With BitTorrent Sync, the technology’s creators have turned to a new use case: a decentralized substitute for file sync-and-share services like Dropbox. The new BitTorrent Sync 2.0 ups the ante by providing a “pro” tier, with what BitTorrent describes as “additional functionality for business workgroups and individuals that need more capabilities and controls from Sync.”
BitTorrent Sync itself, even in its nonpro incarnation, is a handy little tool. Install it on two or more devices — Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, iOS, Android, or Windows Phone — and you can elect to synchronize up to 10 folders among those machines. The synchronization process — the actual shuttling of data — is done entirely peer-to-peer. Any folder can be synced, even those on a removable drive. Versions of Sync are also available for many popular NAS devices from Seagate, Western Digital, Netgear, and others, allowing content on those devices to be synced.
