Drowning Torrents

3fl run a great file mirror service for PIPE-connected ISPs in a variety of Australian states, but they still have .torrent files in their mirror. Just for kicks I tried it out… predictably (well, predictable based on my past experience of P2P) it maxed out at a bit under 200KB/s, which, uhh, sucks.

I went back to the mirror and started downloading from it directly, and all of a sudden my 1 hour long download became a six-minute special. I’m holding a shiny Ubuntu CD here in my hand that would still be downloading thanks to the brilliance that isn’t torrent-style P2P downloads.

I think I’ve had one or two lightning-fast P2P experiences in my life, but, really, they just don’t seem to be able to compete with a maxed out link on a good FTP server!