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Posts with tag metalinks

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware

Retriever: Resumable ftp and http downloads

Halogenware has just released an update to their Retriever Download Manager, freeware designed to give you greater control over your downloads. Before you write it off as just another download manager, take a closer look; you'll find Retriever has a few tricks up its sleeve.

Retriever allows you to easily pause, resume, or schedule your downloads from the web. It can capture downloads directly from Internet Explorer or Opera through optional add-ons; or, if you're a Firefox user, you can configure the popular download tool FlashGot to use Retriever (you'll find a simple set of instructions on how to configure FlashGot here).

Retriever also includes support for BitTorrent transfers, and support for HTTP, FTP and SOCKS proxies with authentication.

Where Retriever really sets itself apart, however, is its support of Metalinks. Metalink is an Open Standard that bundles the various ways (FTP/HTTP/P2P) to get files into one format for easier downloads. Metalinks help your downloads in a number of ways:

  • If a server goes down during a download, download programs can automatically switch to another mirror.
  • Segments of a file can be downloaded from different places at the same time, automatically, which can make downloads much faster.
  • It makes the download process simpler, as the user does not need to select or decide which Operating System, language, or download location they require.

Retriever was written completely in the Java programming language and will run on any operating system with a Java Runtime Environment installed (JRE 1.5 or higher).

Filed under: Internet

Metalinks: Integrated BitTorrent, HTTP, and FTP downloads

MetalinkHere's a cool development I wasn't aware of until just now: Metalinks. Metalinks makes complex download pages obsolete by replacing long lists of download mirrors and BitTorrent trackers with a single .metalink file. As you might have already guessed, a .metalink file is a file that tells a download manager all the different ways it can download a file. The file itself takes the form of an open XML standard that can list an unlimited number of HTTP and FTP sources as well as BitTorrent trackers and ed2k and magnet links. Currently Metalink is supported by four download managers: GetRight 6 for Windows, Speed Download (beta) for Mac OS X, aria2 for *nix, and the cross-platform wxDownload Fast. OpenOffice.org recently began offering Metalinks for downloading the open source office suite. In addition to simplifying the download process, another advantage of this sort of distribution is that a smart download manager could download from several sources simultaneously, making for stable downloads even if one or more mirrors go down. I'm really hoping Metalinks catch on and we see them supported by many more download managers, P2P programs, and web browsers. If you want to start using Metalinks to distribute your own software, media, or whatever, the Metalink web site has a handy Metalink Creator that will build a .metalink file for you without you having to learn any of that pesky XML.

[Via Torrentfreak]

Featured Time Waster

Forumwarz - a potentially offensive time waster

I pwn UAfter spending the better part of an hour on Forumwarz I still can't decide if it's just sick or if it's kind of fun. It's a bit like a car wreck on the highway. I know I shouldn't be looking but I can't quite turn away.

It's sick, it's twisted, it's the internet on it's worst level and darn it, it's kind of fun. At least for a little while.

Forumwarz is a parody role-playing game that takes place on the internet - or at least the Forumwarz version of it. Your goal is to complete missions that are given to you through a mock up of GoogleTalk called Sentrillion.

Your first "friend" is ShallowEsophagus who begins giving you missions to pwn various forums by being a troll. Depending on the character type you are assigned at start up, you have tools like drooling on the keyboard or bashing your head on the keyboard that you can use to destroy forum threads and eventually, pwn a forum.

Future missions involve buying illegal software from the Russians, pwning more difficult forums and other internet oddness.

Completing missions gives you cash, called Flezz in game, and items that you can pawn or use in other missions. The game is NOT for those easily offended. It's crass, coarse and there are frequent f-bombs in the fake chat sessions.

This is also a game for a more mature audience as it requires you to shop at the Drugs R Fun store to get various concoctions to improve your playing, engage in certain cyber activities to get more Flezz and just generally use a more adult perspective.

If you can get past that, here are the more enjoyable and time-wasting aspects.

View more Time Wasters

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