X-Chat No Longer Free

SPeedY_B

I may actually be insane.
Joined
31 Mar 2002
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15,807
It seems Zed has decided to make X-Chat for Windows a shareware application rather than the free download it previously was.

23-Aug-2004
Due to the large amount of time and expense expended in creating X-Chat for Windows, it will only be available to registered users from now on. However, you can download and try 2.4.0 right now.

Q. If I register, will I get future versions for free?
A. Yes, absolutely.

Q. Why isn't the Windows version free?
A. Building X-Chat for Windows is a difficult process, it requires quite some skill and expertise to accomplish. It takes time, and is by no means automated.

Q. Has the license for X-Chat changed?
A. The Windows version is shareware, however, you may still download the source code, released under the G.P.L.

Q. What if I compile my own version from the source code?
A. You are quite welcome to do so, and redistribute it under the terms of the G.P.L. license.

Q. Does registration entitle me to technical support or a warranty?
A. We ask you to evaluate the product for free for 30 days to make sure it suites your needs. At this time, we cannot offer support or a product warranty, however, we will try to help with all email questions. You may also find good information on the public forums.

Seems an odd move, but one I saw coming (It was either this, or cease the Win32 build all together) hopefully it's not something that will deter new users from using X-Chat over other inferior clients.
 
was bound to happen some time... but like you say i just hope it doesnt make people go off it. It is an excellent client
 
Reminds me of that april fool gag "first ever legal mirc registered user"

That was damn well priceless.
 
Electronic Punk said:
Reminds me of that april fool gag "first ever legal mirc registered user"

That was damn well priceless.
Yeah... I mean, that would never happen :p
 
Darn. :p
Which chat client are you gonna suggest now Speedy? :)
 
Well to be honest, I'd like people to pay for X-Chat because it's worth it, but I know realistically that's just not going to happen. I'll just wait for someone to offer a regularly updated compile of the source for Win32, someone is bound to do it.

I suppose Bersirc is worth a look in the mean time though.
 
ohmy.gif

I quite liked HydraIRC too. Might move to that...depending on how much X-Chat will cost, of course.
 
hmph.. and I just started using x-chat, too. I've noticed the Win32 build is a bit behind the Linux builds. I'm assuming it'd be perfectly possible to just download the source and compile it yourself. But what would that require? Any free C compiler?
 
X-Chat Win32 shall cost $20 USD. (http://xe.com/ucc for currency conversions)

The Win32 builds were usually behind the linux counter-part due to it not being a simple re-compile of the source. Which is what the shareware/money shall go towards.. making Win32 stay current.

With regards to compiling yourself:
COMPILING ON WIN32
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is not easy! Be warned! You need either one of these compilers:

* Mingw (http://www.mingw.org)
* MS Visual C


Getting GTK
~~~~~~~~~~~

You also need GTK+ 2.0 for win32. Altough the GTK packages from the GIMP website are
larger and harder to install they work very well.

1) Get the following packages from:
http://www.gimp.org/~tml/gimp/win32/downloads.html

- gtk+-2.4.3.tar.gz
- gtk+-dev-2.4.3.tar.gz
- dirent.zip
- gettext-runtime-0.13.1.zip
- gettext-tools-0.13.1.zip
- atk-1.6.0.zip
- atk-dev-1.6.0.zip
- pango-1.4.0.zip
- pango-dev-1.4.0.zip
- libpng (http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/libpng.htm) Binaries & Developer files.
- GNU libiconv (Not source files)
- glib-2.4.2.zip
- glib-dev-2.4.2.zip
- pkgconfig-0.15.zip
- Zlib121-dll.zip

2) Extract all files to a suitable place such as c:\devtools

3) Windows 2000, XP & 2003 users:
- Start->(Settings->)Control Panel->System Applet
- Advanced Tab->Environment Variables
- Under "User variables for <user>" append ";C:\devtools" to the end of the PATH Variable
- Click Ok twice and close the Control Panel

For Windows 9x users your basicly on your own for now.


Mingw
~~~~~

I havn't tried this yet, but ./configure --disable-xlib would be a start.


MS Visual C
~~~~~~~~~~~


1) Edit src\makeinc.msc

You need to change the variables GLIB, GTK and LIBS to point
the correct paths for your harddrive. Use the program pkg-config
to find this information.

a) paste the output of `pkg-config glib-2.0 --msvc-syntax --cflags`
to the GLIB = ... line.

b) paste the output of `pkg-config gtk+-2.0 --msvc-syntax --cflags`
to the GTK = ... line.

c) paste the output of `pkg-config gtk+-2.0 --msvc-syntax --libs`
to the LIBS = ... line.

2) In MSVC's includes directory, copy io.h to unistd.h.

MS VC++ 6
~~~~~~~~~

3) Download Platform SDK from http://www.microsoft.com/msdownload/platformsdk/sdkupdate/
(you only need Core SDK) - ~200 MB Download (Be warned).
4) Open the build enviroment.

a) If your planning on developing modifications to the xchat code go:
Start->Programs->Microsoft Platform SDK...->Open Build Enviroment...->(Choose OS)->... (Debug)

b) If your compiling just to use xchat and wish to no recieve debug messages:
Start->Programs->Microsoft Platform SDK...->Open Build Enviroment...->(Choose OS)->... (Retail)
5) Change directory into where you have download the xchat source to and type this:
cd src
nmake -f makefile.msc clean
nmake -f makefile.msc
6) Copy fe-gtk\xchat.exe to another place.
MS VC++ 7 (.NET)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3) Open the Visual Studio .NET Command Prompt

4) Change directory into where you have download the xchat source to and type this:
cd src
nmake -f makefile.msc clean
nmake -f makefile.msc
5) Copy fe-gtk\xchat.exe to another place.


Common problems:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* gdk-pixbuf-csource must be in PATH.
FIX: See step 3 for setting up GTK

* You might need to install dirent.zip manually.
FIX: Copy C:\devtools\include\dirent.h to C:\devtools\include\glib-2.0\dirent.h

* Include path to libintl.h should be in GLIB= (makeinc.msc).
FIX: Copy C:\devtools\include\libintl.h to C:\devtools\include\glib-2.0\libintl.h
 
I use the Win32 X-Chat client at work, but at home I've used mIRC for years. Don't see a reason to switch ... it's just chat, and I personally think mIRC has more to offer over Xchat ... at least on the Win32 platform.
 
I would never register mirc, because then that window might not popup and let me beep that guy's nose....of course I haven't used it in years, it is in my downloads dir, but I mostly just use trillian because I use IRC just for some quick tech support when I need help with an aplication, web programming, or something like that.

Take Care,
Mike
 
no one, just bringing it to peoples attention, I keep coming across people who think mIRC is free :p
 
SPeedY_B said:
X-Chat Win32 shall cost $20 USD. (http://xe.com/ucc for currency conversions)

The Win32 builds were usually behind the linux counter-part due to it not being a simple re-compile of the source. Which is what the shareware/money shall go towards.. making Win32 stay current.

With regards to compiling yourself:
<insert 80,000 lines of instructions here>
holy jesus, I'll pass on all that. The version I have now seems to work just fine and it's not worth all that work just for one program. If I was a developer or someone who regularly compiled programs from source, perhaps it would be worth it.
 
Heh, building the Win32 binary from source isn't that bad :)

Just came across this little bit of info:
Due to the large amount of time and expense expended in creating X-Chat for Windows, it will only be available to registered users from now on" the website of XChat reports.

We asked the coder of XChat Zed if the move caused any reactions from Windows users. "Well of course, the reaction has been mixed. What you have to remember is you can still google for 2.0.10c and use it for ever. But, I'm under no obligation to keep creating Windows releases for free."

"Those who have tried to create a usable Windows exe of the program will understand. Most of them had problems, and lots of them. Most people who have ever got it built asked me for help", Zed continued in a reaction to IRC-Junkie.
One of those people have been Silverex, who until yesterday had a subdomain on XChat.org, http://silverex.xchat.org/ where he offered custom builds of XChat for windows.

Silverex explains about the differences between the XChat windows build, and his: "zed compiles gtk+ libraries into xchat.exe executable itself, mine uses gtk+ runtime environment, which many gtk+ for windows applications can share. thus, one can change gtk themes on my build. there are also several other minor differences. zed can and is able to hack gtk+ so it would look better, I'm stuck with official gtk sources, which lack some features."

Zed asked Silverex to move his website from the XChat.org domain, and the domain is now disabled.

"It's, of course, absolutely logical thing to do", Silverex continues, "free and shareware builds in the same xchat.org domain would conflict. Anyway, I'm fully supporting him, me myself have to earn money for living. Though I do not plan to ever make my build non-free."

Silverex has setup a temporary website where is offering the current 2.4.0 Windows version for download. On the same page he is also asking his users for some help. "Since I have no money for a domain (like silverex.info), maybe someone could provide me with that or both?"

There has been some discussion on whether this move would break the GPL under which XChat is released. We can read in the GPL: You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy, and you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange for a fee. As long as the source code is made available, a fee can be charged for making a binary available under the GPL.

so Silverex is still going to keep his build going, so those who don't think that unlimited usage and upgrades for a mere $20-USD isn't worth it can still use X-Chat on Windows for free: http://karklas.mif.vu.lt/xchat/news/

The page is temporary and the build requires GTK, if you don't know what you're doing, I'd advise to wait for the silverex.info/.org pages to be launched (perhaps osnn should host it :p) , as further information and direct binary links shall be included.
 
Buh. with all the neat gadgets & support for mirc out there I think I'll stick with it.
 

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Also Hi EP and people. I found this place again while looking through a oooollllllldddd backup. I have filled over 10TB and was looking at my collection of antiques. Any bids on the 500Mhz Win 95 fix?
Any of the SP crew still out there?
Xie wrote on Electronic Punk's profile.
Impressed you have kept this alive this long EP! So many sites have come and gone. :(

Just did some crude math and I apparently joined almost 18yrs ago, how is that possible???
hello peeps... is been some time since i last came here.
Electronic Punk wrote on Sazar's profile.
Rest in peace my friend, been trying to find you and finally did in the worst way imaginable.

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