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Google Code Deprecates Download Service For Project Hosting

Posted by timothy on from the look-but-don't-slurp dept.

New submitter c0d3g33k writes "Google Project Hosting announced changes to the Download service on Wednesday, offering only 'increasing misuse of the service and a desire to keep our community safe and secure' by way of explanation. Effective immediately, existing projects that offer no downloads and all new projects will no longer be able to create downloads. Existing projects which currently have downloads will lose the ability to create new downloads by January 2014, though existing downloads will remain available 'for the foreseeable future.' Google Drive is recommended as an alternative, but this will likely have to be done manually by project maintainers since the ability to create and manage downloads won't be part of the Project Hosting tools. This is a rather baffling move, since distributing project files via download is integral to FOSS culture."

5 of 185 comments (clear)

  1. So, "Don't Be Evil..." by CanHasDIY · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Becomes, "Don't Be Open."

    This is a rather baffling move, since distributing project files via download is integral to FOSS culture."

    Considering the recent spate of incidents involving Google taking a shit on the FOSS community that helped to create it, I don't find it baffling at all.

    Google is finally turning into the dickhead actor who got rich and forgot who his real friends are.

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    1. Re:So, "Don't Be Evil..." by chris_mahan · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Can't use google drive from work.

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      "Piter, too, is dead."

    2. Re:So, "Don't Be Evil..." by DragonWriter · · Score: 4, Interesting

      How are people abusing Google Code?

      Using the file download hosting feature to host malware and sending emails with deceptive links to that malware to distribute it to unsuspecting users seems to be one of the main abuses.

  2. Only affects Google hosting? by icebike · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I know more than a few projects using code.google.com that have downloads from a separate server, perhaps to get around some inconvienences already built into the system.

    Maybe the cost of bandwidth is getting to be significant, or maybe it is due to abuse. The announcement seems to suggest people were creating projects just to distribute large files, probably copyrighted material, (and possibly malware), and getting Google to host it for free.

    Still, if you have to set up two or more different services to host your project, why would you bother with the one that didn't allow project downloads? What would be the point of using that on a community project? It would seem this would drive the community away. Perhaps this telegraphs the death knell for yet another Google service?

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  3. We've heard of BitTorrent, haven't we? by SuperBanana · · Score: 4, Interesting

    My MOM knows what BitTorrent is. It's available on nearly every platform in existence; there's even a javascript client, I think? Some browsers now have clients built-in or available via extensions. With DHT supported by most every client, you don't even need a tracker. Web seeding means you don't have to guarantee seeded peers if you've got some HTTP mirror available somewhere.

    So, can FOSS projects please grow up and start using bittorrent more? Can we make torrents a little more transparent to users, as well? As in, you click a link and you don't need to do anything else, no external programs, etc? Some big projects like Libreoffice have been using BitTorrent for a while; distributions have been as well even longer.

    PS:For the love of god, please pick a sensible chunk size *glares at people who create 300MB torrents with 4MB chunk sizes*

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