And here I was, using command-line ftp all this time....

FTP services are built into the finder in OS X. Under the "go" menu in the finder do a connect to network and just use "ftp://" and it will open in a regular window. For more stuff I use Fetch but that's not free.

I'm getting "error #43" when I do this.

That's odd. Are you perhaps behind a firewall that is messing with FTP services.

I did some googling for "error 43 ftp mac" and came up with several references to "error -43" in this context. Is that in fact the error number, MINUS 43?

If so, this says Error -43 is File Not Found:

One instance where this esoteric knowledge becomes practical is in conjunction with MacsBug's error command, which returns a short description of cryptic Mac OS error numbers. If a program complains that "an error -43 occurred" you can identify the error number by popping into MacsBug, typing "error #-43", and pressing Return:

$FFD5 #-43 fnfErr - File not found

The application is telling you it tried to open a file, but couldn't find it. Depending on the program, this might be caused by a missing extension, plug-in, or document, but at least it gives you something to go by.

Offhand, I'm wondering if spaces in the filename aren't the culprit.

Are you perhaps behind a firewall that is messing with FTP services.

Nope (at least, not one that's ever blocked any other FTP programs I've used). My guess is that Apple moved the built-in FTP somewhere else in Tiger, as they seem to have done with a lot of things.

Off to Google, then...

Huh:

Note: The Finder lets you connect to FTP servers with read-only access so you can copy files from the server. However, to copy files to an FTP server, you may need another program. Visit the Apple website to find programs available for Mac OS X.

I found that the ftp through my OSX can get to the ftp server only if it is not behind a redirector. For instance, if you FTP to ftp.netscape.com, you get redirected to one of it's number sites, but OSX 10.3.9 gives a -43 error. however, if I ftp to ftp6.netscape.com it goes through.

Technoslut Placemarker.

Yeah, the FTP services from the finder are not perfect, but they are free. I'm also comfy on the Unix Terminal so I'll do 'get' and 'put' from there as well. That one gives you much more control over your transfers, but you have to want to type in commands. Over the years I've found that Fetch is worth every penny if you do any FTP work on a Mac. I don't remember it being very expensive.

Fetch is $25 (With a fifteen day free trial) for single user. Schools and non-profits can apply for free licensing.