Download Services

Download Services
Download services have become extremely popular in the past few years. When most media is changed into a digital form it removes any need to travel to the shop to buy anything you need. Goods can be transferred immediately over the internet saving time and effort to buy whatever you need. Internet downloads have become ever popular are people have realised that most of the things they usually go out to buy can easily be bought over the internet. This has spread and made people even more reluctant to be going out and buying their goods. The three main download services used over the World Wide Web is computer software, Music + video and books. Main companies for such services are itunes, Ebooks and specific company product software. Internet downloads save many people time and effort, and in modern times this is a key thing for people who do not have the time to be going out and about to buy their things. This is one of the main reasons for online download services brilliant success. However a down point to modern download services is that multiple sites are offering free shared software. These sites offer illegal torrents were people can download music, videos, games and just about anything for free. This has decreased the amount of legitimate bought downloads over the internet.

Software

Many Companies will release their product software on the internet to save their customers time and effort to upgrade their product. This is both efficient and faster for the customers and sellers to get their product to the customer. Software downloads could be brand new products such and Microsoft office or it could be an upgrade to an existing product. Software downloads have proven successful because updates can be applied immediately as required and eve sometimes automatically and updates can often be free as the cost of providing them is so low. In theory all software could be delivered in this manner, not just upgrades. However there are two main reasons why it is not. If the software is big in size, it could take a very long time to install over the internet. Even with smaller applications the user will often want a physical copy of the software and manuals. Even though most online software comes with a manual in a pdf, if any software crashes and needs to be re-installed, a physical copy of the manual would allow you to re-install properly. I will evaluate Microsoft’s website for downloading bigger actual programmes and Apple Mac’s software updates.



Microsoft
Obviously, it goes without saying that Microsoft will have a good website to download software from. From having one of the largest markets for personal computers and being one of the most well known names in the computer business, a simple and good looking website is expected. Their software website isn’t exactly the prettiest of websites however it seems fairly user friendly and easy to use. Users pay via paypal and then download the software via and internet stream. Download times depend on the users internet connection speed. However downloading software over the internet can save a lot of time, even if it takes a while to download, by the time you’ve downloaded it and left if it for a day, it would have been a lot faster than going out, buying the product and then installing. Windows have been developing since 1985 so decent software should come as standard.
Advantages
• Much faster and more efficient to download online than to go and buy product
• Easy to use website
• Wider variety and promised stock online
• Easier to find the actual product that you want
• Online software is easily installed
• Downloads A-Z makes it easy to find exactly what you need



Disadvantages
• Downloads can take very long, depending on users internet speed
• Virtual software downloads come with no physical manual, so un-installing/re-installing is made harder.
• Often if installing software over the internet goes wrong, and the user has so manual, this results in the user not being able to use the software or having to hire someone to fix it for them.
• Doesn’t have a good feel and user interface to the website, as the Mac website does

Summary
Overall the Microsoft software website is good for those who can’t be bothered to go and buy their product. Their online service allows you to buy and install any of their products. This saves you travelling to the shops to find that they either don’t have your item in stock or don’t sell it at all. The overall time of the download can depend on the users experience, knowing where to save and download files can often be the difference between a programme working and not working. Linked to the last point, when you go and buy the software from the shop, it will come with a physical manual to guide you through your download, however by installing it online, manuals often only come in PDF form, and for a more inexperienced user, this could be inaccessible.

Apple Mac
Apple is renowned for having simple and basic user interface to create a much easier and stress-free experience on a computer. This is their basis idea, to make everything much simpler and more user friendly, to create a nicer to look at interface and generally more stress free computer environment. From personal experience I can say that makes deliver exactly this, everything is laid out on a plate for you, and there is not confusion with any programmes. The Apple Mac software download section of their website is very simple. You click ‘downloads’ at the top bar of the page, then on the side of the page there is a bar with all the different downloads available. Once all your programmes are installed, software upgrades are searched for every time you turn your computer on, if there is one available, a box will pop up allowing you to click accept or deny. It is the simplest design ever, purely because you don’t have to do anything to update!

Advantages:
• Extremely easy to use
• Basic web page layout
• Automatic updates once programmes are installed
• Fast downloads from the Apple website
• Huge variety of different downloads
• Search engine to find any specific applications you want
Overall the Apple Mac software system is an absolutely outstanding piece of work. The way the website works is so easy for any new user of a Mac that needs to software. The fact that once you have your programmes it automatically updates your software makes it so much easier for people to keep up with everybody else’s technology. This is just a taste of what is to come of the future’s automated technology with getting software off the internet.




Music
Music downloading is one of the most common downloads for modern internet. Thousands of mp3 tracks are downloaded from the internet every day. When the likes of itunes and itunes music store came about, people were buying thousands of tracks for cheap from the internet and sales were high. Apple had sold over 500 million tracks for download on its iTunes service by July 2005. However music downloads from the internet were eventually damaged from internet piracy. This is where hosts share and allow other people to download music for free over the internet. This harshly effected legal music downloads and is getting worst.

Itunes Music Store
Version 4 of iTunes introduced the iTunes Music Store (later renamed to the iTunes Store) from which iTunes users can buy and download songs for use on a limited number of computers and an unlimited number of iPods. Apple’s prices vary between $0.69 - $1.29. Generally they make newer hits more expensive and older songs cheaper. Itunes is a massive hit and was proven when Apple CEO Steve Jobs stated that the service had set a new single day record of 20 million songs on December 25, 2007. Apple have sold over 6 billion songs over the internet, this proving that internet piracy doesn’t always ruin legitimate sales, although it effects it. In order to buy anything in the Itunes Music Store you need to set up an account which takes about 5 minute and just requires some typical information, this also means if you’re buying songs all the time, you don’t have to enter your credit card details more than once.
Advantages:
• Largest variety of music to choose from out of different music sites
• Easy to use
• Cheap to buy songs
• Buying songs is fast once you’ve set up an account
• Songs go straight to your itunes
• Allows you to use on multiple iPods’/computers
• Simple user interface
Overall Itunes Music Store is the best thing out there music wise. Until you get into internet piracy, Itunes Music Store is by far the cheapest, easiest and best music store to download from the internet. Pretty much anyone who has a computer and knows basically how to use it will easily be able to work their way around Apple Itunes Music Store. Also, if you get bored of simply music downloads, Itunes have brought out videos, podcasts and audio books for the iPod. These are great for when you are out and about with your video iPod and bored.



Amazon
This is another digital music store owned and operated by Amazon .com . Launched in public beta on September 25th 2007, in January it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights management from all four major music labels (EMI, Universal, Warner Music and Sony BMG). After the US, it was launched in the UK December 2008, in Germany April 2009 and in France June 2009. At launch Amazon offered over 2 million songs from more than 180,000 artists and over 20,000 labels. In February 2008, Pepsi introduced Pepsi Stuff promotion in partnership with Amazon MP3. Customers can exchange points offered on 4 million Pepsi bottles for, among other things, MP3 downloads.
Advantages:
• Cheaper than Itunes
• Music deals at certain times in the year
• Higher quality music (256kbps)
• No restrictions to how many computers the music is passed to
• Customer reviews
Disadvantages:
• Not as easy to use UI at Itunes
• Amazon downloader application needed
• Not as good search results and Itunes
While iTunes currently offers a greater depth of music - as well as movies and TV shows - Amazon MP3 is pretty certain to catch up. Its prices are erratic but I couldn't find one album there that was cheaper in iTunes (UPDATE: there are a few out there). Now that Apple has followed suit with higher quality and no DRM restrictions there's not much in it apart from price and convenience - unless you want to play the music via something other than an iPod or iPhone. As some of the savings are dramatic, even on new releases, Amazon MP3 must be a compelling alternative even for long-term, heavy iTunes users like me. iTunes works more seamlessly and is nicer to navigate but the price difference of Amazon MP3 had me converted almost immediately.