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Rogers throttles World of Warcraft across Canada
If you play World of Warcraft in Canada and were wondering why your connection seemed a bit slow, it turns out there may be a good explanation: Rogers Communications has been deliberately throttling the game across the country. The telecommunications company has been trying to save on costs by slowing down internet speeds for customers who use various applications, such as Skype. Recently the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission conducted an inquiry that resulted in Rogers admitting that it targets WoW players by slowing down their connections while the game is being run. Rogers said that it was Blizzard's use of BitTorrent to deliver updates that triggered the throttling, noting that customers who disabled this setting -- as well as any other peer-to-peer applications -- would not see a slowdown in speed. "Rogers will engage our customers to ensure they are aware of these recommendations, while continuing to work on a longer term solution," a spokesperson said.
$16 million settlement over Comcast's P2P throttling nets the affected $16
More than two years after information about Comcast's data delaying techniques came to light, a class action lawsuit over the issue has come to a close with a settlement of $16 million and no statement of wrongdoing from the cable giant. That means Comcast continues to tout its newer bandwidth management protocols and those of you that used Ares, BitTorrent, eDonkey, FastTrack or Gnutella between April '06 and December '08 and/or Lotus Notes on the service anytime in the summer of 2007 can head over to the settlement website to either opt out of the class action or receive a $16 check. So is that enough cash to make up for the time wasted waiting for Naruto fansubs, Gutsy Gibbon images and the like to finish downloading?
FCC to propose new net neutrality rules disallowing data discrimination
Based on what we're hearing, a slate of soon-to-be-proposed FCC rules may stop the likes of Comcast from discriminating against P2P applications on their networks, and AT&T sure will have a tougher time justifying why it won't let the iPhone's version of SlingPlayer run on 3G while giving WinMo and BlackBerry users all the bandwidth they can handle. Julius Genachowski, the new chairman of the entity, is slated to discuss the new rules on Monday, though he isn't expected to dig too deep into the minutiae. Essentially, the guidelines will "prevent wireless companies from blocking internet applications and prevent them from discriminating (or acting as gatekeepers) [against] web content and services." We know what you're thinking: "Huzzah!" And in general, that's probably the right reaction to have as a consumer, but one has to wonder how network quality for all will be affected if everyone is cut loose to, well, cut loose. Oh, and if this forces telecoms to deploy more cell sites to handle the influx in traffic, you can rest assured that the bill will be passed on to you. Ain't nuthin' free, kids.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
TViX 6600N HD media streamer exposed early (w/ video)
DViCO is back with yet another media streaming box, this time the TViX 6600N, spied by HomeTheater.co.il. What we can find of the specs indicates a worthy followup to the earlier 6500, with dual tuner DVR, HD video decoding, UPnP access, BitTorrent and claimed fast boot time. It's powered by the Realtek 1283 chipset and includes Wireless-N support. Check the video (it's in English) for a quick demo of the box itself and menus, the only bad news to report is a distinct lack of a price tag and any hope we'll ever see this in the U.S.
FCC rules against Comcast, now what?
The FCC finally acted on Comcast's "data management", finding against the company because it had arbitrarily decided which applications subscribers would have access to. Of course, the judgement did not include a fine, and while it enforced a policy for open access to the internet, it doesn't seem to do much for possible bandwidth caps. Comcast does have stop its blocking practice by the end of the year, and provide details to the commission on what exactly it's done so far, and to customers on whatever it plans to do in the future. With online video distribution growing more ubiquitous and even Comcast working with BitTorrent-style technologies like GridNetworks on how to deliver HD over the internet, we're sure we haven't heard the last of this.Read - Commission Orders Comcast to End Discriminatory Network Management Practices (Warning: PDF link)Read - Comcast Statement on FCC Internet Regulation DecisionRead - Verizon Statement on FCC's Comcast Decision
Transmission 1.2 released
If you're a fan of the ever so popular BitTorrent client, Transmission, then you might like to hear that a new version was just released. According to the release notes some of the fixes included: You can now reset global statistics Support of multitracker torrents has been improved UPnP port mapping now faster on startup Ability to IP block using the Bluetack Level1 blocklist Dock badge images have been updated The new dock badges provide greater readability of the transfer in progress. Transmission is freeware and can be downloaded from their website.
Transmission shifts into 1st gear
Transmission, long available in beta form, is one of my favorite torrent clients. BitTorrent, as you probably know, is a way to transfer or share files over the internet, for free, using a 'swarm' model to speed files along. Transmission makes the downloading of those files quite stunning, with its simplicity and ease of use. Transmission's beautiful user interface goes nicely with Leopard, as it has been redesigned; not to mention, it's 100% Leopard compatible. Some of the new updates in version 1.0 include: Group labeling, filtering, and sorting Leopard: Time Machine will ignore incomplete downloads Display remaining time for seeding transfers Ability to set global and per-torrent number of connections Overall, this looks like a very nice release. It is available right now, for free, from the Transmission website.
Ask Engadget: Can a NAS device really change your life?
We've got ourselves a tall order here on Ask Engadget, Tony's looking for basically the holy grail of home media gadgetry, and while we're not sure he's going to get all he's asking for -- or even half of it -- we're always up for a challenge. Oh, and as always, don't be shy to send in your own ridiculous requests and more reasonable queries alike to ask at engadget dawt com. Here goes:"OK, it's a torrent world now, as big media doesn't seem to get the fact that I want to watch what I want, when I want, how I want. So I'm looking for an easy, efficient NAS type device that will handle my torrents. It must: Work well with my Mac Allow me access when I am on the road (away from home) to add new torrents, see status, etc. Work with my Airport Extreme with a HD attached. Play nice with my Apple TV (how I watch most files I dl). Can also be used with a 360 if the ATV is a make or break. Expandable via drive bays or USB 2.0. Not be a power pig. Price is not really a major object, but of course good value is preferred. Must be quick and easy to add and delete torrents, as I don't have a lot of time to muck around. What do you or the other readers suggest?"Would you like fries with that Tony? But seriously, anybody got any pearls of wisdom and / or reality checks for Mr. Optimistic? He might just have to get crafty on his own with a little bit of Automator or perhaps the BitTorrent SDK itself, but perhaps we can get him halfway there. Oh, and it goes without saying that Tony's just looking to download the latest and greatest media released under a CC license for his free consumption, yes?
Transmission 0.8 released with selective file downloads, UI changes and much more
You TUAW readers have spoken loud and clear: Transmission is your favorite BitTorrent client. If you're nodding your head right now, you'll be happy to know that v0.8 of the cross-platform app has gone official, ushering in a boatload of new features and fixes for all OSes it works on, as well as some great Mac-only goodies. Before we get to the new stuff, however, I have to echo a warning on the main Transmission page: if you're in the middle of any downloads right now, finish them before upgrading; you could lose data if you jump the gun.That said, let's talk about the shiny new changes. First up, here are the new feature highlights that everyone can enjoy: Ability to selectively download and prioritize files Torrent file creation Speed and CPU load improvements Better rechecking of torrents that have many files And here are the new goodies just for Mac OS X users: Overlay when dragging torrent files, URLs, and data files onto window Ability to set an amount of time to consider a transfer stalled More progress bar colors Various smaller interface improvements Italian, Korean, and Russian translations More details and screenshots are available at the Transmission site, and be sure to swing by the Transmission donation page to show the development crew some love.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
Xtorrent 1.1 beta 1 released with major new features
Dave Watanabe has released v1.1 beta of Xtorrent, his excellent BitTorrent client. With this major x.1 release, Watanabe has included some significant new features like individual file selection, file prioritization, individual file completion status, and improved privacy options. Watanabe has updated Xtorrent's UI to help bring some of these features directly to the user, and I'm also noticing what I think are a couple of new preferences, such as the ability to individually toggle whether audio and/or video are added to iTunes after being completely downloaded. The new features are definitely welcome, and Watanabe is optimistic about some planned features down the road. After trying far too many Mac OS X BitTorrent clients, I finally decided on Xtorrent and have been a happy owner. A base single user license costs $24, with the option to purchase lifetime upgrades for only $9 more.
Planex MZ-04G router sports USB, BitTorrent compatibility
External P2P clients with a hint of NAS aren't unheard of, but it's still refreshing to see a new face joining the relatively small clan. Planex's MZ-04 takes a four-port gigabit Ethernet router, throws in wireless functionality, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, and gives the BitTorrent savvy the ability to hook up an external HDD and keep those downloads / uploads rolling through the night even when the PC catches some shut eye. Additionally, the firm suggests that customers could take advantage of the iTunes server function to stream music via Ethernet / WiFi, and the obvious NAS characteristics and PlayStation 3-compatibility are nice touches as well. Unfortunately, we've no idea how soon (or not) this feature-packed router will hit store shelves, but here's to hoping it makes the journey to American soil.[Via AkihabaraNews]
Xtorrent 1.0 v40 released with per-torrent bandwidth throttling, list of big features to come
It isn't often that developers unveil their cards, but when they do, their user's ears typically perk up. Such is the case with Dave Watanabe's release of Xtorrent 1.0 v40 in which he announced two big new features now, and a few juicy ones coming down the road. As of this new version, Xtorrent Pro (the registered version) offers per-torrent bandwidth limits and support for the Azureus/utorrent compatible peer exchange, which should apparently help increase some transfer speeds.Using his crystal ball, however, Watanabe also announced three major features we can strike off the request list: selective file downloading, encryption, and torrentcast auto-downloading (though I should point out that Xtorrent can already subscribe to RSS feeds of torrents - it just doesn't auto-snag 'em yet). Dave announced that these features are "absolutely" planned for a future release (or spread out across more than one), though we'll all just have to sit tight as these things naturally fall under the tried and true "they'll be done when they're done" policy.
1UP urges us to buy, not steal
1UP reports that Final Fantasy XII is being illegally distributed via bit torrent, with multiple bit torrent user comments confirming that the torrents house playable English versions of Square Enix's RPG. In response to the alleged leak, the site has issued the following PSA:"Forgetting that pirating is a criminal activity, 'Final Fantasy XII' is supposed to be an absolutely incredible RPG -- we strongly encourage gamers to wait a few more weeks for the real game to properly reward Square Enix for their labored work."We can't think of a better way to put it. Keep it real right, y'all!
Use Mail.app as a remote torrent client
An enterprising Mail.app user by the name of Matt Comi has ironed out a simple yet powerful trick for using Mail.app as a remote bittorrent client, of sorts. Basically, he set up a rule in Mail.app with a custom AppleScript that looks for torrent file attachments. This AppleScript then sends the torrent file to Azureus for downloading. Check out his site, Big Bucket Amusement, for instructions, screenshots and the script you'll need.[via Hawk Wings]
ipodnova.com lists iPod torrent sites
Care to take bets on how long ipodnova.com will stay up? This site lists various torrent repositories that have sprung up that are dedicated to letting you download videos for that new iPod you got for Christmas. While TUAW does not condone such behaviour we feel that it is our bloggerly duty to point out the existence of this site.
