to pony up the dollars to use your technology or service and the MPAA masters want to control the whole picture from start to screen as this thwarts independent producers from bypassing their protection racket. unless these corporate thieves get a slice of the pie media is not allowed to be shown don't you know!


    This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 7 August 2008 5:03

    domie (Member) 7 August 2008 5:35 Send private message to this user   
    it may be a distribution method but i think susie is right - the attraction of p2p for many of the end users ( us ) is not just the fact that you get it for free - it's the thrill that some of us feel of getting something you are "supposed" to pay for absolutely free of charge.

    start charging for the downloads and i reckon the vast majority would ignore it and that's where the real problem is, irrespective of whether the users can afford it or not.

    having run a p2p site for years in the past, i can only say that i always had the impression that a lot of the time, whether it be games or software or films , a large proportion of peers downloaded stuff with absolutely no intention of using it, listening to it, watching it or playing it - it was more the kick they got from having it, applying the cracks, simply having the ability to apply it on their PCs without digging into their pockets etc :- not everybody but a lot of people did it just for the hell of having it or having nothing better to do at the time and being bored.

    we are all potential collection addicts of whatever the media involved.
    ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 7 August 2008 5:45 Send private message to this user   
    domie

    Thats not the point they have to break ground on a legit service and with the time and money put into it it will fail and then the DRM nazis will come in and make the thing a living rootkit to spy on everythign you do.

    The problem is BT should have stayed indapendant and focused on the smaller less...mmm backstabing and "cavity filling" companies.

    He'll get money either way but they'll get everythign else.
    7thsinger (AfterDawn Addict) 7 August 2008 12:19 Send private message to this user   
    Quote:
    The problem is BT should have stayed indapendant and focused on the smaller less...mmm backstabing and "cavity filling" companies.
    I'm inclined to agree there Zippy.
    ugc (Member) 7 August 2008 12:53 Send private message to this user   
    one thing I don't like about this "Business model" is the fact that I would pay to get my download, and then, (the way a torrent works), their company would use MY bandwidth to distribute to others without reimbursing me.

    ...so I say to BitTorrent..... "Where's my money?"...lol
    sgriesch (Newbie) 7 August 2008 13:40 Send private message to this user   
    Originally posted by ugc:
    one thing I don't like about this "Business model" is the fact that I would pay to get my download, and then, (the way a torrent works), their company would use MY bandwidth to distribute to others without reimbursing me.

    ...so I say to BitTorrent..... "Where's my money?"...lol
    That's really a legit point as some communications companies are beginning to think about charging by usage. Would you get credit based on the number of movies you are sharing, allowing you to buy new ones at a cheaper price because you are seeding so many? No seeders = no Bit Torrent
    ThePastor (Junior Member) 7 August 2008 17:36 Send private message to this user   
    Then there's the thing where torrents work perfectly well and have vast choices all without signing up or paying for anything. What possible draw could a pay-per-torrent site have? Who would use such a thing? What would be the point?
    Then again, I can't for the life of me figure out how iTunes is able to get people.
    Go figure.
    OneMember (Senior Member) 7 August 2008 18:47 Send private message to this user   
    Quote:
    Quote:
    The problem is BT should have stayed indapendant and focused on the smaller less...mmm backstabing and "cavity filling" companies.
    I'm inclined to agree there Zippy.

    Same here...
    david89 (Newbie) 8 August 2008 1:35 Send private message to this user   
    if they did like music companys finally did on itunes without DRM protection and had right price i think they would sale some untill then forget it.
    13thHouR (Inactive) 8 August 2008 4:53 Send private message to this user   
    Quote:
    Originally posted by ugc:
    one thing I don't like about this "Business model" is the fact that I would pay to get my download, and then, (the way a torrent works), their company would use MY bandwidth to distribute to others without reimbursing me.

    ...so I say to BitTorrent..... "Where's my money?"...lol
    That's really a legit point as some communications companies are beginning to think about charging by usage. Would you get credit based on the number of movies you are sharing, allowing you to buy new ones at a cheaper price because you are seeding so many? No seeders = no Bit Torrent

    that's exactly what's happening in the UK with services like the BBCi Player, Sky Player and 4OD via the Kontiki p2p software that installs and shares bandwidth without the average pc user being aware of this happening and also does not appear in the add remove programmes, which is even more of a crime when you think that the bbc is funded by the UK public.

    mostly all isp's in the uk have a fup (fair usage policy) and/or limits which either involve you being charged for every extra gb uploaded or downloaded and/or severely limited if you exceed your usage, and traffic shape 24/7

    In reality though they do not need that many seeders to have a blisteringly fast service especially how bittorrent works, if you want to get the file quick you need seeders if you are willing to wait or pay for a service that uses ftp fair enough, but it's not that hard to add up downloads and manage your monthly allowance especially with network management tools that calculate your bandwidth for u and when you have your download simply stop the transfer.


    This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 8 August 2008 4:56

    bugnot (Newbie) 8 August 2008 9:50 Send private message to this user   
    why should i pay for files when everyone is getting it free. i am an active user of edited. and i get all i want .

    This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 8 August 2008 12:32

    13thHouR (Inactive) 8 August 2008 9:55 Send private message to this user   
    Originally posted by bugnot:
    why should i pay for files when everyone is getting it free. i am an active user of edited. and i get all i want .
    what is this some sort of spam?

    This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 8 August 2008 12:33

    rdxtreme (Member) 8 August 2008 9:59 Send private message to this user   
    so this is called irony right
    7thsinger (AfterDawn Addict) 8 August 2008 11:04 Send private message to this user   
    Originally posted by 13thHouR:
    Originally posted by bugnot:
    why should i pay for files when everyone is getting it free. i am an active user of edited. and i get all i want .
    what is this some sort of spam?
    Kinda seems that way, doesn't it?

    EDIT: removed link from quote as well.

    This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 8 August 2008 12:34

    DVDBack23 (Staff Member) 8 August 2008 12:31 Send private message to this user   
    Quote:
    Originally posted by bugnot:
    why should i pay for files when everyone is getting it free. i am an active user of edited. and i get all i want .
    what is this some sort of spam?
    Well his username was taken right from BugMeNot, so he didn't even register legitimately, I will edit the link out.

    This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 8 August 2008 12:32

    borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 9 August 2008 18:17 Send private message to this user   
    Sad to hear about the job losses but i have to say i love the collabaration of the companies involved because its the movie studios are realizing the importance of p2p technology.
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