DownloadStudio 5: Shortcomings in brief
Changing settings for a half-complete download will reset it to zero:
Needless to say that this is a very irritating problem.
Does not support download from multiple mirrors:
Being a able to download from multiple mirrors is a great feature: If one mirror is slow or down, another can be used. Also, this might help content providers by distributing the load of the download on multiple servers. DownloadStudio should be able to search for mirrors as well as allowing users to add mirrors.
Sniffer does not work for non-admin users:
On my Windows XP computer, my family members and I use standard user accounts to protect our valuable data as well as the stability of our computer from malicious or/and low-quality software. However, DownloadStudio's URL Sniffer does not work under standard user accounts: It cannot detect any of my network adapters. I do not care why it happens; all I care is that it must not happen.
Opera integration does not work for non-admin:
On my computer, DownloadStudio cannot detect my Opera when I'm running under standard user accounts.
Very cumbersome resume functionality:
I don't see any different between a failed, pending or stopped download. When I click resume, I want DownloadStudio to retry resuming where it has dropped off the download.
File sizes are not shown in File Size column when the download is Pending, Stopped or waiting in the queue:
When the DownloadStudio calculates the file size once, it should display this file size in appropriate column. Yes, file size might all of a sudden change on the server due various reasons. But as long as DownloadStudio has no evidence that such a change has occurred, it should display the file size that it thinks as correct.
History doesn't seem to work at all:
I could never figure out what is the History node for. I expect it to work like History node in Free Download Manager and Orbit Downloader.
Sometimes, clicking Cancel in download dialog box does not return the download control back to web browser:
Annoying but true. This happens a lot of times with Rapidshare.
Proxy settings cannot be set on individual downloads:
One feature that is forgotten: Sometimes, a specific download needs to be done through a specific proxy server. I expect to be able to set different proxy settings per downloads.
Overly large Internet Explorer toolbar:
Internet Explorer's DownloadStudio toolbar should have at most the same height as IE 7's command bar.
User agent cannot be set to be automatically detected from web browser:
For downloads to be successful, it is often necessary for DownloadStudio to use exactly the same User Agent as of the originating web browser. DownloadStudio's integration agents in each browser must be able to rely that browser's User Agent to DownloadStudio. User Agent of any web browser can be accessed via "navigator.userAgent" parameter.
Poor and buggy RSS reader:
IE, Firefox and Opera have better RSS readers
Unacceptable user interface:
- Column widths are not remembered.
- Main program's Options cannot be accessed when download is in progress.
- Status of downloads in wait state is mistakenly shown as Connecting.
Fails to retrieve the correct file name for files received from server side pages whereas IE, Firefox and Opera can
This also happens on sites like RapidShare, MegaUpload and Farashare. This issue is intermittent.
Freeware download managers like Orbit Downloader, Free Download Manager and FlashGet have none of the above disadvantages
That's right: These freewares may not be as feature-rich as DownloadStudio but they sure do their jobs a lot better. I advise DownloadStudio developers to take a look at these products.
Does not check the integrity of downloaded files
DownloadStudio does not offer any integrity check features or any mean by which one can ensure that his or her download is not corrupt.
There are multiple types of integrity check:
- Using Digital Signature: Nowadays, respectable software vendors (e.g Microsoft, Adobe, Nero, Apple, etc.) digitally sign their software download packages using Microsoft Authenticode technology. The integrity of such packages can be verified by right-clicking on their files, choosing Properties, choosing Digital Signature tab, choosing Details and then seeing whether the digital signature is valid. Digital Signature will not be valid if the download is incomplete or corrupt. Using Microsoft Authenticode API, DownloadManager can automatically check the downloaded file's integrity and alert user in case the download integrity is failed.
- Using Embedded Checksum: Archive formats like ZIP hold a checksum value which can be using to verify their integrity. Programs like WinZIP and WinRAR have Test functionalities which re-calculates archive checksum and compares it with this value. DownloadStudio may implement a same feature.
- Using Manually-Entered checksum: Some download sites announce a hash value for their download packages instead of digitally-signing them. DownloadStudio may implement a feature that allow users to Copy and Paste this has value into DownloadStudio's user interface, so that it can compare the actual hash of the downloaded file and announce the result.
- Using Checksum File URL: Some download sites provide a supplimentary URL for each of their download packages that points to file containing the appropriate checksum hash value. I need not explain the rest, do I?
