Sunday, December 11th 2011

uTorrent Goes Freemium: $24.95/Yr Option For Extra Features

Well, it looks like the freemium model of selling software is working quite well in the industry, as Bram Cohen's very popular BitTorrent application, uTorrent, has just adopted this model. Known for being fast, efficient and light on system resources, it has now gained a few pounds, sorry features in version 3, some of which are available only for a subscription of $24.95 per year. These include things like an antivirus scanner powered by BitDefender, a media player and integrated support for converting popular video file types such as MPEG4, H.264, Theora, and VP8, as well as MP3, AAC and AC-3 audio files. The media player is interesting, in that it allows playback of videos that are still downloading. Note that this feature is also available in the free version.

For those that still want to hang on to the lean and mean free version, it's still available and isn't going away any time soon. Both versions can be compared here. Perhaps it's ironic that this legal application which is often used for software "piracy" can now itself be pirated… Cohen's take on this will be interesting.
Source: TechSpot
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92 Comments on uTorrent Goes Freemium: $24.95/Yr Option For Extra Features

#27
RejZoR
Not sure why would anyone pay for something you get otherwise legally free with Foobar, Media Player Classic and a good old avast! Antivirus separately.
Posted on Reply
#28
newtekie1
Semi-Retired Folder
I don't think this will make the guy rich, or even allow him to quit his day job. But if he gets 200 subscribers and makes an extra $4,000 a year(after taxes and shit) then good for him. I do a lot of things on the side that don't generate a huge amount of money, but they generate money, and right now any extra money in my pocket is good.
Posted on Reply
#29
Frizz
I remember back in my teeny bopping high school days when downloading limewire pro with limewire was cool, considering what Mussels wrote, history is repeating itself :laugh:
Posted on Reply
#30
qubit
Overclocked quantum bit
tiggerImo torrents are poo, direct downloads are far better.
Are you saying that because torrents come down slowly for you? If so, it's lilkely to be your ISP playing silly games with throttling. :shadedshu Also, you have to consider the source. Since there's no central server to seed 100% of the time when downloading something off a torrent search site, such as the Pirate Bay, bandwidth can drop significantly. However, say you download the latest Linux distro from Red Hat or whatever, they will have dedicated torrent servers that'll give you all the bandwidth you need and more. Therefore, having more downloaders join the swarm, just makes the download that much more solid.
Posted on Reply
#31
Wile E
Power User
Musselstorrenting the cracked version of utorrent via utorrent will cause irony sensors to overload and explode, much like googling google.
I used to download Limewire Pro with Limewire.
btarunrLimewiring Limewire Pro, encore.
Beat me to it. lol.
blibbaBut that would be immoral!

I think this should be interpreted as a way of encouraging contributions. He's not stupid, he knows people will pirate it, but he wants to make it obvious that he's put some work in and perhaps deserves a reward, and he estimates that is product is worth $24.95 per year of use.
Using a real patent to make money is not immoral. Only patent trolling is immoral.
PVTCaboose1337I started using Usenet. It saturates any available connection, and you don't have to upload data back.

Regarding open source software, a ton of it is distributed via torrent, and for that reason I still have a torrent client installed. Although I am paranoid enough to use it in conjunction with I2P even if the content is open source.
Usenet costs money. No thanks.

Torrents are still plenty useful, and you do not get bothered for using them unless you are trying to pirate high profile things. And most torrents I grab saturate my connection just fine.

I still use it to download my missed TV shows and anime I can't get here. Usenet is absolutely not worth it for that.

And don't even try to sell me on garbage services like Rapidshare and crap like that.

Nope, I'll stick with torrents, tyvm. Usenet has no benefits for me at all.
Posted on Reply
#33
pantherx12
I use torrents to share my videos sometimes.

Some people still don't know how to download a youtube video but they know how to torrent so I distribute that way.
Posted on Reply
#34
PVTCaboose1337
Graphical Hacker
Wile EUsenet costs money. No thanks.

Torrents are still plenty useful, and you do not get bothered for using them unless you are trying to pirate high profile things. And most torrents I grab saturate my connection just fine.

I still use it to download my missed TV shows and anime I can't get here. Usenet is absolutely not worth it for that.

And don't even try to sell me on garbage services like Rapidshare and crap like that.

Nope, I'll stick with torrents, tyvm. Usenet has no benefits for me at all.
I got tired of slumming it watching everything in low definition. 1080p movies and 720p tv shows? Yes please. Good luck finding those on torrent sites. They do exist, but they won't be the most seeded by a long shot. Also, remember, for 0 day stuff, usenet gets it first. Know all those torrents you get that are rar'd into multiple files? Those are from usenet.

But for anime I have found that torrents are a little better for obscure shows, although not much better.
Posted on Reply
#35
erocker
*
PVTCaboose13371080p movies and 720p tv shows? Yes please. Good luck finding those on torrent sites
I have zero problems finding what I want in 720p/1080p.
Posted on Reply
#36
pantherx12
PVTCaboose1337I got tired of slumming it watching everything in low definition. 1080p movies and 720p tv shows? Yes please. Good luck finding those on torrent sites. They do exist, but they won't be the most seeded by a long shot. Also, remember, for 0 day stuff, usenet gets it first. Know all those torrents you get that are rar'd into multiple files? Those are from usenet.

But for anime I have found that torrents are a little better for obscure shows, although not much better.
I know a guy that only gets 720p stuff and always manages to get a high-speed torrent.


All legit stuff obviously :laugh:
Posted on Reply
#37
Wile E
Power User
jmcslobNever heard of www.icefilms.info I take it....
Crap quality.
PVTCaboose1337I got tired of slumming it watching everything in low definition. 1080p movies and 720p tv shows? Yes please. Good luck finding those on torrent sites. They do exist, but they won't be the most seeded by a long shot. Also, remember, for 0 day stuff, usenet gets it first. Know all those torrents you get that are rar'd into multiple files? Those are from usenet.

But for anime I have found that torrents are a little better for obscure shows, although not much better.
I have absolutely zero issues getting my shows in high def (most shows are actually only transmitted in 720p), h.264, ac3, mkv.

And I waited 2 extra hours for someone to usenet it and upload it to a torrent site for me to download. And I got it for free vs paying for the same exact thing from usenet.

Again, no thanks. Usenet has absolutely zero benefits for someone like me. I'll stick with waiting for 2 hours but getting it for free.

Don't blame torrents for your inability to search the right places. Shit, I don't even usually have to anywhere else but the noid to get exactly what I am after.
Posted on Reply
#38
Solaris17
Super Dainty Moderator
tiggerImo torrents are poo, direct downloads are far better.
torrents are better depending. suse downloads alot faster via torrent then DDL
Posted on Reply
#39
v12dock
Block Caption of Rainey Street
Find yourself a excellent warez community
Posted on Reply
#40
FordGT90Concept
"I go fast!1!11!1!"
I wish Ludvig Strigeus hadn't sold out. :(
Posted on Reply
#41
_JP_
Who's next?


/Sarcasm
:shadedshu
Posted on Reply
#42
Fx
PVTCaboose1337I started using Usenet. It saturates any available connection, and you don't have to upload data back.
its not that hard to upload back and with ratioless you just seed 'x' amount of time. private trackers ftw
kid41212003That's not the point i was trying to make though.

Torrent has its use.
I agree- there are many companies that are using torrents to legally distribute their software
Posted on Reply
#43
Mussels
Freshwater Moderator
i cant help but be stunned at the people who hate torrents, either your ISP is screwing you over royally, or you just have no idea how to setup your torrent client/network.


i often get torrents faster than HTTP downloads, since most ISP's around here throttle HTTP connections - if you have net that can do 1MB/s, bet your ass that you'll get 100-200KB/s per connection without a download accelerator. torrents? not a problem, 30 connections and you're good to go... and its as easy to setup as a download accelerator would be, with better qeueing and scheduler controls.
Posted on Reply
#44
OneMoar
There is Always Moar
anyone that buys this garbage is a idiot
Musselsi cant help but be stunned at the people who hate torrents, either your ISP is screwing you over royally, or you just have no idea how to setup your torrent client/network.


i often get torrents faster than HTTP downloads, since most ISP's around here throttle HTTP connections - if you have net that can do 1MB/s, bet your ass that you'll get 100-200KB/s per connection without a download accelerator. torrents? not a problem, 30 connections and you're good to go... and its as easy to setup as a download accelerator would be, with better qeueing and scheduler controls.
and no HTTP > torrents
HTTP is more secure (only one machine has your ip address and knows what you downloaded
Torrents are Murder on routers and isp's ends
torrents rely heavily on seeding OFC no one does that
then again my isp doesn't throttle at all so ...
the file speedtree is as follows
newzbin > Direct Connect\irc-Xdcc+ > torrents (private trackers) > torrents public trackers;
torrents for the most-part are slow,inefficient,insecure,
Posted on Reply
#45
Goodman
pantherx12I use torrents to share my videos sometimes.

Some people still don't know how to download a youtube video but they know how to torrent so I distribute that way.
Just tell them to install Realplayer & you're done
Mussels i cant help but be stunned at the people who hate torrents, either your ISP is screwing you over royally, or you just have no idea how to setup your torrent client/network.


i often get torrents faster than HTTP downloads, since most ISP's around here throttle HTTP connections - if you have net that can do 1MB/s, bet your ass that you'll get 100-200KB/s per connection without a download accelerator. torrents? not a problem, 30 connections and you're good to go... and its as easy to setup as a download accelerator would be, with better qeueing and scheduler controls.
You must be a very lucky guy , torrent are shit slow as hell.
As example a UFO documentary (~350-450MB) download via torrent could take a few days or even weeks to complete , compare that to online streaming which you can watch it or download in just about 15-45 min. depending on how big the video is

Torrent are thing of the past as far as video is concerns
Posted on Reply
#46
qubit
Overclocked quantum bit
GoodmanYou must be a very lucky guy , torrent are shit slow as hell.
No they're not. Are you sure your ISP isn't throttling them? Most do and severely. I made a point of going with an ISP that doesn't practice this kind of anti customer crap.
Posted on Reply
#47
Goodman
qubitNo they're not. Are you sure your ISP isn't throttling them? Most do and severely. I made a point of going with an ISP that doesn't practice this kind of anti customer crap.
Here we got only two choices Videotron or Sympatico which both will throttle the internet so not much of a choice there.
Torrent was good until ~2005 after that it became real slow but i don't think it's only because of throttling but rather that more & more people have a small cap for uploads so most will not share their full upload speed they will set it up to a minimum or none at all
Posted on Reply
#48
qubit
Overclocked quantum bit
GoodmanHere we got only two choices Videotron or Sympatico which both will throttle the internet so not much of a choice there.
Torrent was good until ~2005 after that it became real slow but i don't think it's only because of throttling but rather that more & more people have a small cap for uploads so most will not share their full upload speed they will set it up to a minimum or none at all
Interesting, that upload cap might have something to do with it, but as your ISP throttles it, I wouldn't underestimate the amount they do. My ADSL2+ connection can download a consistent 18Mb/s over http. I can also achieve this many times with a torrent, especially a popular one. With my previous ISP, I would be lucky to get 300k and even that was extremeley erratic, tending to sit much lower. It's a shame you can't change to a better one that doesn't throttle.
Posted on Reply
#49
Goodman
qubitInteresting, that upload cap might have something to do with it, but as your ISP throttles it, I wouldn't underestimate the amount they do. My ADSL2+ connection can download a consistent 18Mb/s over http. I can also achieve this many times with a torrent, especially a popular one. With my previous ISP, I would be lucky to get 300k and even that was extremeley erratic, tending to sit much lower. It's a shame you can't change to a better one that doesn't throttle.
That is another thing since we don't have much competition the best high speed you can get is Videotron 8MB for $45.95/month 50GB cap or Sympatico 7MB for $39.95/month 60GB cap (you can get much more but prices gets to high)

Anyhow it doesn't matters much to me as i like to watch movies , documentary's (mostly) & TV-series so video streaming like TLC , Discovery , Youtube , etc... are "perfect" & i don't have to download anything to my HDD :cool:

EDIT: Also like to hang out on forum PC's but nothing compare to TPU :rockout:
Posted on Reply
#50
scoutingwraith
If i can recall from a while back there was a torrent client that had a similar features (i think it was Azureus at that time.)

Either way i doubt he will have enough subscribers to make some $.
Posted on Reply
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