Monica is an excellent utility that fixes the flaws associated with downloading through web
browsers. Quite simply, it is a queue based download manager for
downloading using ftp and http protocols. That means that you can cut and
paste web address into it, and it'll take care of downloading the file while
you are away or you can use it to keep track of your downloads.
Monica allows the user to set a list of files to be downloaded from the
Internet. With Netscape, you either have to download all your files at a time or wait until one is complete and manually have it start another. Internet Explorer offers more robust queuing options that resembles Monica in many ways, but with Monica you don't have to worry about what browser your using or whether the files are transferred through HTTP or FTP. Monica allows up to 4
simultaneous downloads and will resume downloads from sites that support it, something that Netscape doesn't do and that Internet Explorer only loosely implements through its Download Cache.
Monica will also restart a download if it is cut off. Using Manual Download mode, you can keep track of your downloads with greater ease. However, Monica really
begins to shine in the Queue Mode. You can paste in your list of web
addresses/ftp addresses to be downloaded from, hit the Start Queue button and
leave the computer to download all your files itself. You can also view all the
current information (download speeds form each site, percent completed etc.)
from the various download sub-windows which open when downloading begins.
Monica has a couple shortcomings, though. First of all, a bug exists
with very fast connections, which results in very slow downloading. I noticed
this on my cable modem; speeds were sometimes far lower than what I had previously obtained getting the same file manually through a web browser. Also, Monica only supports one user name and password, so if you plan on logging into to multiple servers where you have different accounts, you'll have to make sure that your login and password are contained within the URL.
Monica is an incredibly great time saver for anyone who downloads large or many files
from the Internet. Monica is intelligent and useful, and best of all, free. And before you jump to conclusions, despite the fact that Monica's icon is a wide open mouth, the author claims that its named after his cat. -PK
