A couple of 10 year olds

mantoid2 stuartb@...
Tue Sep 8 02:29:18 CEST 2009


--- In peel@yahoogroups.com, rockerq@... wrote:
>

> If you download a Zip and the download is interrupted, the resulting file 
> will not open - thus forcing you to go back and try the download again.
> 
> If you download an mp3 and the download is interrupted, you get a shortened 
> file, which you may not notice is incomplete until you come to listen all 
> the way through it.
> 
> For this reason I prefer downloading Zips, even if the filesize is not 
> actually any smaller than the original mp3.
> 
> That's my take on it, anyway!
> 
> You'd think by now they'd've improved the software so it actually told you 
> the thing had hung - or even restarted automatically when the connection 
> could be remade - can't be too difficult, can it!
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Rocker
> >
>

It's not interrupted downloads as such, most of these megaupload type sites don't support resume unless you go for premium.

I use DAP for most of my downloads and yes occasionally the odd mp3 download will interrupt, but then stop, this is normally when I've exceeded a download limit on these file storage sites. Resume is shown as unavailable.

The problem with zip files is a strange one, I can download the same zip several times, but the extract can fail at a different (but repeatable) point for each version of the zip file. Yet compare the file sizes and they're identical to the nearest byte.

I think there is either corruption on my line or on O2's broadband (I've heard of that before) and while the byte size is not affected, then the checksums must not be correct and cause errors while extracting. IN an mp3 file then I suppose unless the incorrect bytes are related to file headers then they will be inaudible glitches in the audio.

When I download from my alternative location on Sky Broadband I don't seem to get those corrupt zips.





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