If you’ve downloaded more than a couple files via BitTorrent, it’s happened to you — the thing you want is all but done and has been all but finished for hours maybe even days. This new version of the popular BitTorrent client now helps you avoid those kinds of wait.

Transmission 2.3 (release notes) includes a bunch of the usual under-the-hood changes, such as scripting and UDP changes, but one feature in particular caught eye:

• µTP support
• UDP tracker support
• Multiscrape support
• Download scarcest pieces first
• The “lazy bitfield” feature has been superseded by the “Fast Extension” BEP6
• Scripts are passed the environment
• Ability to remove all completed (finished seeding) transfers
• The Web Interface is published over Wide-Area Bonjour
• Enhanced grouping rules
• Interface tweaks

[u] Transmission 2.3.1 has been release and its addresses a packaging issue, which fixes the problem I had with installing via the in-app updater.

By downloading the scarcest pieces first — something that can change as torrenters join and leave — you can hopefully avoid getting stuck waiting hours or even days for a download to finish.

Also, have a second look at the image at the top of this piece. Yup, Transmission is now Intel only, though PPC users can still use older versions.

That said, I haven’t been able to download via the app’s integrated updated mechanisms — improperly signed, it says. So, get your copy of Transmission 2.3 here (4.1MB).