anything yet?”) have been overcome, and the result is a very fast and reliable way to download large files. The protocol has proved popular and, according to some estimates, torrents now comprise a quarter of all web traffic. That shouldn’t be a surprise. Because torrents are generally used to transfer large files, downloading a single movie can easily surpass the bit count of all your other online activities for a single day. If you’re already using torrents, you (obviously) already have a torrent client. If you don’t, there are a huge number of choices for OS X, from the official BitTorrent client to the well-done Transmission client used in the previous hack. Both are good choices, with the official BitTorrent client being a little on the sparse side as features go, and Transmission being a more feature-complete yet still lightweight choice for OS X. That noted, neither client has that Mac feel that OS X users demand. What would be ideal is a torrent program that looks and acts like a program made specifically for OS X. Such a client exists: Xtorrent 2, which manages to make downloading and uploading seeds (completed files) painless, understandable, and controllable. Xtorrent 2 isn’t free, but its cost ($25 for the basic version) is minimal considering the functionality and usability the program provides. There’s a free trial version available with some features removed, so point your browser to xtorrent to get your copy. The trial copy isn’t obvious, but when you hit Download XTorrent 2, you’ll automatically download the trial version and be presented with a page where you can pick your preferred paid version. Once downloaded, install Xtorrent in your folder of choice (as always for applications, a good place is the Applications folder). Then fire up Xtorrent and you’ll be downloading and seeding files in no time with just a click. Well, after you answer a simple question (see Figure 10-4). Once you’ve assured Xtorrent 2 you are authorized to download the files, the program will get busy downloading and seeding the files you desire. But there’s more to Xtorrent 2 than just that. In its main window, Xtorrent reveals more than just the file’s name and size. You also get information about the swarm, which is torrent speak for the number of users transferring the files you’re after. This can include any combination of those offering uploads and those downloading the files but, generally, the larger the swarm, the more reliable and faster the download will be. Xtorrent 2 also allows you to select where your downloads will reside. To adjust this setting, go to Xtorrent→Preferences, and then click the Downloads tab. In Figure 10-5, the destination is an automated folder (see Hack #22 ) that takes care of seeing the file to its final destination. Controlling where the files end up is one thing, but depending on your situation, you might also need to control the bandwidth allocated for your torrenting purposes. Xtorrent 2 (and most clients) offer this control. Take another trip to
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MAC HACKS