Accessing FTP server

Finder is not really good for ftp. Try Transmit from Panic.
http://panic.com/transmit/

 

A bigger question is WHY isn't finder good for FTP? Why doesn't it work? When I try to connect to an FTP site it usually lets me in, but then doesn't give me permission to put anything there, while Dreamweaver or Cyberduck will let me right in. Also, my finder seems to slow to a crawl whenever I connect to an FTP server through the finder. WHAT GIVES?

 

Finder seems that way in general with networking from my experience. Maybe Mac OS X being able to multitask really is a big lie. I remember trying to use iDisk when it used to be free when I was on a 56k modem. AGHHHHH the PAIN!!!!

 

This is a well known limitation built-in to OS X (google "Finder FTP"). No one seems sure why Apple has crippled FTP, but the best hypothesis I've heard is that by making Finder-FTP read-only, it makes the ease-of-use afforded by having an iDisk that much more appealing. (If that's really the reason, though, it's dumb, and seems to assume that people only FTP to their own servers and only for the purpose of backing stuff up). Fingers crossed this will be "fixed" in Tiger; in the meantime, use RBrowser Lite or just FTP through the command line.

 

Fugu is also a good free ftp program.

 

This is my perfered way to go. The Terminal is your friend.

 

I hope this gets "fixed" in Tiger also. The Read-only FTP seems like a bug. I use a Windows Secure FTP client using Virtual PC since I didn't like any of the Mac FTP clients. Also I couldn't get VPN to work with my company so I had to use a Windows VPN app using Virtual PC.