When you go to download a file from the web using Internet Explorer, you can choose to save the file or run it from its current location (which basically means download the file to a temporary directory to run it without cluttering up your default download directory). But when you go to download the same file using Firefox, you can only save. There's no option to run the file. OpenDownload is a Firefox add-on that adds a run option. When you select "Run," the file will be downloaded to a temp directory and then launched. 24 hours after the file is downloaded, it will be automatically deleted it.
Aside from keeping your download directory clean, the main benefit of the Run box is that you can now download and run files with a single click instead of two clicks, thus saving you a valuable fraction of a second.
Helpful Firefox download-manager addon DownThemAll (DTA) recently released a long awaited version 1.0 which now works in Firefox 3. In addition to being faster and more stable, DTA also now supports Link Fingerprints and metalink.
Link Fingerprints are basically a way to embed download information in the download's URL. For example, a download's checksum could be embedded directly into the URL so that the download client could automatically verify the downloaded file (which is especially useful when using something like DTA which opens multiple connections to speed up the transfer).
Metalink is a way to embed additional locations into a download link. The locations could point to mirrors (in case the original download link is unavailable), or they could point to OS and language-specific packages.
DTA attempts to increase the speed of downloads by opening multiple separate downloads to the same source. When the individual downloads are complete, DTA combines the pieces into the expected file.
Firefox, the second most popular web browser behind IE 6/7, reached a milestone of 500 million downloads. Firefox has been around for about 4 years, and it has gradually gained market share for a myriad reasons: open source, extension support, skin support, lack of Active X support, etc.
We thought about baking Firefox another cake but it felt a little decadent given that Firefox is asking users to head over to FreeRice and play their games to help donate rice to those in need. Something about eating butter-creme frosting and thinking of starving children just didn't work so well. Instead, by playing FreeRice and choosing the correct meaning of the displayed word, you'll send 20 grains of rice -- per word -- to an area of the world in need.
Congrats Firefox, here's to reaching the next milestone!
Myspace is currently in talks with the four major record-labels to offer its users an ad-supported music delivery service. We say "music delivery service" because it's currently unknown whether the record labels will concede to free downloads or force the News Corp owned company into creating a streaming service similar to Last.fm.
Either way, the service will be ad-supported and DRM-free.
Whether or not the new Myspace service happens, the news is great for consumers. Even if the record labels haven't figured it out yet, other companies are trying to come up with ways to get music to the people for free (or at least cheap and easy - like Amazon's MP3 Download Store).
Radiohead shocked the world when they announced they were allowing fans to set the price for their latest album as a digital download. Then Nine Inch Nails let us all know they have dropped their record label and would also be distributing their new album with no help at all from industry bigwigs. Now a few more music giants that have stepped up to the plate.
Sticking it to the record label industry that has taken a huge chunk of the pie for so long, UK based Oasis and Jamiroquai are the latest bands to announce they are thinking about offering their music free online. Both bands do not have record label backing and are seriously considering following Radioheads lead. Other bands that are contemplating a change in how they do business with fans are The Charlatans and Madness, who are offering albums for free and singles as downloads for 99 pence. How will the major labels react to this? We can only wait and see, but we can be sure they are tucked away in their battle bunkers this week strategizing.
Radiohead has so far refused to reveal how many have pre-ordered their album online. Nonetheless, they have launched their website to top spot on the UK music websites list and are starting to lead a new music revolution.
Mozilla Links has posted details and a few screenshots of how Firefox 3's new download manager will look and function. In general, users will gain more control over their downloads, actions such as opening a file have been changed from text links to icons to comply with the rest of Firefox's design paradigm of buttons for actions, words for website links. Users will also be able to click an (i) icon on completed downloads to view details such as the website the download came from, the location of the downloaded file on local computer and when the download finished. Chronic downloaders will also appreciate a new search box, and an option to show the download manager in the status bar or sidebar is also being considered.
Overall these look like some strong features for a much-needed upgrade to the download manager, but we would still like to see a little more innovation here. For example: the download manager in Camino, a Mac OS X browser that uses the same Gecko rendering engine as Firefox, can not only clear the download manager's list of files, but also move those files to the trash. And what about actual download file management features, such as moving files to specified folders or importing into apps based on file type (ZIP, audio, video, etc.)?
If you're itching to try out these new features, Mozilla Links says this new download manager should be available in tonight's nightly build.
In an effort to stay ahead of the movies online business and directly compete with the likes of Apple, Amazon, Walk-Mart and Netflix, Blockbuster has announced that they have purchased Movielink.
Movielink was the first online service to offer legal downloads of both movies and TV shows since it was launched in 2001. Along with the deal, Blockbuster will also be acquiring the rights to show films from Movielinks owners which included Warner Bros, MGM, and Paramount.
Blockbuster is also an investor in CinemaNow who allows streaming of over 400 film, TV and concert videos. This new Movielink deal is going to complement the video chains in store rental, as well as create a way to send movies straight to TV's and computers.
No dollar figures of the deal have been announced as of yet.
During the annual Internet2 Spring meeting this week managed to send to send data along a 30,000 kilometer path at a rate of 9.08Gbps, which equals 272,400 Terabit-meters per second.
Just in case you were wondering why you've never seen your video downloads enter the TB-m/S range, Internet2 is a non-profit consortium made up of a few hundred universities, corporations, and government agencies. The goal is to design a faster version of the internet capable of handing extremely high bandwidth.
One can only hope that this technology will eventually be used for good and not evil -- and that we'll be able to download HD movies in a matter of seconds, rather than minutes or hours.
Woops, seems like our friends at Apple had left a back door open for hackers to enter through QuickTime. It seems like no matter what companies do, hackers always find a way to penetrate and drop harmful code in. Don't worry, Apple has it fixed now with a patch, but the issue in question stemmed from a concern about a buffer overflow. When QuickTime processes a Real Time Streaming Protocol URL it directs the player to a streaming file, and allows the user to play and pause the file. During the buffer overflow, a hacker could have penetrated through a malicious RTSP URL embedded into a web page that would open a door to run code on the user's machine.
You can grab the patch now at Apple's download page, or through the Apple Software Update service.
Downloading applications has become the standard route for many high end computer users, and up until this point, Microsoft has not offered users a chance to download operating systems or Office applications online. Before now, Microsoft has seen this route of software distribution to be unsecured, and not very easy for users. That's all about to change with Vista, as the operating system, and the Office productivity suite of software will be available as downloads on January 30th for PC users. Microsoft has said that it is only expecting about 15% of customers to choose to download the applications, seeing these users as high end techies. Pricing for upgrades to Vista are set at $260US, with an additional $50 for each additional household computer.
Though it's nice to know that Vista will be available online, I think I will stick to the CD version. It's always nice to have a clean backup on CD in case anything happens. How many DLSers are planning on grabbing a copy of Vista when it comes out? Will you download it, or buy a disc?
Apple's web site has always had a fairly nice Downloads section, but most recently (to coincide with MacWorld SF maybe?) they've beaten it with the pretty stick and made it more functional. It's now easier to find great new Mac software, new Dashboard widgets and of course movie trailers. Mainly the Mac OS X section and the front page have seen the biggest changes - I'm especially psyched about the addition of RSS feeds for the top downloads, newly added items, and their staff picks. The latter two being great places for indie Mac developers to get some time in the spotlight.
How is this for traffic, Hitwise noted that Apple's iTunes hit a 413% increase in traffic over the 2006 holiday season over 2005's. This was mostly due to the ever increasing demand of the famous iPod, making this the third holiday season where the iPod has been at the top of everyone's most wanted list. The traffic doesn't stop there though, Hitwise also noted that iPod users helped in the 110% increase in traffic to the Apple Store to deck their iPod's out with new accessories. There is currently no word out about how many actual songs and videos were downloaded through iTunes over the holidays, or how many sad kids there were that received a Zune instead or an iPod in their stockings.
On another note, Zune was knocked down with a traffic ratio of 30 to 1 to the Apple iTunes store. Yes, the Zune was just released, so we might have to wait until the next holiday season for stats to see how things compare.
Downloading movies was supposed to be fun, easy, painless, and the next big wave of digital entertainment. Not quite. How about not even close? No service has really lived up to the ideal standard we had in mind. So far the whole movie download service idea is as big a flop as light-up shoelaces, or bread made from rock, or even The Land Before Time quintrilogy. A new service called ClickStar hopes to be the answer (like all the others have and failed). Founded by the venerable Morgan Freeman, the service will begin its foray on December 15th. There will be DVD quality downloads for a fee, as well as the ability to watch movies on your TV. Another emphasis of ClickStar, besides improving the download dilemma is that documentaries and even JPL content from NASA for educational purposes will be available. Will ClickStar rule the day or go the way of the others?
Russell Heimlich over at our sister blog DV Guru has a great article on Microsoft's step into the living room (beyond gaming) with their TV offering, which soundly beats Apple's actual delivery of their iTV device. We have all known for awhile that Microsoft was aiming for our living rooms with the sexy stylings of the Xbox 360 and the many media-streaming features it offers. Along with HD-DVD support, Microsoft is far ahead of Apple, giving all us dumb consumers a way to have living room Internet-enabled content. Of course I am talking about us consumers other than Russell, who has had this functionality for a year, and some of our readers even longer I suspect. So what of Microsoft, Apple, and your living room or den? Is the Xbox 360 the killer app of cozy-home living room multimedia, or will Apple reign supreme, eventually? If it isn't operating systems we're fighting over, it's the living room, or MP3 players, or browsers. Xbox movie downloads, here we come. If the Xbox contained a HD-DVD burner, that would be sublime.
Any Mac OS X Exposé fans out there? I thought so. Well, as part of the "AnAppADay" project as Jason wrote about the other day, and we told you about earlier, Jedi Concentrate is like Mac's Exposé (in a way). It basically toggles to make everything but your current window darkened so you can focus on the work you are doing at the moment. You could call it a stripped-down dark-room clone for Windows if you want to. Dana Hanna (self-proclaimed software Jedi) is jamming, kicking out a bunch of useful apps in 30 days. All of the apps thus far are available on his site. He has been on Digg and Lifehacker many times lately, and it's because his apps are cool and even useful. Props to you Dana!
Radiohead shocked the world when they announced they were allowing fans to set the price for their latest album as a digital download. Then Nine Inch Nails let us all know they have dropped their record label and would also be distributing their new album with no help at all from industry bigwigs. Now a few more music giants that have stepped up to the plate.
In an effort to stay ahead of the movies online business and directly compete with the likes of Apple, Amazon, Walk-Mart and Netflix, Blockbuster has announced that they have purchased Movielink.
A team of researchers led by the University of Tokyo have managed to send files over Internet2 at super-fast speeds. 
Woops, seems like our friends at Apple had left a back door open for hackers to enter through QuickTime. It seems like no matter what companies do, hackers always find a way to penetrate and drop harmful code in. Don't worry, Apple has it fixed now with a patch, but the issue in question stemmed from a concern about a buffer overflow. When QuickTime processes a Real Time Streaming Protocol URL it directs the player to a streaming file, and allows the user to play and pause the file. During the buffer overflow, a hacker could have penetrated through a malicious RTSP URL embedded into a web page that would open a door to run code on the user's machine.
Downloading applications has become the standard route for many high end computer users, and up until this point, Microsoft has not offered users a chance to download operating systems or Office applications online. Before now, Microsoft has seen this route of software distribution to be unsecured, and not very easy for users. That's all about to change with Vista, as the operating system, and the Office productivity suite of software will be available as downloads on January 30th for PC users. Microsoft has said that it is only expecting about 15% of customers to choose to download the applications, seeing these users as high end techies. Pricing for upgrades to Vista are set at $260US, with an additional $50 for each additional household computer. 
Apple's web site has always had a fairly nice Downloads section, but most recently (to coincide with MacWorld SF maybe?) they've beaten it with the pretty stick and made it more functional. It's now easier to find great new Mac software, new Dashboard widgets and of course movie trailers. Mainly the Mac OS X section and the front page have seen the biggest changes - I'm especially psyched about the addition of RSS feeds for the top downloads, newly added items, and their staff picks. The latter two being great places for indie Mac developers to get some time in the spotlight.
How is this for traffic, Hitwise noted that Apple's iTunes hit a 413% increase in traffic over the 2006 holiday season over 2005's. This was mostly due to the ever increasing demand of the famous iPod, making this the third holiday season where the iPod has been at the top of everyone's most wanted list. The traffic doesn't stop there though, Hitwise also noted that iPod users helped in the 110% increase in traffic to the Apple Store to deck their iPod's out with new accessories. There is currently no word out about how many actual songs and videos were downloaded through iTunes over the holidays, or how many sad kids there were that received a Zune instead or an iPod in their stockings.
Russell Heimlich over at our sister blog DV Guru has a great article on Microsoft's step into the living room (beyond gaming) with their TV offering, which soundly beats Apple's actual delivery of their iTV device. We have all known for awhile that Microsoft was aiming for our living rooms with the sexy stylings of the Xbox 360 and the many media-streaming features it offers. Along with HD-DVD support, Microsoft is far ahead of Apple, giving all us dumb consumers a way to have living room Internet-enabled content. Of course I am talking about us consumers other than Russell, who has had this functionality for a year, and some of our readers even longer I suspect. So what of Microsoft, Apple, and your living room or den? Is the Xbox 360 the killer app of cozy-home living room multimedia, or will Apple reign supreme, eventually? If it isn't operating systems we're fighting over, it's the living room, or MP3 players, or browsers. Xbox movie downloads, here we come. If the Xbox contained a HD-DVD burner, that would be sublime.
Any Mac OS X Exposé fans out there? I thought so. Well, as part of the "AnAppADay" project as Jason wrote about the other day, and we told you about earlier, Jedi Concentrate is like Mac's Exposé (in a way). It basically toggles to make everything but your current window darkened so you can focus on the work you are doing at the moment. You could call it a stripped-down dark-room clone for Windows if you want to. Dana Hanna (self-proclaimed software Jedi) is jamming, kicking out a bunch of useful apps in 30 days. All of the apps thus far are available on his site. He has been on Digg and Lifehacker many times lately, and it's because his apps are cool and even useful. Props to you Dana!
