Submitted 3 months ago by cron@feddit.org to selfhosted@lemmy.world
https://github.com/immich-app/immich/releases/tag/v1.109.0
Welcome to version v1.109.0 of Immich. This release introduces an additional way for you to support Immich financially as well as bug fixes for various issues. Some of the highlights in this release include:
- Immich licenses (and buy.immich.app)
- “My Immich” url forwarder (my.immich.app)
- Notable fix: Generate thumbnail for iOS18 HEIC
- Notable fix: Generate Motion Photos for Pixel 6, 7, and 8
Immich license pricing is $25 per user or $99 per server for a lifetime license.
Declaring the use without a paid license as “Unlicensed” is very misleading since the project is also licensed under the GNU AGPL v3.0.
That’s FUTO for you
Is feel a lot better about this if it was a “supporter” tag not this “unlicensed” crap.
Yeah this terminology just gives me the impression they don’t consider the AGPL to an actual license
It also raises red flags about what they (hopefully don’t) have in mind for the future
They should just have you pay to have your name listed on the list of supporters
After listening the video where they discussed immich joining futo, I don’t have any worries. I have high hopes futo might actually be the company I have long hoped would emerge. Time will certainly tell.
I think people are getting hung up on the word license too much. Though I agree futo should have gone with a better word choice for clarity.
I’ll repeat here what I said on discord:
I’m no fan of stallman, but I like his quote: “I’m happy to pay for good software so long as it’s free”.
It’s important to remember that anyone with the skill to work on this project could earn a pretty good living elsewhere. We can debate the terminology, but at the end of the day devs gotta eat.
Personally, so long as it stays on the GPL they can call us “god-kings” and “filthy peasants” for all I care
Immich is free software. That means anyone can fork and maintain the code and they have the same rights as everyone.
Selling copies of free software is straight up encouraged by the FSF. You don’t have to buy a copy. You can copy the source code and build t yourself. But selling it is legitimate.
They could have achieved the same without any license keys. Just a “Purchase” button along with an “Already purchased” one. You make the ethical judgement as to which one to click.
I am a huge fan of immich, been running it for quite a while, it started as just phone photo backup but it’s good enough that I’ve made it my primary photo repository (fully backed up of course). I will absolutely pay for a license but count me as one who doesn’t really like the terminology used.
I would happily put a donated or supporter badge to show off, but the unlicensed just feels a bit wrong. I have no trouble paying for software, especially as useful as immich, but in the enshittifying world we live in, such language gives one pause.
good news, the terminology is changing
I was really looking forward to them opening a compensation option as I got in after they had taken down donation links, but this is all a bit weird. I’ll probably hold at version 1.108 for awhile until the dust settles.
I’ve gone through quite a few FUTO videos since they started sponsoring Immich, and it seems like the issue is that they are essentially an organization of engineers that don’t have a strong background in the legalese of licensing (thus the lack of attention to the wording of the original FUTO temporary license). Their intentions and goals are solid from my perspective and the software they promote is fantastic, but it feels very much like an org run by idealistic engineers, not by PR guys. The best PR they have is Louiss Rossman, take that as you will 😄
All that being said, I have paid for a few of their other pieces of software that are single user. The part I’m not overly find of is that it seems to be a payment for each individual user, and not a payment to be able to run the server itself. I’m sure there is rational behind it, but it just feels like this whole licensing element isn’t fully baked yet.
I think that’s reasonable, and is the impression I have of FUTO as well. I’m using their Android keyboard at least and have been impressed by it (although I don’t have demanding needs).
There is absolutely an option to pay for the server itself, the per user option is so that it’s cheaper if you have fewer than 4. I haven’t seen anything yet about transitioning from a user license to a server license
My biggest question to FUTO/Immich is if they’re worried about a revenue stream, why not do something similar to Home Assistant? You never have to pay HASS a dime and never see anything to “shame” you. All you get is essentially a forwarding subdomain with some “easier” ways of doing cloud related things. There’s zero “shaming” or calls to pay. I pay HASS/Nabu Casa monthly cause I’m lazy and it makes my life easier. FUTO should consider doing something similar.
Same with jellyfin.
They basically don’t accept recurrent donations on purpose
I like having more ways to support the project, but I don’t think “license” is the correct terminology they should use, unless they intend to release paid-only features which I’m not a fan of at all.
Immich license pricing is $25 per user or $99 per server for a lifetime license.
What if I already gave them >$100?
In the discord they said they will give you a license, and they’re planning to do it automatically
But there’s nothing tying that donation to my account, so how could they do that?
Nothing like that is ever acceptable to show up on the dashboard of a service I am self hosting. Will not update Immich anymore unless they remove this garbage.
I wanted to like immich but I hate the way it imports images and creates its own structure.
It’s had an external library feature for awhile now
I am importing my externally synced and managed library to immich. It does not create any structure or edit the files.
I can’t say I support FUTO but if they are looking to drive development I am all for it
Does this mean I have to pay to use immich now? Huh?
No. It will remain free. Your experience of immich will be identical to someone with a paid “licence”. It’s like a donation.
Except that it will taunt you on your dashboard.
cron@feddit.org 3 months ago
For me, the license stuff is odd. They offer a license model with two tiers (user / server), yet the license seems to do nothing. Also, it is a one time payment which will likely not be substantial in the future.
Why not create a “supporter” tier for maybe $2 per month or so, this would bring some recurring income without the fears of paywalling the product.
aksdb@lemmy.world 3 months ago
They already accept donations as a means of continuous support. So I guess this is now just another channel for people who prefer buying a license over using github donations.
helenslunch@feddit.nl 3 months ago
FUTO’s goal is to change FOSS culture. Away from “donations” and towards “payment”, to make development sustainable.
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 3 months ago
How dare you pay continued support. You will have a one time fee and be happy
ChilledPeppers@lemmy.world 3 months ago
This is basically the doing of the futo non profit, they ate testing out if open source software can be profittable.
Louis Rossmann has a lot of videos about them (he works for them)
From what I get, you can just use it for free, but they don’t say it is free to compell more people to buy it.
Flax_vert@feddit.uk 3 months ago
So basically WinRAR
Inui@lemmy.ml 3 months ago
They have always planned to havd continual revenue by offering their own hosting services similar to paid google photos after Immich goes stable. This is just another odd way of doing donations that Futo uses for stuff like Greyjay.
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 3 months ago
They completely miss the point of free software. The idea is that you can fork it after a hostel take over. The irony is that if they start forcing anti features they might end up with the community jumping ship.
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 3 months ago
That would make sense. They could even give you a badge or send you merch if you are a bigger supporter.
Stuff like this is why I can’t support FUTO