Well, I bought a Mac. Specifically a MacBook Air 11.6″ notebook. It is the best ultralight travel computer I could find.
- Mac/Linux: The popular open-source BitTorrent client Transmission has updated to version 1.8, bringing with it support for magnet links, trackerless torrents, Quick Look in Snow Leopard,.
- For the second time in five months, the Transmission BitTorrent client for Mac has been infected with malware. The malware, dubbed OSX/Keydnap, is pretty nasty. It’s designed to steal the contents.
- Transmission 1.60 and later removed support for Mac OS X v10.4.Currently, Transmission 1.54 is the last version that runs on Mac OS X 10.4. Although it is possible to compile later versions from source, either by downloading from the project's web site or using a package manager like Fink or MacPorts, it is unsupported and any bugs specific to 10.4 will not be fixed.
I had known the MacBook Airs were good little computers for quite some time, but after they did away with the backlit keyboard a while back I scratched them off of my “short list” of top notebook. Well, they re-added the backlit keyboard and they also put in some spicy new CPUs and nice big SSD options. So I did what I never thought I would, I bought a Mac.
After all that, I will get to the point… since I am playing with Mac OSX a bit (before probably switching to Win 7 on bootcamp or VMWare Fusion) I need replacements for some of my “go to” apps.
May 24, 2020 Transmission is a fast, easy, and free multi-platform BitTorrent client. Transmission sets initial preferences so things 'just work', while advanced features like watch directories, bad peer blocking, and the Web interface can be configured with just a few clicks.
WANTED – a good Torrent client for Mac
First up, a good Torrent client. The top candidates: uTorrent and Transmission
Initial download size:
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1.7mb uTorent
4mb Transmission
Size after installation:
3.5MB uTorrent
8.3MB Transmission
The results
To be updated as I use the apps…
UPDATE: 2011.09.20*
*Note: I returned my MacBook Air so I have not been able to add the screenshots and UI comparisons that I wanted to. However, the next time I am doing development work in my VMWare Mac OSX installation I will try to take screenshots and update the article.
Performance:
Transmission Mac Os X
uTorrent: 5/5
Transmission: 4.5/5
Both clients performed admirably in my tests. Neither had any problems solidly downloading a variety of legal torrents. Speeds were comparable, neither provided an extreme DL boost compared to the other. uTorrent gets a small win here since I prefer its speed reporting and graphing capabilities vs. Transmission.
Cross-Platform Compatibility:
uTorrent: 4/5
Transmission: 4.5/5
uTorrent is readily available on Windows and Mac. Transmission open source and is available on Mac, GTK+ and Qt as well as being ported to a variety of platforms.
User Interface
Download wd my cloud desktop for mac. uTorrent 4.25/5
Transmission 4/5
Each client takes a totally different approach to user interface and content presentation. Transmission is very minimalistic and “Mac like” while uTorrent provides you with loads of information.
Mac Os Torrents
This really comes down to individual user preference but I generally like more info rather than less so for me uTorrent gets the nod.
The winner is?
Thankfully these are both great torrent apps for use on Mac OSX Lion. If I had to choose one I would choose Transmission. When I use a Mac I try to keep things simple, Transmission is a very simple and streamlined interface that makes downloading torrents easy. The complexity is hidden and with the “keep it simple” mantra I find myself not even digging into the options that I often play with on uTorrent for Windows.
This conclusion (choosing Transmission) really came as a surprise to me. When I use Windows I personally tend do more complex things and at those times I prefer the control/info that uTorrent offers in plain vie. However, especially in older versions, it is not a streamlined simple interface. It is a power user interface IMHO. But on Mac OSX uTorrent just does not fit in, it does not quite belong in Apple-Land. Whereas Transmission fits into the landscape perfectly.
Transmission Torrent For Mac Os X High Sierra
As Keith pointed out in the comments below, Transmission also has a longer history on Mac OSX and they seem to really focus on pushing the limits for the Mac version. Whereas the Mac version of uTorrent may always lag behind the more popular Windows version when it comes to features and development.
In the end – both of their place
In addition to choosing Transmission, I am also leaving uTorrent for Mac installed. Neither takes up significant resources and they both have a place in my torrent toolbox.
Transmission Macos
I hope this info was helpful to you and I encourage you to share your experiences as well. 🙂