51 minutes ago, techman said:

The problem that every marketplace (and even FS.to is one) has is that there is no quality assurance behind it. Especially fs.to, which is actively deleting bad reviews even if evidence is shown, is not the best place for getting addons. Some may work, some others don´t, some produces conflicts with installed software, some are breaking installed software (e.g. liveries for Fenix that "destroy" the clickspots, as stated by Fenix themselves) etc.

So in my opinion fs.to is nothing more than a marketing platform. Yes, there are good addons out there, but a couple of them lead to (unnecessary) conflicts with MSFS and cause support-trouble.

Lemme clarify this. You get the largest selection ever of excellent freeware, the access is free, the user interface is extremely friendly and you are p*ssed off 'cause a Fenix livery that you didn't pay for, muted some clickspots in the Fenix. Is that it ? Did I understand well ?  You think that FSTO should check the compatibility of  thousands of freeware they put online so you don't have the utmost displeasure to have a disabled clickspot once in a while , for free of course ? 

 

Edited May 11, 20233 yr by Dominique_K

Flightsim.to even has some less known functions. You can add wishes to a wishlist for freeware you would like to see being done. I added my home-FBO a year or so ago, a few others voted for it and it was modeled in good quality with some lovely detail a couple of months later. Sent the maker a donation, of course.

Kind regards, Michael

 

11 hours ago, FBW737 said:

Anyway, I've just tried to update some freeware of flightsim.to and I get a message saying Turn of your Adblocker.

I use Chrome with Ghostery. I don't remember if I had FS.to whitelisted, but I never got these messages. I'll check tonight, but I'm sure it's whitelisted.

3 hours ago, edpatino said:

You can also use the Opera browser.

I was a die-hard Opera user until version 12, when they started to be a Chrome copycat (and dropped all the functionality that set Opera apart). From then I went to Firefox and several of its forks, until...

3 hours ago, Jure said:

some years ago I discovered Vivaldi and been using it ever since

I used it for some years. However, since I'm an Android user, the integration between devices was too good to let pass. Vivaldi had a similar integration, but I had a couple of issues with it that sent me running to Chrome. I may give it a try later...   

 

Edited May 11, 20233 yr by Luis Hernandez

50 minutes ago, Dominique_K said:

Lemme clarify this. You get the largest selection ever of excellent freeware, the access is free, the user interface is extremely friendly and you are p*ssed off 'cause a Fenix livery that you didn't pay for, muted some clickspots in the Fenix. Is that it ? Did I understand well ?  You think that FSTO should check the compatibility of  thousands of freeware they put online so you don't have the utmost displeasure to have a disabled clickspot once in a while , for free of course ? 

 

I don´t say they should check it. I just say they don´t check it and therefore its a "fire&forget" for the guys at flightsim.to while the user that downloaded the stuff has to fiddle around problems that a downloaded freeware can cause on the users system. 

I'm not saying they should check it, I'm just saying they don't check it. The user who downloads freeware from flightsim.to takes a risk that is not covered by flightsim.to. This is a statement, not a request. It should only be aware to all parties involved. One has no claim to completeness of the software there, to compatibility certainly not, and if bad reviews are deleted also no system, which comes even close to a quality control.

But in the age of fake reviews on Amazon, everyone is certainly aware of that. All this is nothing new.

 

Edited May 11, 20233 yr by techman

Topic Executive Summary: Every browser works if permissions are set up properly! Computer experiences are never 100% perfect. In the game of life you win some and you lose some. There are always work arounds to become satisfied!

20 minutes ago, techman said:

 

But in the age of fake reviews on Amazon, everyone is certainly aware of that. All this is nothing new.

 

 It is the same for any freeware library including Avsim. They all check for viruses and then  you are on your own. How could they do otherwise ? But in the almost 500 freeware I downloaded, I had only two issues, airports in the Himalayas non compatible with the OrbX mesh. Never heard of a freeware causing problems to the user system. One can paralyse the access to the sim or cause CTD but  is easily circumvented.

Yes, we are in a day and age when you have to use some critical thinking in online transactions... and take risk 😉. The risk is minimal by the way.Not happy, speaking of Amazon you get your money back and speaking of FSTO  you just delete the faulty addon.

 

Edited May 11, 20233 yr by Dominique_K

13 hours ago, FBW737 said:

 

What the main alternative to flightsim.to for MSFS Freeware?

Short answer - no.

4 hours ago, techman said:

I don´t say they should check it. I just say they don´t check it and therefore its a "fire&forget" for the guys at flightsim.to while the user that downloaded the stuff has to fiddle around problems that a downloaded freeware can cause on the users system. 

I'm not saying they should check it, I'm just saying they don't check it. The user who downloads freeware from flightsim.to takes a risk that is not covered by flightsim.to. This is a statement, not a request. It should only be aware to all parties involved. One has no claim to completeness of the software there, to compatibility certainly not, and if bad reviews are deleted also no system, which comes even close to a quality control.

But in the age of fake reviews on Amazon, everyone is certainly aware of that. All this is nothing new.

 

I honestly have no idea what your point is.  I have downloaded probably thousands of add-ons from flightsim.to and found maybe 2 that ended up causing conflicts in MSFS and had to be removed.  Fortunately, managing add-ons is easy and painless using the fantastic add-on linker program found on (you guessed it!) flightsim.to.  I feel every bit as comfortable using the free add-ons I find on .TO as I do using payware add-ons purchased elsewhere.  Yes, I think we all understand there is no hand-holding once we download and install those add-ons.  That's kind of the nature of freeware though, isn't it?!  Given there is virtually zero competition, I am actually amazed flightsim.to continues to provide such a fantastic user interface/experience and I really have never given a 2nd thought to the ads.  If you have a better alternative, I think we would all love to find out what it is 😉

 

12 hours ago, altenae said:

Some people want everything for free. 

The ads are there to finance the webserver etc etc.

Ads are one thing, annoying but tolerable if need be. The tracking that often comes with it is what I'll block. I get that most people don't care or even know, but when you dig a bit into what's going on there and how companies collect and sell your data it's perverse (Google is basically a big data dealer these days).

Brave browser works just fine with flightsim.to.

Another vote for Chrome with adblocker here.  Works great - no ads, no errors.

2 hours ago, Stearmandriver said:

Another vote for Chrome with adblocker here.  Works great - no ads, no errors.

Brave worked great on FS.to - until 20 minutes ago, and now I'm getting the adblock messages.

Funny thing is I don't have any adblocker extensions running... just Brave shields. Needed to turn those off... I don't like turning those off.

Edited May 11, 20233 yr by mspencer

Huh! Strange thing is now it is working again without any adblocker message and I changed nothing. For the record I didn't complain about them asking me to turn off adblocker for Fightsim.to I always had it off for Flightsim.to. What bothered me is that their message said something else on my system was blocking adds form them and I'd have to figure it out or change browser or something to that effect. I neither have the time nor the inclination.

First world problem!

Thats what i call making a storm in a glass of water, and yes worth the effort because theres no other like flightsim.to for MSFS Freeware.

I use Firefox in all my pc's and i disabled adblocker for that site, simple as that.