First, of course, is the fact that Kubuntu is a resource. Like all non-prorietary software, it is not scarce as anyone can get it for free. The limiting factor is distribution. It is a full CD (700MB) of software. The issue is, of course, delivery. In a local area, it could be delivered by burning CDs or USB flash drives and hand-delivering it. Or, as we used to do with the Seattle Linux Group, have a "master copy" of new Linux distributions (at the time, on floppy disks) that we would pass around. But, Kubuntu is a global thing.

You can download a copy directly from the main Kubuntu server or any of the mirrors but that means huge bandwidth requirements for those servers. While there are updates, the main distribution comes out once every six months so sharing the responsibility for getting the new software distributed makes a lot of sense.

Enter bittorrent. With an inteligent protocol and multiple free implementations of that protocol, we can all take part in quickly getting Kubuntu into the hands of everyone who wants it. That sort of sharing is what bittorrent is all about. While there are issues with it being used to distribute the property of others that is really just a temporary situation. That is, once all information becomes a resource to be shared, bittorrent will be there to help.