ZDNet Discontinues AppWatch 61
Adam J. Richter writes: "Citing "today's economic climate", ZDNet has discontinued AppWatch.com, a software release tracking site similar to freshmeat.net, but covering only free software (usually GPL compatible) and having an automated update detector, making it very current with low noise. AppWatch was originally an independent site created by developer John D. Rowell. Before anyone flames ZDNet, consider that it may be that even a 100% share of ad revenues would not have been sufficient to retain John and his staff in comparison to other opportunities. John and an assistant were originally working on AppWatch for free, and ZDNet did a good thing by arranging so that they could get paid for it, probably saving the site at the time. Both parties were doing something positive, and the fact that they had to stop does not mean that they have done something negative. I, for one, hope to see AppWatch.com continued in one form or another."
VersionTracker (Score:5, Informative)
Quit your bitching... (Score:1)
VT is a great site, it should be at the top of any support tech's bookmark list, the first web site you check in the morning with your Coke (or coffee), and the site you re-check most often through the day (well, maybe behind
I'll happily look at a few banner ads in exchange for a quickly-found, direct download link to that crucial update from some company that I need for their product. It's a lot easier than digging down through that company's often-poorly-designed web site to find that same update.
~Philly
I agree (Score:2)
and CNET shut down 'webware' (Score:3, Informative)
Dear Provider,
Thanks for submitting your product or service to be listed in the Webware.com directory. However, Webware.com will cease publication on August 31, 2001, so we are unable to list your product at this time.
If you have a downloadable version of your product, please submit it to Download.com.
The Webware.com team
What else do you need? (Score:3, Interesting)
What do you need in AppWatch that Freshmeat didn't provide? Being that AppWatch, specializing in listing free software, is providing a subset of what Freshmeat lists, couldn't Freshmeat just provide a filter for searches based on licensing that would just give you the same functionality? They already keep track of license types, and this type of filterng is available in the advanced version of the simple search they now have on their home page when you register.
Freshmeat always seems timely and deals in all the apps I use, even some really minor ones that I don't think I'd ever use. Always used them, so here's hoping they don't suffer the same demise. I see a long painful road of this ahead of us and the few willing to starve a little for their cause are going to make it to the end.
Re:What else do you need? (Score:3, Insightful)
Relying on only one source is risky... Freshmeat could turn commercial and ask for a subscription in order to consult their services, or could dissappear... an that don't even take in account the fact that they may have hardware problems and be out of service for several days or weeks.
The whole point bout a technology such as internet is that it allows tu implement redundancy easily (mirror or alternate sites/programs providng the same service).
Re:What else do you need? (Score:2)
Ah, then an extraction operation is in order. Is there such a thing as Freshcode so that it can immediately be dupicated elsewhere? The value, I feel, is not in something like Freshcode (if it exists), but in the staff that searches the net and populates the pages with usable information.
You'll note that Freshmeat handles more than just what is available for Debian, so you fall under the contingency "what if the Debian caretakers all spontaneously combust" or something more realistic. I realise that Debian would be harder to kill since it is using the Internet in its proper distributed sense rather than a certain rouge chapeaux'd stock, but there are environments where Linux itself, in any of its forms, is not an option.
Re:What else do you need? (Score:2, Informative)
AppWatch figures out about updates automaticly.
As users, we may not care, but as developers, we think that service is priceless. I don't have to announce my new releases, just upload them and all is fine!
Re:What else do you need? (Score:2)
Re:What else do you need? (Score:2)
What do you need in AppWatch that Freshmeat didn't provide?
I would like a license filter or license ranking option and an automated update detector such as jdwhatsnew [jdrowell.com], ideally while still allowing user submitted updates.
On freshmeat, the updates that you see are generally very current, but, to the best of my knowledge, you only see what people submit. For example, to pick on myself, I see that I have been remiss in submitting an update for the freshmeat entry [freshmeat.net] for the July 17 release of version 1.6 of dvdtape [yggdrasil.com]. AppWatch's automated release monitoring provided more uniformity. As the amount of software scales up so that it's more work to double check for updates by visiting individual web sites, the value of this automation increases. Imagine if text search engines only updated from manual submissions.
By the way, I read Freshmeat daily in addition to AppWatch, but I would usually start with appwatch for its update speed and focus on the type of software that I am most interested in. Then, I would typically visit freshmeat to see what appwatch did not cover and check out the unfree or GPL incompatible software (which I am also interested in monitoring after I've seen what's new in the GPL compatible space). I imagine that people with other copyright preferences might also like a copyright policy filter or prioritizer.
Re:What else do you need? (Score:1)
The changelogs provided on AppWatch are far more informative than those on Freshmeat. That it also limits itself to Open Source is very beneficial. And, on Freshmeat, you click on the home page and get to it through a redirect from the freshmeat site. Ditto for downloads. Very, very frustrating when you want to copy the link from your browser and use lftp or curl to do the download. AppWatch was simple, informative, and timely.
Re:Ask Slashdot (Score:1)
Forget Appwatch, Come To Distrowatch! (Score:1, Informative)
Projects die. Software doesn't. (Score:2, Insightful)
Alternatives? (Score:1)
AppWatch is better organised than Freshmeat (Score:3, Insightful)
Freshmeat is more like AltaVista, there's a ton of stuff, but the search results are not pertinent.
I hope AppWatch can continue operating without ZD or they will me missed.
Re:AppWatch is better organised than Freshmeat (Score:1)
I guess a lot of OSS types really are just in it becuase they're tight-asses. In that light, I can almost see why the trolls keep linking goatse.
Re:AppWatch is better organised than Freshmeat (Score:1)
Free Software and rentability (Score:1)
Free Software works by personnal contribution, the more people that contribute, the more software and services are available FOR FREE and FOR EVERYONE (including those who are investing time and/or money).
We can continue with the fact that the more software and services are available, the more people will adopt free software solutions as they are most likely to find what they are looking for.
And to complete the cycle, the more people have adopted free software, the more people will contribute. Some may contribute because they feel in debt toward the Free Software community, other would program anyway and, as they are in the free software environment, they contribute in free software (think of great sharewares/freewares that existed like pkzip, rar, winamp,...). And other may be just caught by the game, beginning by adding a feature they needed and contributing it back to end by being a major contributor on the project.
So, enterprises who are investing in free software are investing in tools that they may be already using (Apache for example) or that they will find later and for which they won't have to pay license fees (and thus, they'll have to spend less money on software... They don't win money, they just allow a way to not spend it to be possible.
Gotta love ZD ad sales (Score:1)
Re:Gotta love ZD ad sales (Score:1)
ZDNet has its collective head up its arse (Score:1)
I've never even heard of this site/service, and I'm on ZDNet constantly. More stupidity...they apparently don't market it or they ruined it to the point where it's not worth mentioning. Maybe they need to look within to find out why it's not doing well.
Appwatch.com... huh? (Score:1)
Wow, do I feel silly. This is the first time I've heard of it. (And I was on the net before the age of webbrowsers.) Ah well, can't miss what never existed to me.
But wouldn't these "gems" have a better chance of existing if someone would take the trouble to promote them???
Re:Appwatch.com... huh? (Score:1)
Sourceforge over Freenet? (Score:1)
It only makes sense. Watch them FBI agents cry for more money once free software is delivered in an encyprted enviornment, LOL..
Burning both ends of the candle! (Score:1)
Warning: shameless plug, but very helpful.
We're [osdir.org] working on it: http://sf.net/projects/trovesendtwo/ [sf.net] And we could use some help if you're JAPH...
All this needless effort can be avoided. On the author/maintainer side a client app [sf.net] should be able to update these product directories, check for diffs in listings, and save the author/maintainers a lot of work and track the history of the product changes. If a directory itself disappears the data is NOT lost. Just upload it all to the next one. And the next one. And the next one. The directory people can now go about promoting their site (and your products).
The problem with sites like this one are the amount of work created for everyone, code authors/project maintainers & the directory people. And thus they die or burnout. And now all the work is lost?? The site is now just a press release. It's a shame.
One side benefit, to the people you are trying to reach with your products, is that you can disseminate your product info to as many directories/sites with no more effort than updating once and letting the client-app do all the work of updating those sites you choose to list your product at.
Re:Burning both ends of the candle! (Score:1)
Try FileFlash (Score:2)
I don't regret (Score:1)
BTW, I remember when we announced the launch of AppWatch on several sites and the only to reject it was... Slashdot. We talked with Hemos by e-mail and his excuse was that there were ~100 submissions like ours by day. But now I can thank you for ignoring our announcement. You know the story.
Re:I don't regret (Score:1)