What is BitTorrent?

Originally posted on Zeropaid

Easy, step-by-step guide for those who have heard of KaZaA and other file-sharing programs, but are looking for a faster and safer way to download movies, music, TV shows, anime, and just about anything else you can think of.

Many people are still unaware of what exactly BitTorrent is or what it does. BitTorrent is a P2P protocol, or method, that allows people to share data much more efficiently and at much greater transfer speeds than previous file-sharing software like KaZaA, Morpheus, and WinMX. These programs were Direct Connect types in that each person connected directly and solely to one other user in order to share files. The drawback of this is that the person receiving the data is limited by the upload connection speed of the person sending it.

What BitTorrent does is remove this limitation by allowing a virtually unlimited number of people to connect to one another and share the same file at the same time. Instead of being limited by the upload speed of the other user one is suddenly in the welcome position of being limited by ones own download speed.

The idea behind BitTorrent is to allow massive distribution of popular files without penalizing the source by soaring bandwidth costs and possible crashes due to demand that exceeds the capability of the server. In this way, anyone who creates a popular program, music file or other product can make it available to the public regardless of assets, even if the file becomes highly popular.

To understand how BitTorrent functions, first consider how normal downloading works. Personal computers connected to the Internet are known as clients while the websites visited reside on Internet servers. Servers "serve up information" to clients. If you surf to a site and click on a link to download a program, you create a one-on-one connection to that server that uses whatever bandwidth is necessary to serve you the file. When you have received the entire file, the connection is released so the server can utilize that stream of bandwidth for handling other connections.

The problem arises when unusually high numbers of clients visit a site simultaneously. This can cause the server to effectively run out of available bandwidth and "crash." When this happens, clients are refused a connection. "The site is down."



To avoid this, BitTorrent creates a different networking scheme. It uses the other clients who are also downloading the file to effectively act as servers to one another, simultaneously uploading the parts of the file received to others requesting the file. Hence, when you click on a file to download, several connections will be made to receive "slices" of the file that combine to create the entire file. Meanwhile, as you are downloading these "slices" you are also uploading them to anyone else that needs the parts you are receiving. Once the entire file is received it is considered polite to keep your client connected to act as a seed. A seed refers to a source that has the entire file available.

In this way BitTorrent relieves the burden of the servers but more significantly it makes it possible for anyone to disseminate a file quickly and easily without requiring expensive servers or an infrastructure of distribution. If the demand is there, the file will spread.

Tips for maximising a BSNL Dataone(Broadband) connection.

Note: even if you aren't an Indian BSNL Dataone customer, you may find a thing or two of interest in this post.

I'm writing this post because:-

Reason 1. Murali wanted me to mail him few links for the softwares( auto-dialer, Datafox plug-in etc.) for his new Data-One 500C package.

Reason 2. The post may help some out there, who want to download Gigs of movies, mp3s, games, porn from the net but don't have the time or the patience to sit in front of their computer the whole day.

Reason 3. Last but not the least, I'm a blogger and my blog has a post more than it did before.


So going into the post itself, the things I'll be talking about in this post are

a) How to check your BSNL Broadband usage in the lower right corner of your firefox browser (sorry I don't know the plug-in for other browsers) instead of the boring routine of going to http://dataone.in/ everytime you want to know your usage (here again, while this link can be used for checking the usage of both limited and the unlimited usage packages, I don't find a reason why some unlimited package user is prompted to check his usage unless he's half as inquisitive as me). The plug-in is called Datafox. As the name itself tells you, a plug-in for Dataone made for the browser Firefox. All you have to do is go HERE, download the plug-in and open the xpi file (the extension of the file you just downloaded is .xpi, the format for firefox plug-ins) with firefox explorer or just drag the 80 kb file into an open firefox tab. After installing, you need to restart the browser when prompted (the firefox browser, not windows) and configure the plug-in straight away. Double-click on the "X" marked Datafox icon in the lower-right most corner of the browser and select "BSNL" for the ISP, enter your password and username for your connection (believe me, no harm here because no one can use your connection details for any other purpose on an outsider BSNL connection save for checking your usage details, the fact is that only you may connect to internet with those details only on your phone number's connection), tick "save password", "override default domain" and login. One last configuration, right-click on the Datafox icon, go into preferences, tick "login on startup", "display data in Gib", "upto 3 decimal places", "Bandwidth limit (according to your package, if you're not sure go HERE )", in the statusbar string input "{cX}/{tX}". If you're only interested in your usage excluding the happy hours(2:00-8:00 am), just go for {cX}.

b) How to get your system to start up on it's own, download your files and shutdown when done. Many of the motherboards today come with a built-in RTC(Real-Time Clock, the time set in your Motherboard's BIOS) wake up alarm, meaning that you can set them to start on their own at a pre-desired time on a single day or the same time everyday, the whole month. My motherboard is configured to power up every night at 2:05 am and shutdown at 7:55 am in the morning (making the most of Happy Hours excluding 10 minutes right?). In my next post, which I insist you shouldn't miss by any chance, I'll let you know a major flaw in the Happy Hours browsing system which can practically doom you and the reason why I power up my system only after 2:00 am and not before. Also, one thing I should remind you here is that while I use an RTC alarm on the motherboard to start the pc, in order to shutdown the system, a 600 kb software "Autoshutdown" is used. Once the system is up and working, you need a dial-up software to establish the connection (luckily, if you asked your technician to setup your connection to be on always, I mean without having to dial a connection, you don't need to do this part at all). This software is "Winpoet", you may download it HERE. After installing the software, you may configure it to connect on system start-up. This much said, you're able to get the system up and connected to the internet but who'll take care of the downloads? Just setup your utorrent or other clients or Download managers to start with system startup. Happy Downloading. BUT don't forget leaving your UPS and BSNL Modem switched on or configuring your Autoshutdown to shutdown at 7:55 am everyday.


Checklist:-

1) Download Datafox plugin HERE.

datafox-1_0_1.xpi

Hosted by eSnips

2) Download Winpoet HERE.

WinPoET403.zip

Hosted by eSnips

3) Download Autoshutdown HERE.

AutoShutdown.zip

Hosted by eSnips

4) Configure Autoshutdown to shutdown at 7:55 am everyday (contact me/ comment back for detailed instructions on the same).

5) Configure BIOS to start up at 2:05 am in the night (search a bit for this option in your BIOS, it almost always exists).

6) Configure Winpoet to startup and use auto-connect.

7) Configure your Download Manager or torrent client to auto-start with system startup.

8) Don't forget leaving your UPS and Modem switched on and your Monitor switched off and CPU shutdown.

Happy Downloading, and make the most of BSNL Broadband. If you think all these steps are a pain, consider the 138 GB(yeah that's right, 138 Gigabytes) that I downloaded last month, or rather that my system downloaded :). Comments are welcome and suggestions are valued. Queries are answered at the earliest.

Death on the Football Field: Angels of Football

Originally posted by Lonely for Sportales


Football or soccer, is the most popular sport in many parts of the world. We lock our hearts and brains to the results of the matches at weekends, Champions League or UEFA Cup. Every goal scored is enough to make us fall from our chairs


However, there are some moments in football that upset all followers. They are the deaths and injuries on football fields. This article is devoted to three memorable footballers who died on the field, Marc Vivien Foe, Miklos Feher and Antonio Puerta.

Marc-Vivien Foé

Foe was born in Cameroon in 1975. He started his football career as a junior in Union Garoua, then he transferred to Canon Yaounde team. His success in Cameroon, carried him to the France League. He played for RC Lens and Olympique Lyonnais teams in France and for Westham United and Manchester City in United Kingdom. He was choosen for the Cameroon National team and played 64 times scoring 8 goals. His team was invited to Fifa Confederations Cup in Lyon. After he played against Brazil and Turkey, Cameroon deserved to face Colombia in the semifinal of the cup.


He died in the 72nd minute of the game in Stade De Gerland in Lyon. Autopsies showed that his death was because of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.



Miklós Fehér

Feher was born in Hungary in 1979 and started his football career in Gyori Eto FC. His goals and technique moved him to the famous Portugal club FC Porto. He couldn't show his talent in Porto. Hence, he was hired to SC Salguerios and Sporting Braga teams. Finally, he was transferred to another famous Portugal club Benfica. Feher died in 2004 while playing against Vitoria Guimaraes. His death is still in my mind. Fehér, who had just come on as a substitute, received a yellow card in injury time and suddenly bent forward seemingly in pain and then fell backwards to the ground. Team mates rushed immediately to aid Fehér before medical personnel arrived on the pitch.


CPR was performed as players looked on in visible distress. An ambulance arrived on the pitch and Fehér was rushed to the hospital. His condition was covered by the Portuguese media throughout the day but before midnight Fehér's death was confirmed. The Public Prosecutor (the Portuguese agency responsible for the release of autopsy details) announced that Fehér died from a heart attack. He was 24 years old. Many wouldn't yet forget his last smile when the referee gave him an yellow card, just as he fell down on the field, in the middle of the last game he played.

Antonio Puerta


Puerta was born in Spain in 1984. In his career, he played only for Seville team. He played for Seville B team first and moved to Seville A team due to his success. His youth and talented football impressed famous clubs Real Madrid, Manchester United and Arsenal teams and he entered to the transfer list of these clubs. He died in 2007 while he was playing against Getafe in Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium. It was announced that his death was because of Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (multiple organ failure, in short). At the time of his death, his girlfriend was expecting his first child.

What's in a Hero's statue?

(Source: http://www.snopes.com/military/statue.asp)

Why are some war heroes horses statues reared up, and others on all four legs, or the heroes swords are drawn? Do the number of hooves lifted into the air on equestrian statues reveal how the riders died?

Folk wisdom has it that equestrian statues contain a code whereby the rider's fate can be determined by noting how many hooves the horse has raised.

The most common theory is this:

One hoof is raised = the rider was wounded in battle


The hoof code seems to mostly hold true for all statues. However, James Longstreet wasn't wounded in the Battle of Gettysburg yet his horse has one foot raised. Maybe it had an itch?


Two raised hooves / horse is reared back on its hind legs = the rider died in battle


All four hooves on the ground = the rider survived all battles unharmed and passed away by a natural cause.


As far as the sword being drawn or not, It's assumed that it simply symbolizes the charging towards the enemy; a signal for the rest of his troops to follow him into battle. Most likely its up to the sculptor if he wanted to have the sword drawn or not.

Is Ramayana true? Part-1

NASA Images Discover Ancient Bridge (Adam's Bridge) between India and Sri Lanka

(Courtesy : NASA Digital Image Collection)



Space images taken by NASA reveal a mysterious ancient bridge in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka. The recently discovered bridge currently named as Adam´s Bridge is made of chain of shoals, c.18 mi (30 km) long.

The bridge´s unique curvature and composition by age reveals that it is man made. The legends as well as Archeological studies reveal that the first signs of human inhabitants in Sri Lanka date back to the a primitive age, about 1,750,000 years ago and the bridge´s age is also almost equivalent.



This information is a crucial aspect for an insight into the mysterious legend called Ramayana, which was supposed to have taken place in tredha yuga (more than 1,700,000 years ago).

In this epic, there is a mentioning about a bridge, which was built between Rameshwaram (India) and Srilankan coast under the supervision of a dynamic and invincible figure called Rama who is supposed to be the incarnation of the supreme.



This information may not be of much importance to the archeologists who are interested in exploring the origins of man, but it is sure to open the spiritual gates of the people of the world to have come to know an ancient history linked to the Indian mythology.

Stand up, Shout aloud