μTorrent and BitTorrent merge

No good can come of this.

Together, we are pleased to announce that BitTorrent, Inc. and µTorrent AB have decided to join forces. BitTorrent has acquired µTorrent as it recognized the merits of µTorrent’s exceptionally well-written codebase and robust user community. Bringing together µTorrent’s efficient implementation and compelling UI with BitTorrent’s expertise in networking protocols will significantly benefit the community with what we envision will be the best BitTorrent client.

For those of you not in the know, μTorrent is an extremely lightweight Bittorrent client that sprung up in the past year. It’s closed source, but that hasn’t stopped its popularity any. I hadn’t realized that there was an actual company formed around it. BitTorrent, on the other hand, is an open-source client that’s not impressive at all. Cohen doesn’t like to add new features to it, because most of the features that users want go against the interests of the content industry that Cohen has climbed in bed with.

So what does this mean for μTorrent? Well, it’s possible that it will mean nothing except that BitTorrent uses μTorrent in scenarios where a much leaner program is necessary. It might mean that μTorrent will lose the kinds of features that Bram dislikes (protocol encryption, for instance). It might mean that μTorrent will be open-sourced and eventually become the official client, which would be good news all around, but it’s also the least likely to happen.

Q: How will uTorrent’s technology be integrated with the current BitTorrent client?

A: Although uTorrent is lightweight, it is missing the patented innovations BitTorrent has made at the protocol level. It is also lacking an implementation for Mac and Linux. We will improve uTorrent in these arenas.

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Q: Will the uTorrent code base be released into the open source?

A: The uTorrent code base will remain closed source.

So, a closed-source version for Linux? A mixed blessing. But…. “patented innovations”? The official client has nothing—nothing—I want that I can’t get in another client.