im unsure what downloading means
does it mean if you save a picture then transfer it to floppy disc
can some 1 let me know please
cheers ange

In basic terms it means you are transferring data, pictures, files etc from one source to another.

From your point of view, if the info is coming to you then you are downloading.

If you are sending info to someone else then you are uploading.

With regards to your example you would download a picture to your PC then upload to floppy disk.

so am i right in saying saving a pictures to a floppy disc isnt
downloading

Originally posted by Ange
so am i right in saying saving a pictures to a floppy disc isnt
downloading

Strictly speaking, you could say you're downloading it to a floppy disc, but that would be more likely to be described as 'copying' a picture to a floppy disc (or to a CD-r).

This sounds like a debate with someone sparked this question. If it was, what was the debate, might make the question and answer a bit clearer.

For those of us who come from an older IT generation, downloading refers to the specific act of transferring data from an ONLINE source to a local computer - i.e. transferring data from the Internet to your local hard disc, floppy disc, CDROM or even memory in your PC.

Originally posted by JoePritchard
For those of us who come from an older IT generation, downloading refers to the specific act of transferring data from an ONLINE source to a local computer - i.e. transferring data from the Internet to your local hard disc, floppy disc, CDROM or even memory in your PC.


Is the correct answer:thumbsup: ;)

But surely anything connected to your PC is online, just via a usb cable not a telephone line, e.g. a digital camera. Downloading is just the expression of transferring data from a connected (internet, usb device, etc) source to a PC. It looks at it from the PCs point of view. If you look at it from the digital cameras point of view, you're uploading it to the PC.

It means To transfer data from a server or host computer to one's own computer or device.

This is the definition from Webopedia:

download

To copy data (usually an entire file) from a main source to a peripheral device. The term is often used to describe the process of copying a file from an online service or bulletin board service (BBS) to one's own computer. Downloading can also refer to copying a file from a network file server to a computer on the network.
In addition, the term is used to describe the process of loading a font into a laser printer. The font is first copied from a disk to the printer's local memory. A font that has been downloaded like this is called a soft font to distinguish it from the hard fonts that are permanently in the printer's memory.

The opposite of download is upload, which means to copy a file from your own computer to another computer.

Originally posted by Meaks
This is the definition from Webopedia:

download

To copy data (usually an entire file) from a main source to a peripheral device. The term is often used to describe the process of copying a file from an online service or bulletin board service (BBS) to one's own computer. Downloading can also refer to copying a file from a network file server to a computer on the network.
In addition, the term is used to describe the process of loading a font into a laser printer. The font is first copied from a disk to the printer's local memory. A font that has been downloaded like this is called a soft font to distinguish it from the hard fonts that are permanently in the printer's memory.

The opposite of download is upload, which means to copy a file from your own computer to another computer. confused now,is downloading the act of actually watching the page you requested on your pc, or..the act of saving an image/page, etc. to your hard drive or floppy disk?

Originally posted by depoix
confused now,is downloading the act of actually watching the page you requested on your pc, or..the act of saving an image/page, etc. to your hard drive or floppy disk?

Both of those would be downloading. In order to view a website, the images, text, etc are actually downloaded to your PC and usually cached.

Originally posted by t020
Both of those would be downloading. In order to view a website, the images, text, etc are actually downloaded to your PC and usually cached.

Yup, correct.

Alex

Technically, literally correct but not really answering the last question.

Want more confusion?
In common acceptable speech today, viewing pages while surfing would not be referred to as "downloading".

Yes, information is downloaded for depoix to be able to see it but nobody is going to say that they are "downloading" when just reading this forum.

However, if the connection or server is slow, you can say "it is taking forever to 'download'"!

:loopy: :suspect: