F*EX - Frams' Fast File EXchange
 
F*EX (Frams' Fast File EXchange) is a service to send big (large, huge,
giant, ...) files from a user A to a user B.
The sender uploads the file to the F*EX server using a 
WWW upload form and the recipient
automatically gets a notification e-mail with a download-URL. 
You say:
  Why do I need another service for file transfer?!
  I have e-mail, ftp, ssh and even sendfile!
I say:
  You still need F*EX :-)
  
For example, you want to send your friend your last holiday video (1 GB).
You have the following possibilities (and problems):
  - sending a DVD by postal service- 
      Out of the question - we live in the year 
      <> 
      after invention of the internet!
      Sending media (hardware) is for grandpas.
      - 
   
- using e-mail- 
      Most e-mail servers have a limit of 10 MB per e-mail and a
      storage-quota of a few 100 MB per user or even less.
       - 
   
- uucp- 
      Why not cuneiform writing on stone plates?
       - 
   
- ssh- 
      You have your friends password or you are willing to give him yours
      - just for a file transfer?
       - 
   
- ftp- 
       - 
        - Using which ftp server?
        
- Using which account, which password?
        
- You do not mind sending unencrypted passwords and files over the insecure internet?
        
- Your proxy supports passive-ftp?
        
- In case of anonymous ftp:
          
            - Does it allow 1 GB uploads?
            
- Does it allow to delete the upload afterwards?
            
- Who else can download your file?
            
- Who else can delete your file?
            
- You have to send your friend the download-URL, he has to
                inform you about the successful download, you have to delete 
                it afterwards.
 All in all: a pain in the ass.
 
 - 
   
- http- 
       - 
        - No default upload and user management - must be programmed
        
- No auto-notification
        
- No auto-deletion
        
- Very few http servers can handle files greater than 2 GB
      
 - 
   
- 
       - 
        - You run UNIX and have sendfile installed?
        
- Your recipient runs UNIX and has sendfile installed?
        
- Neither you nor your recipient has a firewall blocking port 487?
      
 - 
   
- commercial services like DropLoad, ALLPeers, YouSendIt, etc- 
       - 
        - What limit do they have (most: < 2 GB)?
        
- What about security and privacy: will your files be save and secure?
        
- Are they open source based or closed proprietary?
        
- Are they accessible with any browser or do you need java, active-X, flash or other evil plugins?
        
- Will they exist longer than a few months?
 (DropLoad, ALLPeers and drop.io already have terminated their business)
 - 
 
 
If you have answered only once "no" to the questions above, then you need
F*EX.
Main features of F*EX
  - file transfer of virtually unlimited file size
  
- recipient and sender only need an e-mail program and a web browser -
      of any kind, they do not have to install any software
  
- RESEND and REGET for resuming after link failures at last sent byte
  
- auto-notification of recipient
  
- auto-deletion after download
  
- auto-deletion after expiration date (default: <<$keep>> days)
  
- full-users can create one time upload URLs for foreign users
  
- full-users can create sub-users, who can send only to this full-user
  
- full-users can create groups, an analogy to mailing lists, but for files
  
- maintenance-free: no admin interaction necessary besides creating new F*EX accounts
  
- Sending to multiple recipients needs storage on the server only once
  
- F*EX is a HTTP web-service and needs no firewall-tunnels
  
- support for streams, too
  
- for real UNIX users, there are the shell programs fexsend and fexget to
      avoid annoying web browser usage
  
- protocol and source-code free available
Let's talk about SEX
F*EX has a companion: Stream EXchange (SEX).
You can imagine SEX as network wide UNIX pipes with a relay between.
This can be useful for piping data from user A to user B where A and B cannot
establish a direct connection, but both can connect by HTTP to the
SEX server. For seamless integration into the UNIX tool chain, there are
the shell-tools sexsend and sexget.
Authentication is the same as with F*EX.
Still questions?
See the full feature list, 
the FAQ
and the use cases.
contact: fexmaster