Bitzi
Bitzi is a website where volunteers share reports about any kind of digital file, with identifying
metadata, commentary, and other ratings.
Information contributed and rated by volunteers is compiled into the
Bitpedia data set and reference work, described by Bitzi as a "digital media encyclopedia". The Bitpedia is published through the Bitzi website and web services under an
open content license (
Creative Commons Attribution - Share Alike 2.0).
The Bitzi service launched in 2001 and its standards and services have been adopted by a number of popular peer-to-peer file sharing systems. Bitzi is sponsored by a metadata publishing company of the same name based in
San Francisco.
At Bitzi, files are identified by applying a strong
hash function to their contents, which gives a distinct "fingerprint" for each file. Bitzi calls the combination of standard hash functions used by its system "bitprints." An open source downloadable tool, the
Bitcollider, calculates file hashes and extracts intrinsic metadata from common file media types to assist user contributions.
Bitzi cross-references multiple
Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) for files, primarily URIs used by peer-to-peer file-sharing networks:
*
sha1:/
magnet: (
Gnutella)
*
kzhash: (
Kazaa,
Grokster)
*
tree:tiger: (
DC++,
Shareaza).
*
ed2k: (
eDonkey2000,
eMule,
OverNet)
Other file-specific metadata is also collected, such as file size, alternate filenames, audio/video encoding details, user ratings, and free-form comments or descriptions. Users can displace flawed information with new contributions.
Data about specific files can also be programmatically retrieved via a
REST-style XML web service.
Bitzi originated several popular standards in the peer-to-peer file sharing sphere, including the
Magnet URI scheme and
Tiger tree hashes.
Many peer-to-peer file sharing programs, including
LimeWire and
Bearshare, offer an option to look up local files or network search results at Bitzi for more information about their contents or quality.
As peer-to-peer sharing networks are often plagued by mislabelled or corrupt files, Bitzi can sometimes provide additional confidence that a file is as expected, before a user begins a long download. In such a role, Bitzi serves to ameliorate some common
attacks on peer-to-peer networks.
*
Website* List of
applications using Bitzi*
Bitcollider project at Sourceforge
