Usually, if you want to download files over 2 MB, you need to use an FTP client. That way you don't have to restart from scratch after a Java-inspired browser crash, or have to sit watching the congestion reduce your transfer to a two-day marathon (assuming your ISP keeps you connected that long). Just recently, however, we've come across a solution to the problem of broken HTTP downloads in the form of GetRight.
GetRight is an indispensable tool for regular downloaders who are frustrated with irregular connection speeds and stability. It interfaces with your Web Browser and takes over all downloading tasks, leaving you free to surf where you will, or even shut down your browser and work elsewhere for a while. The best feature, though, is its ability to store your intended downloads into memory; this means that you can disconnect, turn off and resume where you left off earlier. GetRight is really a smaller version of a dedicated FTP client.
Users are also able to set priorities and automation for their downloads so that more important files can be obtained first. Below is a screenshot of the GetRight monitor, with a list of files it is waiting to download.
You can also set GetRight to automatically start downloading certain file types. Also configurable is the amount of 'rollback' that GetRight will re-download in order to ensure a valid download. Default is 4K but safer users can set it to re-download the last 30K just ensure that it is not corrupted.
GetRight also keeps track of your usage and, in some cases, is only too happy to tell you that it has saved the re-downloading 73.23MB of information. This represents a very considerable amount of saved time and money.
Not all downloading has to be done through a Web Browser. GetRight will sit beside your browser and take over the task of downloading, but you can also start it by itself and enter individual file URLs. If you have a series of already incomplete downloads in your Temp directory, chances are that GetRight will be able to finish these as well.
The ability to resume broken downloads, however, is not a feature that all servers support. The majority of FTP servers do support it, but HTTP servers are a different matter entirely. The number of HTTP sites which will let you resume broken downloads is comparatively small to that of FTP.
With a great utility like GetRight, downloading is no longer a matter of keeping your fingers crossed until that transfer marker hits the 100% barrier.
