Tech Supplementary Material (Eric Hartzog)

First look: BitTorrent video download store

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070227-8929.html

I think a good example to look at to see what problems iTunes may is the current problems with the current BitTorrent video service. Although BitTorrent is supposed to be far faster than normal download speeds, the user who reviewed the service found that while the download speed was good it wasn’t much greater than current traditional services, and the DRM system used took much away from the user’s experience.

It’s the small details like this that could make or break the iTunes service, and upgrading to the BitTorrent solution can complicate things while providing minimal benefit to the user. The need for BitTorrent depends almost entirely on the type of demand placed on the iTunes video download system, and if iTunes rarely experiences flash crowds who all demand the same content in a short time period.