Why do software companies use download wizards for large files instead of letting users download the file directly?Is it so the user does not get discouraged by the waiting time, or is it something else?
Why do Chrome and Adobe use download wizards to install software?
deployment
I'm not a big fan of them, but several reasons come to mind:It allows them to more easily deliver the most recent build to the customer.  It allows them to speed up the download by only delivering to the user the pieces they want to actually install.Huge downloads via HTTP often stall out. A download manager allows for a smaller initial download, and then to allow for the client app to more reliably download a large software package. From a marketing standpoint, a 1 meg download may look less intimidating to a potential customer than a 200 meg download.Another thought - it might prevent web spiders from sucking up all their bandwidth.