sigh.....
BitTorrent is NOT crap. BT is the future of peer-to-peer, and it's very simple.
1. Download a Torrent.
2. Open the Torrent with a client installed.
3. The client will search for sources from a host tracker.
4. You will start downloading.
5. You will upload whatever parts of the file(s) you have to other people while downloading.
6. Leave it open, you'll download and upload, and before you know it, you'll be done downloading. As a general rule, you always try to upload more than you download.
If you're using Norton Internet Security 2005, you'll need to disable it entirely, as it blocks access to BT's ports. Other firewalls may do the same, but BitTorrent is NOT crap, and if you don't like it, you're really going to be missing the boat...