Software Alternatives Series: Part II Digital Content Delivery Services by Teela James, student in the MLA program
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This is especially noticeable in fields like landscape architecture, where file sizes often tend to be large. Fortunately, a number of free file sharing options exist that address this issue. This article compares several sites that host such applications: yousendit.com, rapidshare.com, sendspace.com, and fileapartment.com. All of these sites offer free file sharing and all have pay options for additional services, such as increased file size, ability to store and manage files on their servers, application plug-ins, security enhancements, the ability to monitor downloads and ad-free interfaces. The focus of this article, however, is on the free services offered by these sites. The services offered by these sites follow the same basic model. An account is not required, although creation of a free account often provides access to additional services. The sender visits the website and uploads a file, specifying the email address of the recipient. The recipient receives an email notification with a link they click on to download the file. Sites vary in the number and size of files you can upload, the number of recipients you can send the link to, number of allowable downloads, length of time files are stored, user interface, access to help and additional services. YouSendIt-yousendit.comYouSendIt is a popular file transfer application. The ?EUR??,,????'?????<  RapidShare lets you share files up to 200 MB for free. Files can be downloaded up to 10 times and are available for 90 days. However, to promote their free service, the downloader has to wait 46 seconds to begin the file download. RapidShare-rapidshare.comRapidShare is another alternative for file sharing. The free service allows sharing files of up to 200 MB. Files can be downloaded up to 10 times and are available for 90 days. The upload interface allows multiple files to be uploaded at once. Once the upload is complete, you can email several users the relevant links that allow for download or deletion of the uploaded file(s). The upload is quick and easy and there are no annoying ads. However, in an attempt to promote their free service, the downloader has to wait 46 seconds prior to beginning the file download (Fig. 2). At this time, the downloader is advised that purchasing a premium account will eliminate this delay. In contrast to YouSendIt, RapidShare allows free users to upload multiple files, send the link to multiple recipients, and to delete files. However, YouSendIt does not require the unnecessary wait time for free users to download.  SendSpace allows free uploads of multiple files (5) up to 300 MB. Files have unlimited downloads and are available as long as the download link has been used within the last 30 days. The SendSpace free service is supported by advertising, so recipients view a colorful array of ads as they download your file(s). SendSpace-sendspace.comLike RapidShare, SendSpace (Fig. 3) provides more free features than YouSendIt, but without the enforced wait for the download of RapidShare. Instead, it uses ad revenue to support free services. It allows for the upload of multiple files (up to five) that can be up to 300 MB. Files have unlimited downloads and are available as long as the download link has been used within the last 30 days. As the SendSpace free service is supported by advertising, recipients will get to view a colorful array of ads as they download your file(s). As a result, the upload interface and the download interface are a bit busier than their ad free counterparts. SendSpace offers more features to their free account users, including the ability to monitor files, edit files, retrieve download links and delete files. However, if you want an ad free interface, you will have to pay for the subscriber service. FileApartment-fileapartment.comFileApartment offers a slightly different model. First, the sender uploads a file (Fig. 4) and is emailed a link. The sender then forwards the link to intended recipients, rather than having the site send an email notification. The recipient follows the link to download the file. There are several advantages to this approach to having the sender forward the link. First, the recipient gets the notification from the senders email address, which is more familiar and less likely to be blocked. Secondly, the sender has the option to forward the link to as many users as they like and has access to their email address book. FileApartment has no ads, no account registration, no long-term commitments, and no speed/bandwidth tampering to encourage users to upgrade services. Additionally, they support a file size of up to 1 G. However, the free option only holds a file for one day and only allows one download, which is quite restrictive. The option to increase the length of time the file is held and the number of downloads is on a per transaction basis. For instance, you would pay $1.29 to have a file held for 14 days and allow 25 downloads. FileApartment will appeal to users who want an inexpensive, no commitment, no frills option. With respect to security, these sites offer assurances that data is secure and protected according to current industry standards. They do use file encryption when transferring files. However, these files are available on a website until they are removed, which creates a longer opportunity for unauthorized access than an individual file transmission. For all of the sites, the files are only as secure as the download links that are provided. That generally means the files are only as secure as your email account or the email accounts of file recipients. Generally speaking though, if you were planning on sending the file to someone over unencrypted email but could not because of the file size, chances are the security of these systems are sufficient to your needs. |
