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FileZilla is one scary monster

Every now and then, I read an article that recommends free FTP programs for Mac OS X and Windows. For the Mac, it’s usually Cyberduck, and for Windows, something called FileZilla.

So when I learned that FileZilla had been ported to the Mac, I was naturally curious to see how it compared with Cyberduck. It took awhile to gather up the courage to download it, though. Just look at some of these comments from MacUpdate:

The interface is utter crap, and I would NEVER consider using it or recommending it to anyone. Under any circumstances.

I HATE Windows . . . a lot, and this just feels like Windows.

. . . this is by far one of the ugliest and the most confusing interfaces ever. It’s like a girl with a J-Lo body and a Jay Leno face . . . Please hire a Mac designer . . .

With a reception like this, you have to wonder why FileZilla is being ported at all. The answer may lie with switchers. Apparently FileZilla is the type of thing Windows users are accustomed to, and they want something similar when they cross over to the Mac.

Check, for example, this article called A Linux Geek Embraces Mac OS X. In the writer’s opinion, Cyberduck “sucks.”

I don’t know why the Mac lacks a good open-source FTP client, but if there are any developers out there who could do a version of gFTP or FileZilla for the Mac, please do it! You’ll make a lot of people’s day.

Just as point of clarification, Cyberduck actually is open source, licensed under the GPL. Admittedly, it wasn’t that great when it first came out, but there have been a lot of improvements over the years.

So with all that in mind, I held my nose and clicked the download link for FileZilla. A few minutes later I had what is undoubtedly the most appalling icon ever designed in my download folder. It almost felt sacrilegious to have it bouncing in the dock.

But bounce it did: once, twice, then disappeared. Hmm. Check the requirements: Mac OS X 10.3 or later. Got it. Any other requirements? None. Oh, well.

I can’t say I’m disappointed — it’s actually a bit of a relief not to have to run it. For your freeware FTP needs, thriftmac continues to recommend Cyberduck and Fugu.

Posted Monday, August 27, 2007 in

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  1. It sucks on Windows too, but it is free. Now if you really want to see a crappy program try Filezilla Server. It’s a perfect example of why commercial software will not only always exist, but likely still rule too…

    Personally I’ll stick with Transmit. YMMV

    switcher

  2. That was a funny review – you had me all set up to think you were going to be pleasantly surprised by it. Then the brilliant turnaround to have you relieved when it crashed on load. Genius!

    Stuck on Windows

  3. It may be considered ugly, but FileZilla on Windows can do things that Transmit, Cyberduck and Fetch cannot hope to do. It will retry downloads much longer than the others and it is fast as well.

    trieditonwin

  4. Hmm, You mention that FileZilla will retry downloads much longer than the others? Transmit can be set as long as you should need by typing a number into “Busy Server Retry”. (It seems to max out at 2147483647 sec. which I believe is approx. 74 years) in the preferences. I guess I have to ask…how long can FileZilla retry?

    In all seriousness, I am always open to trying a better solution, so I ask…what is it that FileZilla can add in value that Transmit doesn’t have?

    Dale

  5. Recent windows to OS X convert here.

    This really is somewhere where I think even the commercial OS X applications fall behind the freeware windows apps (yes even filezilla). While the windows apps may not look as pretty, they do contain much more advanced queue management than their OSX brethren. It’s not uncommon for me to be moving large amounts of files to my laptop for various presentations. But sometimes I don’t necessarily have time to get them all on my laptop due to my painfully slow DSL. In filezilla its extremely easy to queue a directory, then move certain files to the top to prioritize them and ensure they get downloaded first. I can also change the amount of bandwidth and number of concurrent connections within filezilla on windows on the fly. This is handy for when the little lady wants to do some websurfing, I can tone down my transfers a bit without having to restart.

    While some os x apps do have some of these features, I’m sad to say none of said features are as easy to use as they are under windows/filezilla. For example, when you select a directory to download in either cyberduck or transmit, there appears to be no way to adjust the priority of the files contained within. Within the queue it simply shows up as the directory or single file being transferred, this lack of queue manipulation makes it impossible for serious users to get work done, and simply shouldn’t be the case in this day and age.

    That being said, I do agree that the filezilla os x port leaves some to be desired, its even uglier than the windows version and lacks some of the queue manipulation features present on the windows builds.

    Does anyone know of any OS X apps free or otherwise that provide higher end features like those described above? I’ve tried both transmit and cyberduck so far and they both fall extremely short of this type of functionality.

    Thanks,

    nitro

    nitro

  6. What a bunch of Mac snobs.

    Why don’t you just accept the software on it’s merits. Sure, I love my macs and my mac software, but I’ve tried both Transmit and Filezilla and like the previous poster attests, it’s not a bad piece of software plus – it’s free!

    investmentbug





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