BitTorrent goes legal: Downloads are quicker now?

BitTorrent opened a new digital download store yesterday, adding legal downloading to the quick distribution capabilities the company and software already enjoyed. The five-year-old company will use DRM to protect files from the piracy so often associated with BitTorrent's (and other sites) peer-to-peer technology.

The applications of this development to the world of digital media are enormous. Quick use and easy to share software and files will make the transition from a physical world easier and less time consuming. This is another step in a process I first outlined in a blog a week ago about digital music and the radio. With actual DRM files and material entering the "p2p" networks, the labels will have another source to look for increased sales.

If the downloads are quicker now, then consumer satisfaction should theoretically increase. The problem relies with the average and new users understanding and ability to use torrents in this case. If consumers cannot easily access the material, then the problems that plague the transition from physical to digital will continue. This is at least one more positive step to increase the ease of use for the digital media. Now, if torrents could make the iTunes program load quicker!