What is downloading, uploading, installing ?

Internet tips -> What is downloading, uploading, installing ?

Downloading, uploading and installing are some of the frequently used terms in computers and Internet. For computer and Internet newbie, these terms are puzzling and intrigues them. Here we will see what these terms mean. Downloading Downloading refers to bringing a file from a computer in the Internet to your own computer and copying it there. Many websites have this facility. When you are viewing websites in your browser, just bring your cursor on top of links (usually links are in blue color underlined text) , the cursor will now transform into a hand. If this link is pointing to another webpage then clicking on this link will bring you to the page the link is poiting to. But instead of pointing to another webpage if that link is pointing to a file in that server then by clicking on it, you will see a 'Save As' dialog box. In this dialog box, you can select the folder in your computer where you want to save the file and click on 'OK'. Now a small 'File Download' box will open and you can see a progress bar showing the file you selected being downloaded to the selected folder. Once the file is fully downloaded to your computer you can start using that file. Uploading Uploading is just the opposite of downloading. Uploading refers to the transfer of a file from your computer's hard disk to another computer in the internet or network. Generally this is done using an FTP client (File Transfer Protocol). But some websites allow you to upload using the internet browser. For example when you send emails using webmails such as yahoo or gmail, if you want to attach a file to the email then this is done using the browser. This is also called uploading. Installing Some get confused with the term Installing with Downloading. Take for instance you want to use a free software that is available somewhere in Internet. In order to use that software, you need to download the program file from internet and store it locally in your computer. But just saving to you computer is not enough. You will have to install it in your computer by running the setup.exe or install.exe file that you downloaded. Once you double click on the exe file that you downloaded the installation wizard will start and you can follow the instructions provided in the wizard to install the program and then start using it.