torrents are different from regular downloads in that the download speed varies depending on how many people are downloading at the same time.

 

its not downloading as such - its more like peer to peer sharing, but involving multiple people.

 

the best way i can describe it is this way :

 

someone has something (video or audio) they want to share.   the files  - usually in a compressed format such as flac - are on that person's desktop.  they create a torrent file (the torrent file chops up the original flac files into tiny small pieces, like a jigsaw).  they make the torrent file public on a torrent tracker such as www.easytree.org  (a GREAT torrent site which i highly recommend).   person # 1 joins the torrent and downloads the pieces from the origial guy.  person # 2 joins the torrent and simultaniously downloads pieces from the original guy AND person # 1.  person # 3 joins the torrent and simultaniously downloads pices from the original guy AND person # 2  AND person # 3 .  the more people who join the torrent , the faster the download runs.   you could be simultaniously conencted to 20 people, downloading pieces from ALL of them at the same time.

 

i've been using and seeding Torrents for a long time now - if anyone wants to try their hand , i'll be happy to try and help em get started - shoot me an email offlist.

 

it would be best to use a public tracker site like easytree rather than keep it with "us" - the more people who know about it, the more people will jump on, the faster it'll be.

 

word of warning - almost all torrent sites are run by "serious" music collectors/traders, and

MP3 is a BIG no no.   whats get torrented is full 16 bit stereo wav files in compressed formats -

which, when uncompressed, mean perfect stereo quality.

 

heres a link to a page that  gives  a brief how to and a link to both a decent torrenting program and the compression program flac :

 

mark B in NYC

 

 

 

 

Jon Kamm <kammagic@comcast.net> wrote: