About 15 years ago a group of us were gathered around a computer waiting for “The Phantom Menace” trailer to download.

It was still early enough in Internet time that an online debut was a problem. The combination of a big movie file and huge demand led to a giant trainwreck. It took hours to download even on our company’s fast internet.

The trailer had 10 million downloads, which I seem to recall was the most popular download of its time, though it’s likely been surpassed since.

Within seconds of “The Force Awakens” trailer popping up, thousands,... More