title: Why is downloading a file of unknown size so rare these days?
body: <p>Does anyone remember around 10-12 years ago, downloading files (game demos etc) from web servers often used to be very frustrating because Internet Explorer (I was young and naive) sometimes didnt tell you the size of the file you were downloading.  This could lead to frustrating waits because sometimes the web page didn't tell you the file size either!  The download just ticked a long, it used to say "1.2meg download of unknown" or similar, and eventually it would magically complete! (If you modem didn't cut off before then)</p>
  
  <p>Why does this not happen anymore?  What has changed and how?</p>