DALLAS _ Earlier this year, as filmmaker Michael Moore wasputting the final touches on "Fahrenheit 9/11," he unwittinglythrust himself into the debate over Internet file-trading ethicsand the relatively unknown free program BitTorrent.
In an interview, Moore compared file-sharing of copyrightedmovies to friends lending one another purchased DVDs.
"I don't agree with copyright laws," he said, "and I don't havea problem with people downloading the movie and sharing it ... aslong as they're not trying to make a profit off my labor."
That was all his political enemies at MooreWatch.com needed tohear. In hopes of denting Moore's box office profits, the Website's manager decided to help people download free copies.
But rather than simply posting one huge pirated version of themovie for everyone to fight over, MooreWatch.com's backers used thepower of BitTorrent to distribute tens of thousands of"Fahrenheits" in a faster, more efficient manner. All they had todo was link to a tiny torrent file.
BitTorrent is like the old Napster with one major twist. Napsterand its peer-to-peer, or P2P, cousins connect users directly witheach other to receive entire files. That makes downloadingfull-length, digitized movies a long, arduous task for both thedownloader and the person offering the file, especially when a lotof people are trying to glom the same copy simultaneously.
BitTorrent breaks up large files into pieces, then allows usersto "swarm" - exchange small portions of files with one another -until everyone has a complete set.
Download speeds depend on two factors. First, like the computerbulletin board systems of the 1980s, the software keeps track ofhow much you contribute to hosting files for the group. The moreyou share, the faster your downloads.
Second, the more people trading a file, the more options forobtaining its pieces. So, unlike the old Napster, popularitydoesn't bog down the process - it gives it a shot ofadrenaline.
But it's not instantaneous. A "Sopranos" episode may take sixhours or more to download, depending on network traffic. A crude"screener" copy of "Fahrenheit" last week required 36 hours on amoderately fast DSL connection.
BitTorrent was developed by Washington programmer Bram Cohen,29, and was presented to the world at hacker conventions more thanthree years ago. The program is only now gaining widespreadattention as corporations and individuals - and those interested intrading large copyrighted works - warm to its speed andsimplicity.
Fans of the open-source Linux operating system, for example, useBitTorrent to distribute perfect copies of the latest versions. Acommercial Linux distribution, Linspire.com, formerly Lindows, doesthe same.
When Downhill Battle (www.downhillbattle.org) disseminated anentire album as part of its February "Grey Tuesday" protest overmusic censorship, organizers used BitTorrent as part of an effortto move more than 1 million digital tracks to sympathizers in 24hours.
"BitTorrent lets you have a file on a Web site that lets peopleclick on a link and download in a peer-to-peer way," says NicholasReville, Downhill Battle co-founder. "It's an amazing tool forpeople or small organizations running their own Web sites. Mostcan't just host the large files of video or bundled music files.They can't afford the hosting costs that it would take."
Cohen says that using his creation to exchange copyrighted filesis not smart. It takes digging for the music industry and theMotion Picture Association of America to find who is offeringillegal uploads within KaZaA, eDonkey, and similar networks. WithBitTorrent, the links to torrent files for each download must beposted for everyone to see on Web sites.
A spokesman for the MPAA declined to comment on BitTorrent, butHollywood is clearly worried about the "Napsterizing" of itsproducts. It recently commissioned a survey showing that about onein four Internet users had downloaded a feature-length film onlineat least once and that downloaders averaged about 11 filmseach.
By some measurements, the use of BitTorrent has eclipsed that ofKaZaA, the most popular P2P program for music. The firm CacheLogicsays its six-month analysis shows that BitTorrent accounts for 53percent of all European network P2P traffic. In June, CacheLogicreports, an average of 8 million users were online at any giventime sharing a petabyte (10 million gigabytes) of data.
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