The Tragic Fall Of µTorrent

Just as the internet was finally planting its roots within computers all across the world in the early 2000s, people began to take advantage of it in ways which before weren’t possible. The World Wide Web was continuing to evolve, and so were the people using it. File sizes got bigger, but for many, internet speeds and bandwidth remained the same, which meant that downloading was going to become more difficult: What do we do? The answer to that question was found in a program which dominated computers of hardcore internet users throughout the duration of the decade: uTorrent. This software took advantage of a revolutionary technology that was introduced only a couple of years prior. The technology in question is in the name: “torrenting,” and uTorrent was about to become the program that would popularize its use for the masses. Websites could now provide downloads the size of video game files at virtually no cost on the host’s end. The internet was about to change forever.

It wouldn’t take long for uTorrent to become the face of online file-sharing, the go-to for all your downloading needs. Want to finally get that one file you’ve been trying to find, for years? uTorrent was the solution…Until things took a turn. uTorrent was one of those programs that took a devastating fall in popularity, but not in the way that you might think. I mean, the numbers boldly state otherwise, but the people don’t. uTorrent went from being a pop-culture icon of the internet to something that nobody talked about overnight, due to a series of both long-term and short-term decisions which, for a long time, remained unrectified. What happened? What is the tragic story behind uTorrent? A program still quite popular, but arguably now in the shadow of its former self.

The old tale behind uTorrent’s prevalence on the internet is a very curious one. As we mentioned, a series of very strange events lead to the program becoming both popular and unpopular at the same time. The number of uTorrent downloads was affected, but not enough to effect competition. Though the program itself is just not talked about anymore, as if people don’t like associating themselves with it. Even the renowned package management system Ninite stopped servicing uTorrent in around 2013. It has essentially become the Voldemort of the internet: The Bittorrent Client Who Must Not Be Named, and it all boils down to three things: poor marketing and business decisions, the lack of regard to adapting with constantly growing technology, and on top of all this, the need of such a program simply becoming less needed as time went on. As you could probably see, some of these factors are a bit outside of uTorrent’s control, but when accompanied with the other problems that were exclusive to uTorrent, they essentially act as the final nail in the coffin.

It is important to note that the components surrounding uTorrent’s lack of involvement with adapting to the times and its controversial business changes, do go hand in hand, and it all has to do with how and why uTorrent was even created in the first place.

Google +: just kidding.

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[nationsquid]

All the people correcting my pronunciation of µTorrent because they didn't watch the video. 😍😍😍😍😍

[durchfaII]

Just remember this: Torrenting is also a way to preserve content that will most likely dissapear from streaming services.

[jpomega]

Remember guys, It's always morally correct to pirate Adobe products

[MomotheToothless]

Torrenting isn't on the decline. I think it's on a parabolic trajectory. The rise of greedy streaming companies means it's gonna become normal again.

[Agautam]

I like how you referred to malware companies as "malware providers" as if its a service lol

[miyumorjiana]

Gabe Newell really said it best, “One thing that we have learned is that piracy is not a pricing issue. It’s a service issue. The easiest way to stop piracy is not by putting antipiracy technology to work. It’s by giving those people a service that’s better than what they’re receiving from the pirates.”

[spacegoose]

Gaben once said “Pirating is a service problem”
He was completely right cause nobody wants to pay $50 a month for Adobe
Edit: Looks like piracy is back on the menu now that stuff is getting too expensive again for an average/low quality product or even turning into a subscription service

[panqueque]

Streaming services caused a decline in pirating, but it's also going to cause a comeback. So many shows and movies are spread out over so many services. Everyone wants to set up their own streaming service. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Disney, Universal. I'm not subscribing to 20 fucking services to watch a show. Screw that.

[lordofthemound]

If buying isn’t owning, then pirating isn’t stealing.

[omzcore]

fun fact: people after pirating sometimes buy the actual program after pirating it to support the devs. but for adobe products, nothing changes.

[GoldSrc_]

Years ago, uTorrent was known as "green steam" over here in Latin America lol.
I see torrenting coming back, but not with games or software, but thanks to greedy streaming services.

[toster]

Love the video. Pirating Adobe products is always morally correct

[justlolatthisworld]

Torrenting at a decline /= "piracy" at a decline. Plenty of people use "pirate streaming services", like those movie sites you mentioned earlier in the video. And good for them. ;)

[craftykit]

I’ve seen a theory that the ammount of people who pirate content hasn’t lowered, but instead the ammount of people who dont pirate has increased. In ye olden days of the internet, most people online where computer nerds who knew what they where doing, but now everyone’s online.
And with less of the internet’s population pirating, it’s harder for new people to find out how

[Raveheart]

In Germany, torrents never really took off in public. It wasn't the choice for pirates, either because lawyers acted as seeders, logging every IP address, and sued everyone in a fully automated process. So basically, if you started an illegal torrent download in like 2008, you could have been sure to get a friendly letter in the mail a few weeks later. Same went for P2P like eMule. So basically, pirates moved on to one click hosters. Torrent only became a thing for closed and trusted groups.

[ryguy]

Piracy is something that will always be around due to 3rd world nations often times relying off of it just to make ends meet, see Brazil. However, I would imagine that the over-saturation of streaming services combined with more and more classic games either becoming highly scarce or outright becoming abandonware, I foresee that in the coming years many will sail the high seas once again.

[JavaNocKziK]

Until someone makes a single streaming platform for all movies/shows that comes at a reasoanble price, and where you know your favourite show or movie would never be removed, then I'd say piracy still has a place. I've seen a few instances recently of people losing access to shows (even ones they've directly bought digitally) just because of licencing agreements between the creator and provider. A shop won't break into your house and steal back the DVD, so why is it "okay" for a digital platform revoke something you've bought?

[histhoryk]

"Torrenting itself is not illegal. Torrenting copyrighted content is illegal"
Short sentence that explained the problem

[tfwmemedumpster]

Piracy isn't getting smaller, the internet is getting bigger as a whole, making piracy a smaller slice of the pie. Streaming services are dying of their own greed. piracy will always be there. because it's ultimately a service problem. when a service is bad piracy steps in and makes it good. Piracy's main appeal isn't price, it's convevience. Music piracy is on decline because all music streaming services carry all songs. Movie piracy is up because streaming services carry less and less of what you want. Worse service=more pirates

[Menezarian]

him: *piracy is declining*

me who lives in brazil: this is the biggest lie of the century