On a whim I downloaded FireFTP. FireFTP is neat in that it is a Firefox plugin. So the program opens in your firefox browser when selected from the tools menu. This is a plus and a minus, as you have to tab back and forth sometimes if you are trying to verify an account, file name etc. But then it is always there, it will grab ftp link you click on for example.
I have only been using it for a couple of days, but wow. it is much faster than cuteFTP. Simply conncting only takes an instant as opposed to several seconds under cuteFTP. Transfers themselves are fairly rapid as well. It doesn't have any donate nags. It isn't a 30 day trial that expires badly. It is also much more graceful in it's handling of mutiple FTP accounts.
Previous FTP clients I have used required you to open a dialogue box, select an FTP account and then click "connect".
Perhaps because fire FTP is Javascript/XUL it relies on a simpler interface. You select one of the accounts you have already configured from a toolbar rollbox, then click connect. I know this sounds like a small distinction to make but it's the small things that make a difference!
2 clicks good! 3 clicks bad!
the developer, Mime Čuvalo, has a cool little site http://www.nightlight.ws/ .
Check it out!
I have more good and bad to say about this new Apple product.
It is a cloudy day outside so I get to stay inside and rant. That and I just watched Walt Mossberg and some other curmudgeonly pundits on the ineffable Charlie Rose show gushing about the 'wicked fast' iPad. Incidentally the Charlie Rose show may be a great place to see Prince Abdullah interviewed in the same breath as Condoleeza Rice. But they couldnt get their hands on an iPad. Even with Mossberg, a slobbering Jobs stalker, in attendance. They also have a totally broken video player. It is laughable how badly put together that flash app is. The "share" link pops under the video window so you can't read it. And the video does not play.
Lets start with the bad.
The iPod touch works as a product because you dont need a data plan (and you wont with the non-3G version of the iPad) and it is cheaper than the iPhone! It also fits in your pocket and is easily mistakeable for an iPhone for those that feel the need to impress. The iPad unfortunately shares this family resemblance. I can’t help but think that they should have gone with a very non iPhone form factor to distinguish it from that line of products. If it is supposed to be "Apple's Netbook" it should have been skinned similar to the Macbook or Macbook pro.
Also for the price the amount of storage is ludicrous. Plain and simple they should have included an SD slot if they werent going to give us storage sizes over 64 gigs. 64 GB fills up awful fast when you add media and productivity apps.
Ok now the good side.
The data plan is really the killer app. No contract. Cheaper than the add on data plan for my cell phone (and your cellphone too most likely). If the AT&T network can get into the 21st century and handle sustained throughput at close to broadband speeds, than this could be the product that gets people to drop their DSL and just pay $14.99 a month for internet. Remember when everyone had land lines? Remember when folks started dropping their landlines in favor of having a cell? This may have similar effect on DSL.
It reminds me of a product that was sold in the late 80’s called minitel. It came from France apparently. It was essentially a dumb terminal for BBS access and email.
Now raise your hand if you have a mom, grandma or sister that would do great with a product that they just use for web/email? C’mon arent you sick of diggin them out of their virus fiasco every 6 months?!
As an ‘ereader’ I think it is a joke. $249 for the kindle was too much. Amazon wont say but most folks think they sold 2-3 million units. $500 for the base (16GB) model with no real accessories is a lot to ask for a reader. For a subnotebook though it isn’t bad….but no storage!
Unless of course we are expected to store everything “in the cloud”. That may well be the other shoe to drop. Expect a desktop icon which links to Apples cloud services, iDisk and MobileMe.