4 ms·

ftp ftp.netscape.com

by yuubi 10y ago

simonh 10y ago
You've convinced me. Ordinary consumers should be expected to know how to use command line tools and have memorized service addresses, without having browser access to look any of it up. That's clearly the answer to improve usability and expand consumer access in this situation. How could I not have seen it sooner.
- efreak 10y ago
  Windows explorer supports ftp. Type ftp://ftp.mozilla.org into your run menu or explorer address bar and you'll get a folder view pop-up. From there it should be rather trivial to find Firefox from inside their ftp directory (not as simple as clicking a download button, but still). I'm not sure if getfirefox.com runs an ftp server. I'm not aware of any popular OS that doesn't have ftp support on the main UI (except Android, which doesn't have a file management app anyways; not sure about iOS). Nautilus has ftp support. So does thunar, dolphin, konq, etc. You can type ftp addresses into the address bar in osx, iirc.
  - i336_ 10y ago
    I recall a couple occasions: - Didn't want to open a browser one day but wanted to download the latest version of FF. Thought I'd try FTP. Ultimately gave up on trying to find the right path and Googled it. Another time (later), I vaguely recall being at a kiosk with IE disabled in various boring ways, and I tried to see if I could download FF (just to see if it was possible) after successfully managing to open the FTP site. I might be misremembering, but I think the only reason I was able to locate the dir properly was because I'd previously made a careful mental note where it was. (It downloaded, but executables were disabled. Those sysadmins did a good job.)
  - Spoom 10y ago
    True story: Back when I was doing desktop tech support, downloading Ad Aware via command line FTP was a favored method of mine when the user's browser was so fucked by spyware that it was inoperative.
- robotresearcher 10y ago
  Life before bundled browsers and Google: "Sue, how do I get that browser thingie?" "Erm, Jane wrote it down for me... here's the Post-It" "Thanks." We survived OK.
- yuubi 10y ago
  At the time, before browsers were standard equipment, ftp was a normal way to obtain software. There were gui ftp clients available at the time, but I have no idea how people usually got those (whether dialup bbs, downloading with the bundled default ftp utility, passed on a disk by a friend, or bought on a disk).

ftp ftp.netscape.com

by yuubi 10y ago

ftp ftp.netscape.com

You've convinced me. Ordinary consumers should be expected to know how to use command line tools and have memorized service addresses, without having browser access to look any of it up. That's clearly the answer to improve usability and expand consumer access in this situation. How could I not have seen it sooner.

efreak 10y ago
Windows explorer supports ftp. Type ftp://ftp.mozilla.org into your run menu or explorer address bar and you'll get a folder view pop-up. From there it should be rather trivial to find Firefox from inside their ftp directory (not as simple as clicking a download button, but still). I'm not sure if getfirefox.com runs an ftp server. I'm not aware of any popular OS that doesn't have ftp support on the main UI (except Android, which doesn't have a file management app anyways; not sure about iOS). Nautilus has ftp support. So does thunar, dolphin, konq, etc. You can type ftp addresses into the address bar in osx, iirc.
- i336_ 10y ago
  I recall a couple occasions: - Didn't want to open a browser one day but wanted to download the latest version of FF. Thought I'd try FTP. Ultimately gave up on trying to find the right path and Googled it. Another time (later), I vaguely recall being at a kiosk with IE disabled in various boring ways, and I tried to see if I could download FF (just to see if it was possible) after successfully managing to open the FTP site. I might be misremembering, but I think the only reason I was able to locate the dir properly was because I'd previously made a careful mental note where it was. (It downloaded, but executables were disabled. Those sysadmins did a good job.)
- Spoom 10y ago
  True story: Back when I was doing desktop tech support, downloading Ad Aware via command line FTP was a favored method of mine when the user's browser was so fucked by spyware that it was inoperative.
robotresearcher 10y ago
Life before bundled browsers and Google: "Sue, how do I get that browser thingie?" "Erm, Jane wrote it down for me... here's the Post-It" "Thanks." We survived OK.
yuubi 10y ago
At the time, before browsers were standard equipment, ftp was a normal way to obtain software. There were gui ftp clients available at the time, but I have no idea how people usually got those (whether dialup bbs, downloading with the bundled default ftp utility, passed on a disk by a friend, or bought on a disk).