We recently asked someone to write up some editorial for us, based around using FTP software with a fast broadband connection. The writer asked why anyone would use an FTP client these days? Not a good start. Made worse by the fact that an FTP client is essential for anyone who is the administrator of any kind of remote server.
Back in the 90s, FTP applications were used as the primary tool for downloading software from the Internet. You used to login to a university FTP server, choose the files you wanted to download, queue them up and then wait for them to appear on your computer. When web browsers started to be used to download software, consumers didn’t tend to require a standalone FTP application.
However, there’s nothing better than a powerful FTP application to manage your remote homepage, server or to move files between a remote storage site and your computer. Cyberduck is one of the best free (the programmer welcomes donations) FTP clients and one of the most used applications on my MacBook Pro. We won’t go in to detail about all the advanced features, but at a basic level it will enable you to login to a remote server, create folders, move files, download and upload content. It supports most kinds of remote servers, including Amazon S3, which enables you to create a remote backup for your important files.
If you’re a Mac user and require an FTP client, there are few apps better than Cyberduck.
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