Why did we develop a desktop app?

[jinjorge]

Some of you may be wondering why we(Eye-Fi) developed a desktop application?

We received requests from users that included:
- the ability to use the application while not connected to the Internet – including adding/removing wireless networks, changing the local destination folders, etc.
- eliminating issues due to browsers or browser add-ons
- after wireless transfer, sharing selected photos & videos to different web sites

To address these requests, make configuring the Eye-Fi Card and sharing your photos & videos easier, we released the Eye-Fi Center desktop application as an optional download.

Once Eye-Fi users have had time to adjust to the new Eye-Fi Center, the current Eye-Fi Manager will get a makeover geared towards providing mobile and desktop browser access to Eye-Fi account settings.

We look forward to your feedback to help us make Eye-Fi Center even better.

[marcd]

Great to hear that the Eye-Fi (browser) manager will be more friendly for mobile browsers.

Thanks

[mistermike]

If the new app supposedly frees us from being hogtied to the internet, why do I get an error using a simple Home card on a previously properly configured network about card registration unable to be verified? This card has previously uploaded fine without any permission from an Eye Fi server. Moreover, the app emphatically would not allow me to configure a new network without internet connectivity.

[jinjorge]

If the new app supposedly frees us from being hogtied to the internet, why do I get an error using a simple Home card on a previously properly configured network about card registration unable to be verified? This card has previously uploaded fine without any permission from an Eye Fi server. Moreover, the app emphatically would not allow me to configure a new network without internet connectivity.

The 'Unable to Verify Card Registration' is a message you will get when the card is plug into a computer with no internet connection. It should not prevent you from being able to add your network to your card. You can add the network by selecting 'Other' and clicking on the 'Out of Range Network' Check box.

Let me know if this works for you.

Jeremiah

[hacker]

I'm not sure what's the best place, but since you're listening here, that may do.

In Mac OS X version, the eyefiCenter.pkg/Contents/Resources/postinstall file runs the "/Applications/Eye-Fi/Eye-Fi Center Installer.app/Contents/MacOS/Adobe Air Installer", which is packaged in the eyefiCenterInstaller.pkg as "Adobe AIR Installer" (note the case difference). I happen to have a case-sensitive filesystem and it took me a while to figure out what's going wrong and get the application to install. I think you may want to get this one fixed, it doesn't take much effort (changing Air to AIR did the trick for me).

[redeyedog]

Can someone direct me to your complete privacy policy? I would like to know exactly what information you collect from me and when, while using the eye-fi card and when I'm not.

Thank you.

[MadDawgJ]

Sure thing:

http://support.eye.fi/what-is-the-eye-f ... cy-policy/

[Peter Galbavy]

As a new user (bought the Pro X2 last night and have been playing) I thought I would throw some instant comments out there. First impressions, if you like.

I didn't initially understand the difference between the Manager and Center apps. I innnocently installed Eye-Fi Center because it's what came on the card.

1. Adobe Air. What an awful piece of s**t. Seperate license agreement, openly rumoured to be using spyware techniques, sluggish even on a 4-core AMD Windows 7 box.

Please, try a real platform for development. One that the user doesn't have to sacrifice goats, chickens and their privacy to run.

2. Eye-Fi Center doesn't recognise the Geotags on JPEGs. Eye-Fi Manager does. Odd.

3. Requirement for a 1024x800 screen when many netbooks - a portable storage medium of choice for many - only support 1024x600 still. This is especially galling when the pop-up dialogues must be contained inside the frame of the main application *and* many of them have vertical scroll bars anyway, so why not just make then more manageable in the first place ?

4. There is very little live information as to what is happening with file sharing uploads in either package/interface. At least in my world. Maybe I have not set things up right yet.

I am sure there will be more, but on first impressions I strongly suggest dropping Eye-Fi Center as-is and focus on putting the "off net" features into Eye-Fi manager or a lightweight replacement. One that doesn't require Adobe Air for a start.

[SeattleJim]

I agree with Peter above. Adobe Air sucks big time.

Please, please, please bring back the Eye-Fi Manager!

I have de-installed Eye-Fi Center because it doesn't work on my network the way I have it configured. I have emailed back-abnd-forth with Eye-Fi customer support numerous times and they are very polite. But the final email was that I need to change the way I have my network configured to get Eye-Fi Center to work.

No thank you.

I loved Eye-Fi Manger and it worked flawlessly. The Eye-Fi Center has a very un-intuative interface and was not needed, at least for me. I can understand some customers not wanting to connect to the internet. But your product is all about connecting more easily to wireless networked locations. The internet is a big part of that for most users.

Please reconsider and bring back the Eye-Fi Manager.

[sean]

SeattleJim,

Have you checked out http://center.eye.fi as an alternative to some of the functionality offered by Eye-Fi Center?

Sean

[SeattleJim]

I finally figured out why they are so pushy about forcing this inferior software down everyone's throat. I was finally able to stop Adobe Air from crashing long enough to launch Eye-Fi Center. And guess what? All of a sudden in the new software it says I can no longer upload my photos to online devices like Picasa because my "license for this added service as expired". So this was all just a cooked up scheme to milk more money from me for a service that was included at no charge when they first came out but now they want to charge for. What scam artists!

NEWS FLASH TO EYE-FI: I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY YOU TO SEND MY PHOTOS OVER MY NETWORK TO SOMEONE ELSE'S SERVICE! I know you'd like to take my money for this, but there is nothing you offer (except the wi-fi card I already paid for!) I sure wish someone with some ethics would take over this company!

[dattaway]

It took me a few hours to set up my card, including long downloads over my internet connection, installs, reboots, complaints of viruses, etc. I had to apologize to my wife.

I was hoping just to edit a text file on the sd card. I've been spoiled by Linux too long...

[jinjorge]

....in the new software it says I can no longer upload my photos to online devices like Picasa because my "license for this added service as expired"......What scam artists!

Jim,
Could you please log back in to your Eye-Fi Center account and in 'Settings' you can now upload photos to your Picasa Web account. No, we are not scam artists. This was an oversight on our part and it is now fixed. my apologies for the inconvenience.

regards,

Jeremiah

[itimjim]

Just thought I'd chime in and say I've just configured my Eye-Fi 4GB X2 for the first time and it was mostly a breeze. Not trying to be smug or anything, just want to provide some balance to the complaints.

Eye-Fi Center seems OK to me, and I have no problems with the Adobe AIR platform, being a regular user of Tweet Deck also. This is running on a NetTop Acer Aspire Revo R3610 with a whopping great powerful Atom N330, and has no problems performance wise - well a tiny bit sluggish to start, but what isn't on an Atom/Netbook/top.

Only suggestions from what I can see, is that it would be good for the card to detect the local Eye-Fi Center application and transfer direct, rather than up to the cloud service and back down - I'm assuming that's how it does it. Eye-Fi View standard as a service seems OK, no iPad app a bit disappointing, but rumour has it X2 cards are getting direct transfer over Eye-Fi adhoc WAP in 2011...which is very nice is it comes to light.

Eye-Fi View Premium is waaaaay over priced, and from a business point of view, I'd struggle to see where you're going to get any conversions from online sharing sites, which do it better and cheaper. It's great that you haven't nobbled your product to encourage usage of your own cloud service though. It needs to be $10-15 year before folk would consider 'not' using Flickr/SmugMug/Picasa/etc... though.

Being able to retrospectively add WPS to the card even though not buying a 'geo' card is good; even though a no-brainer, some manufactures seem to be exactly that. Notifications are great for a headless product, and extending into the Facebook and Twitter APIs is very contemporary. Selective Transfer/Sharing mode is very ingenious considering the limited scope you would have had to work with.

Oh, and it would be nice if you handled RAW without the ludicrously expensive Pro card, it's just files after all. And other video formats too, like AVCHD (mts).

All in all, it's a very satisfactory purchase, and I actually find the desktop widget app fairly OK to setup and configure. I don't plan on using it much though, just sat there throwing photos on to a home NAS which Windows Live Photo Gallery picks up automatically.

[montecdata]

Some of you may be wondering why we(Eye-Fi) developed a desktop application?

We received requests from users that included:
- the ability to use the application while not connected to the Internet – including adding/removing wireless networks, changing the local destination folders, etc.
.....
We look forward to your feedback to help us make Eye-Fi Center even better.

Huh? I don't understand at all. Without an internet connection the Eye-Fi Center doesn't work.
Well, "works" and "works". It is painfully slow so it doesn't work in practice. Probably the Adobe AIR crapware that tries to connect to internet 54758 times.

[sean]

montecdata,

If you'd be interested in trying out an alternative to the Adobe AIR app, PM me your email address.

Sean

[sean]

stardust1728,

PM me your email address and I can send you on a version of the application which doesn't require Adobe AIR.

Sean

[Jesse Davis]

Hello,

Although it is usable and better than nothing, in the end Eye-fi Center doesn't do what you stated it should at the top of this thread.

Absolutely positively the most aggravating thing about this software is that I can't change folder destinations without an internet connection.

If I need to log in and be online to change where transferred files go, and how, then the desktop application hasn't met your design goal of removing the need to be online from the equation.

Moreover I cant see a good reason that I need to be online to change such things.

I'm getting ready to use my new Pro X2 in a shoot and, because of the flakey behaviour between pentax JPEGs and the iPad over Eye-fi, an ad hoc network from my laptop is the best option.

Unfortunately I will need to have everything set right before I pack for the shoot, because I must connect to the internet at home, set my upload folder, disconnect and create the ad hoc, add the ad hoc network to the card (the only setting in Center which works offline!), and then pack to go.

If in the field I should need to change a setting I will be out of luck.

I would also prefer not to use AIR. (Using a Mac).

Also cheeky popup titles ("Groovy!"), interface colors, and sluggishness.

Couldn't care less about social network features, only care a little about geo-tagging. Make it work well as a wireless tethering solution and you will keep a lot of pros happy.

For example build in a nice full-screen 1, 2, or 3-up view of the last transferred photos.

Anyway sorry for the long screed. Just a little disappointed that the price premium paid is not translating into hassle free wireless life. Please make all the settings available offline!

Regards,
Jesse

[randhirv]

Absolutely positively the most aggravating thing about this software is that I can't change folder destinations without an internet connection.

If you are changing folder destinations on the same machine, you dont' need an internet connection. You will need an internet connection if you are switching from one machine to another.

Randhir

[jinjorge]

Absolutely positively the most aggravating thing about this software is that I can't change folder destinations without an internet connection.

If you are changing folder destinations on the same machine, you dont' need an internet connection. You will need an internet connection if you are switching from one machine to another.

Randhir

To add to Randhir's point - one thing to note is that if you log out of the Eye-Fi Center application, you do NEED internet access to log back in to your account. You can close the application without logging out and this will alleviate the problem you may be running into trying to change the folder destinations because you can't log back in to the application without internet access.

Jeremiah

[Kedgin]

I have a 5D 2 and use eye-fi to preview pics on my laptop.
there're tow things make me feel unreasonable:
1. If I don't have a internet connection, I can NOT change the setting of my eye-fi card.
2. If I don't have a internet connection, I can NOT delete the pics in the eye-fi center.

[seline11]

This card has previously uploaded fine without any permission from an Eye Fi server. Moreover, the app emphatically would not allow me to configure a new network without internet connectivity.

[sean]

Seline,

Can you give a brief description of what happens when you try to add a network while offline please? What version of the application are you running?

Thanks

Sean

[MikesTooLz]

if the desktop client is optional how come it requires the card be inserted in the computer?

if I can make a change online, and my computer is online, why cant the client make to needed changes online without needing the card plugged in? I can understand about firmware updated and things like that, but I'm just talking about general settings.

[sdwhite56]

I have a question on the desktop app. I use the Eye-Fi system with a mobile scanner. On my Windows 7 PC I see thumbnails of pdf files but on my Windows 8 PC I only see an icon and I have to actually open the pdf to see what it is.

Any ideas?