Downloads made easy

The less net-savvy PC users among us are quite happy surfing the web for news and sports, performing the odd search and doing a spot of online shopping. We may have seen invitations to download this or that, but either fear the phone bills or back away when the process seems too involved.

But with a little perseverance, the wealth of software available on the net can let you do more of what you want to do on your PC - for free.

And it's really rather easy. All you need to know is what you can get, where you can get it from and how to download it.

There are some amazing things the internet can do for you which don't require you to learn rocket science beforehand, and downloading is a prime example. Many people have heard it mentioned, but don't truly know what it means or, more importantly perhaps, how it can help them. In simple terms, downloading is the transition of a file from one computer to another.

Specifically, downloading applies to you taking a file from a website and putting it onto your PC. The opposite of downloading is uploading, and this refers to you transmitting a file to another PC.

Files available for download are sometimes completely free and sometimes full-feature trial versions available for a limited time period.

Although most PC users won't do a lot of uploading, downloading files is something that is increasingly common on the internet. So let's take a look at how to download, what there is to download, where to download it from and how much it will cost you.

Download basics
While you don't need to know the exact mechanics of downloading, it's good to have a basic grasp of what it's all about. When downloading a file you use a protocol called File Transfer Protocol (FTP). For the majority of downloads you will never come into contact with FTP, as most files you download come from websites, and the website does all the hard work for you.

When you download a piece of software, it transfers from the host computer bit by bit. The speed at which it does this depends on a multitude of factors - primarily, on the size of the file you are downloading.

So check out the size of a file. A 100Mb application will take five or six hours to download over a standard 56Kbps modem, and around 30 minutes on a basic asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) connection.

But applications are generally only around 10Mb in size, and are often a lot less. Take the ever-popular compression software WinZip, for example. The latest version is 1.2Mb in size, which should take no more than five minutes to download.

Other factors that affect the speed of downloading are internet traffic, the speed of your modem, and even the quality of your phone cabling. The more people that use the internet, the slower it becomes. So mid-afternoon on Sunday is not a good time. Not only is the UK beavering away on the web, but the US - where the largest number of internet users are to be found - has also got up and has logged on.

If you're serious about downloading, then we recommend nothing less than a 56Kbps modem. Anything slower and download times are unreasonably long. The next generation of broadband access - ADSL - is faster but, at around £40 a month for access, is currently beyond many people's means.

If you want to know exactly how to download a piece of software, check out our mini-workshop 'Downloading and installing software' (see box-out link).

Freeware and shareware
There are thousands upon thousands of files you can download from the internet, covering every software category available. Some are free, others are not, and it is worth knowing the difference between the two.

In a nutshell, there are two main types of downloadable software: freeware and shareware. The former is software that is, as the name suggests, entirely free. You won't need to pay any money when downloading this and, once downloaded, the software will work forever.

Shareware is software that, although free to download and test, is effectively trial software. In most cases, shareware comes with 30 days of free use before it requires you to pay for it. Some software will simply cease working after the trial period unless you register and pay for it.

Other shareware software does not do this, but comes with limited functionality until it has been paid for, while a third category of shareware is fully featured and will rely on your inherent honesty to register it. It will remind you that you haven't paid every time you use it, while never actually disarming the application itself.

Of course, some less scrupulous users never pay for the shareware they download, but we would always recommend that you do. Not simply from a moral standpoint, but also because the developers of software rely on income received from shareware to develop more software, and this can ultimately be good for the end user, i.e. your good self.

One final point. There is downloadable software that is neither freeware nor shareware, which you have to pay for prior to downloading. This is effectively the same as buying the boxed product, but without the box. However, we're going to concentrate on just freeware and shareware here.

What can I download?
How long is a piece of string? There are many thousands of applications to download, covering every possible category, and the choice, as they say, is yours. Some of the most valuable available to small businesses are:

• Applications: Everything from human resources and company tax applications to staff payroll software. The website you're visiting now regularly adds new pieces of freely available software to its Downloads section (see links below).
• Utilities: One of the most popular applications on the web is compression software, which allows you to collate and compress a bunch of files as one single file to send via email, for example. It's a bit like cramming all your clothes into a small suitcase before going on holiday. This not only allows you to minimise the file size to attach to the email, which in turn makes it quicker to send, but it also means you need send only one file. This is often called 'zipping up', and the files themselves are known as Zip files. The two most popular pieces of software that do this are WinZip and PKZip, both of which are available for download free from the web. Another well-known utility is Gozilla, which allows you to make downloads in stages, and searches the web to check if the file you want to download is available at a faster download speed elsewhere.
• Document viewers: When a company needs to distribute a document or manual online, it will often make it available as a download, rather than turn it into a web page. This is because different browsers and even different-sized monitors mean the end result can differ greatly from user to user. As it may be important that the document is seen as its author intended, programs called document viewers, such as Adobe Acrobat, have been designed to ensure exactly this. The viewer is free to download, while the 'distiller' for creating Acrobat documents costs around £200.
• Chat: We bounce a lot of one-sentence emails to each other as if we were conversing on the phone, but as a method of chatting, it's pretty slow. If you're after online chatting, it's far better to download one of the instant message applications from the web. Using these, your words are sent instantly to whoever you are chatting with. With no time lag, it's the perfect way of chatting to business partners, as well as friends and family. The two most popular chat applications are AOL Instant Messenger and Yahoo Messenger; although sadly, the two are still not compatible. Advanced features include the ability to swap files between users, view pictures and even talk (using microphones) over the internet.
• Graphics: Professional image-manipulation packages such as Adobe Photoshop are too expensive for casual graphics dabblers. Although not as comprehensive, many graphics packages are available free to download which more than do the trick. Perhaps the best of these is Jasc's Paint Shop Pro, which is great for tinkering around with images. The current retail version, Paint Shop Pro 6, is available for a 30-day trial.

Where can I download from?
Aside from this site, one of the best ports of call for anyone wanting to find free software is download.com, part of the vast US-based CNET website. It's a goldmine for web downloads, but it's not the only place to go.

As well as those sites specialising in downloads, many individual products are available direct from the manufacturers' sites. For example, if you were looking to download Gozilla, the software that allows you to download files in stages and finds the best locations for downloading it, you can either go through one of the dedicated download sites or go straight to the Gozilla site itself.

There are simply no set rules as to where you can locate downloads. If you can't find an application on CNET, ZDNet or vnunet, try searching for it using one of the web's search engines.

The world of shareware and freeware is just a click away. Whatever your bag, you can be sure to find something free to tickle your fancy on the internet.

A New Steps Routine: Downloading Software
Finally, here's an easy step-by-step guide to downloading a staff payroll package from our own website.

STEP 1: Log on to the internet and go to http://manageit.vnunet.com/Download/104989.

STEP 2: Check you've got the right operating system (platform) and note that the size of the file is 0.5Mb (so it shouldn't take too long to download).

Step 3: Click on the D*load here logo.

STEP 4: A window headed File Download pops up. Select the 'Save this program to disk' button, then click 'OK'.

STEP 5: Another window will pop up and you will be asked where you want to save the program. This is entirely up to you - choose My Documents or the Desktop as you wish. We suggest you save the file in a folder called Downloads - if you don't have one, click the 'Create New Folder' button, then click the 'Save' button.

STEP 6: A new window will now pop up, giving you an estimation of how long the download will take. As well as indicating how much of the file has been downloaded, it will tell you how large the file is and at what speed, measured in bytes per second, it is downloading. Now wait for the download to complete.

STEP 7: Once the download is complete, you have the option to open or close the file. If you are keen to continue and install the program, select 'Open'. If you want to wait and install it at another time, click on 'Close'. Clicking on 'Close' does not mean that you have lost the download - it will be sitting in the folder you chose to download it to.

STEP 8: If you install later, simply open the folder you saved it to and double-click on the downloaded program. This download is an executable file, so a double-click will launch the installation of the program. Now follow the instructions for installing the program in the same way that you would with any installation. All you will need to do is read (and accept) the user agreement, and then choose the location in which you want it be installed.