One of the key strengths of the Raspberry Pi is its fire-and-forgetability. That key quality O where you can set instructions and let the machine simply perform the assigned tasks is incredibly useful; there is no chance of automatic restarts following unwanted updates, for example, or antivirus scans disrupting scheduled tasks.
Hook up some external USB storage and the Pi can become a data server (for example, a PC backup system, as in LXF310). A similar setup can be used in a different way: to serve ISOs to the BitTorrent network.
No, don’t choke on your pastry; this is entirely legal if you stick to files that are intended to be shared.
Is BitTorrent still a thing?
For people who don’t like paying for movies, music and video games, BitTorrent became popular around 15 years ago as an alternative to LimeWire, eMule and various other download managers. The focus was on copyrighted material, and the servers hosting the files were rightly taken down.
BitTorrent differed in method, which is why it is still used. No central server hosting copyrighted material can be taken down because none exists. Attempts to remove illegal hubs like the Pirate Bay have turned into a game of whack-a-mole (there are dozens of clones). Because BitTorrent’s peer-to-peer networking model is very efficient, it is widely used. The original decentralised internet technology, BitTorrent files are downloaded and uploaded to and from a network of computers, in whatever order is the most efficient.
Anyone who has heard of BitTorrent is no doubt aware of itscan be misused, so can BitTorrent. You don’t want to misuse a Pi-based torrentbox, so what can be legally served?
