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Your online time is valuable, so why spend it downloading files at glacial speeds and browsing inefficiently? This month, we look at a tool that speeds up downloads, a tabbed browser with many integrated features, and an animation toy to soak up all the time you'll save.

It's Raining Files! Hallelujah!

Downloading a video file can take longer than watching it, and it may feel like downloading a new Linux distribution takes as long as learning to use it. (Longer, if you believe Free Agent columnist Matthew Newton.) Free download tool BitTorrent takes a novel cooperative approach to improve download times.

BitTorrent whittles big downloads into small, manageable .torrent files. When you download your monstrous monsoon of a file, you simultaneously upload the .torrent files you've already downloaded and pass them on to someone else who needs them. The .torrent files don't necessarily go in sequence, so there's less risk of having thousands of eager Internet users grabbing for the same part of the same file all at once. The freeware's author, Bram Cohen, claims that BitTorrent can support about a thousand times as many simultaneous downloads for a popular file as HTTP can.

It's small wonder, then, that sites like geek Mecca Slashdot routinely mention BitTorrent as a method for getting files. Indeed, BitTorrent presents itself as little more than a method; this low-profile tool can't be launched without a download to work on. It starts only when you visit a site that offers .torrent files and click a download that's marked for BitTorrent use. Finding these sites through community word of mouth or very specific searches (such as "BitTorrent" plus "Linux mirror") works best; some sites that claim to host general BitTorrent lists really host little more than spyware and ads for Russian brides.

BitTorrent's cordial sharing benefits your entire Internet neighborhood. Instead of hoping to be the first bandwidth hog to force others away from the download trough, you can be both a taker and a giver. Speaking of which--Cohen doesn't charge for BitTorrent, but he does accept donations by PayPal and snail mail.

Browsing Reaches Operatic Heights

Opera appreciation may be an expensive hobby, but the full-featured, light-footed browser called Opera comes in an easy-to-appreciate free version. The non-Java version of Opera 7.5 weighs in at 3.4MB, as opposed to Microsoft Internet Explorer SP1's 25MB. Yes, you're reading that decimal point correctly.

Like a tiny singer with a big voice, Opera Software's flagship product offers power you might not expect from its modest size. Opera's tabbed interface supports multiple open windows and fast browsing. Included features such as integrated Google searching, a pop-up blocker, IRC-compatible chat, and a new RSS newsfeeder for Opera Mail add flourishes of extra usefulness. Gesture recognition and keyboard shortcuts can help you conduct your browsing prestissimo.

Opera lets you choose the kind of ads you're willing to see to foot the bill for this free version. You have the choice of random graphic banner ads or the less obtrusive Google text ads chosen based on your browser requests. If you long for no ads at all, spring for the ad-free version of Opera ($39). No funny little binoculars are required with either version.

For Animated Discussions

If your artistic ability stops at lines and circles, you may feel that animation is beyond you. Thanks to Pivot Stickfigure Animator, moving pictures are within your grasp. The brainchild of freeware author Peter Bone, Pivot provides you with stick figures to choreograph and direct frame by frame. The provided stick figures--man, horse, and elephant--bend at marked points of articulation. You click and drag a limb or joint to move it, and it leaves a temporary shadow (which disappears when you save the frame) to show how far you've moved the body part.

No drawing ability is necessary, so it's all right if your best figure drawing looks like a lost game of Hangman. If your Muse moves you, though, you can edit the figures and create new ones. The animations save as animated GIFs suitable for Web pages. Pivot supports up to 256 animated characters at once, so you can even create a crowd clapping as you receive your Academy Award for Best Short Film (Animated).

PC World Senior Downloads Producer Max Green and Senior Associate Editor Eric Dahl contributed to this story.

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