4 ms·

> Affinity is free, forever; but not open source; if that makes sense. It's free until you guys stop supporting it or go out of business, then it disappears.

Freedom2 1y ago
I don't think it disappears - the copy I have will still be on my machine, and free to use as well. Unless they implemented something to remotely delete it?
- candiddevmike 1y ago
  Legally, you can't redistribute it
- matwood 1y ago
  Unless you freeze your machine in its current state, software that isn't maintained will eventually stop working.
  - Freedom2 1y ago
    That doesn't mean it disappears though - it still exists, just in a non-working state.
    - t-writescode 1y ago
      And proton and the community do well to keep old things working. Dosbox is a testament to that.
    - deleted 1y ago
      [deleted]
  - ryandrake 1y ago
    This is only true for very badly written software, and/or on platforms that maintain very bad backward compatibility. It's not some natural law of software--it's choices that (IMO) bad developers choose to make over and over.
    - pikewood 1y ago
      This already happened with Affinity Photo v1 on iOS; a lot of functionality did not work after an iOS update. It feels like Apple changed something in their libraries, so it doesn't even matter how robust your software is if the underlying OS doesn't honor compatibility.
      - eldaisfish 1y ago
        ok, but if you depend on software for work or business, you do not update your OS until you can guarantee and verify that your software will work. The original iOS version worked. Maybe don't update iOS if you want to continue using affinity's software?
        ryandrake 1y ago
        The Apple ecosystem, in general, is notorious for this: If you update your OS, some 3rd party applications will suddenly no longer work, because Apple keeps introducing breaking changes. But, if you don't update your software, other 3rd party applications will quickly abandon you and block you from using their software until you update. So, you're damned if you do, and damned if you don't. Complicating this is: if your hardware is "too old" (as deemed by Apple), you can't update your software, so eventually you're left in the dust. You can't win.
    - TeMPOraL 1y ago
      Unfortunately there's also security people who work day and night to break old software and hardware that cannot keep up with the latest security standards.
    - kyer-sh 1y ago
      It’s not just the case of badly written software. It will work until they shut off the license servers. Adobe CS2 is a highly-capable software suite that would happily run on today’s computers. I remember when Adobe shut down the license servers for CS2. They released a version that you didn’t need to activate to assure people that they would still be able to use the software they bought in the future. But then they got tired of hosting the download servers, so they stopped, and that was it.
  - tiltowait 1y ago
    This is how things have worked since programmable software was invented.
eldaisfish 1y ago
your gripe is valid but misdirected. I also own a copy but, the one-time validation requires a validation server. Once that server goes offline, i can no longer install Affinity on a new machine.

Freedom2 1y ago

I don't think it disappears - the copy I have will still be on my machine, and free to use as well. Unless they implemented something to remotely delete it?

candiddevmike 1y ago
Legally, you can't redistribute it
matwood 1y ago
Unless you freeze your machine in its current state, software that isn't maintained will eventually stop working.
- Freedom2 1y ago
  That doesn't mean it disappears though - it still exists, just in a non-working state.
  - t-writescode 1y ago
    And proton and the community do well to keep old things working. Dosbox is a testament to that.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
- ryandrake 1y ago
  This is only true for very badly written software, and/or on platforms that maintain very bad backward compatibility. It's not some natural law of software--it's choices that (IMO) bad developers choose to make over and over.
  - pikewood 1y ago
    This already happened with Affinity Photo v1 on iOS; a lot of functionality did not work after an iOS update. It feels like Apple changed something in their libraries, so it doesn't even matter how robust your software is if the underlying OS doesn't honor compatibility.
    - eldaisfish 1y ago
      ok, but if you depend on software for work or business, you do not update your OS until you can guarantee and verify that your software will work. The original iOS version worked. Maybe don't update iOS if you want to continue using affinity's software?
      - ryandrake 1y ago
        The Apple ecosystem, in general, is notorious for this: If you update your OS, some 3rd party applications will suddenly no longer work, because Apple keeps introducing breaking changes. But, if you don't update your software, other 3rd party applications will quickly abandon you and block you from using their software until you update. So, you're damned if you do, and damned if you don't. Complicating this is: if your hardware is "too old" (as deemed by Apple), you can't update your software, so eventually you're left in the dust. You can't win.
  - TeMPOraL 1y ago
    Unfortunately there's also security people who work day and night to break old software and hardware that cannot keep up with the latest security standards.
  - kyer-sh 1y ago
    It’s not just the case of badly written software. It will work until they shut off the license servers. Adobe CS2 is a highly-capable software suite that would happily run on today’s computers. I remember when Adobe shut down the license servers for CS2. They released a version that you didn’t need to activate to assure people that they would still be able to use the software they bought in the future. But then they got tired of hosting the download servers, so they stopped, and that was it.
- tiltowait 1y ago
  This is how things have worked since programmable software was invented.

eldaisfish 1y ago

your gripe is valid but misdirected. I also own a copy but, the one-time validation requires a validation server. Once that server goes offline, i can no longer install Affinity on a new machine.