APPLICABILITY  Today I finally managed to restrain my puke reflex when looking at screenshots of this app, and downloaded it. The buttons look horrid, true, but the rest is pretty decent. I certainly didn't have any of the issues mentioned below about auto-downloading and whatnot. Yes, it hijacks all of my downloads, but that's what I wanted it to do, and it's easy enough to turn off by right-clicking anywhere in the browser and clicking "Disable Folx Plugin". Plus If you want more precise control over each of your downloads and you use Firefox, you can disable the Folx plugin and instead use the FlashGot extension, which lets you choose when to use Folx.

The only thing I don't like other than the hideous buttons is the graphical bars-display that represent download speed--I find it annoying and would like to be able to disable it entirely. Also, the option to turn off the Status Window should be more obvious--it took me five minutes of hunting to find it! (It turns out it's in the Window menu rather than the View menu like everything else).

On the other hand, Folx deserves credit for being much faster, better able to resume downloads, better integrated with Firefox, and more feature-rich than Leech. In regards to resuming downloads, though, for some reason it resumed with just 1 of the original 2 threads, and nothing I could do changed that. Definitely a bug that needs fixing in the final version.

On the whole, I was still happy enough that I pre-ordered the Pro version, since at $10 it's half price until the final version is released. The main reason was that I wanted to be able to download with more than 2 threads at once. It seems to me judging by the progress since the comments below, that the developer is actually fixing a lot of the problems at a rapid rate, so I have high hopes that my investment will pay off.  
(Version 0.9.443.400)

SUPERSHUTTLE  Um, no effence but you are all wrong about the negative comments, try getting the latest version of this product, with snow leapord and it works fine and to disable the automatic for when you click on a link to download, you sometimes dont want to do it through folx, well its called look at the top of the screen and click the flox tab thing and click disable fox plug-in -_-  
(Version 0.9.443.400)

POLARIMETRIC  Extremely suspicious activity going on here. Ever since installing the latest update (Build 0.9.533.423, which does not seem to be listed on MacUpdate yet) I'm getting a lot of blocked attempts to connect to various IP addresses. I do not have a torrent active, nor do I currently have any downloads active or paused. Why is Folx trying to make connections when I do not have a download active? Quitting the utility until I figure out why.  
(Version 0.9.443.400)

BRUNDLEFLY76  Interface is just the most obnoxious thing on my Mac.

Hello? You are a DOWNLOAD utility - DOWNLOAD what I tell you to and then GO AWAY.

Interface is obnoxious as hell.  
(Version 0.9.392.367)

SHADYMAC  AS the last poster points out folx has this major issue of "hijacking" links and downloading without authorization I found out today it downloaded 2 songs from whatever site I visited even though I did not want to download those songs!!!

I am fed up with folx hijacking links what if it downloads a virus next time, I suggest the developer remove this automated function of downloading automatically or capturing downloads it severely eats into my speeds and renders my internet usage nil.

And despite disabling the functions in Firefox, on the folx icon deleting the folx add ons it still attempts to dictate downloads. The developers need to get it into their head we decide what to download not the software. I no longer recommend folx and now think your better off with speed download instead. As it does not leave bits of files around and does not hijack as much links, and has the courtesy to ask if you want to download a file or not!!!!  
(Version 0.9.365.366)

DEEBSTER  Awful, intrusive POS. Once installed it hijacks downloads and generally gets in the way like a big kid in the playground. After supposedly uninstalling it leaves remnants of itself all over your Mac and judging by the lack of information they give out the developers are not interested in letting you know this or, more importantly, how to correctly and finally remove it and its lingering odour.

Avoid.  
(Version 0.9.365.366)

FRANCIS COBB  i seem to having some issues when i download files with folx.

files which links to yousendit.

at the start the file names appear as how it should.. but after a while the converts straight to a file named...transfer.php. and with this it becomes a text file.

the size of the file remains the same but i cant seem to open the file at all. Anyone encountering the same issue as me?

if so how can i open the files?  
(Version 0.8.232.329)

SHADYMAC  I really liked this app, firstly it was free and secondly it was fast, seriously fast downing 500mb files in under 30-40 mins on a 2mps line!

However drawbacks are the interface it is seriously ugly, if the developer could do it cocoa that would beautiful!

Another thing I noticed was the app refuses to shut down when i do not want to use it for downloads. It tries to catch everything as a download, shutting me out from sites on occasions. The folx add on for firefox is th problem, it was so bad I have had to uninstall it

I do hope the dev can fix sme of these issues it would be nice to see this app compete against "speed download" and keep it free as well!  
(Version 0.8.232.329)

MITCH_K  This (May 15) version (0.8.235.329) crashes upon launch. The crash report states

"Link (dyld) error:

Library not loaded: /usr/lib/libproc.dylib

Referenced from: /Applications/Utilities/Folx.app/Contents/MacOS/Folx.real

Reason: image not found"

Well, there's no libproc.dylib to be found anywhere on my boot disk (10.4.11). The previous version DID work. Is it Leopard-only?

One more thing: you can "Use Folx to catch download links in browsers" via its Preferences (it appears to run a script to achieve this). Once the Beta expires, it won't run anymore (quits on launch), so there's no way to undo that setting. From then on, when you click on a download link, Folx launches and immediately quits (as it's expired) and nothing gets downloaded...

(Actually, you can still download by right-clicking the link and choosing "Download Linked File As...", but it is a rather annoying oversight.)  
(Version 0.8.232.329)

SUCKERPUNCH86  A free download manager is what was missing. If Windows could have so many of them, it's high time that the Mac did. Stable and easily integrates with Firefox and Safari, and able to detect links when needed.

I'd highly recommend this to anyone!  
(Version 0.8.213.329)