torrents arent necessarilly a bad thing - i mean look at how metal gear online had the option to download the latest update via either http link (which is how rapidshare et al work) or via bittorrent.
They both have their ups and downs - not enough people seeding a torrent will make the download slower, and if too many people are trying to download from a particular http link then that will make it slower.
I prefer torrents for larger files (1gb+) and http links for anything less than that.
I'll be happy if pirate bay succeeds in its trial because it'll be a good case for all other torrent sites to refer to should they go to court again!
anyways, thats just my ramblings...