Wired News technical advisor Chris hipped us to an excellent Firefox extension called Down Them All. Once installed, this extension lets you download all of the files associated with the web page you're currently viewing.
You can use the extension to grab images, linked documents, and the source HTML file itself. But the best use of Down Them All in our opinion is the ability to download posted files from audio sites and MP3 blogs. Hundreds of sites post freely available (and legal to download) MP3s, but it's a bit tedious and time consuming to download all of the MP3s one at a time. Down Them All does away with the dull drudgery and lets you grab all the files in one swoop. We visited the French site Dubzone.org to test it out:
Other extensions like Download Embedded and Magpie offer similar functionality. You can also use the popular Web Developer Toolbar extension to grab individual files, though the process isn't as streamlined. If you have the Web Developer Toolbar installed, go to the Information drop-down and choose "View Link Information". You'll be presented with a list of links for all of the files on that page. Everything will show up, including email addresses, but at least you can view all downloadable files in a single, organized group.
It's worth mentioning that you should only be using these extensions to download legal content. Play nice and be safe!
