Last month, we announced Project Chrysalis, hinting at major changes to come with your BitTorrent Mainline client. At the time, all we were able to tell you was that it would be a metamorphosis of features and style, with all the power of the BitTorrent you know and love.

Today, I’m excited to share a few more details about what you can expect in the coming months, and even better, first screenshots!

First and most obviously, BitTorrent Mainline version 8 will feature a radically overhauled user interface, designed to simplify your experience and make BitTorrent easier than ever.

But this isn’t merely an aesthetic redesign. We’ve been listening closely to all of your feedback about how you use BitTorrent, and the features that you believe will enhance your experience.

For example, content you can download will be easily available through channels which will appear along the top of your client, making it especially fast to find new things to download. 

In the following preview screenshots, you’ll notice a few new capabilities. One is a series of stars next to each torrent. This means you’ll be able to easily rate torrents and comment on their file quality, thereby participating in the larger BitTorrent community.

Another new feature, is the ability to shift your content to other devices. With the ability to transcode files and burn to external media, you’ll be able to transfer downloaded content to TVs, tablets, smartphones, media players, DVDs, and USB drives etc.

Today we are also announcing a partnership with ITRI to define device standards. These new standards will make it easy for you to find devices that will make shifting content even easier.

We expect to release a beta build by the end of March, and will keep you informed along the way. Please leave feedback in the comments…we definitely want to know what you think…

Simon