So why should anyone already using BitTorrent to steal stuff suddenly go legit? According to the New York Times, BitTorrent’s inventor and BitTorrent.com's chief executive Bram Cohen said the new store would offer a compelling alternative to the illegal ecosystem. "I think what consumers want is a good experience," he said, "and the first part of that is making the content they want available legitimately."

So he's saying people will go legit for "a good experience", but the non-legit services offer a better experience in almost every way. Cohen went on to cite "internal studies" that say 34 per cent of BitTorrent users would pay for content if a comprehensive, legal service was available.

I think Cohen is deluding himself. The only way BitTorrent.com will break in to the "people prepared to pay" market is if it does a deal with an existing product and/or service that people are already happy to pay for - such as the Amazon/TiVo deal. Otherwise BitTorrent.com will be left trying to sell its wares to the people least likely to pay.{moscomment}