So a bit of context, I've been doing testing for V.E.L.O.C.I.T.Y. Drone and initially, I just copied over a binary, but I wanted it to be a bit easier to setup, so I thought I'd make an installer for it, so it can register as a system tray app. So naturally, I looked up what's the best installer and up popped Inno Setup 7. So I used it and it worked fine I guess, then I saw they apparently charge $155 for individuals, up to $1195 for unlimited users and that locks you to a version, if you want a new version, you need to buy a new license...
So per my usual, I built my own. It's smaller (tool), faster and completely cross-platform, using zstd with adjustable compression ratio, dependency checking, bundling, CI/CD updating, Delta-Updating, adding MSI compliance for managed deployments too and a few more nice to have features.
I'm releasing it under Apache 2.0, so it's actually free and completely open-source, use it commercially, start the next Microsoft and release a billion copies using it, you don't owe me a penny.
My reason for creating it, is like so many other times, I found that the industry gatekeeps actually making money out of software, tooling should be free, so the real products can be made, without any hidden fees.
So my question to everyone is, do you need an installer? And have you been burnt in the past by hidden costs from 'open-source' releases that charge you once you hit a revenue floor?
Top comments (15)
@xulingfeng I get "Your comment could not be posted due to an error: There was an error in your markdown: undefined method `user_id' for nil" when I try to comment on your post.
@francistrdev would it be possible to look into it?
@xulingfeng dunno if you removed the post, but it also got scrubbed from my notifications?
我删除它了，测试下我的账号是否正常，我上一篇文章只有粉丝能看到，所以测试了下新文章。
Your comment could not be posted due to an error: There was an error in your markdown: PG::QueryCanceled: ERROR: canceling statement due to statement timeout when I respond to this 1.
Did you post that in the test post I just put up? I checked it and it was fine, so I deleted it🤣
😂 Well yeah, cuz it seemed like you posted it for a response?
@francistrdev NVM, sorry for bothering, seems he's alive 😂
Haha, looks like the new test post is all good — so I can go ahead and post for real tomorrow. Oh, by the way, it's been raining over there lately, and I've been up in the mountains drinking tons of spring water — it's amazing!
Lemon flavored? Or did it smell like asparagus? 🤣
算你狠🤣
I prefer to think of myself as flavorful 😁
You should be glad my legs are sore from that hike, or else I'd totally travel halfway around the world just to crack open your 🧠 and see what's in there🤣
Save you the trip, Skittles
Definitely** a real problem. Automatic installers provide the rigid mechanical foundation that stops setup environments from failing silently. Great initiative — removing installation friction is always a win for open source.
github.com/UnitBuilds-CC/V.E.L.O.C... Live for anyone who wants to give it a go and give me feedback?