[Vocabulary] Could you ____ it for me?

[emsr2d2]

I don't like transfer; it suggests relocation. The original data would have to be destroyed after being copied to be transferred, I think.

I partly agree but I'd still use it. As an alternative, "copy" works.

 

[SoothingDave]

If you watch YouTube videos on your phone, you're just streaming them.

Streaming is downloading. Your internet provider will specify download speeds and upload speeds. Download is from their network into your house. Upload is if you send a video to Youtube.

 

[SoothingDave]

I don't like transfer; it suggests relocation. The original data would have to be destroyed after being copied to be transfered, I think.


The data is flowing from the computer to the pendrive. I'm uploading it from the computer and downloading it to the pendrive.
The data is flowing from the pendrive to the computer. I'm uploading it from the pendrive and downloading it to the computer.

So, the flow is up and down at the same time? No. That's not how technical people talk.

 

[jutfrank]

When is the flow ever down, then?

As Glizdka says, up/down describe the direction of flow. You download from and upload to.

If you watch Youtube videos on your phone, you are uploading them?

No. You're neither uploading nor downloading, just streaming.

 

[SoothingDave]

https://grammarist.com/usage/upload-vs-download/

"From" and "to" describe the direction, just like they normally do. Identify sender and recipient.

"Up" and "down" describe the relationship. Client to server. Smaller computer/device to larger.

You can think of it in terms of client and server. There is one server. There are many clients.


When everyone on your block is watching movies on Netflix, they are clients. Netflix is the server. All the data resides on the server.


The data is sent to the clients. Down. Copying data off of the server. This is the normal direction, the predominant direction of traffic.


Now, in order for you to watch a show on Netflix, someone has to first load it onto the Netflix servers. This is an upload. Putting it on the server.

When you are "streaming" you are downloading data from an internet server. It is downloading from Netflix and downloading to your phone/tablet/TV.

 

[emsr2d2]

For me, there's a big difference between streaming and downloading when it comes to Netflix (I'm sure there are plenty of other examples). If I stream something from Netflix, I watch it on my TV, laptop or phone as it is being "broadcast" (for want of a better name), albeit an on-demand broadcast. I have to have an active internet connection for it to work. If my net drops out, the show stops. If I download a show from Netflix, it is saved on my laptop/phone and I can watch it later with no internet connection necessary.

 

[GoesStation]

That's an important distinction which usage has evolved to accommodate. While the bytes that comprise the video file are, technically, downloaded in both cases, we now tend to reserve the word "download" for data that's retained on the target device.