These days, all browsers have built in FTP and file transfer support. Resuming downloads has become as common as the forward and back buttons and for the vast majority of users, external download managing applications are not really a necessity. Those that already have dirty hands from doing all sorts of complicated things want more power than what is already integrated into your browser. There are many download managers to choose from, and each one has its own approach to the extra features it offers, and Speed Download is no exception.

It has download queuing and resuming, browser integration, scheduling multi-threading and a target window like most advanced download managers so I am not going to go into detail on these. Suffice to say that they are there and they work, now let’s talk about what really sets this program apart from the others.

Power user treats
At fist glance this looks like just another download manager, and the advanced features are there, but not exactly obvious.

The first yummy option I came across is the HTTP-Referer. What this does basically, is tell the server you want to download from where you are coming from, or should I say, where you should be coming from. Many servers do not allow direct access to a file, and if you attempt going straight for it you will be brushed aside. This applies mostly to servers that require you to fill out some sort of form before you can download the file. So, if a server is giving you a hard time about this, all you have to do is just paste the URL with the location that you would normally be coming from here and away you go.

The multi-download syntax is a sort of a hidden feature that you can only learn about if you dig deep in the documentation. Basically it is a pseudo-code that you can use to easily download a large amount of files in one fell swoop.
This syntax acts as a combination of a wildcard and value range, letting you combine any of the following elements:
{one,two,three} : create a url with each of the comma delimited alternatives.
[1-100] numerical range
[001-100] numerical range with leading zeros
[a-z]: alpha range

This can be used to easily download a multi-segment file or a list of files, thus typing http://www.example.com/reports/[2000-2001]/financial/q[1-4][a-c].{pdf,doc} as the URL and adding it to the download will download all . doc and . pdf files from both the 2000 and 2001 folders, regardless of the combination of number and letter that follows the letter q in the filename.

More than just download
The interesting thing about speed download is that it is not just a download manager, but also lets you upload files, and even share them with other Speed Download users.
The program lets you connect to another user of Speed Download, and upload a file to their computer. It doesn’t even have to be a remote location, and can just as well be someone on your local network, or on Rendezvous. To make things even easier, you can save these host locations and give them names for fast, easy access.

You can also connect to a host and browse their shared files and download them, as well as share your own. You can define users that will have access to your shared files, as well as give them permission to upload files to your computer.

File organizing
Speed Download lets you define folders and the file extensions associated with them. This if you define the Movies folder that is associated with the .mov, .avi, .mpg and .wmv extensions, any files that have those extensions that you download will be automatically moved into the appropriate folder. The program even creates these actual folders into the download location on your computer and uses them when setting up file sharing. This gives you the power to organize all that information in any way you see fit.

Something can be done better
One of the things that Speed download doesn’t do as well as other programs is "add files from URL’ function. Sure you can specify the file extensions, but iGetter also shows you a list of files that are linked to from the site, with tickboxes so you can choose between them easily.

Another feature I found missing in Speed Download is the Mirrors functionality of iGetter which will let you search for alternative locations where you can download that file from and share this information with all other iGetter users.

The Good
Speed download is great if you know exactly what you are looking for. The multi file syntax is superb, and the ability to connect and share files with other users get two thumbs up.

The Bad
Most of the great Speed Download features require you to have precise knowledge of file and folder structure, in the case of syntax, and know the addresses of other users, in case of file sharing. It is less than ideal for offering you relevant information, such as mirror locations.

The Truth
Speed Download is going to be your favorite program if you have the need to exchange files with people often. Personally, I think its file sharing aspect is more compelling than the download manager side. With this little program you can receive and send files to other users, and even use your computer as a file server. The only pitfall is that sometimes it is a pain to keep connected with other people, such as those who have a dynamically assigned IP address that changes every time they connect to the Internet. Perhaps a ‘nickname’ implementation that will let you type out the nickname of another user to connect to them would serve better…

Here are some screeshots, click to enlarge: