I wonder if there’s any limitation to create a public repository for older software versions of devices os and overbridge/transfer, a lot of people constantly looking for older versions for various reasons and many old links rendered invalid with every elektron.se update.
it is easy enough to create a github repo and assign enough people with permissions to keep it going and update with every release, perhaps there’s some interest from elektron to prevent this from happening otherwise it could be very helpful to many.
Being closed source software, you are not allowed to distribute the software. So unless Elektron would explicitly allow us to do that, it would be illegal.
we’re talking about public versions of compiled software and syx os, nothing stopping scrapers to actively download every version anyway, and there are some older versions stored here on the forum either way only fragmented, I don’t think that can be considered “dangerous”.
personally I wouldn’t mind to have these as part of the support section or even a tab here on the forum where it’s under certain TOS but the repository also can be set by elektron and some people invited to maintain.
you can just store the .zip files within a folder per device/software type.
you can even take it a bit further and store the manual per version which can also be benefitial.
it would save a lot of supports tickets too imo
I see it just like you but that’s the harsh reality of software copyright. Unless you don’t own the software, you aren’t allowed to distribute it - unless the owner allows you to do so.
But I agree that it would be super helpful, also for historical reasons. Imagine someone coming across a 50 year old Digitone, which will still be a musical instrument at that point, but useless without the firmware.
I mean, it’s also the legacy of Elektron after all. They made various contributions to contemporary music and it will be very interesting for future generations to see how they made it work. These things are happening right now with old home computers and game consoles where we already have lost that knowledge in some places.
that’s a good example although I can see only one version per legacy instrument, elektron boxes have many versions during their lifecycle so it would need to be more then single link, but it’s worth the storage because storage is cheaper then dealing with support!
Having all the versions with the according change logs would be much better, indeed.
If you build it, they will come! I’d just start uploading the versions you can get your hands on and then hope other people will fill up the blank spots.
I suspect an unpublished repository of some sort exists, but I don’t know exactly how it works. There’s a link for OB versions when you replace the version number in the URL with the one that you want to download.
The main link is from the elektron site so maybe if you know the link for a product, such a thing exists. The zip verion is obviously for windows, the mac version replaces the file extension with .dmg, but the link is the same.
It doesn’t seem to be too well guarded of a secret, but I don’t see it advertised on the site either so when people need an older overbridge version, I just recommend using the link and switching the version.
If we figure out the proper URL for the other software downloads this may already be available. Then again they did just revamp the website so who knows if things like this were retained, I assumed that was just a facelift but who knows.
I guess github/gitlab is not a good option as they have 100MB file limit (current mac OB is 274MB), and we do need a permission for such endeavor…
this link is dead, like many others it changes with every elektron.se update, also sometimes there are small changes to file names and they are not always 100% accurate in the naming template.
True, but in theory such a repository must exist and possibly be accessible via URL links. I can now see that the prior link has died so at this point it’s just an example.
I was thinking in github/gitlab terms and the files are accessible from url but unfortunately they don’t meet the file size limits, there is a GLS solution but it doesn’t work with github pages, which would be a very convenient way to make some sort of documentation template website and use it as a convenient frontend
I tried to dig for the new Syntakt release by guessing the URL It wouldn’t be too hard to write a script to do all the work… IF they actually have a consistent file structure.
PS: I would have suggested archive.org, as it’s the ideal place for this, but it’s currently broken…
it’s too inconsistent for this cause, to create a reliable repository it needs to be manually updated in a single source.
I guess a Dropbox can also work with folders, Overbridge being the most space hungry one (~300MB per file), the rest is very small files (~2MB per os and ~10MB per Transfer) that can easily fit in 5GB free tier, but for Overbridge it will run out very quickly, also they have downloads limit so it’s also not a very good solution
@avantronica might add some details, but if I recall correctly Elektron told us once that they prefer not to see different firmwares in the nature.
I don’t see the reason to get several versions in the nature either: firmwares are not just features, they also bring their load of bug fixes.
Especially with brand new firmwares, if you notice a problem, please report the bug so that everyone can benefit from the subsequent patch
Back and forth between firmwares can add weird bugs that are hard to detect, and not necessary to fix
Also
If you have a live session ahead, don’t upgrade.
Remember to always backup Projects and Sounds before upgrading
If you don’t like risks, wait a few months after the firmware is out to upgrade
Indeed, the firmware is not something people have the legal right to distribute.
Note that there would be little guaranty such hosted firmwares are real.
So a Dropbox or github is a wrong idea.
Any link on this forum towards such a repository would be deleted.
Unless Elektron officially accept it.
a use case that pops up a lot recently is OB incompatibility with older macos versions, sometimes in the heat of the moment you could miss the small note about certain macos version that gets outdated, by the time someone installs the new update the older version is already gone from the support website.
I’m definitely thinking it should be under elektron’s roof in a way and maybe even on the forum under the trademark and TOS.
Several recent instances of the uninstaller is no longer on the computer and the update can’t be completed due to new version waiting for uninstall before starting/completing. Had to send someone an uninstaller (two people actually), one worked and the other didn’t due to some other conflict.
Could refer them to elektron support for this but takes a while to get a response already and will definitely take longer on both ends if every time someone needs something, they get referred to make a support ticket.
Another common one is (was) digitakt 1 with the pre audio interface OS and any OS after 1.20 can’t be upgraded to without first upgrading to 1.20, so older digitakts get stuck in a loop of will not upgrade to current firmware. I’ve given out a lot of copies of OS 1.20 and it’s the official version, but this seems like another reasonable case for needing access to older OS especially when the information is out there but not officially published.
yep that’s the problem to solve though, it takes time to respond individually, especially after big updates, sometimes you just need to uninstall and install older one instead of waiting for several days or more
could also help elektron support dealing with bugs rather sending out links/files
I totally agree about anything pertaining to a bug, I’m mostly referring to order of operations and system conflicts like in the examples described, where the problem is evident and can’t be resolved without passing through a known portal.
The new website seems to have killed a lot or all of the old links. I guess it was more than just a face-lift.
It wouldn’t be too hard to write a script to do all the work… IF they actually have a consistent file structure.