Frequently Asked Questions about Synergy and Macheist

I occasionally get emails and support tickets from users who acquired Synergy through the Macheist promo last Christmas. I’m putting this FAQ up here to help clear up some of the questions which you might have.

What was the "Macheist" release of Synergy?

The "Macheist" release of Synergy was a special, fully unlocked build that was made especially for the Macheist "Giving Tree" promotion in the lead-up to Christmas, 2008. At the time of writing, the Official Giving Tree page is still online.

The version number of this special build was 3.3. It was distributed exclusively by the Macheist team and was never publicly released on the Wincent website.

Are users of the Macheist build eligible for free updates?

The Macheist promo version was a free giveaway, so no free updates are included.

I’ve lost my serial number. What can I do?

The Macheist build didn’t actually have serial numbers and none were ever issued; the licensing system was removed from the build and the application is completely unlocked. So if you are a Macheist user then you never actually had a serial number to lose.

I chose to produce a fully unlocked build rather than issue serial numbers because I wanted to make it as easy as possible for everyone involved; users wouldn’t have to enter license information and I wouldn’t have to issue it, and there was no scope for lost license codes or license notices getting caught by spam filters.

I updated and I’ve lost my registration info. How do I get it back?

As mentioned above, the Macheist build didn’t actually use registration info.

If you install a different version of Synergy, it will behave as un unregistered version. It won’t delete your Macheist registration info because there isn’t actually any info to delete.

How do I update to a newer version?

You can use a later version by purchasing a standard license — licenses start at 5 euros each — or you can use Synergy on a trial basis during the standard demo period.

Will the Macheist version notify me of new versions?

By default Synergy will check for new versions and notify you when one is available. In the case of the Macheist version the text of the notice reads:

A new version of Synergy is available

Version 3.4 (released 25 June 2009) is now available for download. Please note that this is not a free upgrade, but you may trial the new version at no cost for 7 days. At the end of the trial you may either purchase the new version for 5 euros, or re-install the MacHeist promo edition that you are using now. Click "Update Now" to visit the download page in your default browser. Click "Later" to dismiss the dialog and upgrade later.

If you don’t want to see new version notifications you can turn them off as detailed in the Synergy FAQ.

How do I use Synergy for free?

You can always go back to your free, unlocked version of Synergy by re-installing the promo version that you obtained from Macheist.

Can you supply me with a copy of the unlocked build?

No, and in fact the unlocked build was never distributed from this site; it was only ever distributed by the Macheist team. As they handled the distribution, I don’t have a list of users, and in fact I don’t even know how many copies were distributed.

If you didn’t explicitly keep a copy of the unlocked build you could also try looking in your Trash folder to see if it is there.

How do I uninstall the paid version of Synergy?

That depends on which version of Synergy you installed.

If you installed version 3.5 or later, you installed a normal application, so you can uninstall it by dragging the "Synergy Preferences" application to the Trash. (The exact location of the application depends on where you put it during installation, as it is a "drag and drop" install.)

If you installed a version prior to 3.5 then you installed a system preference pane using a custom installer, so it will either be at /Library/PreferencePanes/Synergy.prefPane (if you elected to install for all users on your system), or at /Users/<your username>/Library/PreferencePanes/Synergy.prefPane (if you elected to install for the "current user only"). You can either manually remove the preference pane by dragging it to the Trash or just run the installer again and click the "Uninstall" button.

See this post for more information about the differences between the 3.5 series and other versions of Synergy.

Can I update to a newer version at a discount?

As a general business principle I am strongly in favor of rewarding customers with discounts, but in the case of Synergy, the license price is so low (5€) that there is really no scope for applying discounts.

While a straight discount is not possible, I would be happy to explore other ways of rewarding your patronage. If you are a Macheist user and would like to purchase a license, you’re welcome to get in touch with me and I’ll organize a complimentary license for a friend of your choice.