BitTorrent launches Maelstrom: The first web browser in peer-to-peer
The goal of BitTorrent is to revolutionize the way the web works. The advantages of the use of peer-to-peer network for surfing the Internet are many. BitTorrent has just launched the alpha of Maelstrom, a web browser that aims to revolutionize the way users access the network. Made famous for its network of exchange of files in peer-to-peer without the use of centralized servers, the company sought to expand the concept to other areas, such as instant messaging (Bleep) or the creation, distribution and sale of content (Bundle).
And now is the time to surfing the Internet.
The peer-to-peer owes its fame mainly to the sharing of illegal content. The advantages of such an approach are manifold compared to the cloud: the transfer of large files, for example, is more efficient than traditional methods and not weighs on a single server. In addition, the files are shared on your computer, and are not managed by third-party servers. One advantage, the latter, that BitTorrent has exploited especially following the scandal NSA.
According to Eric Klinker, CEO of the company, Maelstrom with its innovative approach can make the web more efficient from the point of view of performance and safe: ” What would happen if a large part of the web would work in the way it operates BitTorrent? ” Asks rhetorically Klinker, ” Project Maelstrom begins to answer this question with the first public release of a web browser that can give life to a new way in which the contents of the web can be published and consumed. An internet powered by the same people. ”
The idea behind Maelstrom is certainly very interesting, but the implementation of a concept so simple just not aggressive. BitTorrent showed only a screenshot of the browser, which to date has been revealed in the form of alpha available by invitation only. By registering, the user cannot use it, but to propose the conversion of specific pages in the new mode of content distribution. An operation too complex: ” HTML code remains the same on the web distributed than the traditional. The procedures for creating websites will be the same. We’re just providing an additional way to distribute and publish content, “.
To date, it seems absurd to imagine an Internet developed on a different architecture than the one based on the servers. Maelstrom comes at a time when users begin to understand the importance of their presence on the internet and the data set and controlled. Security and privacy are now words that thunder strong when it comes to the internet, and is not to underestimate the phenomenon of ” net neutrality ” in which some services ” bandwidth hungry ” (Netflix, for example) may begin receiving privileges. The peer-to-peer could be the answer to all these issues, with a whole new way to distribute content that does not weigh on one centralized server.
The protocol could be annoying to many companies who live with our data, since it would make it more difficult, if not impossible, to identify the source of web traffic. Maelstrom is undoubtedly a very ambitious project, but for now its connotations seem particularly smoky: BitTorrent is currently developing the software and trying to attract the attention of the community with the first alpha version and has not made reference to features, the details more purely technical, or monetization strategies. All information that probably will sip over time once the project will become gradually more and more material.
One must also consider that it is essentially impossible for Internet architecture can change quickly. The idea is nonetheless being launched, and we will see in the coming months, or years, how it will evolve. If you are interested in contributing to the development and creation of ” distributed web ” you can register at this address. BitTorrent not only seeks testers, but also researchers, designers, developers and publishers that may require participation by filling out this form.
