3 ms·

I'm curious as to how many people use FTP in the browser?

charlesdaniels 7y ago
I use it from time to time to download ISOs or source tarballs. It's handy not to have to use an external program for that.
- gregf 7y ago
  I never seen a distro that didn't have a http mirror for those things myself. Even the ones that offer ftp.debian.org for example are accessibly over http as well.
  - charlesdaniels 7y ago
    Agreed. I can’t think of the last time I had to use FTP.
im3w1l 7y ago
Firmwares, drivers, distro isos, tarballs are traditionally distributed on (anonymous) ftp. Given that such downloads should be authenticated using ftp is non-ideal though, I guess.
- _jal 7y ago
  Yeah, this. I suppose the closest substitute will be to configure directory listings at the http server, although I suspect UX people will get their hooks in to make it pretty instead of efficient. (Ever tried to find something specific but not currently promoted on Dell's site?)
  - danudey 7y ago
    Dell's site is a nightmare. Shopping for monitors has been one of the most inexplicably complex affairs I've ever seen. It also doesn't help that any link to their US site redirects to the dell.ca front page, making it extremely difficult to follow links from forums, google searches, etc.
onli 7y ago
There are some areas where FTP is still used and an easy options. Like datafeeds of affiliate platforms. Having support for accessing those in Firefox was super useful.
golergka 7y ago
I think many more that realize that. Are you sure that all "download" links that you've clicked lately have been HTTP?
m-p-3 7y ago
Some files from Adobe are available on their ftp server, it's kind simple to get them through clicking a link than copying the path, opening up an FTP client, connecting, etc.
- majewsky 7y ago
  That sounds far more involved than just clicking "Save" on the browser's download dialog.
Nicksil 7y ago
On just about a daily basis. Especially when interacting with local governments.
arkitaip 7y ago
I would genuinely be surprised if even 5% of users used FTP in the last year. But damn do I wish they kept the feature in; Firefox should distinguish itself as the tech worker's browser, sorta like a forensics live CD that has every imaginable tool you need for deep work.
- jmercouris 7y ago
  The tech workers browser is Next: https://github.com/atlas-engineer/next https://github.com/atlas-engineer/next source: biased developer :-)
- jcranmer 7y ago
  The actual numbers seem to be in the region of 0.1%, according to Chrome telemetry, and my best attempt to read the Firefox telemetry myself.

I use it from time to time to download ISOs or source tarballs. It's handy not to have to use an external program for that.

gregf 7y ago
I never seen a distro that didn't have a http mirror for those things myself. Even the ones that offer ftp.debian.org for example are accessibly over http as well.
- charlesdaniels 7y ago
  Agreed. I can’t think of the last time I had to use FTP.

im3w1l 7y ago

Firmwares, drivers, distro isos, tarballs are traditionally distributed on (anonymous) ftp. Given that such downloads should be authenticated using ftp is non-ideal though, I guess.

_jal 7y ago
Yeah, this. I suppose the closest substitute will be to configure directory listings at the http server, although I suspect UX people will get their hooks in to make it pretty instead of efficient. (Ever tried to find something specific but not currently promoted on Dell's site?)
- danudey 7y ago
  Dell's site is a nightmare. Shopping for monitors has been one of the most inexplicably complex affairs I've ever seen. It also doesn't help that any link to their US site redirects to the dell.ca front page, making it extremely difficult to follow links from forums, google searches, etc.

onli 7y ago

There are some areas where FTP is still used and an easy options. Like datafeeds of affiliate platforms. Having support for accessing those in Firefox was super useful.

golergka 7y ago

I think many more that realize that. Are you sure that all "download" links that you've clicked lately have been HTTP?

m-p-3 7y ago

Some files from Adobe are available on their ftp server, it's kind simple to get them through clicking a link than copying the path, opening up an FTP client, connecting, etc.

majewsky 7y ago
That sounds far more involved than just clicking "Save" on the browser's download dialog.

Nicksil 7y ago

On just about a daily basis. Especially when interacting with local governments.

arkitaip 7y ago

I would genuinely be surprised if even 5% of users used FTP in the last year. But damn do I wish they kept the feature in; Firefox should distinguish itself as the tech worker's browser, sorta like a forensics live CD that has every imaginable tool you need for deep work.

jmercouris 7y ago
The tech workers browser is Next: https://github.com/atlas-engineer/next https://github.com/atlas-engineer/next source: biased developer :-)
jcranmer 7y ago
The actual numbers seem to be in the region of 0.1%, according to Chrome telemetry, and my best attempt to read the Firefox telemetry myself.