Bubbles isnt working
I was trying to download Windows 98 first edition, but when i triedto get it it didnt work. The other ones seem to work fine. I used the test page. Bubbles still does not work. I dont know if it is just me, or if bubbles its not working.
Comments
Personally, I don't it really matters which mirror you choose when you download a file. I don't exactly know what mirrors are for, but when I select one, it's the same file as it is for other mirrors. So just try choosing another mirror for Windows 98 First Edition, like Julian or whatever, and see if those work.
The files themselves will be the same from all of the mirrors.
Generally speaking, they exist to reduce download speeds. A mirror that is closer to you geographically will theoretically download faster that one that is further away. This is, of course, also affected by a huge variety of factors like CPU speed, bandwidth, load, etc.
Someone in Sweden might have a faster download speed from Ricky in Germany, whereas someone from Hungary might have a faster download speed from Lahey in Austria. For me the difference will be mostly negligible because I'm on the west coast of the US, so in terms of distance they're about the same.
Of course they also exist for load balancing and as backups in case one or more go down, but those aren't customer-facing reasons so much.
@Totengeist nailed it pretty much. Mirrors provide redundancy and additional capacity; a single server would quickly be overwhelmed, even with aggressive connection and bandwidth limitations.
Eventually mirror selection will be optional, if not hidden altogether, with automatic selection taking place based on mirror load and/or geolocation.
I tested Bubbles earlier today and it appears to be working at the moment. Bubbles hosts other sites and services, and the WinWorld mirror is purposely prioritized lowest. If you encounter difficulties downloading from Bubbles, try another server.