Important information about firmware usage

[Jocko]

Since 2009, we have been developing step-by-step an alternative firmware with more and more features.

But what was a nicely challenge at first (replacing a poor firmware on a NAS SPD8020) now requires more or more time to continue this project. At the same time, we try to provide as much help as possible to the user on this forum.

However, today, we believe that the received donations, and we thank the members who made it, are not enough to cover costs to keep forum server up and running and maintain the forum. We think it is fair to request the users of our firmware to share the costs of making it available and pay a little compensation for the efforts made to provide support, and improve and extend the firmware with new features.

We noticed also some users who installed our firmware from packages provided from some other sites, do not even make the effort to join the site and may use several extra-features by retrieving these package directly via the firmware web-interface.

So we made some decisions and we change how the resources are made available:
- add-on packages are no longer available for the register members from the forum 'Add-ons fvdw-sl firmware'
- features requiring to retrieve a package from our site to be installed or updated (eg. the transmission client) are no longer available for any common users
- these capabilities stay available only for the donators users
- later, some advanced developments may be also restrained to the donators users

To apply these new rules we created a new group 'Donators'. Currently all previous donators are members of it. To join that group you have to make a donation ( minimal 5€)

The base firmware installation and upgrade will remain free for registered users. The base firmware provides the main features.

Impact on fvdw-sl version :

Installation of addons.
For any firmware versions, addons require manual downloading to be installed. Only donators will be able to download the addons.

For version 16.1, 17.0 and later, the extra features can be installed or updated only by a donator user. On the firmware web-interface you have to set after becoming a donator your plugout account (main setup menu) and your password will be encrypted by the firmware before storing in the file system so that you may restore these features.

addons-enable.JPG

For version 16.1 and version 17.0, a new roll-up package is available on the download forum without it, any downloading attempts will fail.

In reliance on your understanding

Fvdw & Jocko