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alternative to filehamster?
paulobrabo:
FileHamster Plus (the old "Advanced" version) was 29.50 - I know cause I have it. The new pricing matrix looks a bit steep to me as well.
f0dder:
I don't have a link ready, but I remember reading a post by one of FH authors (on their support forum) stating that FH creates a new thread for every file it copies. If this is true, it's a really poor design. Starting a thread is "expensive" in CPU terms, and starting hundreds of threads at the same time is an awful idea. This is what "thread pools" were invented for. If you also have the "bubbles" (notifications) enabled, you can see FH memory use reach a gigabyte or so, as it creates hundreds and hundreds of windows. This might still (barely) work if if were written in C++, but a .Net app doing that sort of thing can really bring down the system.-tranglos (September 10, 2009, 07:19 AM)
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:o :o :o
If they do that, then it's a sure sign of an application you should never, ever touch. Threads are indeed relatively costly to create, and a 32-bit application can create around 2k at max (Mark Russinovich has a [urlhttp://blogs.technet.com/markrussinovich/archive/2009/07/08/3261309.aspx]blog entry[/url] for the curious). What you want is a producer/consumer queue (threadpool isn't the best of ideas, thrashing disk I/O and all).
Mogware Support:
Hey guys, I came over to respond to another thread that was just brought to our attention today and saw this one so I thought I would just chime in quickly to see if I can address some of the questions raised above.
The new versions of FileHamster is intended to help cut down on a lot of the expense and complications of selling plugins individually which was causing a lot more work and support on the Mogware end. We are hoping this shift will also help improve the less technical user's purchasing process by having better defined choices…Sorry, I know a few others who really liked having the ability to purchase small addon plugins.
We kept the low-end tool (FileHamster Basic) at the same price point as the old +plus version. The advanced tool (FileHamster Advanced) is also at a similar price point because it includes all of the power user's plugins that we used to charge for individually.
We do still have the free version…The 30 day trial version comes fully unlocked then falls back into the free version after the trial period ends.
We are in the process of setting up an upgrade path for our existing users that might go live today which actually takes into consideration any previously purchased plugins so it will be fair for everyone regardless what addons they previously purchased.
As for the above mentioned test case involving a few thousand files, I’m going to have testing check into that today…If memory serves me right, we did have issues in some older builds when FileHamster is inundated with file change events but I was under the impression they’ve all been cleared up. If we do find anything, I can confidently say it will be addressed in the next drop.
Oh, and the thread issue…We do have a separate thread for copying the revisions; However, it is only one thread which buffers any subsequent events so they can be processed properly in the background. We did have a bug with the zip plugin a long long time ago that might have done this horrendous thing but that was quickly resolved.
mwb1100:
FileHamster Plus (the old "Advanced" version) was 29.50 - I know cause I have it. The new pricing matrix looks a bit steep to me as well.
-paulobrabo (September 10, 2009, 07:24 AM)
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Before the restructuring there were 4 levels of FH:
- Lite (free)
- +Plus ($30)
- Dev bundle ($50)
- Enterprise ($80) - I'm not sure if this was ever actually for sale, or if it was just 'pre-announced'.
+Plus included WatchTree filters & enhancements, network & removable drive support, and some other stuff over the free version.
The Dev bundle added the FTP, script and report plugins. An blog entry (http://blog.mogware.net/?p=34) indicates that buying these plugins separately would bring the cost up to about $70 - the Dev Bundle's price was $50.
In the new pricing scheme, they have the following:
- Basic ($30) - correspnds to the previous +Plus version
- Advanced ($50) - corresponds roughly to the previous Dev bundle
- Enterprise ($100)
The trial version give the Basic version's features, then drops functionality to a free version (that presumably corresponds to the previous Lite feature set).
Advanced corresponds roughly to the old Developer Bundle (not the +Plus version), but also includes replication, diffing and zip support (I don't think those plugins were in the Dev Bundle).
So, except for the Enterprise version the pricing is pretty much the same with a couple caveats:
- for about a year or more there was a 50% off 'Anniversary' sale, so the +Plus version was $15 and the Dev Bundle was $25
- the new 'Advanced' version is $50 for a 'Limited Time' - there was short period where the price was listed as $80, with the $50 price being an introductory special for the Advanced version. The long-term pricing is no longer on the information page - so it may or may not come back at some point. Whether (and when) the price on the Advanced verison rises would be guess work on my part, though it seems that Mogware's intent is to raise the price at some point.
So, the bottom line is that the as of right now the pricing reflects the ending of the Anniversay Sale special more or less (though Enterprise did rise in price according to my notes). It's not particularly steep compared to the old pricing unless you're comparing it to the old Anniversary sale pricing (which may be natural because it was in effect for a long while).
tomos:
Advanced corresponds roughly to the old Developer Bundle (not the +Plus version), but also includes replication, diffing and zip support (I don't think those plugins were in the Dev Bundle).
-mwb1100 (September 10, 2009, 12:47 PM)
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when you put it that way the 'Advanced' pricing is quite good/fair - especially if you use any of those plugins. The zip plugin was always free IIRC
I still think the basic is a waste of time cause it doesnt even have the zip capability
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