GTX.Zip Professional stops working after 6 months

[KirillKryukov]

Installed GTX.Zip Professional stops working after 6 months (not sure if this is exact, or approximate). Expired GTZ shows message:

Powered by GTXLab of Genetalks. (built in PROFESSIONAL-2.1.2-V-2019-11-13 01:02:13 )
Warning:Invalid certificate!
Warning:The expiration date is:20200511
Warning:Please update the program from https://github.com/Genetalks/gtz .If you would like to use an unrestricted version, please contact [email protected] .

Upon seeing this message, the user is expected to download and install the latest version. (It's also mentioned in the license).

Why is this a problem for any serious use of GTX.Zip Professional?

1. Someone may use GTX.Zip Professional as part of data analysis system. Such system (possibly consisting of dozens of software tools) is tested and deployed in production environment. It's easy to miss the expiration message in EULA when constructing such system. Then in a few months the system suddenly stops working. By this time the people who designed the system may be unavailable, and the cost of investigating, fixing, and downtime may be high.

Therefore currently GTX.Zip Professional is not suitable for data analysis pipelines (i.e., in the industry).

2. Many journals require reproducible data analysis protocols when publishing results. A data analysis protocol must include versions of all software used. However, the exact version of GTZ used in the protocol will be unavailable for download by the time the paper is out. Even if a reader has the same version, it will expire and stop working by the time the paper is out.

Therefore GTX.Zip Professional is useless for reproducible science.

I don't know what benefits expiration brings to GTZ developers to make it worth rendering it useless for both science and industry. Perhaps it is intended to motivate the user to purchase a commercial license. This by itself is OK, the problem is that the current README.md never mentions the expiration.

To avoid misleading the users, freely downloadable GTX.Zip Professional must be clearly marked as "trial" and "6 month expiration" should be prominently mentioned in the README.md.

[yvonne-rhwl]

Our original intention in expiration is to hope that the community users can update and use the new version timely, and we invested considerable effort to constantly improve and upgrade the GTX.Zip. The expiration date will be recalculated when you download and use the new version. Our latest version is GTZ-2.1.3. If you want to continue using GTZ-2.1.2, please send us your company organization, research field information via email ([email protected]) and we will solve the problem for you as soon as possible.

[KirillKryukov]

Thank you for reply and kind offer. I already upgraded to v.2.1.3, so I have no problem currently. However I note that the issues remains for your other potential users.

I understand your possibly good intentions, but auto-expiring software will only turn away any users burned by it. If you think through the two scenarios I mentioned, you will understand why.

Expiring software is a ticking bomb, ready to disrupt your workflow when you least expect it. Expiration occurs after 6 months of seemingly smooth operation, and now suddenly your work is on hold until you allocate developer time to investigate and fix the issue. Anyone who encounters this once will never touch GTZ afterwards.

In academia, reproducible data analysis is extremely important. It does not matter if I can run GTZ indefinitely (after contacting you and obtaining perpetual license). The reviewers and readers of my paper still can't reproduce my workflow.

By all means, feel free to ignore this problem. The choice is entirely yours. I am just pointing out why the auto-expiration makes GTX.Zip Professional unsuitable for any serious use, both industrial and academic.

[yvonne-rhwl]

Thank you very much for your reminding and advice. Our consideration is indeed very imperfect. For the convenience of users, we will find a more suitable solution as soon as possible.

[KirillKryukov]

Thanks, looking forward to it.