Under Ubuntu 8.04 you don't have to dig for Transmission, but Azureus and Deluge aren't available by default. Some pre-configuration is required. Go to the 'System' menu, then to the 'Administration' sub-menu. Pick the 'Software Sources' item, then provide your authentication password. An application should show up. Check the 'Community-maintained Open Source software (universe)' option. This enables the support for more software which is available into the Ubuntu repositories.

Hit the 'Close' button. A dialog should pop-up asking you to update the information about the available software. Do not hit the 'Cancel' button! Click 'Reload'. This makes sure that the list of available packages is cached to your disk. If the window doesn't go away, hit again the 'Reload' button as there might be an error with the list update which usually it's fixed by running twice the update command.

Azureus

Azureus is a well known BitTorrent client even among the Windows users. Unlike Deluge which was written as an resource friendly application, Azureus is quite a resource hog since it's written in Java. If you have enough memory, then most of the time you won't feel it's presence. On the other hand, Azureus is the client with the biggest number of features among all BitTorrent clients, plus a set of plug-ins which makes it the perfect choice for certain activities. It is a mature project which can be extended by various plug-ins.

As the other clients, the Azureus installation is the same. Open the Terminal (Applications → Accessories → Terminal), then paste this command:

sudo apt-get install azureus

After the installation is finished, you can launch it right away. If the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) is missing, then the package manager handles it. You need to accept some extra licensing terms in order to use the JRE provided by Sun Microsystems. The program greets you with the configuration wizard. This wizard is rather simple.

The first step allows you to pick the localization while the second step allows you to select the proficiency of the wizard. I strongly recommend 'Beginner' if this is your first Azureus usage. The client is highly complex.

This step allows you to pick your upload line which matches your case. If the presets aren't enough, then you may use the 'Custom' option.

This step allows you to set the listening port. Unlike other clients, Azureus uses a single port for incoming connections. The defined port can be tested by using the 'Test' button while the window from below displays the result of the test.

This step allows you to select the storage directory for the torrent files. You can simply use the default setting and click 'Finish'.

The client's interface is not extremely complicated. It has a tabular structure. For example, this is the very long 'Options' panel:

Adding a torrent is easy, but the dialog might be confusing if you're using the client for the first time. When you hit the 'Open' button it actually opens a dialog. You need to either add a file, URL or directory by using the dedicated buttons. You can also modify the save path, and some other options.

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