Tucows has announced that it has shut down its software download site, famously known as the Tucows Downloads after nearly three decades of being a popular and established download website.
Engadget has reported that the CEO of Tucows himself, Elliot Noss, made the announcement, wherein he mentioned and described the website as an old one. He also added that such old sites are experiencing maintenance challenges, which could result into a risk on keeping it up to date.
The Fall of Tucows Downloads
With the emergence of the app stores form various brands and companies, mainly headed by the likes of some of the biggest digital app stores, such as the Google Play, Microsoft, and Apple, all of those has been running their self-developed app stores in an already long run. These are some of the main competitions being inclined to the maintenance challenges being faced by the much older software download sites, and in this case, just like Tucows Downloads.
The CEO also said that the decision to close and shut down the website which once became a very popular one especially during the early days of the internet and the world wide web has been brought to the table for a long time now, wailing way back to 2016. Yet their view towards the website which could signify this certain sentimentality as one of the oldest yet most used and visited download websites of all time has been on top of the situation during those times.
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The report also stated how the company approached the matter surrounding on keeping their established website - which is to treat it as a somehow public service instead of being a website intended to earn and generate revenue. The ads that were popping out of the site were all removed, yet they have confessed that one effect of doing so is that the site had become less relevant in terms of "looking at the balance sheet," indicating that it almost lost value when it comes to the moneymaking aspect.
Now after more than four years since the thought of closing the site first occurred within the mindset of the company, they have put an end on the long reign of Tucows Downloads.
Some of the Known Software from Tucows Downloads
Some of the software being catered by the site include the likes of Softonic - the known virus portal based in Barcelona, Spain, Softpedia - the library site housing almost 10 billion free and free-to-try applications for the Windows, Mac, and Linux OS, as well as for those in the mobile games and drivers for both PC and mobile phones, MajorGeeks - the four-star geek-tested and reviewed software for Windows, FileHippo - another established software download site, and CNET Downloads - the software download body and entity inclined with CNET.
Yet Lilipuitng has listed that the Tucows downloads section will still be active and can be accessed through the Tucows Software Library in the Internet Archive. It places more than 32,000 applications which are available for download, especially those which went by the website from 1993 up to 2004.
