Monthly bandwidth caps are quickly becoming the new reality on the Internet. Every month it seems like another ISP is introducing a cap on the amount of traffic that can be consumed on a previously unlimited account. The sales pitch usually includes some variance of the message that users who consume more should pay more. It’s an argument that is rather difficult to disagree with but that doesn’t mean it’s truly such a black and white issue.

If you are conscious about the amount you download you might be interested in a handy Firefox extension Show File Size. While many download links display the file size of the download you are about to begin at least somewhere on the page – many also don’t. Ironically, this blog links to many files for download yet does not include the file size. Typically the only way to determine the size is to go ahead and initiate the download request – then Firefox will begin the transfer at which point you typically will see just how much you have to transfer.

Here I have no idea just how big the iTunesSetup.exe download will be. Is it so large it may impact whatever I’m currently working on? Perhaps the long sustained download will be enough to cause my VOIP session to drop out – not good!

After installing the extension Show File Size you can see that Firefox’s Save File dialog now includes the size of the file – 77.12 MB. At this point I can decide whether the current timing of the download is adequate, basing it off whatever metrics are appropriate to me.

Download Show File Size