You are looking at a different tutorial to me then, I quote below -

these are instructions on how to jailbreak your iPhone 3G on the 3.0 firmware using RedSn0w for Mac. The Windows version of this tutorial is here. The iPhone 2G version of this tutorial is here

This tutorial can be used to jailbreak before applying the UltraSn0w unlock.

Step One
Create a folder on your desktop called Pwnage

Download RedSn0w from here and place it in the Pwnage folder. Likewise, download the latest 3.0 firmware from below and place it in the same folder.

3.0.0 (3G): iPhone1,2_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw

Extract the redsn0w application from the RedSn0w zip file to the Pwnage folder.

I am trying to do the Redsn0w jailbreak using the iClarify tutorial. It tells me to download the firmware from here -

http://appldnld.apple.com.edgesuite....1_Restore.ipsw

When I do that I get a 230MB download, but when it gets unpacked on my Mac I get a set of folders without an ipsw file in sight. what am I doing wrong ?

you don't need to unpack the .ipsw file, that's the firmware.

that is why the tutorial said to use firefox to download.
Safari download can cause some confusions for user

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Actually the iClarify tutorial does NOT say use Firefox. However, subsequent to that post I worked out myself what the problem is and switched off the Safari option to automatically unpack "safe" files. thanks anyway

I'm still confused. I've now got a zipped ipsw file, but when I do an opt restore from iTunes it does not recognize it as a valid file I can restore. However if I unzip it I get the original set of folders not containing any ipsw files. What a mess. How do I just download the straightforward ipsw file

From the tutorial: "When downloading the IPSW file, it is best to download it with Firefox since Safari often auto extracts it"

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Do I therefore have to rename it without the zip extension for iTunes to recognize it ?

Yes, download the zip file and rename the extension form ".zip" ".ipsw". This will also change the icon pic to the one you see on iclarified.

BTW: There is a way to setup your Safari properties to stop the automatic extraction of files.

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iPhone 2G with FW 3.1 and no MMS

Thanks very much. However, that's a rather basic bit of information that really ought to be pointed out in the tutorial as I would expect to have to unpack a zip file before I could use it.

Yes, I changed my Safari preferences after realizing the problem. Incidentally, just for information when you edited the post above it caused my own reply to you to crash.