Can anyone explain the difference between a torrent file sharing service and something like limewire?

One is marginally legal depending on the use and the other is completely illegal and im afraid we cant help you with illegal file sharing.

I wasn't looking for help with with any kind of downloading just an explanation of the differences between the two, if there were any.

logically they are no different....basically it's just a different protocol that's used...about the same difference between any P2P and FTP...just a different method of achieving the same results

Edit:http://sg.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060822204410AAf1vri slightly better explanation

thank you desenette

Just different p2p methods, torrents are more advanced and are commonly used now instead of FTP for allot of things and allot of the new legal download service companies are switching to torrent based systems because they reduce server loads by spreading the load of distribution around the users reducing costs. Wikipedia has plenty info on both, but torrents are very much different to limewire, Bit torrent is more akin to a protocol and it is entirely legal whereas limewire is dubious and malware riddled.

and thank you warriorscot

Perhaps the subject came up because BitTorrent is about to launch an online store:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,129356-c...nt/article.html

They plan to use MS DRM.
Johanna

See now they spoiled it, what sell outs torrent have become the gold standard for distributing open source software and and open source formats and to sell out to MS AND DRM sucks. I suppose you just cant resist the money forever. DRM is utterly pointless any fool can bypass it and it makes the media more expensive making people LESS likely to buy it. The whole DRM model is fundamentally flawed in so many ways most DRM systems are now cracked before they hit the market whats the point.

I have heard from people that limewire accually supports torrent files now so I'm not sure if that means limewire is legal anymore.

Limewire has never been legal and probably never will be.

While I do support what they are trying to do with DRM, its not working. The legal buyers are those who are punished, like why should you buy a song and only be able to play it on one player, or a movie that you downloaded and you can only watch it on your computer, not your DVD player on your home theater system. While I do support their efforts that fact is thats its 1 programmer versus 1000s others. The only way to stop illegal transfers is for ISP to prevent the access of P2P's, I'm sure blocking specific coding from accessing specific ports and such shouldn't be that hard, but it probably is more complicated then what meets my eye. The thing is if you don't charge unessisairy amounts of money we wouldn't be here in the first place. Also if Microsoft and Sony still believe in DRM and that it'll stop illegal coping, I'm sure their hopes died with he announcement of the crack 1 month ago and now another decrypted (no need for names) announcing that it can down Crack DRM on both Blue-ray and HD-DVD. Major hit for them, maybe lowering costs will result in lower piracy, after all everyone likes the real thing over the fake.
James

This post has been edited by james_8970: Mar 6 2007, 09:57 PM

DRM is only half about stopping piracy(which is pointless as its 90% a response to pricing) but its being used to help further the needs of companies, the companies and orginisations involved have completely ignored the basic principles of capitilism, there is a complete monopoly from the RIAA and they crush anything that tries to break it legitimatley at the moment its not pirates that are the problem its the record companies and software companies that need a major change of attitude and restructuring before piracy will stop because most pirates arent idiots they know where the money from a CD goes and dont want to pay it most will happily pay the artist 10 times what they get now for a CD, but i dont know about anyone else i object to paying any money to the RIAA and thus am boycotting any products that are connected with them and i dont buy anything with restrictive DRM either for a similar reason.