I have a friend in Asia that needs to get me some big files.   High
res photos that are 100-250megs each.   All he has in that part of
asia is a modem.   I need the files put onto my WebDav server (which I
can also setup to act as a FTP server).  I have both Mac and a W2000
server that are on a fractional T1.

After I edit them, I need to get them back to him.  We do this
exchange during the night, and there is enough nighttime to get it all
done given the relatively slow pace of my editing.

When he goes to bed, he sets these big files to upload, but if the
phone lines there go bad, the upload gets cancelled, and we have to
start again the next night.

He is using a Mac running OS9, but also has a PC laptop he can use if
the Mac continues to run badly.   There is only one real webdav client
for OS9, Goliath, and I get it is slower then mollasis over a modem.  
It also doesn’t have any features like to be able to redial the modem
and restart the xfer if the line dies, or the computer crashes.   It
also can’t resume uploads, and always has to start from scratch on
these big files.

I know of 2 FTP programs for OS9, Fetch and Transmit.  I used to use
them a while back.  While I think they can resume xfers, I don’t
recall they had the ability to automatically redial connections, and
keep feeding the file along until the job is done.   I almost need a
Synchronization program that will keep trying to xfer until the 2
sources are synced!.

I’m sure if he was on the PC, I could use something like WS FTP, which
I heard had a scheduler, and a way to mirror (or sync 2) folders via
FTP (like when working on a local website, and then uploading just the
changes to a server).

Help.

Sherpaj --

There are some relatively inexpensive file transfer programs for the
PC that offer what you're seeking:
1.  automatic redial and send what's not been transferred
2.  synching of directories

The one that I have the most experience with is LapLink Professional
(version 7).  It allows the connection and file transfer to be done
automatically, with as many retries as you specify.  If someday you
both get a direct TCP/IP link, it can be done that way as well.  This
is a later generation of the LapLink product traditionally used to
move files between portable and desktop computers with a serial or
parallel cable.

It also has an interesting feature called SpeedSync that will send
only CHANGES to files -- I know it works well with text files; I've
not used it extensively with image files.

The current version of this product is called LapLink Gold (version
11).  The complete datasheet is on the LapLink website; it's also
available there on-line at $140.  Be aware that retail versions can
often be found for less -- and if you have an old version of LapLink,
upgrades are about half price.  You can also often get a "competitive
upgrade" if you use a competing product:
http://www.laplink.com/

Some other products in this category may well offer what you want as
well, including pcAnywhere and Timbuktu:
http://www.symantec.com/pcanywhere/Consumer/index.html
http://www.netopia.com/en-us/software/products/tb2/index.html

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

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Request for Answer Clarification by sherpaj-ga on 17 Oct 2002 05:05 PDT

I really needed a Mac solution.   Can you help me?

---

Clarification of Answer by omnivorous-ga on 18 Oct 2002 09:23 PDT

I'd recommended the Laplink product, knowing that it has re-dial and
synchronization features that would connect the PC in Asia and your
Win2000 machine.  In the Mac world, there aren't as many tools -- and
I don't have first-hand knowledge of the features.

Timbuktu does have a product that works on the Mac -- and is unique in
working between Macs and PCs.  A 28.8kbps modem is necessary, and it's
unclear from the documentation whether it permits redial/resend, a
feature that is present in Laplink and would have been helpful:
http://www.netopia.com/en-us/software/products/tb2/mac/index.html

Both Laplink and pcAnywhere are Windows-only solutions.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

Have you considered using a compression utility to "Zip" the images
and then break those down into smaller files?  I think Winzip and
WinRar allow users to compress their files and then break them down in
smaller files, as little as 1 MB.  This way, your friend don't have to
start over again when he is disconnected.
I also believe that some servers allow resuming of uploads, but I'm
not knowledgeable in that area.
secret901

I have looked for a program to resume uploads for OS 9 e.g. Transmit
but hmm... in practice they don't seem to work that well or work at
all. This was not so much in connection with poor 56k lines, but due
to servers resetting connections.

Have you tried compressing the image with non lossy compression saved
to a TIF file? Or even maximium quality JPEG? maximum quality jpeg is
pretty good if you consider a file is better than no file. This saves
time for uploading and downloading.
lot-ga

While it is not a total solution, it may be easier to FTP to a server
located as close to him as possible, the more hops the packets make,
the greater the problems that might be encountered. Then an automated
system at your end could move them over to you (Cron job
perhaps???)and of course, the compression suggestions above are good.

To clarify my comment above:
Winzip and Winrar allows the option to have larger Zip files broken
down into many smaller files for saving into floppy disks.  This will
not affect the quality of the image in any way, since when you have
received all the necessary files, you can just open the first file and
the picture will be restored to its original conditions.
secret901-ga

please let me know where he is situated in Asia. There is a
possibility that he could take his laptop to a palce where there is a
faster link available...

warm regards
vinods-ga

In this case, braking the file down into many smaller files won't work
well.   I need something that will just resume up/downloads.  Also,
posting to a closer ISP won't work in this case, it needs to be
directly to our office.