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There is apparently also a "Donation Edition" - Everyone who donates is eligible to download a special version of FreeFileSync without any advertiseme

by eps 5y ago

There is apparently also a "Donation Edition" - Everyone who donates is eligible to download a special version of FreeFileSync without any advertisements, including a few of bonus features. It is built from a different source, so it's neither free or open source. Not that anything wrong with it, but it should probably not be distributed under the same name - https://freefilesync.org/faq.php#donation-edition https://freefilesync.org/faq.php#donation-edition

chaosite 5y ago
This project is kinda wonky from a free/open-source perspective. It's ostensibly licensed under GPL-3 (i.e., there's a source zip which has a License.txt that's GPL-3), but it otherwise acts like freeware with a single developer. It has a history of bundling file-droppers/malware; there's a donation edition with a different feature set, with some extra features (including removal of arbitrary limitations on the regular versions); the installers are binary blobs, and there's no attempt (and passive hostility) towards integration with distros and package managers; source control isn't provided, and there's basically no attempt to create a dev community. The binary installers may or may not include things that are not in the provided source code, like installer and ad systems. That's not really cool.
- nerdponx 5y ago
  That's a hard pass from me. I will keep using Seafile and supporting FOSS by paying for hosting.
  - ktm5j 5y ago
    I've been through tons of different file sync/backup solutions but once I landed on seafile I haven't looked back. Truly awesome software, does one thing really well, upgrades are a breeze, I can run it in a container that bind mounts zfs volumes for storage and MySQL database so I can even snapshot those. Love it!
    - krastanov 5y ago
      Have you tried synching? It is what I currently use and I would be grateful if you can share your insight on how they compare.
- justinclift 5y ago
  It seems like it serves the same kind of purpose as SyncThing (https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing). SyncThing seems like a safer bet (better community, proper OSS, etc). :)
KennyBlanken 5y ago
There apparently also was a Malware Edition: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29662608 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29662608
Dylan16807 5y ago
Last I checked, it looked like the difference was entirely in the installer, with the program just checking for a registration file at run time. Has that changed? Was my assessment wrong?
Saris 5y ago
It's technically a recurring donation too if you want the current versions, for €20 you get 1 year of updates.

by eps 5y ago

chaosite 5y ago

This project is kinda wonky from a free/open-source perspective. It's ostensibly licensed under GPL-3 (i.e., there's a source zip which has a License.txt that's GPL-3), but it otherwise acts like freeware with a single developer. It has a history of bundling file-droppers/malware; there's a donation edition with a different feature set, with some extra features (including removal of arbitrary limitations on the regular versions); the installers are binary blobs, and there's no attempt (and passive hostility) towards integration with distros and package managers; source control isn't provided, and there's basically no attempt to create a dev community. The binary installers may or may not include things that are not in the provided source code, like installer and ad systems. That's not really cool.

nerdponx 5y ago
That's a hard pass from me. I will keep using Seafile and supporting FOSS by paying for hosting.
- ktm5j 5y ago
  I've been through tons of different file sync/backup solutions but once I landed on seafile I haven't looked back. Truly awesome software, does one thing really well, upgrades are a breeze, I can run it in a container that bind mounts zfs volumes for storage and MySQL database so I can even snapshot those. Love it!
  - krastanov 5y ago
    Have you tried synching? It is what I currently use and I would be grateful if you can share your insight on how they compare.
justinclift 5y ago
It seems like it serves the same kind of purpose as SyncThing (https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing). SyncThing seems like a safer bet (better community, proper OSS, etc). :)

KennyBlanken 5y ago

There apparently also was a Malware Edition: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29662608 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29662608

Dylan16807 5y ago

Last I checked, it looked like the difference was entirely in the installer, with the program just checking for a registration file at run time. Has that changed? Was my assessment wrong?

Saris 5y ago

It's technically a recurring donation too if you want the current versions, for €20 you get 1 year of updates.