wow, that was quick ;)  (answer below)

> > -----------------------------
> > require 'net/http'
> >
> > h = Net::HTTP.new('www.pragmaticprogrammer.com', 80)
> > resp, data = h.get('/images/title_main.gif', nil)
> > if resp.message == "OK"
> >  outfile = File.new("title_main.gif","w")
> >  outfile.write(data)
> > end
> > ----------------------------
> >
> > I get something like a fraction of the original image.
> 
> I just tried this and it worked fine here. You should get a 273x123
> image with the purple shape and two small green borders: one to the
> right, the other on the bottom.

Yep; I'm checking the downloaded files against the online one; the
downloaded ones are either completely garbled or consist of large white
areas, and are basically corrupted: they can't be opened in image
software.
WinMe, ruby 1.6.3 (2001-03-19) [i386-cygwin]

Stange...

Tobi

-- 
Tobias Reif
http://www.pinkjuice.com/myDigitalProfile.htm