GEnie Livewire e-zine/LW9406MM.ZIP/MAGIC.TXT

Text File | 1994-05-24 | 7.2 KB | 173 lines

For many people, downloading is the heart and soul
of the online experience. You can keep your
Information SuperHighway, your bulletin boards and
your electronic mail and even your live chats,
because these folks are more interested in
collecting photographs, games, stories, programs
and all of the rest that GEnie's Libraries have to
offer. If it can be put on a computer disk, you can
probably download it from GEnie!

But a number of people get anxious whenever things
start getting technical, so they never bother to
learn the process of sending a file down a wire.
That's a shame, because there's really nothing
scary about it. And the utility of your GEnie
subscription goes up a bunch when you start
collecting software, Bulletin Board message
archives, photographs, and other files.

How it Works

In a nutshell, here's what happens. You select the
file you want and GEnie makes a temporary copy of
it. When your computer tells GEnie that it's ready
to receive a file, GEnie starts sending as much as
you can handle, until the whole copy has been sent
to your computer. You're then able to run it, if
it's a program, view it, if it's a picture, or put
it on a floppy disk and store it for later.
Uploading works about the same, except in reverse
and the file ends up on GEnie.

Of course there is more to it than that. You'll
need to put a little thought into the process
before you get started. But once you've done that,
you'll seldom have to think about things at all.
See a file you like? Download it!

The first thing you'll have to consider is whether
you have space for the file on your disk (hard or
floppy), which works hand in hand with where you
want the new file to be stored. Most folks seem to
want to put their new downloads into a Folder or
Directory all their own, often named Downloads.
From there, files can be moved wherever you want
them, but if you'll set your path to Downloads then
you'll always know where your new files are. Your
software manual will tell you how to select a
destination path.


Protocols

Once you know where you're going to put your new
files, you'll need to agree on which error-checking
protocol you'll use to make the transfer. Protocol
sounds like a lot of pomp and circumstance, but
it's as casual as a game of catch, really, as long
as both your system and the host use the same one.

Imagine tossing a ball to your friend. He says,
"Throw it hard!" You throw it hard. He says, "Throw
me a curve ball!" You throw him a curve. You're
both throwing the ball according to an established
protocol. He asks for a pitch and you throw it.
This is much more efficient than if he asked for a
curve ball and you threw a fast ball (or a
football!). File transfer protocols operate in much
the same way. Some pause after every handful of
data to see if it was received correctly and others
pause only after several handfuls. Some just assume
that what was sent is going to be what shows up and
don't bother to check much of anything. The thing
to remember is that your telecommunications program
and GEnie must use the same protocol.

XMODEM is the most cautious protocol, checking
everything, often. YMODEM-G is the fastest protocol
that GEnie currently offers, and to use it you
really should have an error-correcting modem and a
good, clean telephone connection. ZMODEM is only a
little slower than YMODEM-G, but it offers
advantages that you may want to consider. If your
software allows it, ZMODEM downloads will start up
automatically, which may save some time and
minimize the risk of startup errors. And, if your
software allows it, ZMODEM downloads can be
restarted or resumed after an interruption. If
you've ever been 25 minutes into a 27 minute file
transfer when the storm hits or someone picks up
the telephone, you'll appreciate being able to
restart a download without having to transfer the
first part all over again!

While XMODEM is used for uploading to GEnie, you
really should consider using whatever faster
protocol your software supports to download. YMODEM
and ZMODEM are also known as "Batch" protocols,
meaning that you can string together several files
(up to 20) and download them all in one batch. You
tell GEnie which files you want, and they'll be
sent to your machine, one after the next, until you
have received the whole batch. That can save time,
too.

Take the Plunge

If you're not sure what file transfer protocol to
use, by all means ask someone! Everyone was new at
this at one time or another, and it's not the kind
of thing that is taught in gradeschools (yet!).
Nobody will think any less of you if you ask a few
questions, and the payoff is access to the largest
online Library anywhere, with all of the riches
that you can imagine -- and it's a collection that
grows by dozens and hundreds of files every day!
Visit your computer hardware RoundTable Bulletin
Board and check out topics concerned with your
software, or visit GENIEus, the GEnie Users'
RoundTable, and check into Category 4 on the
Bulletin Board there. While you're in GENIEus,
download the file COMPARE.XYZ from the Software
Library, which shows you in real numbers the
difference in time (and money, remember!) you can
expect when you download a file using the XMODEM,
YMODEM or ZMODEM protocols. This is called your
"throughput" and some telecommunications programs
show you what kind of efficiency levels you are
reaching as you download. Your mileage may vary,
but you can probably expect similar differences
between the protocols.

File Compression

One last thing about your files: There's a good
chance that the program you downloaded won't work
right away, or that you can't see the picture you
just got, or that your spreadsheet won't recognize
the template you just downloaded. It's not a scam,
it's just that your file is probably compressed.
File compression is a way of making a large file
take up less space on your disk (and on GEnie's
disks, too). Smaller files also transfer more
quickly, so file compression saves everyone space,
time and money. Such a deal! One of the first
programs you'll want to download is whatever
decompression program is popular on your computer.
Ask around, folks will let you know what they're
using. It's usually a simple matter to decompress
or expand a file. Be sure to check the READ.ME file
or other documentation for examples and
instructions. Once that's done, you should be able
to run your programs, view your pictures and spread
your sheets without a problem.

Downloading makes GEnie -- and your computer --
worth more to you. You can get demonstration copies
of commercial software, updater programs to make
your programs just like the new ones, shareware
programs, pictures, clip art and other graphics,
games, and even other telecommunications programs.
But first, you have to know the downloading game.
If you're worried about spending a lot of money
learning, don't. GEnie provides a New Member Area
on Page 1485, complete with a Library you can use
to learn the ropes. And GENIEus is a great place to
ask any questions you may have.

If you have any questions about downloading, I'd
like to hear them. Post them in Category 4 of
GENIEus, the GEnie Users' RoundTable, and we'll
discuss them.