14 DAY TRIAL // I have so little time to spare, that I can't find any use to a download manager because I usually download small files and that doesn't happen every day, but I can remember situations when I really needed such a tool. After all, just think about batch downloads, speed improvements, scheduling...it almost makes me reconsider and get one, just to have my back covered!
The download manager that I used with excellent results for my own purposes was Free Download Manager, and in the time that has passed since then, I got to see more programs from this family, FlashGet and GetRight being only two of the most popular. Anyway, let's leave those behind now and see what we have here...
Internet Download Accelerator has reached a respectable version number, 5.0.5.1010, and what I have here is a 30 days trial version of this commercial program that costs 24.95$. There aren't any functional limitations, apart from a small nag screen that appears when you start the program. The installation package is as large as 2.7MB and very easy to setup. These being said, let's go further and check the program's interface and features!
Internet Download Accelerator has a well organized, good looking and easy to use interface, having the look of most download managers. What we have here is a menu bar, a toolbar, a panel used for downloads management purposes and the downloads area. The toolbar's icons look good, and you can add or remove items as you need them. Now, what about the features?
One of the first things I want to know about a download manager is the quality of its browser integration. It is nice to have a useful toolbar installed in Internet Explorer, but what about the rest? Unfortunately, FireFox, Opera and other browsers are not supported, but the clipboard monitoring feature works well.
Apart from the handy bar installed in Internet Explorer, Internet Download Accelerator offers most features that one would like to have inside its download manager. My personal favorite is the FTP Explorer, accessible using the File menu or the F7 key. This tool is used for browsing FTP servers and finding the files you're looking for. Working with it is very easy, navigation with FTP Explorer being much like that with Windows Explorer.
Adding new downloads, organizing them into groups or scheduling are so easy to do, that I don't have anything else to say about them, but only "just do it"(of course, the copyrights to that go to Nike...). The Site Manager can help you work faster with remote sites that require a user name and password or different proxy server settings.
Obviously, the multi purpose floating window couldn't have missed from this program, as well as the chance to launch it with certain command line parameters, in order to accomplish the goals you have in mind. To find out more, get this program and give it a try!
The Good
Internet Download Accelerator is a good looking program that does the job it is supposed to do and offers a good amount of useful features. If you get lost, the excellent built in documentation can help you a lot.
The Bad
This program is not free, and this is the worst thing about it, because it doesn't surpass FlashGet in term of features, ease of use and browser integration support.
The Truth
If Internet Download Accelerator would be a free program, then it would be a worthy choice, but the way things are, I can only hope for it to get better and better and make its users happy. Anyway, the month of free trial is a good deal, so go ahead and give this program a chance!
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
