Download Accelerator /Managers,,A Mild Rant

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bob Adkins
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B

Bob Adkins

/rant

Well, I have wasted a ton of time in the past 2 weeks testing out download
accelerators / managers.

I own FlashGet, and it rates a 9.

Nothing in the freeware category is even close.

Of the 5-6 I have tested, here's what frustrates me:

Many do not resolve most of the more convoluted links
No visual or audible feedback to tell you if they DID resolve the link
Sometimes you fiddle and fiddle to see if the program resolved the link,
only to find you have downloaded the darn file 4 times.
100% CPU usage.
2-3 instances running
A lame confirmation screen pops up for permission to download
A lame confirmation screen pops up for permission to write the file to disk.
DOWNLOAD SUCCESS is often only a silly PHP link.

To be a usable download manager/accelerator, one needs a 90% success rate on
links. One also needs a small audible cue to indicate the file is
downloading, and a different audible cue to indicate the file has finished
downloading. No confirmations, no popups, just do it...like FlashGet.

The best of the downloaders are either awkward or the success rate is too
low. The worst are buggy as hell, or a complete joke.

I give up. I'm going back to FlashGet before I have a stroke and die. I'm
going to ignore the download accelerators/managers category on my Web page.
None rate a mention.

/rant

Bob
 
Bob Adkins wrote on Wed, 01 Oct 2003 12:34:11 GMT
/rant
Click to expand...
/rant

Bob
Click to expand...

As someone who has done all that stuff too, I was pleased to find that
when you use Mozilla Firebird, the built in downloader runs just as fast
as those multithreaded things and it reusumes.
No more accelerators for me.
--
Jim
-----------------------------------------------
Tyneside - Top right of England
To email me directly:
miss out the X from my reply address
Visit http://freespace.virgin.net/mr.jimscott
-----------------------------------------------
 
Bob

I suppose that you realize that preferring audio clues to visual clues is a very
personal taste.
If that makes you prefer Flashget very good for you, but I for one would hate a
silly thing beeping when it is just doing what I ordered. Even worse if it was
beeping from my spouse's PC.

With different tastes one might prefer DLExpert, which gives a nice visual clue
but doesn't make noise. YMMV.

DAN
 
I agree that FlashGet is probably the best download manager I've used,
even better than most shareware, but especially compared to the crappy
freeware programs. I also like DAP 5.3, and the built-in download
managers for Opera and Mozilla are also pretty basic, but effective.
 
I suppose that you realize that preferring audio clues to visual clues is a very
personal taste.
Click to expand...

Oh yes. I realize it's personal taste. A tiny beep, a tiny click, or the
Star Spangled Banner could be used according to taste. FlashGet has the drop
zone that shows download activity for those who can not tolerate a tiny
click. Some programs have no cues at all. The only way you know it's working
is to check the incoming folder to see if there's a surprise in there.

Bob
 
/rant

Well, I have wasted a ton of time in the past 2 weeks testing out download
accelerators / managers.

I own FlashGet, and it rates a 9.

Nothing in the freeware category is even close.

Of the 5-6 I have tested, here's what frustrates me:

Many do not resolve most of the more convoluted links
No visual or audible feedback to tell you if they DID resolve the link
Sometimes you fiddle and fiddle to see if the program resolved the link,
only to find you have downloaded the darn file 4 times.
100% CPU usage.
2-3 instances running
A lame confirmation screen pops up for permission to download
A lame confirmation screen pops up for permission to write the file to disk.
DOWNLOAD SUCCESS is often only a silly PHP link.

To be a usable download manager/accelerator, one needs a 90% success rate on
links. One also needs a small audible cue to indicate the file is
downloading, and a different audible cue to indicate the file has finished
downloading. No confirmations, no popups, just do it...like FlashGet.

The best of the downloaders are either awkward or the success rate is too
low. The worst are buggy as hell, or a complete joke.

I give up. I'm going back to FlashGet before I have a stroke and die. I'm
going to ignore the download accelerators/managers category on my Web page.
None rate a mention.

/rant

Bob
Click to expand...
seconded
me
 
/rant

Well, I have wasted a ton of time in the past 2 weeks testing out
download accelerators / managers.

I own FlashGet, and it rates a 9.

Nothing in the freeware category is even close.

Of the 5-6 I have tested, here's what frustrates me:

Many do not resolve most of the more convoluted links
No visual or audible feedback to tell you if they DID resolve the link
Sometimes you fiddle and fiddle to see if the program resolved the
link, only to find you have downloaded the darn file 4 times.
100% CPU usage.
2-3 instances running
A lame confirmation screen pops up for permission to download
A lame confirmation screen pops up for permission to write the file to
disk. DOWNLOAD SUCCESS is often only a silly PHP link.

To be a usable download manager/accelerator, one needs a 90% success
rate on links. One also needs a small audible cue to indicate the file
is downloading, and a different audible cue to indicate the file has
finished downloading. No confirmations, no popups, just do it...like
FlashGet.

The best of the downloaders are either awkward or the success rate is
too low. The worst are buggy as hell, or a complete joke.

I give up. I'm going back to FlashGet before I have a stroke and die.
I'm going to ignore the download accelerators/managers category on my
Web page. None rate a mention.

/rant

Bob
Click to expand...

MetaProducts Download Express
http://www.metaproducts.com/mp/mpProducts_Downloads_Current.asp
If it did timed downloads it would be perfect. But I can live with that
because of broadband.

Speaking of broadband. Here, it is cheaper than having telephone service
and a dial-up ISP who was down a lot of the time. I don't even have a
phone. I think there are more advantages to not than to have.
 
Jim said:
Bob Adkins wrote on Wed, 01 Oct 2003 12:34:11 GMT






As someone who has done all that stuff too, I was pleased to find that
when you use Mozilla Firebird, the built in downloader runs just as fast
as those multithreaded things and it reusumes.
No more accelerators for me.
Click to expand...

Well, is not a question of accelaration is a question of reliability.
Most of the times Mozilla and Mozilla Firebird download incomplete files
without a warning and without retrying to complete the file.
And the "manager" part of name is a joke.
I'm afraid that Mozilla Firebird Download "Manager" is far from being a
average Download Manager.

dM
 
To be a usable download manager/accelerator, one needs a 90% success rate on
links. One also needs a small audible cue to indicate the file is
downloading, and a different audible cue to indicate the file has finished
downloading. No confirmations, no popups, just do it...like FlashGet.
Click to expand...

I prefer visual confirmation myself. Not everyone can hear, and not
everyone wants to hear.
 
the built-in download
managers for Opera and Mozilla are also pretty basic, but effective.
Click to expand...

I've always found Netscape a superb downloader. It used to be better
than MSIE, but it seems that MS learned a lesson and improved that
part in more recent incarnations. I used to use a downloader whose
name I have forgotten, but I became annoyed after awhile because of
the ads.
 
I use Star Downloader and it works perfectly for me. I certainly don't need
any other features.
Click to expand...

I find that Star is one of the best at handling convoluted PHP links. My
problem with Star is it offers no cue as to whether the download has started
or completed. All you can do is check the incoming folder.

Bob
 
seconded
me
Click to expand...

Thirded.

It's hard to imagine until you've tested all the free DLers, that
none are perfected yet. DLExpert looked OK during my testing but
no match for FlashGet. I like the dropzone for ease of drag&drop
and monitoring percent completed.

BoB
For the duration of Swen, my address is inoperative.
 
TerryP proclaimed...
I agree that FlashGet is probably the best download manager I've used,
even better than most shareware, but especially compared to the crappy
freeware programs. I also like DAP 5.3, and the built-in download
managers for Opera and Mozilla are also pretty basic, but effective.
Click to expand...

Have any of you tried Star Downloader. I don't tend to use download
managers much, the benefit of being on 1mbit but when it comes to really
large demo's or movie clips then SD is what I use.

--
Strider, denizen of the blue nowhere...

Email - scott @ stri dot tk
Site - www.stri.tk
Forum - www.stri-forum.tk
 
I agree that FlashGet is probably the best download manager I've used,
Have any of you tried Star Downloader. I don't tend to use download
managers much, the benefit of being on 1mbit but when it comes to really
large demo's or movie clips then SD is what I use.
Click to expand...

Has Flashget improved? I used it over a year ago, and the files downloaded
would fail a md5 test after they had been split downloaded. Damn annoying
when downloading a 250MB file via dial-up and the file fails the md5. It was
enough to make me revert to RealDownload. *sigh*
 
I''ve tried most all of them and I think GetRight is the best.Aclose second
would be DAP. GetRight is also free if you don't mind the banner
advertising.
 
Jim Scott said:
Bob Adkins wrote on Wed, 01 Oct 2003 12:34:11 GMT



As someone who has done all that stuff too, I was pleased to find that
when you use Mozilla Firebird, the built in downloader runs just as fast
as those multithreaded things and it reusumes.
No more accelerators for me.
Click to expand...

For those who have done recent comparisons, please share some of the details.

Thanks,
BillR
 
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