look ma, antibackup!
Hyperspace
51–60 of 67 posts
Re: Hyperspace
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
The same concepts exist in ZFS, BtrFS and, IIRC, XFS.
also, worst case you can do this with link features? Which is basically every system under the sun.
but link is dangerous, as a edit made to one file will then be made to all copies.
For example, If I have two files /home/m/todo.txt and /home/m/backup2025/todo.txt that are identical and you then replace /home/m/todo.txt with a link to /home/m/backup2025/todo.txt and I later edit /home/m/todo.txt then backup copy would also be updated. With apfs clones the backup would not be modified when I updated the file.
Re: Hyperspace
#53This could be useful for reclaiming space when your disk is almost full, but $9.99 a month for a tool the average person isn't going to need very often seems a bit much.
Re: Hyperspace
#54This could be useful for reclaiming space when your disk is almost full, but $9.99 a month for a tool the average person isn't going to need very often seems a bit much.
It’s not really intended to be a recurring $9.99/mo. It’s $9.99, and that gives you a month of usage. But the expectation is you use it once or twice, then you’re done for a long time. But apparently they also offer an auto-renew subscription for that same price, which seems like a strange choice.
Re: Hyperspace
#55Discussed upon release at: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43173462
You can also use the free fclones CLI tool that uses the same native APFS functionality: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43173713
Re: Hyperspace
#56It's quite the dark-pattern to allow you to download it and scan for free, without any clear indication that it's a paid product, and then ambush you with a purchase dangling the space savings in front of your face.
If anything, it's the opposite of a dark pattern: you get to see if it'll provide any value for you without paying a dime. It's a far better proposition than paying up only to find out that it won't free up any space for you. The linked site is very clear about how the pricing works.
What makes it a (crystal clear IMO) dark pattern is that the purportedly "free" feature set gives the user no value whatsoever. It only exists to induce sales. Inducing a high-bar commit (the purchase) by first securing a low-bar commit (install + scan) is an old trick. Don't fall for it.
Re: Hyperspace
#57It's amazing that this is a product. In an earlier job we used to ask how to do this (discovery phase of deduplication) in the first interview screening. Once you have that list, it's straightforward to make a few syscalls that make it happen.
As I recall, there are nuances around certain types of files that require expert attention, such as links, files inside frameworks/packages, and unmaterialized iCloud Drive files.
Re: Hyperspace
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
also, worst case you can do this with link features? Which is basically every system under the sun.
but link is dangerous, as a edit made to one file will then be made to all copies. For example, If I have two files /home/m/todo.txt and /home/m/backup2025/todo.txt that are identical and you then replace /home/m/todo.txt with a link to /home/m/backup2025/todo.txt and I later edit /home/m/todo.txt then backup copy would also be updated. With apfs clones the backup would not be modified when I updated the file.
Link might be desirable for your e-book or mp3 collections. Or .iso images, MAME ROMs, and other files that are unlikely to be changed.
Re: Hyperspace
#59It's amazing that this is a product. In an earlier job we used to ask how to do this (discovery phase of deduplication) in the first interview screening. Once you have that list, it's straightforward to make a few syscalls that make it happen.
What are they gonna think of next, productizing something as trivial as FTP?
If you're referencing Fetch for mac (pre macos) or Transit by Panic (later renamed to Transmit), I was a fan (and I've been a terminal fanboy since the early 80s). Both of them started as FTP wrappers, and both provided convenience the cli lacked.
Re: Hyperspace
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
If anything, it's the opposite of a dark pattern: you get to see if it'll provide any value for you without paying a dime. It's a far better proposition than paying up only to find out that it won't free up any space for you. The linked site is very clear about how the pricing works.
What makes it a (crystal clear IMO) dark pattern is that the purportedly "free" feature set gives the user no value whatsoever. It only exists to induce sales. Inducing a high-bar commit (the purchase) by first securing a low-bar commit (install + scan) is an old trick. Don't fall for it.
I think this is an outrageous abuse of the term “dark pattern” from people who want to be angry more than they want to think. The website mentions repeatedly what the pricing model is, and the operation is “we show you exactly how much value you would get from paying, and then you can decide whether it’s worth it to you.” That’s as honest and plain as business can get: Plenty of people don’t have many/any files which would benefit from APFS COW snapshots and for them paying before the scan would be a ripoff.