Tag Archives: SourceForge

Download Services Best Practice

Some open source software has turned to software installers as a potential monetisation point. Famously Oracles Java, which attempts to install a toolbar with every download, but they’re not alone. Potentially, taking money for the promotion of other, proprietary software at the point of download could be an acceptable way to monetise projects. This will only be true though in cases which carefully follow some best practice guidelines. Continue reading →

No More Downloads?

There may be something of a trend emerging in sites that provide software code downloaders. First GitHub bowed out of offering the service, claiming that it was confusing for the clients. Then, last week Google followed suit, bringing Google Code Download services to an end. They stated that “downloads have become a source of abuse, with a significant increase in incidents recently”.

GitHub didn’t have an alternative plan for it’s users. Google suggested using Drive to host files, though this is clearly far from ideal as, for a start, no analytics are available for downloaders. Small projects are left with a rapidly decreasing number of options.  Continue reading →