Popcorn Time is a dead simple way to stream torrent movies on Mac, Windows & Linux – $0
The name of this site wouldn’t feel right if all the posts kept on being about objects, so here comes the second one about pixels. This time it’s about an application that has been making big headlines lately because of its clean and simple UI combined with the use of the controversial BitTorrent technology. I’m talking about Popcorn Time, a free application that lets you stream a huge collection of HD movies with almost no waiting time at all.
It has been called “the Netflix for pirated movies” and that sums it up pretty well. Popcorn Time has a very polished and easy to use interface that, contrary to most other BitTorrent services and apps, is a no-brainer for almost anyone. Choose a genre to the left, click on a movie poster to the right and start watching. It’s dead simple and it should make a lot of companies very worried.
The screenshots on the official website show old public domain movies that are legal to watch, but with the actual application downloaded you’ll be greeted by the latest Hollywood productions like Gravity, American Hustle and Frozen. The creators of Popcorn Time are very open about the fact that the application uses BitTorrent sites to stream these movies and that it might be illegal to do so in the country you live in. If you’re already, for whatever reason, comfortable with downloading torrents then this application might be a much easier solution. But in the words of the Popcorn Time website:
Q: Is this legal?
A: Depends on where you’re from, really. Once again: we’re using torrents, so if you really care, you’d better google what the legal situation around these protocol is where you live.
Popcorn Time is open source and it’s available for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux. Use it at your own risk but please make sure that you know what you’re doing before you proceed.
Update: The developers behind Popcorn Time have shut down the project and the application is no longer working. Since the whole project was open source there are other people who are preparing to release a new, working version of the application. Time will tell how that play out.
