I frequently get large zipped up files (4.2MB) transferred to me as
e-mail attachments. However, it takes the gentleman who sends them to
me about half an hour per batch since he is on dial-up. Also,
sometimes my computer is off and since I only have 10MB of storage on
my e-mail, the files sometimes bounce. I would like to find a way for
him to send the files so (1) It takes him less time and (2) the files
don't bounce.

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Request for Question Clarification by aditya2k-ga on 14 Mar 2003 10:04 PST

Are both of you in the same city/country?

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Clarification of Question by traderaider-ga on 14 Mar 2003 10:08 PST

No, I am in Canada, he is in the US.

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Request for Question Clarification by googleexpert-ga on 14 Mar 2003 13:18 PST

this sounds like an odd solution, but have you tried Kazaa?

From personal experience, I find that direct transfers from one
instant messenger (IM) to another IM is faster than email. My friends
use dial-up while I use DSL. Perhaps you can try sending it this way
(Yahoo IM to Yahoo IM or MSN IM to MSN IM, etc.)

I did a lot of research in this area 2 years ago,
and did not find much in the way of free services
that helped you do this, and also saw the restrictions
for people downloading them.  Curious to see what
the latest answers are.  Don't know how to use it,
but does FTP help?  Try Zips?

Here's my answer:
If your willing to pay money, get a server. You can get one from
Microsoft. Go to microsoft.com and browse around looking for it. I'm
shure I so an advertisment about one a few days ago.

If your not willing to pay money, use an Instent Messenging Software
(e.g.: MSN Messanger). Search "MSN Messanger" at msn.com.

I Hope that helped.

Windows includes (in various versions) an applet called HyperTerminal
which can perform file transfers using direct phone calls, modem to
modem (from his PC to yours).

Unfortunately in your case, it seems that a long distance call might
be quite pricey.  I mention this because it seems that price might be
secondary in your priorities to saving time and avoiding files
bouncing.  However it sounds as if you want to perform this action in
an unattended "batch".

There are free domain servers which allow FTP and which could be the
key to an inexpensive batch strategy.  Some knowledge of FTP and batch
programming would be required to automate the entire transfer.

regards, mathtalk-ga

You might want to refer to Question 162995 which discussed a similar
problem.

The upload speed of your Canadian contact is limited by his modem and
ISP. As far as I know, with 56k modems it's the download speed that
can be (up to) 56k - the upload speed is less. If he can get an ISDN
connection to his ISP that will give him a 64k connection *both ways*.
However, that may not be an option. In any case, he should check his
connection speed and possibly consult his ISP for any recommendations
they have in increasing upload speed.

Using email to send files will inflate the file size. Email doesn't
understand files and 'encodes' them into a format - the recipient's
software converts back. This is usually referred to as MIME and
nowadays is usually invisible to the user. The downside is that
encoding files this way will will increase the file size by at least
an eighth. In most email packages, you can see the size of the
sent/received message by right-clicking on it and selecting
'Properties' or similar. Compare it to the true size of the
attachment.

The problem with your mailbox filling up could be resolved if you
change to a provider with a more generous mailbox allocation.

However I believe the best route is for you or he to get FTP (file
transfer protocol) server space. Most personal ISP accounts come with
between 15 and 50 MB of personal web space. If he uses FTP to place
files in his personal webspace he can then simply email you the URL
and you can download the file. Because he will be connecting to *his*
ISP's server direct, this should be faster than connecting to your
ISP's server over the Internet.

You don't mention what the files are - if they are Microsoft Word
files there are some steps that can be taken to minimise the file
size, such as not embedding fonts or diagrams and turning off 'fast
save' and similar features. They can then be zipped for a further
decrease in file size.

Owain

No matter what you do, if he has a dial-up connection, you can't speed
up his side of things.

If you can, get a second email account just for receiving his files.

Look into the gentleman depositing the file somewhere online (web
site, photo service) and you downloading it from there.

I certainly agree with Mathtalk. It is fast. In the 90's when Internet
access was still pricey in my place, HyperTerminal was an
indispensable tool for large file transfers.

I hope your contact will shift to DSL soon. 4MB files transfers on a
256Kb DSL will take about 2-4 minutes, depending on your line and
other factors, but it wouldn't take more than 5 minutes.

Since you mentioned that you only have 10MB of email space, my first
comment is a possible solution because the transfer will be direct to
his and your computer - or - since you also mentioned that your
computer is sometimes off, find an online service for him and you to
to upload the files so that you can download the files anytime once
you open your computer again.

Here's another potential solution from a previous Google Answer:
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=75856