Moving to Mac: FTP

On my PC, I used to use LeechFTP, and more recently moved over to FileZilla. The main reason I used these programs over WS-FTP was because so many times when I was pushing files, I was pushing lots and lots of tiny files. These programs were multi-threaded, so they would upload a dozen files at the same time, cutting down the upload time by leaps and bounds, since it took longer to open & close connections than it did to actually transfer the file in most cases.

I tried FileZilla on the Mac, but I can say it’s just a port from the Windows version, and a poor one at that. It looks and feels clunky, and still has all the issues the Windows version has.

I then moved over to Transmit. It still has the same key feature I needed (multithreaded uploads/downloads), plus a whole lot more, including interesting features like Amazon S3 support, sync, Mac OS integration (Dock, Automater, etc), tabs and server to server transfers. Give it a try, you won’t be sorry.

FileZilla: Finally, a worthy replacement for leechFTP

I’ve used leechFTP for years. In fact, I’ve been using it for many years since they stopped developing it. I’ve gotten used to the German error messages, occasional crashes and other oddities because until now, there was no equal. The main advantage leechFTP had over any other client was that it did threaded uploads/downloads. This was a *huge* time saver when uploading & downloading a bunch of tiny files. With any FTP client, it usually takes longer to open and close the connection than to download a < 10k file. The ability to do a bunch of these at the same time drastically cuts transfer times.

Then, I found out about FileZilla. Cross-platform and open source, there is no downside. The main feature I like is that it supports up to 4 simultaneous threads. Another bonus is the quick connect menu, so you can quickly access your saved sites with just one click. It’s been rock-solid, and the error messages are in English 🙂

iotashan.com rating: 5 out of 5!