Is beta version is still working ??

[isa01]

Hi all,

Today, I tried to run OM 11.02 Beta but not able to launch the app as usual.
When I launch the app, it suddenly closed. Why ??
Few days ago the app worked like a charm. No update in meantime.
Is my problem related to the beta version ?? Or is there something wrong ?

Anyone can tell me if the beta version 11.02 beta 04 is still working at this time.

Thanks in advance.
Isa

[Tronpo]

Hi all,

Today, I tried to run OM 11.02 Beta but not able to launch the app as usual.
When I launch the app, it suddenly closed. Why ??
Few days ago the app worked like a charm. No update in meantime.
Is my problem related to the beta version ?? Or is there something wrong ?

Anyone can tell me if the beta version 11.02 beta 04 is still working at this time.

Thanks in advance.
Isa

Hello, the beta version has expired, for everyone. You can use the official version of Google Store for your activities.

[kkolesar]

That's a legitimate answer, but what's important is that the GP version is more than a year old. I have it installed on my old phone and have been using the beta version all along for testing purposes. Now I'm traveling and don't have the app! It's my fault, I know that, but I'm still completely disappointed with the situation with this app. Orux used to be a model of cooperation, even on the forum, but now he can be seen here once on a month or two. Opinions, suggestions, bug reports are no longer even looked at, and the result is that for the first time in all the long years since I've been using OruxMaps, it no longer works for me. Once again, I'm talking about the beta version. Personally, I was willing to pay for the beta version too, just so that it would work without restrictions and wouldn't have to have two identical apps - and to have updated app. For orux, the situation may be stable and okay, but for me as a user for a long years (and probably for others too), it is not. It's not a problem to install GP app on new phone, I generally do not like, that app looks abandoned.

It seems that the time has come when, unfortunately, it will be necessary to look for an alternative.

[mash-graz]

It's really disappointing how oruxmaps is slowly changing for the worse!

For a long time, it was a really nice and powerful alternative to all the commercial products—not a completely free, open-source, and strictly privacy-compliant project, as I personally prefer, but still somehow acceptable—but now this seems to be more of a nostalgic sentiment from the past...

[Tronpo]

What surprises me is the user of OruxMaps, if the free version of the official website is deleted he complains, giving as a reason to be a complete and functional version for the vast majority of users, being the GP version much superior to it. If the beta version expires, and he complains because the GP version does not seem enough.... The vast majority of you are older than me using this app and the forum, maybe I'm the wrong one to think that I can't find another app that offers me the same for so little. I'm still surprised that the truth is demanded so much from a project supported by man in his free time. It's my humble opinion

[Tronpo]

[cita autor=enlace de Tronpo=msg=60148 fecha=1762773363] Lo que me sorprende es que el usuario de OruxMaps, si se elimina la versión gratuita del sitio web oficial, se queja, dando como razón para ser una versión completa y funcional para la gran mayoría de los usuarios, siendo la versión GP muy superior a ella. Si la versión beta caduca, y se queja porque la versión GP no parece suficiente... La gran mayoría de ustedes son mayores que yo usando esta aplicación y el foro, tal vez estoy equivocado al pensar que no puedo encontrar otra aplicación que me ofrezca lo mismo por tan poco. Todavía me sorprende que la verdad se exija tanto de un proyecto apoyado por un hombre en su tiempo libre. Es mi humilde opinión [/cita]
Personally I would be delighted to pay an annual subscription in OruxMaps as it is done in other apps with the idea of guaranteeing regular updates (bug fixes) and support in the forum For example

[Lenz]

It's really disappointing how oruxmaps is slowly changing for the worse!

For a long time, it was a really nice and powerful alternative to all the commercial products—not a completely free, open-source, and strictly privacy-compliant project, as I personally prefer, but still somehow acceptable—but now this seems to be more of a nostalgic sentiment from the past...

Hello mash-graz,
even though I can understand a certain disappointment, that is a very harsh statement. The current GP version - although it is over a year old - still works great and, in my opinion, is better than most or even all apps of this kind - but that is a matter of taste.
I have also mainly used the beta versions and I think it's a pity that certain functions and improvements (track manager, route planner ...) that I have become accustomed to are currently no longer available. However, that is one of the risks of using a beta.
I also wished, José (Orux) could find the time to be more active in the forum or at least could provide us with any updates on the status of development. But I'm sure he has his reasons, and I hope he and his family are doing well.
Nevertheless, the current GP version is still an excellent tool for a small one-time payment.

[Tronpo]

It's really disappointing how oruxmaps is slowly changing for the worse!

For a long time, it was a really nice and powerful alternative to all the commercial products—not a completely free, open-source, and strictly privacy-compliant project, as I personally prefer, but still somehow acceptable—but now this seems to be more of a nostalgic sentiment from the past...

What do you think of this? I usually visit the forum 2 times a day every day (habits) and there is never so much expectation ... maybe the OruxMaps user should also reflect, since we ask for a better application and greater response ... that we can do as users to make it easier for OruxMaps to grow. The beta is to test new functions , not to have a free premium app. In my opinion, this policy must change to continue growing

[odin]

I don't like that the app disables itself if a new version isn't installed there is much better ways of handling this like annoying popups, I was on a remote trail and went to check my maps but got the ui close.

Then when I got back I tried to migrate all my data back to the gp version but when I uninstalled the beta somehow all my data got erased, years of tracks and photos I managed to undelete some but the file names were erased so they will never get back into orux.....

Deciding if I should switch to locus since I am pretty much starting over....

All this cause of the forceclose.

[Tronpo]

[cita autor=odin enlace=msg=60153 fecha=1763017027] No me gusta que la aplicación se desactive sola si no se instala una nueva versión, hay formas mucho mejores de manejar esto, como ventanas emergentes molestas, estaba en un rastro remoto y fui a revisar mis mapas, pero me acerqué la interfaz de usuario. Luego, cuando volví, intenté migrar todos mis datos a la versión gp, pero cuando desinstalé la versión beta, de alguna manera todos mis datos se borraron, años de pistas y fotos, logré deshacer algunos, pero los nombres de los archivos se borraron, por lo que nunca volverán a orux... Decidiendo si debería cambiar a locus, ya que estoy empezando de nuevo... Toda esta causa del cierre de la fuerza. [/cita]

Hello, the beta version has been warning for weeks that it will expire with a pop-up window at each login, didn't you skip the warning? On my Android when I go to delete the app it asks me if I want to delete the data from the app. Personally I would not leave my valuable data in an app that is a trial version, precisely because it is a trial version all the risks it entails.

PS: I'm sorry you lost your valuable data honestly, don't you use the backup option in Drive?

[odin]

[cita autor=odin enlace=msg=60153 fecha=1763017027] No me gusta que la aplicación se desactive sola si no se instala una nueva versión, hay formas mucho mejores de manejar esto, como ventanas emergentes molestas, estaba en un rastro remoto y fui a revisar mis mapas, pero me acerqué la interfaz de usuario. Luego, cuando volví, intenté migrar todos mis datos a la versión gp, pero cuando desinstalé la versión beta, de alguna manera todos mis datos se borraron, años de pistas y fotos, logré deshacer algunos, pero los nombres de los archivos se borraron, por lo que nunca volverán a orux... Decidiendo si debería cambiar a locus, ya que estoy empezando de nuevo... Toda esta causa del cierre de la fuerza. [/cita]

Hello, the beta version has been warning for weeks that it will expire with a pop-up window at each login, didn't you skip the warning? On my Android when I go to delete the app it asks me if I want to delete the data from the app. Personally I would not leave my valuable data in an app that is a trial version, precisely because it is a trial version all the risks it entails.

PS: I'm sorry you lost your valuable data honestly, don't you use the backup option in Drive?

Nah, I have slow internet and especially slow upload, so I don't back up to drive, I did actually have a recent backup, but the harddrive failed that was on last month :X, and tbh it's kind of my fault I lost the data, since usually I rename the folder when I uninstall orux as it happened before in the past, somehow I just spaced it out, I don't think it used to an issue when it was on the sdcard/oruxmaps, but when its in the data/media folder it uninstalls with the program.

I probably could've recovered the files, but again I stupidly wrote a 1gb mapsforge map to the sdcard which ultimately permanently erased some files which probably could have been undeleted, I was able to salvage most tracklogs and tracklog.db though.

I dont recall getting the old beta message on the latest beta, it's been a week or two since I used orux, maybe it expired before it could show the message, but yeah I like orux but just stopping the program from running is not a good tactic especially for scenarios / lost/ sos ..etc and the gap between the GP and beta is pretty large so to migrate back is a pity, and running two versions is a hassle.

Also it's a shame orux couldn't implement some mechanism in the beta which allows it to continue to run for people who bought the GP version, this way the beta wouldn't expire for paid users who want to stay on the latest version.

[Tronpo]

" Also it's a shame orux couldn't implement some mechanism in the beta which allows it to continue to run for people who bought the GP version, this way the beta wouldn't expire for paid users who want to stay on the latest version."
This would be possible if the beta versions were made from stores like Play Store, in my personal opinion it is the best, for security of not installing apk, because in this way they would mess up users who have the official version. But it's just my opinion. The only drawback I see is that the beta update process is not immediate when going through the official stores. I'm glad to know that you've recovered practically all your data. Greetings

[kkolesar]

I am very disappointed with the situation we find ourselves in. All of us who participated in the beta version (and also have the GP version) invested our time and energy in anticipation of a new, stable version—one that would be better, more advanced, and have new features. Now we have nothing. The beta no longer works, and the GP version has not been updated in over a year.

Since I have been using exclusively the beta version (I only have the GP version on my old phone) in real-life situations, I have been able to test it thoroughly (at least to the extent that I use it). Now I am in a serious dilemma - whether to install the old GP version and thus take a step back in a way, or to end the OruxMaps story.

Even what we are writing now is pointless, as Orux has not been on the forum for some time.

[mash-graz]

I don't agree with those messages here in this thread, that more or less just suggest: buy the commercial product!

Once upon a time Oruxmap was available to everybody in two versions: a free one and a paid one to support the development willingly.

When the free variant didn't receive updates for quite a while, the author argued, that he isn't able to provide a give-away variant anymore, because Google doesn't allow free distribution beside the commercial one on their marked store. In the meanwhile it even got further and this 'beta' version is understood by many users [or at least some loud peer leaders here in the forum] as just a limited demo version and appetizer for buying the commercial offer.

Well -- because it's just one of this very common closed source apps, that isn't protected by a more restrictive license (like the GPL) preventing this kind of change, it's completely up to the author and his arbitrary decisions to make leave access available or enforce an utterly changed new business plan.

As ordinary user, we can't do much more than express our feelings about this steady slow and silent changes. Nevertheless, they are significant, and I personally would prefer, when the author and entrepreneur would at least communicate this kind of decisions and consequences for the user community in a more open and fair manner.

I'm well aware about the difficulties to make a living from free software development. Nevertheless, I spend already decades of my life in this alternative software circles myself -- don't use any commercial or unfree closed source software on my Linux machines and even my mobile phone is based on degoogled /e/ (https://e.foundation/), where you don't have access to products of the play store but gain much more security and privacy freedom in return. Instead of just consuming ready-made software products I always try to justify my use of all these free gifts by participating In many open development projects and community activities -- for example as OSM-mapper, rewriting parts the QGIS-xyz-export-plugin to produce maps for Orux, etc.

Many projects were looking for solutions, how to make consumers happy, which only want to buy easily usable software somewhere in a trustworthy online shop, and those others, which are more interested in security and privacy preserving open source software and public access. For example OsmAnd~ is selling the advanced edition commercially on the play store, but the same software is also still available for free without any restrictions on FDroid. Only a comparable small community of people is using the latter one, but this scene is rather close related to those open source developers, which wrote many of those very valuable code libraries, that in fact any mapping app nowadays is based on. So it's a more fair exchange in return to those non-profit developers and their alternative software communities than just an utterly stupid irrational choice.

I'm very skeptical about the commercial success of Orux e.g. on the iPhone. In the meanwhile it's a rather old-fashioned looking app that honestly isn't super easy to use, and beside the help by the community here in the forum it's just a one-man show with insufficient documentation. Sure, It has it's very important unique qualities (for example: It's using less power than all other open source alternatives), but it's nothing that couldn't be quickly replaced by other more open apps, if users have to react to those subsequent commercialization changes made by its author.

Because it's still strictly closed software I can't do much more than openly express my opinion and skepticism about its future. But perhaps it's anyway too late for a change. Oruxmaps could definitely have become the most well known and feature full free android mapping app if it had opened its development earlier. In the meanwhile there are already a few open source alternatives available, that look much more modern and promising in this respect.

Although I personally don't believe in its commercial success, I still wish its author good luck on his efforts. Nevertheless, if he refuse to listen to us, I'll take another way and search for alternatives, that better suit my needs.

[nur]

The last message in this forum from José was on Juli 24.
Instead of blaming you might better worry that he is still alive. Who knows: Maybe he had an accident or is severely ill.
Lets hope the best!