Do I need a download manager?

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webfork
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Do I need a download manager?

#1 Post by webfork »

Questions to ask ... do you have:
  1. An older / slowish computer?
  2. Connection hiccups?
  3. A connection that's either metered or capped at a weekly/monthly total?
  4. A need for frequent access to multiple large files?
---

If no to all of the above ...

You probably don't need a download manager. Standard browser download managers are usually adequate.

If yes to just #4 (multiple large files) ...

You might start with a browser add-on. I'm a Firefox user and here's a listing of some add-ons I've been happy with:
If yes ...

How download managers can help out:
  • Resources - Doesn't require the browser to be open, takes up fewer system resources, and can be run in the background.
  • Priority - Decide what downloads first and gets the most bandwidth, e.g. make sure you grab the first episode of a show before you download any others.
  • Reduce interference - Bandwidth limiters will avoid saturating your connection, reducing interference with web conferencing, Netflix watching, etc.
  • Batch downloads - Especially very large file backups are frequently broken up into component files. Downloading 10 or 100 files can be difficult or tedious to click on each and every one. (Note that this actually might be easier with a browser plugin.)
  • Reliability - Even though browsers do a lot better with failed downloads than a few years ago, download managers can help avoid connection errors.
Some features that are available depending on the tool:
  • Speed - Some tools use multi-source connections for faster downloads. This means that, while some servers have set limits for one connection, you can open another request for the 2nd half of the file and then assemble them locally.
  • Local folders - Browsers dump all their files into the Download folder. Managers can save to unique sub-folders that are domain-specific e.g. c:\temp\docs.yourdomain.com\downloadedfile.zip
  • Power savings - Can put computer on Standby once tasks are completed, cutting electricity usage and potentially battery power.
  • Pause and resume downloads - Browsers sometimes do this, sometimes not.
  • Support for different protocols - Most browsers just play in the arena of standard web transfers, but there are a lot of other options, e.g. FTP, SCP, AS2/3/4, various flavors of WebDav, Torrent, etc.

Background

It's weird to me that some very mature and feature-rich programs just do not explain themselves well. In testing DownZemAll, I started thinking through why exactly I never mess with download managers even though they're well inside my wheelhouse in terms of programs I *should* be interested in. The more I thought about it, the more I thought an explanation of why you'd want a download manager in the first place was necessary.

So this might be totally wrong and I welcome dissenting voices, but the above was written as a possible explanation.

Again, feedback welcome.
Last edited by webfork on Tue Mar 22, 2022 12:11 pm, edited 5 times in total.

freakazoid
Posts: 1212
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2007 5:45 pm

Re: Do you need a download manager?

#2 Post by freakazoid »

A download manager is useful for splitting up the download into multiple parts. This is especially useful for sites that have a low-speed limit like archive.org.
is it stealth? ;)

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