ExpanDrive 2.0 for the Mac
April 22nd, 2009We’re excited to release ExpanDrive 2.0 for the Mac [release notes]!
It’s EXTREMELY fast.
Over the past year, we’ve put together an entirely new SFTP engine, based on a hybrid of OpenSSH and Python. Expect more than double the performance when transferring large files, and we’ve completely re-written our metadata caching architecture. Browsing around is even faster. Oh – we also now detect edits that have been made on the server. Awesome.
S3 support
In addition, we’re introducing support for Amazon S3 as a filesystem type in ExpanDrive. You can now mount you buckets and drag and drop files to them from Finder. We’ve even built a contextual menu plugin to the Finder so you can set permissions on those keys. Certain technical limitations make S3 difficult to implement well as a filesystem, notably that you have to upload full files AND know the size beforehand, but we’ve got it working pretty well. Please continue to send great feedback to support@expandrive.com
FTP/FTPS grows up
FTP/FTPS support is no longer in beta and has many important fixes and compatibility updates to help it work with the plethora of buggy FTP servers that are in wide distribution.
GUI refresh
We’ve also spent a lot of effort refreshing the GUI:
ExpanDrive is available for $39.95, $19.95 upgrade — free upgrade if you’ve purchased in the past 60 days.
April 22nd, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Great looking upgrade to the interface. Will the Windows version be getting a similar refresh?
April 22nd, 2009 at 3:40 pm
I was a licensed user of the previous build, but when I finished installing ExpanDrive 2.0 the registration tab says I have “-19 days” available in my trial.
April 22nd, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Steven – I thought I had fixed that. If you quit and restart expandrive it’ll display correctly
April 22nd, 2009 at 3:51 pm
@Chad – we’re targeting late summer/fall for ExpanDrive 2 for windows
April 22nd, 2009 at 3:56 pm
@Jeff – It did fix it. Thanks. :)
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:15 pm
I have the same problem as Steven… well I have 4 days so no biggie but I’ve quit my copy of expandrive 2 & 1.x and still have this issue… but no concern yet.
I however have no idea how we create buckets on A3 with expandrive finder interface. I can’t make a rooted bucket (default) or copy a file to that space. However if I use an already existing bucket to drop stuff in it works as expected.
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Before restarting ExpanDrive my trial was set to end in -144 days, now its 30 days :)
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:26 pm
How ironic, I just purchased this app this morning after the trial ran up!
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Hi I had purchased ExpanDrive within the last 60 days and saw that I can update to version 2.0 for free. Do I need a new license key?
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:34 pm
I bought 1.x on March 6. When I try to load the license file you have me, it says it only works with 1.x. How to I upgrade to 2.x for free since it hasn’t been 60 days yet?
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:42 pm
-384 days here :)
Additionally, after registering it doesn’t show who it’s registered to until you restart ExpanDrive.
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:01 pm
The FREE upgrade should have extended back to pruchasers of the MacZot deal on December 3, 2008. To come up with a paid upgrade within 6 months of a sale, appears too contrived. Here is where I step off.
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:15 pm
To those griping about the upgrade price, SRT just released a new version of WebDrive, and their upgrade price is $32. http://www.southrivertech.com/purchase/wdpricing-upg.html
FYI.
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:18 pm
I also bought it within the last 60 days… how do I get the free upgrade? I tried downloading and using my current 1.x license which it didn’t like.
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:27 pm
I’ll second denny_crane’s comment — I’m not apt to pay such an upgrade fee so soon.
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:30 pm
As someone who just upgraded, a big thanks (and to those complainers, version 1 is over a year old – I checked when my original license was issued, and it was in March of 08).
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:42 pm
@Issac: I have a version 1.x and it’s not over a year old. I purchased my license around middle of January, making it ~3 months old. It seems like the new 2.0 version fixes a few things I complained about, but I’m not sure I want to pay for the upgrade. I really like the program but not if it’s going to cost me $20 each time to get bugs fixed.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Sounds like great improvements. However, I am waiting for TimeMachine support of sftp mounted drives.
Thanks for the great progress.
Brad
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:14 pm
bah, you naysayers! i absolutely love this utility, and even though i haven’t had a use for it over the past couple of months, i am clicking over to pay for my upgrade right after i post this.
and having followed this utility since the wee early days, i can say that there is no way these guys are trying to ‘gouge’ anyone. if you have a problem with this application, or the < 20 upgrade fee, then i say fine, go code a similar app yourself and then tell us all what it’s worth. the ftp abilities of this application alone are a pain to implement – i know, i’ve tried.
lastly – this developer is fantastic with support.
incoming upgrade sale… cha-ching!
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:16 pm
like a couple of other people, just hoping to find out the best way to upgrade for free if i purchased the previous version within the last 60 days. hope i didn’t miss anything.
thanks. marc
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:34 pm
We’ll be emailing out licenses to those who purchases in the past 60 days in the next couple hours. Thanks!
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:45 am
I’m with denny_crane & Jeff C – I purchased in the MacZot offer – primarily because of the reduced price – I wasn’t prepared to pay $40 for this. Now your asking me to pay another $20. Further – I’m in the UK, so the change in sterling/dollar exchange means this upgrade would cost me MORE than the original. Unless you give a special for MacZot purchasers (as other devs have), then this is where I jump ship too – there are enough other S3 capable apps available. ;-(
April 23rd, 2009 at 3:32 am
These features sound great, but I have to say I think this should be a free upgrade for license holders.
April 23rd, 2009 at 3:54 am
I also find the $20 upgrade price too steep, considering that the initial version only cost $29. Please consider dropping the upgrade price to $12-$15 or so.
Happy customers are worth more than unhappy ones who’ve had to pay too much for upgrading: they spread your app by word of mouth …
April 23rd, 2009 at 3:58 am
Also, I have to agree with Nick Day. There aren’t any significant new features. - FTP support also existed in version 1.x, but was not very usable - Speed improvements: doesn’t really justify a new major version - GUI refresh is definitely not impressive
The only truly new feature is S3 support. That’s not sufficient.
April 23rd, 2009 at 4:44 am
As a previous purchaser I agree with the comments above.$20 is too steep of an upgrade price for such an upgrade. I appreciate the new feature(s) and speed improvements, but the price is too high in my opinion
April 23rd, 2009 at 4:48 am
Hello,
I bought Expandrive December, 12th… it was more than 100 days ago but I’d like to have a free upgrade because this isn’t a real major release, it’s mainly a bugfix build.
I’m asking myself why I paid for a software if I can’t get it updated for – at least – 6 months, while people that got it cracked can have it up-to-date everytime.
April 23rd, 2009 at 5:53 am
There seems to be a serious bug in this. Sub-directories are showing up as empty. There are other issues, but this is critical to resolve ASAP.
April 23rd, 2009 at 6:28 am
I’m with denny_crane as well. A significant number of customers is conveniently placed outside of the grace period for a paid upgrade. I wouldn’t go as far as to call it a bait & switch scheme, but this kind of strategy has provided other developers with a lot of bad press. And deservedly so IMHO.
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:22 am
2.0 is a major upgrade, if there ever was one. The SFTP layer is entirely new, the GUI has been rewritten, and we’ve added S3 support and finalized FTP. In the coming months we have a handful of new filesystems that will get rolled in as free upgrades. I understand people not being excited about a paid upgrade, but it is worth it.
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:00 am
I’m with the others; I bought it through MacZOT and while I doubt the developers intentionally delayed the release, the timing isn’t very good. From a customer point of view, the revamped SFTP layer and a new UI don’t make it a major upgrade; additional features make it a major upgrade and the major features seem to be S3 support and custom drive icons. The SFTP/FTP support was touted as a major feature in the MacZOT promo; I wouldn’t say the bugfixes there should count.
I understand that the developers are free to price things how they want; they don’t owe me anything. Perhaps I’ll wait for those promised handful of new filesystems or just stick with 1.3.4 until I need S3 support.