Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

BitTorrent Coming to Routers, NAS Devices

By
BitTorrent Coming to Routers, NAS Devices

File-sharing bad-boy BitTorrent has been making efforts to go legit in the last year, removing links to copyrighted material from its search engine and inking a distribution deal with Warner Bros. to legally distribute content to BitTorrent users—and while much of the traffic carried by BitTorrent still keeps the RIAA and MPAA up and night, a growing amount of material available is being distributed legally.

Now, BitTorrent has inked a deal to put client software in Internet-connected products like routers, network attached storage (NAS) devices, and other "digital home" media product. And BitTorrent already has partners lined up, with ASUS, Planex, and QNAP already announcing BitTorrent-enabled products.

Recommended Videos

"CE manufacturers are still searching for the Rosetta stone of the connected entertainment market," said Harry Wang, research analyst with Parks Associates, in a statement. "To move beyond the early-adopter stage, CE manufacturers must ally with content and service providers, software developers and silicon designers to build elegance and usability into the product design and bring popular digital content to consumers’ fingertips anywhere in the home." Parks Associates estimates that by the year 2010, some 30 million U.S. households will have some sort network-based home entertainment in place.

Asus, Planex, and QNAP are the first manufacturers to announce plans to embed BitTorrent download manager and client software into their digital home products, which currently include routers, media servers, and network attached storage (NAS) devices. In theory, embedding BitTorrent will enable users to locate and schedule downloads to system on their home networks, without using a traditional PC, and even when users are away from home.

BitTorrent support is planned for the following products:

The Asus and QNAP products will be available in the United States, although it’s not clear whether the companies will implement BitTorrent support through firmware updates or by issuing new hardware. The Planex units will be available only in Japan.

Editors' Recommendations

Geoff Duncan
Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
Best Samsung Galaxy deals: S24, Buds, Watches and more
The Galaxy Z Fold 4's Cover Screen.

Samsung’s Galaxy lineup is made up of several different types of devices, and if you’re in the market for some savings, you’ll often find Samsung Galaxy tech among the best headphone deals, the best smartwatch deals, the best tablet deals, and the best phone deals. With so many different devices among the Galaxy lineup, and with so many Samsung Galaxy deals out there for the picking, we rounded up what we feel are the best Samsung Galaxy deals to shop right now. Reading onward you’ll find discounts on some of the best tablets, best smartwatches, and best wireless earbuds the Samsung Galaxy lineup has to offer, as well as some impressive discounts on Galaxy phones.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 -- $97, was $150

If you're looking for headphone deals but you want an alternative to Apple's AirPods, you should consider the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2. The wireless earbuds have great battery life that's made even better with an included charging case. While some of the other Galaxy Buds out there include the Galaxy Buds Live, Galaxy Buds Pro, and Galaxy Buds+, but with the Galaxy Buds 2's active noise-cancelation you can block out unwanted sounds and keep your focus on whatever you’re working on, watching, or listening to. You can also control the headphones with touch controls on each earbud, and they connect easily to any Bluetooth device.

Read more
Best Microsoft Office deals: Get Word, PowerPoint, and Excel for free
Students using Microsoft Office software on their laptops outside.

While the fight of Microsoft vs Google when it comes to office apps might be never-ending, if you're the sort of person who prefers dealing with Microsoft, you'll be happy to know that there are quite a few good deals you can take advantage of. As you may know, most of Microsoft's apps have gone under one rather expensive subscription service, Microsoft 365, but you can still get older parts of the suite for relatively good prices. In fact, you can even get a free trial of Microsoft Word to test it out, although you'd still need to pay to get the full suite of tools.
Best Microsoft Office deals
Microsoft Office is a pay once, receive once service. You don't have to pay recurring monthly fees to use it, but the software also never updates. For what it's worth, the Microsoft Office packages are labelled "2021", so they're all fairly recent but also ripe for a good deal. With the exception of AI integrations, not much has really changed in the past couple of years when it comes to your basic document creation and these programs should continue to be effective for years to come. Depending on what package you get, you'll get access to different apps, based on the needs of the target audience. For example, Microsoft Office Home & Student 2021 keeps it lean and cool and with Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint being the only apps included.

Here are our favorite deals for the classic Microsoft Office experience:

Read more
Best refurbished MacBook deals: Get a MacBook Air for $140 and more
A stack of MacBooks is pictured from the top down.

Apple is one of the best laptop brands, and that's not surprising, given that various types of MacBooks regularly top the list of best laptops on the market. Unfortunately, sitting at the top does also mean that they are quite expensive, so fi you want to get your hands on one without paying an arm and a leg, going for a refurbished model is the way to go about it. Luckily, most MacBooks you'll find tend to be under warranty or have relatively good return windows, so even if there is a fault somewhere, you can return it and get a replacement or your money back.

To help you pick the best MacBook for your budget, we've gone out and picked some of the best refurbished MacBook deals we could find and compiled them below. That said, if you still don't want to go for a refurbished one, you could always check out these great MacBook deals as well.
MacBook Air 11.6-inch (2015) -- from $112

Read more