Rm 4+5

You know the story: although your ISP claims that your connection is lightning fast, those huge video files you just grabbed off Google Video and YouTube are taking forever to download. Most people figure that slow download speeds are normal. If you use the built-in download manager in your browser, it is normal. Fortunately, you can change that by simply getting a new download manager.

Here are a few to get you started; some are ugly, some are decidedly 1.0, and some even cost money (gasp!), but they all do the job.

Also see our related post: Download Everything: 30+ Firefox Add-ons for Downloading.

Windows Download Managers

AltarSoft Download Manager – Wonderful basic download manager with up to 10 simultaneous downloads. $14.95.

AmazingDown Studio – Claims speeds up to 500% faster than built-in download managers. Includes proxy support, bandwidth limiting, Internet Explorer integration, and many more powerful features. $21.95.

BlackWidow – Great app that scans the site and lists all the links. It will then download them for you. $39.95.

Chrysanth Download Manager – Powerful batch downloader that integrates with Internet Explorer. $29.95.

ConnectFusion – Fast (some sources claim speeds 50% faster than built-in download managers) and easy to use download manager. Free software.

DC-Sakura Boyish-Downloader – Simple manager with a scheduler, file sorter, an option to shutdown after downloading, and Internet Explorer integration. $19.98.

DLExpert – Powerful multithreaded download manager with scheduling, auto shutdown, clipboard integration, Internet Explorer integration, and much more. Freeware.

Download Accelerator Manager – Includes proxy support, a scheduler, an ability to follow redirects, a free space management gauge, an auto shutdown feature, and integration with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Netscape, Mozilla, Avant, and Maxthon. Freeware.

Download Accelerator Plus – Powerful app with advanced tools you won’t find anywhere else, like a file shredder and a cookie/history/temp cleaner. Also integrates with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Netscape, and Mozilla. Freeware (ad-supported).

Download Boost – Basic manager with acceleration up to 400% faster than built-in download managers and some nice features like scheduling and integration with Internet Explorer and Netscape. $19.00.

Download Commander – Nice multithreaded manager with Internet Explorer integration. Freeware.

Download Express – For people with limited computer resources, a small (~680 KB) app that integrates nicely into Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape, SeaMonkey, and Flock. Free for non-commercial use.

DownloadStudio – Download entire websites, streaming audio/video clips, search engine results, and more with this power tool. Integrates into Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Netscape, Mozilla, Maxthon, NetCaptor, and Avant. $39.95.

File Downloader – Small command-line app that can be automated with scripts and batch files. $12.00.

File Rain – Basic download manager that claims speeds up to 800% faster than built-in managers. $19.95.

FlashGet – Powerful manager with support for sequences of files, multiple locations, and site spidering. Also supports the MMS and RTSP media protocols and the BitTorrent and eDonkey P2P protocols. Integrates into Firefox, Opera, Mozilla, SeaMonkey, Netscape, Avant, and Maxthon. Freeware.

Free Download Accelerator – Basic program with speeds up to 800% faster than built-in download managers. Freeware (ad-supported).

Fresh Download – A scheduler, clipboard monitor, antivirus scanning, proxy support, ZIP extractor, and integration into Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Netscape, Avant, Maxthon, and Slim Browser are just a few of the features packed into this manager. Freeware.

GetGo – Claims speeds of up to 300% faster than built-in download managers, and includes virus detection and a scheduler. Integrates into Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape, and Flock. $30.00.

GetRight – Includes a scheduler, built-in MD5 and SHA-1 checksums, and BitTorrent, Metalink, and podcasting support. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, and Netscape integration is provided. $16.95/yr.

Gigaget – Auto data integrity validation and correction, MMS, RTSP, and Flash support, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Maxthon integration, and more are included in this great app. Freeware (ad-supported).

iFetcher – Easy to use download manager that works with Internet Explorer. Freeware.

Internet Download Accelerator – Proxy support, plugins, an FTP browser, archive previewing, integration with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Netscape, Mozilla, Maxthon, and NetCaptor, and much more are built into IDA. $29.95.

Internet Download Manager – Supports proxies, redirects, firewalls, and more. Includes both a command-line version and a GUI version. Works with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Netscape, Mozilla, MSN Explorer, Avant, Maxthon, and AOL. $29.95.

LeechGet – LeechGet is one of the easiest to use programs in this list. Don’t let that fool you: it packs in a ton of features, such as automatic downloading, resume of broken downloads, a download timer, automatic hang-up and shutdown, and integration with Internet Explorer, Mozilla, and Opera. Free for personal use.

Mass Downloader – Great batch downloader with support for streaming media and integration with Firefox, Netscape, Mozilla, and Flock. $19.95.

NetLeech – Sports proxy support, file splitting, file filters, file sorting, and Internet Explorer integration. Freeware.

Net Transport – Not only does it support the standard HTTP(S) and (S)FTP protocols, it supports the MMS, RTSP, and PNM streaming media protocols and the eDonkey and BitTorrent P2P protocols. Plus, it integrates with Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Opera. Freeware.

Orbit Downloader – Social site downloading is the main appeal of this program. It supports HTTP(S), FTP, Metalink, RTSP, PNM, MMS, NSS, RTMP, embedded video from sites like YouTube, music from sites like Pandora, and files from sites like Rapidshare. It works with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Netscape, and Maxthon. Freeware.

ReGet – Has basic, advanced, and expert versions, so there’s something in it for everyone. Integrates into Internet Explorer, Opera, Netscape, Mozilla, NetCaptor, NeoPlanet, and MSN Explorer. $9.95-$29.95.

SimpleDownload – A simple manager with support for features such as file sorting. Freeware.

SoftAtlas Download Accelerator – Provides size counting, tags, filters, categories, file splitting, support for RSS, ATOM, and podcasts, a scheduler, a virus scanner, and a file search tool. Internet Explorer integration available. $16.95.

Star Downloader – Includes categorization, automatic installation of installation programs, automatic extracting of archives, proxy support, and virus scanning. Integrates into Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Opera. $19.95 (includes a basic free version as well).

TrueDownloader – HTTP/FTP support, proxy support, and ZIP previewing are available with this great app. Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Mozilla integration provided. Free software.

VisualWget – A Wget (see below) front-end with support for skins and Internet Explorer integration. Free software.

WackGet – A minimalistic app that does a great job. Integrates with Internet Explorer. Free software.

Web Excavator – Powerful tool to download entire websites or files from websites. $14.95.

wGetGUI – Simple Wget (see below) front-end. Free software.

WinGet – Claims speeds up to 300% faster than built-in download managers. Integrates with Firefox and Opera. $19.00.

WinWGet – Another Wget (see below) front-end, with features such as clipboard monitoring, threaded downloading, job exporting, predefined user agents, ASP/PHP redirection, multiple FTP file and folder downloading, and bit rate limit. Free software.

YADA (Yet Another Download Accelerator) – Fast manager with drag ‘n’ drop, multithreading, batch downloading, and much more. Freeware.

Macintosh Download Managers

CocoaWget – Simple Cocoa front-end to Wget (see below). Free software.

cURL GUI – Basic AppleScript front-end for cURL (see below). Free software.

Interarchy – Powerful manager that supports (S)FTP, HTTP(S), WebDAV(S), iDisk, and Amazon S3 and includes Growl support, file encoding, Dashboard, Safari integration, and much more. $59.95 ($29.95 upgrade).

Simple cURL – AppleScript GUI for cURL (see below). Free software.

Speed Download – Smart folders, iDisk support, auto add to iTunes, Safari integration, filters, file sharing, and much more are packed inside this power user tool. $25

Linux Download Managers

Downloader for X – Simple Linux download manager. Free software.

Gwget – A Wget (see below) front-end for Gnome with integration with Firefox and Epiphany. Free software.

KGet – Minimalistic manager, but works well with KDE and the Konqueror browser. Free software.

Cross-Platform Download Managers

cURL – A command-line app that supports (S)(T)FTP(S), HTTP(S), SCP, Telnet, DICT, FILE, and LDAP and includes tons of features. Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. Free software.

curl::gui – A simple GUI for cURL. Windows and Linux. Free software.

DownThemAll – Fast and powerful Firefox extension that includes a nice spidering tool. Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. Free software.

FlashGot – Not actually a download manager, the FlashGot Firefox extension will use an existing download manager to grab every type of link you tell it to. Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. Freeware.

Getleft – Batch downloads files using cURL. Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. Free software.

iGetter – Powerful tool with a site explorer, queues, scheduling, and much more. Integrates into Firefox, Mozilla, Safari, and Camino. Windows and Macintosh. $25.

Retriever – Java tool with a scheduler, BitTorrent support, proxy support, mirroring, and an option to execute programs on download. Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. Freeware.

Super Downloader – Fast Java downloader. Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. Freeware.

Urlgfe – Front-end to cURL and Wget. Windows and Linux. Free software.

Wget – Another powerful command-line tool with support for HTTP(S) and FTP, site downloading, proxy support, site spidering, bandwidth limiting, and a whole lot more. Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. Free software.

wget:gui – A nice interface to Wget. Windows and Linux. Free software.

wxDownload Fast – Download splitting, scheduling, organizing, HTTP, FTP, Metalink, and file:///, and MD5 and SHA-1 checksums are all available in this great cross-platform tool. Windows, Macintosh (partial support), and Linux. Free software.

Songbird 是一隻近似於 iTunes 設計愛唱歌的鳥兒，牠可以具有對iPod、USB隨身碟的支援、MP3音樂的管理、線上廣播電臺、音樂商店等，更讓你在聆聽音樂的同時還可以透過牠直接觀 看網頁，不需額外開一網頁瀏覽器。整體設計也很有質感，以黑色調為主，另外還有天鵝的雪白色，及之後陸續仍會有更多佈景可以選擇(但覺得還是黑色調比較搶 眼說)。目前仍處於開發中階段，亦有不少擴充套件持續開發。

• 開發網站：
  • 平台：Linux、Mac、Windows
    • 快照：
      
      

這是一個實驗中的功能，目前以套件的方式提供大家測試用，希望最終能加入fx3的正式版本中。他有以下兩個模式：

第一個是取代右上角的 List all tabs button（列出全部標籤），將原來的”向下小箭頭”按鈕變為”2×2小方格”按鈕，功能也由條列式的顯示改為縮圖排列顯示。

當你按下按鈕時，會跳出一個黑底的半透明框框，其中會列出你開啟的所有標籤頁。正在瀏覽的頁面會被放大並且使用高亮度顯示（編：雖然我覺得那個咖啡 色並不明顯…），另外被滑鼠游標指到的縮圖也會被放大。你可以利用上方的Filter篩選出你想要的頁面，直接鍵入關鍵字即可。中英文關鍵字都有效，只是 中文選字欄可能無法顯示（編：希望有人可以告訴他們這個問題）。

第二是用 ctrl + tab 切換標籤頁

使用 ctrl + tab (Mac：cmd + tab) 切換時，會先跳出一個黑框的選擇列，與前面的縮圖排列展示框類似，只不過這裡是使用單列的循環。比較特別的是，被選擇的頁面是位於偏左的位置，而非一般常見的中央位置。理由是因為 ctrl + tab 會不斷的往右切換，而這樣可以看到更多後面的頁面。

在我試用 ctrl + tab 之後發現一大問題，他的排列順序並未照著瀏覽器的標籤列，完全是亂的。即便是正確的，以上這兩種模式有沒有比原本的”條列式 List all tabs”方便，也是見人見智。用縮圖的方式是可以減少選錯的機會，增加正確率以及還有視覺上的滿足XD。但本來的方式，在速度上還是佔了優勢。希望原來的方式不會被取代，而是以選項的方式讓使用者決定。想試用的朋友可以到 Ctrl+Tab from Mozilla Bugzilla design-noir | Mozilla | Ctrl-Tab 安裝 (fx3 only)。

我幾乎用遍了這類的增強 Tab 功能的擴充套件，例如：Tab Catalog、Firefox Showcase、Tab Scope、Reveal、Viamatic foXpose。結果都不盡人意，最後只有被移除的下場。不過這次的新功能在效能上有很大的進步，跟瀏覽器也整合的很好，將來大有可為，就讓我們好好期待吧！

根據Mozilla Links消息說，firefox3 beta1預計在兩週後內釋出。希望不要再拖了…今年的跨年晚會已經沒希望啦，我們只能把期望放在明年的農曆年。

補充：

• 目前(11/8)釋出的是 Firefox 3 beta 1 Nightly
• 本週五(11/9)將進行 Firefox 3 beta 1 Release Candidate 的測試
• 正式的 Firefox 3 beta 1 尚未釋出

參考原文：

• Beautiful tab switching for Firefox 3 : Mozilla Links
• Join the Firefox 3 Beta 1 Testday – this Friday 9. November ! | QMO
• design-noir | Mozilla | Ctrl-Tab