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The explosion of the BitTorrent revolution has sparked the development of an infinitesimal number of new torrent clients; some are built from the ground up, while others use opensource code, and try to build on an existing idea. Many of these new clients are dismal abominations, while others seem to excel in different (unique) areas. However, will any of these newbies be able to de-throne µTorrent’s indisputable title as king of the clients? We’re not sure about that, but there is one that seems to be faster, at least on public trackers.

Be advised that the use of an unsupported or banned BitTorrent client is not a good idea for private trackers. Check with their rules/FAQ, or consult tracker staff before you decide to use any of these clients.

Parrot BitTorrent Client (New)

Our Score: 0/5
Private Tracker Usage: Don’t do it.
URL: http://sourceforge.net/projects/parrot-torrent/

They Say: Is a bit torrent client written in c# (.net 2) using the monotorrent library…

Our Review: Hands down, Parrot wins the award for BT futility - you’ll swear the MAFIAA is behind this client. 1.) The default language is Greek, so you’ll need to blindly ‘guess’ where to change the language to English in the settings. Default settings are less than favorable, which need to be extensively manipulated. 2.) This bird just doesn’t connect. We threw in some of mininova’s most popular torrents, and while we generated a lot of seed/leechers initially, it didn’t take long for this client to get flagged, choked and/or snubbed. Private tracker account ban is likely guaranteed if you attempt to use Parrot.

VIP Torrent (New)

Our Score: 1/5
Private Tracker Usage: Unlikely.
URL: http://www.download.com/VIP-Torrent/3000-2196_4-10774332.html

They Say: You may now take advantage of the BitTorrent Pro decentralized network to share, search for, and download about any file you want to.

Our Review: Meh. VIP Torrent is a blatant ripoff from the old Azureus v2.5, with two exceptions: 1.) If not careful, you’ll end up installing a shitty browser toolbar called Gossiper, which we’re quite certain you don’t want. 2.) After installation, you’ll be launched to a VipRumor website (for ‘celebrity gossip’ - umm, can someone please tell me what this has to do with BitTorrent?!), assuredly this is a place you wish not to visit.

VIP Torrent is nothing more than a quick shameless marketing scheme cleverly disguised as a new BitTorrent client. Oh, and when you go to uninstall it (and you will), you’ll also be launched back to the VipRumor website. Runner-up: Hermes P2P, another Azureus ripoff.

Tribler v4.5.1

Our Score: 3/5
Private Tracker Usage: Don’t.
URL: http://www.tribler.org

They Say: Integrated keyword search (torrents, YouTube, Liveleak) & browse for newest content, most popular, recommended and much more. Fast downloading, play while downloading, integrated video player.

Our Review: Not bad, but more of a social tool than an exclusive BT client. Finding current ’scene’ movie releases is not an easy task - they just don’t exist on Tribler. However, we were able to muster up some decent search results for ‘aXXo’, but you’ll need to keep a keen eye on the file sizes and S/L numbers - truth be told, you may have better luck on Limewire. DL speeds leave a lot to be desired.

One redeeming characteristic is the ability to create and share your own torrent files through Tribler. In fact, they make it very easy to accomplish, with the ability to import trackers from existing (public) torrents. When creating a new torrent, simply click on the "Tracker Info" tab, and select "Use additional trackers…", then click the "Copy tracker from torrent" button.

Halite v0.3.1

Our Score: 3.5/5
Private Tracker Usage: Yes (on some).
URL: http://www.binarynotions.com/halite-bittorrent-client

They Say: Halite is a C++ BitTorrent client based on the excellent libtorrent library from Rasterbar Software.

Our Review: Most of the necessary settings for public tracker usage are turned OFF by default, and need to be enabled (DHT, encryption, port forwarding, etc). In our tests, we achieved some very respectable transfer speeds, especially for upload traffic (seeding). Halite also supports IP blocklists in the form of imported *.dat files. Another cool feature is the country list and extensive statistics for each connected peer in the torrent peerlist (i.e ‘choked’, ‘interested’ and ‘encryption’). As of now, there’s no proxy support (yet) or WebUI.

Deluge Torrent v1.0.5

Our Score: 4.5/5
Private Tracker Usage: Yes (on most).
URL: http://deluge-torrent.org

They Say: Deluge is a full-featured BitTorrent client for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows. It uses libtorrent in it’s backend and PyGTK for it’s user interface.

Our Review: Deluge comes pre-configured with some very favorable client settings, most of which do not need to be changed in order to maximize connectivity and speed. However, WinXP (and Vista) users who have wisely applied the associated ‘Max. Half-Open Connections’ patch should change this setting from "8" to a higher number. Deluge also comes with an IP Blocklist plugin (not enabled by default), and includes automatic BlueTack/Peer Guardian blocklist downloading & updating.

Deluge is jam-packed with features, including: A WebUI interface and available greasemonkey userscripts; enabled encryption; Mainline DHT, UPnP, NAT-PMP, PEX and LSD are supported (and ON by default); RSS compatibility; more.

If you’re a frequent user of public trackers, we highly recommend that you give Deluge a shot. In our head-to-head tests with µTorrent, using the exact same torrents simultaneously, Deluge kicked some serious ass. Without tweaking Deluge settings (except for the ‘Max. Half-Open Connections’), we sustained better connectivity and superior download speeds when compared to µTorrent:

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• Date Tuesday, 18 Nov 08 at 7:55 pm
• Under BitTorrent
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