How To Download Movies And Music Using BitTorrent On a Mac

Ever wanted to download music or movies over the Internet but didn’t quite know how to go about doing it? Programs like Napster and Limewire might ring a bell for some, but the masses are taking to a new kind of file sharing protocol called bittorrent to share everything from feature films to pictures and music. We’ll take you on a step-by-step tutorial on how to get BitTorrent up and running on your Apple computer and soon buying CD’s will be a thing of the past.

Lets Get Started
•    Get Connected Make sure your broadband Internet connection is reliable and encrypted if using Wi-Fi. This will prevent others from siphoning precious bandwidth from you. *For maximum performance and privacy, use a wired Ethernet connection to the back of the computer.

•    Download & Install Software There are many BitTorrent clients available on the Internet, but if simplicity is what you seek then look no further than Transmission. Transmission features an ultra low resource footprint and was designed with simplicity in mind, according to ImageShack, a popular image hosting service that uses Transmission exclusively. Transmission can be found here.

•    Configuration Using the latest version of Transmission 1.40, go first to Transmission → Preferences → Transfers Tab to change the default download location to destination of your choosing. Once you have done this, Transmission will be ready to use.

The next thing you will do is find a torrent search engine. Popular sites include: isohunt.com, demonoid.com and piratebay.org, and are as easy to use as Google. Tip: Try downloading a torrent file that has positive ratings and read the users forums to ensure the torrent’s authenticity. This will help you avoid wasting time with corrupted or incorrectly named torrents.

Typically, torrents become harder to find the older the release date is for the movie or album, but this is not always the case if the torrent is hugely popular, eg Lord Of The Rings. The next few steps will help you use Transmission with the .torrent file you’re about to download.

•    Search and download the .torrent file to your computer somewhere, preferably the desktop for quick access.

•    Once the file has been downloaded, go to the folder icon on the top toolbar within Transmission.

•    Almost there! In the OS X navigation pane you’ve just opened, locate the .torrent file on your desktop.

•    The next window will prompt you to select which files inside the torrent package you want to download.  With a music album for example, you could choose to download only one track or the entire album. Select Open and enjoy your downloaded file(s)!

*Things to consider
- Because of the nature of the BitTorrent protocol, the further time elapses while downloading a file, the faster its download speed will become gradually. Don’t be alarmed if you get slow speeds initially despite having a fast connection.
-Closing Transmission will not terminate the download, it will simply resume when the program is opened next.
- Don’t forget to trash the .torrent file once downloaded through Transmission. These can often build up, making your desktop cluttered.

Shea Cardinally started using BitTorrent as a means for obtaining large files that could not be easily transferred through programs such as Morpheus or Limewire.

There is no better way to spend a Thursday night he often said, than to set up multiple downloads in the queue, only to return home and find them all completed after a night out.

Downloading files through BitTorrent may be illegal depending on the country you live in, but Shea’s justification was that the movie had to always be worth it when you’re rolling the dice with the Motion Picture Industry and their lawyers.

My Best Friend’s Wedding isn’t a title that made the list.

Change We Can Vote For

For the first time since the start of the campaign, it was becoming increasingly likely that along with millions of other Americans around the country, I would witness a first of some kind – either the first female or black nominee to be elected President.

Debates were heated not only on television but in nearly every classroom and university hallway. Proposition 8 and the “race card” were frequent discussion points, and I now know why politics and the workplace do not mix.

I cannot express enough the divisive stances many shared on issues of sexual orientation and race. Both sides of the fence couldn’t help but ponder the possibility of a Presidential assignation solely based on Barak Obama’s skin color, should he be elected President.

A blog in the Seattle Post Intelligencer reported in January that “assassinate Obama” turned up as one of the top 100 Google search terms – an alarming occurrence considering the Internet’s anonymity.

As election day neared it became obvious the buzz that surrounded the election was not just limited to the middle aged or elderly. Student endorsements and campaigns engulfed the Chico State campus, and I felt invigorated when I heard other student’s opinions on politics, and my own interest surged concurrently.

It is no wonder the young voter turnout was expected to reach historical numbers this election season. It was something to care about, and something to have a say in. It was a nice change.

The rate at which the lines moved when I finally made it to the Bell Memorial Union on election day were enough to make even an ipod boring, yet somehow I felt proud of my fellow citizens for taking their time.

Passions flared in some of my classes though, usually on issues like whether or not homosexuals should be allowed to enjoy the same marital rights endowed upon their heterosexual counterparts.

The familiar “separate but equal” motto began to rear its ugly head in the days after the election among fellow classmates, harking back to the civil rights movements of the 60s.

Some believe America has taken one step forward by electing the first black person as President, but two steps back with the passing of proposition 8, which rescinded gay marital rights.

Fellow journalism student John Stevens expressed his concern with the election’s results to classmates during an open discussion the day after the historical election. His words had a profound impact on me as he analyzed the logic behind the rights Californians were willing to protect the rights of animals, while denying the rights of fellow human beings.

“It is interesting that Californians consider the rights of animals to be more important than the rights of the gay community,” he said.

When the dust finally settled, it was clear to me that Obama would embark on a new game plan for America, and that people had finally gotten the inspiration they needed to help Obama make America great again.

At the same time inequalities still plague key sections of America, but I believe that with Obama the gaps between sexual orientation, race and gender can only get smaller.

Oral History Excerpts

1. Now my daughter is working from home. Isn’t that something? She can work, have her computer at home, and she just works there at home. I guess that’s something new huh? It’s a wonderful thing!

2. Louise Waters has lived a rich life of entertainment. From her very first job as an usherette with a large theater, Louise went on to dance on commercial cruise ships for large audiences, never skipping a beat.

3.

4. Louise had waitied a long time to fly in the face of her robed authoritarian prison guards. Mount St. Joseph’s Asylum wasn’t quite a prison, but the Catholic girl’s school may as well have been considering her captors controlled her every utterance.

The nun in charge that evening hadn’t the slightest clue as to what she had been discussing with her fellow dish washer if anything. Out of nowhere, as if God’s own hand had descended from the heavens, Louise felt the sharpness of a calculated backhand to the face for talking back.

More dishwashing would ensue, and come morning there was nary a trace of the scorned 10-year-old that had been violated the night before.

6 Word Memoirs

Myself: Afraid what the future will bring

Louise Waters: Don’t have time to slow down.

Rough Past Yields New Beginnings For Some Homes

This portion of neighborhood lies in the avenues, with addresses spanning from 1300 to 1475 Spruce avenue. Spruce intersects with East 3rd, 4th and 5th avenues.

The condition of homes varies from old and well kept, to old and beat up. Middle class Chico lives here. They greet the mailman at the door, and wash their dogs in their driveways.

Vinyl siding wraps some homes while others are simply wood and paint, the old fashioned way. The darker the pigment of the homes, the easier it is to spot the owner’s fruitless attempt at hiding the structure’s decrepit exterior.

Outside a man sprays the rear of his car with water from a hose. His mid 90s Ford Taurus still clinging to its faded gray paint.

Attached to side of the man’s house a spigot hisses in disagreement where rubber hose meets metal fitting. The road between 4th and 5th street still smells of fresh gravel and tar, and its raw surface mirrors its pungent smell.

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Growing up with pop icons.

Items

• Gift – This item falls under several categories, most obvious is the historical aspect of how humans have given each other gifts since virtually the beginning of time to show their gratitude towards one another. Gifts are also used to celebrate events. A Gift falls under the values category because we as humans attach emotional feelings to items such as gifts. In a sentence: “You cared enough about me to get me something?” Lastly, a gift is also identified in almost every religion or institution around the world.

• Peace sign – Universally identifiable as a symbol of harmony and anti-war, similar to the yin-yang, this item promotes well being and peace. It also conjures up the anti war sentiments felt during the Vietnam war and the 70s. The peace sign embodies a diverse section of societal values and thoughts, including religion, politics, military, and social institutions.

• Fortune from cookie – The fortune cookie reflects folk wisdom more than anything else because the scripture reflects a common belief that people are universally good. It also shares its sphere of influence with literature, because fortune cookies are widely read and enjoyed all over the world. This makes it a form of popular reading in a way.

• 10 Pence – Money is deeply rooted in human history. It is linked to politics with anything from funding campaigns to how the government spends money. Money has also heavily influenced the economy (partly because it is the economy,) and a frequently discussed topic is how money is being spent by schools.

• Cross – The cross is an ancient symbol used all over the world to symbolize religion, divinity, and a wide range of things. It is historically identified with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the biblical days as well, and as such is linked to religion more than anything else.

• Popsicle – Popsicles are often associated with summer and the hotter seasons. The hotter days need awesome little devices like popsicle so that people can chill out and relax. The popsicle is valued in American culture so much so that the very name “Popsicle” is trademark that has entered general venacular. At its most basic level, frozen ice treats are just something that the body consumes – an extension of food.

————————————————————————————————————
Darren knew better than to go for the whole thing at once. It took the first twenty attempts to learn, but he’d be damned if he was going to risk losing such a tasty morsel to the ground again.

His family grew up poor and in Los Angeles. Rent was overpriced, living conditions tolerable – popsicles cheap.

Some of Darrens fondest childhood memories are of those grimy summer days, waiting for his mother to crack apart a popsicle for he and his sister to enjoy.

At the time, few things were better than receiving one half of a twin pop for absolutely no reason at all.
———————————————————————————————————
It’s that time of year again his parents would say. More often than not it was indeed the time of year Jason both loved and feared.

On the one hand, there was the opening of presents and family bonding he dearly enjoyed Christmas day.

On the other, Jason felt sickly confident that he could mark with great accuracy Christmas morning as the day he would fall ill.

It happened year after year, and to hinder his misfortune Jason’s parents got into the habit of placing a humidifier in his room and a present at his door.

———————————————————————————————————-

Story Ideas

For the first story on Darren I think it would be cool to talk about how youth has lost its innocence. Now days it seems like kids want the most expensive items, and are not happy unless they get them. Back when Darren was a kid things in life were simple and highly rewarding, even if it was only a popsicle.

For the story about Jason I think it would be neat to explore of the angle of just how many people each year are miserable on Christmas day. Not just for reasons like illness, but also things like the gift giving process and act of buying things for others.

Darren

Jason

All Items

A Day In The Life Of A Voyeur

Conversation #1

“And you went home with somebody?”

“Yeah”

“Smart girl!”

“Uh huh!”

“I stretched that one, I wanted to add that, but uhh, I got 21 on my first hand”

“And it was your 21st birthday?, that’s really cool”

“The last vacation I had, me and my mom went back to Reno, and I was my mom’s good luck charm in the casino, and my mom won seventy bucks”

“Really?!”

“Yeah, on our way back from a family reunion”

“That’s so cool!”

• The two having this conversation were both females. One appeared physically to be developmentally challenged, while the other was something of a caretaker. Both women boarded the bus at the same time I did, with the caretaker taking a seat two rows behind me, while the other was one seat back and to my left. This was at the transit center, 2nd and Salem st.
• The developmentally challenged woman, or “Lucy” as we’ll refer to here from here on out, was wearing small circular glasses, and a dark blue sweatshirt that appeared to have endured years of use. Over her ears sat large Sony earphones, which were connected to her portable cd player. Her plump face possessed a thick set of lips, and on the seat next to hers lay a 50 capacity soft bodied compact-disc case. Lucy was a shirt girl at about 5 ft 4 inches, whose simplicity was mimicked in her choice of faded black and red non-brand name backpack.
• Lucy’s caretaker was a very large woman who’s outwardly appearance was easily overlooked in light of the warm sincerity in her voice. Her shirt was colored a dark pink with red butterflies.
• This was route 3 heading northbound on W 8th Avenue at 12:50 September 18.

Story Ideas:

• Should developmentally challenged invididuals be permitted to gamble under state law? What about tax dollars that are alloted to assist these invididuals, which could be inadvertantly spent gambling?
• What is average distance people travel for a family reunion?
• What types of people are most likely to fall into a gambling addiction?

Conversation # 2

“He dicided to go hard on us”‘

“How’d yours turn out?”

“I don’t know, I have almost three pages, it’s like two and a half.”

“Well, he said it had to be five hundered to a thousand, so as long as its within six hundered or so.

“Yeah, I think i’m there, so I’m not too worried. I keep forgetting what i’m writing about and get off track”

“Do you want to read it?… course, if you read it you’re gonna say ‘Uh oh, this is bad, you’re in trouble’”

“No, I wouldn’t, I’d give you some good feedback.”

“Yeah well, at any rate we have until next week. Did we miss our stop?”

“Uhh, no you don’t remember where I live still?”

“Hey, last time I came over it was dark out so back off”

“Fine. We’re almost there though, to answer your question”

• Both girls were sitting on the bus already when I boarded at 2nd & Salem streets. They were obviously good friends who had known each other for a long time.

• Female one was wearing blue jeans, a black t-shirt and had long brown hair that was partially pulled back in a pony tail. Her hair was a dirty bolonde color and she sipped from a paper cup of coffee once every few minutes. Her face had slight acne, while her left wrist had on a silver linked watch. On her feet she had dark brown Berkinstock’s.
• Female two was sitting barefoot with her feet drawn up near her underside on the bus seat. The two were sitting in seats next to each other in the row next to mine. Her white t-shirt read “Will work for taquitos,” and had some sort of a cartoon animation on it. The only jewelery she wore was on her left wrist, which was a hand made hemp bracelet. She was a heavy set woman in her mid twenties.
• This conversation took place at 1:45 on route 3 September 18.

Story Ideas:

• Is peer editing a helpful or harmful teaching method?
• Do students get pushed harder academically during the fall or the spring semesters in college?
• Why is it so many Americans don’t know the difference between North and South, or other basic compass readings? Is America topicagraphacally challenged?

Conversation # 3 (Cell Phone)

“Yeah, ok where you at? are you in down town?”

Ok, I’m headed there now on the bus”

“that much?”

“yeah, don’t worry I can hook that shit up”

“you gonna be there for a little bit?”

“ok, cool bro, maybe if you want to swing by my place later we can try that out”

“Elise? no, she won’t be home, don’t trip”

“yeah, she knows but she don’t like it when Jacob’s around ya know?”

“Until 10, yeah he’s at my parents”

“yea bro, I’ll see you around 8 then, later”

• This was a tall African American man with a black baseball cap on. His pants were very baggy and he sat on the back of the bus by himself. He had black curly hair and was probably in his late 20’s. He had a black shirt on and a gold chain hanging from his neck.
• I sat in the middle of the bus while he was in the very back. This man boarded the bus about 20 minutes after I had already been riding route 10 Southbound on the Esplanade. It was about 6:30pm September 18, 2008

Story Ideas

• With gas prices so high, are drug dealers now doing their bidding on the transit systems?
• Children being raised by their grandparents – are today’s youth ready for parenthood?
• Chico’s ethnic diversity has expanded in the last few years, what has been done to make Chico a more welcoming and appealing town for these individuals?

9/11 Leads

Returning from exile, a boarding student’s nightmare.

It wasn’t until two weeks after the tragedy of September 11 that Samantha Klingerman even heard about the terrorist attacks on the United States. Before that she had no idea what the twin towers even were.

Many remember watching the events of that fateful morning unfold on national television. Samantha, a thirteen year old forced to go to Christian boarding school in the middle of Idaho was not even allowed to access information regarding the attacks.

Any outside information was “too secular,” Samantha’s teachers explained to a small group made to sit in a circle at the school. All Samantha could hope for was for her mother, the one that put her in this god awful place, would have a change of heart and have her return home to California.

At the same time, Samantha was also thankful for being so far out in the middle of nowhere. She was at least 100 miles from any major cities, and also only three months from returning home anyways.

To Samantha, September 11th mattered; it just didn’t matter as much to her as returning home to her friends did. She had endured for six months already. Three more couldn’t be that bad.

Preparing for the dangerous road ahead.

When Curtis Christie got to work that morning his boss was swearing a little more than he usually had. The unfortunate part was that it wasn’t about anything that pertained to the installation of glass windows.

“Those sons of bitches, I can’t believe this!” said his boss Richard. The twin towers had both plummeted to the ground and the tragedy was only beginning to unfold.

As news reports and radio coverage began to trickle in, Curt began to feel empathy for the families that had just lost one or more loved ones. He began to contemplate conspiracy. He questioned his conceptions of the paranormal.

Was it really a devil’s face seen in the smoke of the explosion?

As he continued to ponder why anyone would commit such a dubious crime against innocent civilians, the company’s accountant emerged from her office weeping uncontrollably.

It was the start of World War III, or at least he thought it could be. Suddenly all the years he had prepared for a catastrophic event or natural disaster made sense. Borrowing a wood splitter year after year to ensure a plentiful stock of firewood made sense. His selection of a house with a basement made sense too.
The path down over preparedness would be a lifelong battle for Curtis.

Some would call it worrying too much. To Curtis, his newfound caution couldn’t be more justified.

Think for yourself, question authority.

It had finally happened. Right wing consumer America got what was coming to them. To Darren Davis the phone call he received from his girlfriend about the attacks of September 11 couldn’t have been more unnecessary.

The attacks of that day would be greatly exaggerated by the major media outlets. The source of the information you obtained regarding the attacks could be worse than the attacks themselves.
His father bought into the Republican mindset, and if America was going to war, there couldn’t be a more justified reason.

America, being the drama queen of the world that it is immediately set out to get involved in other country’s business. Darren sees eye to eye with radical Muslim beliefs because America had been thought of as world police and consumer elitists.

At first the arguments with his family and friends were heated and impassioned. Darren could identify those that had been fed a healthy diet of Fox News propaganda. Their logic had holes that Darren loved exploiting.
After getting in countless confrontations with everyone he knew, and losing many friends because of it, something like a light bulb went off in Darren’s head.

This shift in mindset enabled Darren to be more open and more accepting of other people’s viewpoints on religion, government, and anything they were equally as passionate about.

The History Channel is largely responsible for this shift. It was something he could finally watch without feeling like a point of view was being pushed on him. The problem always was that he himself was never free of propaganda machines at work in mainstream media.
That’s partly why he had been so bitter since the beginning.

Leads Assignment

Lead #1:

• The narrator here is writing in 1st person, but could be varying between 1st and 2nd person given that there are references to “we,” as if it were a story being told.
• The Audience could be anyone that would be interested in a story involving characters. Perhaps someone interested in drugs, on drugs, or anyone who appreciates a good tale.
• The lead states that at least two people are traveling in a car, and are also on drugs. Their destination is Las Vegas. The references to the desert allude that the two are en route to Las Vegas, and are outside the city limits in the desert. It is likely the beginning of the book and / or story.
• The tone implies that the scene is chaotic. References to bats flying in the middle of the desert and the car’s top being down at 100 MPH show that this is no ordinary trip. No pun intended.
• You can almost “hear” the panic in the author’s voice because there are some unusual punctuation marks, such as the … before “and suddenly..” These marks help to set the scene and show that the two travelers don’t know what to expect. The two appear to be totally taken by surprise, but it is quite clear from the get go that they are on some kind of drugs.
• You can distinguish between the narrator and the author in the first few sentences. First, the author is speaking about what was going on prior to the chaotic drug induced trip. Then right when the quote, the author switches to the narration, describing the experience verbatim as it happened.

Lead # 2

• This is definitely 3rd person journalistic writing because it recounts an event that happened in which the author observed. There are no references to the author actually being there, so they are trying to accurately paint the scene of what happened.
• The audience could be someone reading an account of history, perhaps a student reading in a text book? It could also be someone writing a news story a week or just a few days after the event took place. The audience would be anyone who was not actually there to witness the event.
• The historical anchor here would be roughly 200 years after the founding of America. America was founded on July 4, 1776 so that would put the celebration in 1976. The fourth of July is one of America’s most acclaimed celebrations, and so the magnitude is evident because of the fact that it was the 200th year anniversary, and that there patrons from 55 nations.
• The tone is that of something very festive and glorious. There are people from all over the world in attendance, and the 4th of July is a very serious event for patriotic individuals. The tone here shows that people were excited to be partaking in such a glorious event. The phrase: “the greatest pyrotechnic extravaganza every mounted” conveys this quite nicely.
• You can hear the author’s voice basically saying that people were excited and happy to be at this 4th of July celebration. People are drinking and having a good time, and vague accounts of their conversations show that they were there not just to drink, but to celebrate.
• The voice of the narrator and the author appear to be one in the same here. It is someone recounting the events that took place, because they were obviously there to experience it.

Lead #3

• The writing in this lead is written in 2nd person. The author addresses the audience with certain tasks they could perform in the period of 19 minutes. The Lead serves to draw the reader in, making them wonder just exactly what they are alluding to with regards to the 19 minute time interval.
• The envisioned audience could be anyone that got drawn into the lead on behalf of several 19 minute references. One can’t help but keep reading to find out just what happened in the particular time span of 19 minutes that the author is referring to. How many people died in 19 minutes? Did someone get elected into office? Is that how long it took a baby to be born? The audience will never really know without reading further.
• There is no real historical time anchor evident here. The very end of the lead draws us to conclude that something monumental happened – or could happen in the span of 19 minutes with the sentences: “In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world, or you can just jump off it.
  In nineteen minutes, you can get revenge.” My best guess would be that the place would be addressed next in the present tense as to what exactly the 19 minutes is all about.
• The tone that is set seems very serious. There is the one football reference, which is recreational, but all the rest of the examples are very serious and purposely elusive.
• The voice here is mysterious but serious. There are quick, to the point sentences, and no fluffy writing or in depth details. Instead, just observations and careful consideration in explaining what types of things can occur in just 19 minutes.
• The voice of the author is the only voice speaking here. There are no accounts of others, no scene setting details, and no descriptions of anything happening. Only one fact after another.

Lead #4

• The narrator here is writing in the 3rd person, acting as though they are removed from terrestrial confines. The person penning the lead almost comes off as though she was god herself, reflecting on the primitive nature of man.
• Oddly enough, the envisioned audience would obviously have to be man – or something that could at least read English. The audience could be someone looking back on an existence that was once Earth, or perhaps back on how primitive man once was in its infancy.
• The historical time anchor here could be sometime way after Earth existed. It almost sounds condescending and demeaning. The time period could be light years after the destruction of mankind, because the writer says “This planet has – or rather had a problem”.
• The tone here is somewhat lofty and humorous. The opening sentences make reference to how cute it was that primitive man thought digital watches were “pretty neat”. After going in a more serious direction again, talking about how Man was still unhappy and focused on green papers. Then, to make sure you aren’t lost or bored, the author throws in the little bit about man still being unhappy – even the ones with the digital watches.
• The author’s voice sounds very condescending. The author talks about how “unhappy” and primitive man is, or was, and also how “unfashionable” the Earth’s realm is. The author’s voice is again recounting something that happened, although not in chronological order per se.
• The author here is the one writing. There is no narrator because they talk about something that has already happened, not something that will happen or is currently happening.

New Blog test 1.2

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