Introduction
μTorrent is a BitTorrent(BT) client software
that is small, powerful, full-featured and is free for Windows, Mac OS X and
GNU/Linux platforms. It supports UPnP and popular BT extension protocol,
Magnetic Links, IPv6, DHT and UTP, and RSS downloader. Some HD video
stations such as ChinaHDTV have blocked the use of Thunder and many other download tools from downloading
resources, and it is recommended to use μTorrent for download. However, some usability issues still could be found from user experience and heuristics evaluation. For this report, all functions of μTorrent 2.0.4 are evaluated by using Nielsen’s 1994 heuristics. Figure 1 shows the main UI of µTorrent 2.0.4.
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| Figure 1. Main UI of µTorrent 2.0.4 |
Usability Issues
1. No New User Setup Guidance
Description of Issue:
Users who download using µTorrent
2.0.4 can be divided into different groups, and it is mainly divided into
Public Tracker users and Private Tracker users. For different user groups, the
software setting requirements are different. For example, Private Tracker users
will perform a large number of uploading activities in order to keep their
seeds alive, and Public Tracker users prefer to perform only download
activities. What's more, the default setting is not good enough for certain group of users. As figure2 shows, the default setting of maximum number of active torrents is 100, and the maximum number of downloads is 15. For private tracker user, upload more than 100 even 500 torrents at the same time is normal, like the author’s number of upload torrents is 104, which means the default setting is not "enough". However, µTorrent 2.0.4 does not have new user setup guidance,
which makes it difficult for different groups of users to start using the
software.
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| Figure 2. Default Queueing Setting of µTorrent 2.0.4 |
Potential
Improvements:
Provide new user setup guidance
when the software is initialized by asking the user whether he or she is a
private tracker user or a public tracker user and then set default
configuration automatically.
Of course, it is still
needed to provide options for custom settings at the same time. That’s because
some group of users have specific requirement, and to summarize, there options should
be provided when the software is initialized:
1. Public tracker user (Default). In this option, setting is initialized for general users like maximum number of active torrents is 100.
2. Private tracker user. In this option, setting is initialized for private tracker users like maximum number of active torrents is 500.
3. Custom settings. In this option user can set all configuration different from default setting.
2. Inadequate User Instruction
Description
of Issue:
The download procedure
using existed torrent is easy but creating new torrent from local path can be
hard for general users. First, µTorrent supports drag files to create torrent
files, but there are no hints for users to do this, so users will still choose
to do file path. Second, when creating a torrent file, users need to input
tracker, but new users often do not know what tracker is. Figure 3 and 4 is the
UI of creating new torrent file.
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| Figure 3. UI of creating new torrent file (1) |
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| Figure 4. UI of creating new torrent file (2) |
Potential
Improvements:
First, add text
"drag and drop a file or folder to the field below", or add a hover
that says this.
Second, provide HELP
function button near the tracker, or in the input box (the right circle of
figure 4) of tracker provide default example and instruction of tracker like: “https://yourwebsitetracker.xxx/announce.php?passkey=xxx,
if you are a public tracker user, you do not need to input passkey. You can
find your tracker on other torrent files of the same website.”
3. Misunderstanding of Toolbar Button
Description
of Issue:
In the toolbar, the icon
is just not easy to understand. Figure 5 shows the tool bar, and for example,
the icon in the red circle means “create new torrent file”. It’s uneasy for
user to guess what it means, and they need to click and have a try if they want
to know what the function of this icon is.
 |
| Figure 5. Tool Bar of µTorrent 2.0.4 |
Potential
Improvements:
Design more
understandable icons or give hints like “create new torrent file” on the top of
tool bar.
4. Inconvenience of Speed Limit Setting
Description of Issue (1):
The initial options for speed limits are very narrow, with ranging from 25kb/s to 1000kb/s. If the user wants to limit the download speed to 5000kb/s, he must first limit the speed to 1000kb/s, then µTorrent will display the new speed limit options, from 200kb/s to 5000kb/s. Setting a speed limit requires two iterations, which is very inconvenient. Figure 6 shows the speed limit options of beginning, and figure 7 shows the speed limit options after user select limit of 1000kb/s.
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| Figure 6. Speed limit options of beginning |
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| Figure 7. Speed limit options after selecting limit |
Potential
Improvements (1):
Give more wide options of
speed limits at beginning. For example, the options could be “25kb/s, 200kb/s,
500kb/s, 1000kb/s, 2000kb/s, 5000kb/s, 10000kb/s, 30000kb/s”. If a user wants
to set more specific speed limit like 1100 kb/s, then he can choose 1000kb/s
and then µTorrent will display new speed limit options. This improvement
considers that most users just want to limit the speed to a rough range of the
net’s bandwidth, like 4000 or 5000kb/s, and don't want a specific value like
5555kb/s. So, it is reasonable to offer a wider range of options at the beginning.
Of course, the maximum speed should not exceed the load of a normal Hard Disk
Drive, because nowadays there are still many computers that don't use Solid State
Drives.
Description
of Issue (2):
Setting
speed limit when start download can prevent download tools from using all bandwidth, and without speed limit of µTorrent 2.0.4, other software that uses the network will be difficult to work. However, if a user wants to set speed limit before uTorrent start the task, he needs to do it when opening torrent file, and the bandwidth setting is in “advanced setting” of adding new torrent UI as figure 8 indicates. For one thing, there is no hints told user how to limit speed, and for another thing, such common and frequently used function should in the front UI.
 |
| Figure 8. UI of adding new torrent |
Potential
Improvements (2):
In the main UI of adding
new torrent, add bandwidth setting function, like providing input bar or
drop-down menu.
5. Security Issues of Unable to Protect the Passkey
Description
of Issue:
For private tracker users,
the passkey needs to be kept secret. Its importance and confidentiality even
exceed the user's password’s. In a private tracker, the passkey is included in the
tracker's connection. Figure 9 shows how µTorrent 2.0.4 display the tracker and
passkey information, it’s so easy to find user’s passkey that one just need to
check a torrent file’s prosperities. Once the passkey is known by others, they
can access all the seeds of the user. This can lead to abuse of user private
accounts and privacy leaks.
 |
| Figure 9. µTorrent 2.0.4 tracker display box |
Potential Improvements:
Hide the passkey
automatically in torrent properties, like: https://tracker.xxxxx.net/announce.php?passkey=***************************.
It is also a
very good way to transfer all information access permission about the tracker
to uTorrent internal management after the download is complete. In other words,
users will be blocked from information of tracker and passkey, but they can
control download or upload behavior.
6. No Notification Shutdown Function
Description
of Issue:
µTorrent 2.0.4 will have
information and sound notifications after completing the download task, which
is a very useful feature. However, there are many users who don't want to be disturbed
while working or playing. In this case they don't care about the download
progress but prefer not to be disturbed. Unfortunately, µTorrent 2.0.4 does not
support to turn off notifications, and there
is even no options for any setting of notifications just as figure 10 shows.
 |
| Figure 10. Setting panel of µTorrent 2.0.4 |
Potential Improvements:
Add
notification shutdown function or do not disturb mode function. If the software
wants to do better, it can provide more detailed setting options, such as
"not to notify users when watching videos and processing office documents."
7. No Support for Multiple Labels
Description
of Issue:
It is normal for user to
add files they have downloaded to multiple categories. For example, when a user
downloads a Software Usability learning video, he may want to add this file to
both <Computer Science> and <Video> Label. Or, add it into a sublabel
<video> under label <Computer Science>. Unfortunately, µTorrent
2.0.4 can only set one label for each torrent file and does not support sublabel
function.
 |
| Figure 11. µTorrent 2.0.4 tracker display box |
Potential Improvements:
Provide new function to support
multiple labels, for example, be able to select label of <Study> and <Video>
together or be able to create sublabel for existed label like figure 12 shows.
 |
| Figure 12. Example of potential improvements of sublabel function |
Conclusion
As a popular BitTorrent
software in many parts of the world, µTorrent 2.0.4’s features are undoubtedly
very powerful. This software is very streamlined and has no extra features, but
it is because of this, it lacks some features that improve the user experience,
and there are some security issues. Some of the more updated versions of µTorrent
are banded by most of private tracker sites because the new versions are not
stable enough, as a result of which this version is much more welcome.
However, just as user A
said after he finished all the task, “In your report, you can just write that
this software cannot be used at all”, there is almost no user instruction and
hints for a new user to continue his work. So, in fact, it is possible that
this software will be finally replaced by other download tools which are much
more user friendly compared to µTorrent 2.0.4. And admittedly, there are many
download software that integrates BitTorrent functions, but most of them consume
a lot of system resources, and have charging functions and too much advertisements.
In conclusion, if people
want a convenient, fast and stable BitTorrent software, it is a good choice to
improve the software usability based on the µTorrent 2.0 series. There is no
perfect software, but it can be achieved that try to improve a software from
user’s perspective as much as possible.
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