Free limited version for Yosemite and onward?
Greetigns all,
Looking forward to the updated version for Yosemite!
I agree the folks developing and supporting GPGTools should be paid if they're spending an inordinate amount of time and effort on it. I personally would have no problem with paid versions. However, do recognize that there are underserved populations who use this tool but may not be as fortunate. These populations can include Human RIghts activists or political refugees and so on. Folks in developing countries would likely be less inclined to use it if they had to pay. I'm wondering if a free limited version can be available? I know some Auths provide limited 1 year only certs. Perhaps GPGTools can follow that model.
A
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Support Staff 1 Posted by Steve on 21 Dec, 2014 04:31 PM
Hi Allen,
thanks for bringing up this concern with us. We are aware of this situation and have spend some time thinking about this. We do not have a solution yet.
Besides the fact that we are going for a small fee that should be affordable (the last thing we want is to scare away new users from this important technology), there's also the free Thunderbird / Enigmail combo or the option to use the less comfortable GPGServices in combination with Mail.app.
We'll have to see where this goes. It's on our plate and we are aware.
All the best,
steve
2 Posted by Drew on 23 Dec, 2014 03:05 PM
Hey All,
I just wanted to say, even before I start using this product and am about to download it, I don't believe in "Cripple Ware" so please don't do a limited release of that sort. Encryption and Security are a serious issue for all of us and the work you do is critical. I've not needed PGP for awhile, I've used other means, put I now need a PGP system and have been on the hunt for a MAC based product to implement across all of my OS X systems.
Yes, with the open source code and the correct expertise we could go out and write our on code. We could sponge off of the hard work of groups like yours that spend their time and resources developing products for the MAC community, hoping enough people donate to their enterprise. Or we could even donate to those people and help them along until they realize that they can't continue to sacrifice while so many don't contribute.
I say that you guys have the best product I have seen on the market for the MAC. The big commercial providers of encryption have MAC products but it is a secondary option, not a primary focus. So for those companies and individuals that are MAC heavy with only a few Windows or Linux systems for special needs, you seem to be the primary choice. Going commercial and taking your solution to those people, yes me, may take you into the realm of mulch-tiered products that can support the mulch-tiered pricing discussed so often here. Most companies have student pricing, once they validate that the user is a student. They also have qty pricing and other pricing models.
I highly recommend you look at Adobe for their model. It is pretty useful. Also, even though it is not exactly good on the homeside, the pricing on the commercial side for encryption of symyntac has a good methodology. They are a bit higher than what you need to do, and you are not geard towards "end to end" encryption, YET! But don't limit yourselves, there are people out there that need that and want it. Consider that a feature request!
So go out there! Make some cash, get a business plan, ensure you are incorporated, I did not see that on your site. You need to make sure you protect your interest and have it all set up correctly. If you have that, you need to put that in an "about" on your otherwise, very nice web page. You can stay a non profit, and charge for your product without any issue. Make your goals clear and use your money to spread the encryption capabilities of all.
I will rate your product shortly. If you can't tell, I support your decision!
3 Posted by Ville Määttä on 23 Dec, 2014 04:58 PM
I'd like to make the case for a free binary. Not some limited version, in time nor functionality, no. Free full version binaries, period. It can only serve to make the user base, both GPGTools and encryption in general, larger and does not need to cause any extra burden on the project.
As I said in another thread, I do understand the need to make support of this project paid only. In addition to development, providing support takes time and is not free. Some people may think everything in the internet is free, but its not. So I encourage you to make support a paid extra. Support should not be a free for all. Public forums, a.k.a. community support and FAQs are free, but personal support can reasonably be expected to cost money.
But, paid binaries may not bring in the money for the project. In fact it may do the complete opposite. People may just walk away from encrypting instead of paying for it. As said elsewhere recently, people want safe communications, not usable crypto. If people have the option of getting their emails encrypted for free, in a usable manner, they might just do it. But if they need to pay for it? For something not that many do now for free? Maybe, maybe not.
4 Posted by Drew on 23 Dec, 2014 05:17 PM
Ville,
Yes, that is a point, but how do you get there without a valid business model to support the programers and developers working on it? The entire concept of PGP being free started in 1991, and we have progressed to what? The corporate world is encrypted, and pay a huge sum of money for it, to many of the same founding companies and people that started PGP. McAfee and Symantec were part of the "Free" movement and couldn't make it work. They had to change, unfortunately they got bought out by people more focused on making money than making security and both have suffered, and McAffee's mental issues don't help!
The recent move by many people to make SSL/TLS more ubiquitous will help. I applaud the FFF and their partners for the upcoming launch of https://letsencrypt.org/. This should help a lot of servers that are insecure as well as users get SSL/TLS up certificates up and running that can't afford the current cost of certificates. The current issues with Sony may also help with total network encryption as well. One of the major weaknesses we have now in our infrastructure.
A programmer needs to make a living, and you either need to encrypt and take precautions, or you will be at risk. It is the modern door locking. The tools and capabilities are free so if you don't want to pay for it, make it yourself.
5 Posted by Ville Määttä on 23 Dec, 2014 06:37 PM
Yes, that is a point, but how do you get there without a valid business model to support the programers and developers working on it?Valid business model was very much the point I was making.
The entire concept of PGP being free started in 1991, and we have progressed to what?Oh we have progressed quite a bit. To an actual OpenPGP standard in fact instead of a single implementation like PGP.
The corporate world is encrypted, and pay a huge sum of money for it…By what measure? My subjective experience says corporate world doesn't use OpenPGP much more than individuals.
…, to many of the same founding companies and people that started PGP. McAfee and Symantec were part of the "Free" movement and couldn't make it work. They had to change, unfortunately they got bought out by people more focused on making money than making security and both have suffered, and McAffee's mental issues don't help!There are commercial OpenPGP implementations. But they and their possible shareware-or-whatever versions certainly are not the be-all-end-all of free OpenPGP. GPGTools in fact is based on GnuPG, not PGP. I don't know what you're referring to with "the "Free" movement" but GPGTools is part of an ecosystem built around a FOSS implementation of OpenPGP that has been making it work quite well.
The recent move by many people to make SSL/TLS more ubiquitous will help. I applaud the FFF and their partners for the upcoming launch of https://letsencrypt.org/.It's a great project but a little off topic. But a nice project anyway. And it's EFF that is behind it. Which reminds me that Mac is not MAC. Don't kill the messenger, but the two are quite different things.
…The current issues with Sony may also help with total network encryption as well. One of the major weaknesses we have now in our infrastructure.Hopefully someone learns to encrypt their emails from Sony's example. But "total network encryption", or encryption of everything as sometimes called for, is not actually a goal to necessarily strive for.
A programmer needs to make a living…Oh I know, I'm trying to make a living as one.
The tools and capabilities are free so if you don't want to pay for it, make it yourself.That's a weird comment. Currently old versions of GPGTools and a Beta are free. The tools that GPGTools is built on are free and open source tools. Which I use btw, I only use the GPGMail from this project. As for "make it yourself", I might. Or someone else might very well if do it. If you are referring to the source code then yes, we can build it ourselves as long as that source is provided in a timely manner.
Steve closed this discussion on 02 May, 2015 12:05 PM.