Hi, I am trying to decide what version of FTK should I buy.
1) FTK 1.x
I've read a lot of negative feedback about FTK 2.x from people saying 1.x is (was) better. Well, despite whether it's true or not, where can I actually buy 1.x these days anyway? No AD's reseller is selling 1.x. All I was able to find were various people selling FTK 1.x dongles. Ignoring the fact how doubtful it may be to buy something from an unknown person, there may be also licensing issues. I've read in another thread that AD does allow users to transfer licenses, but "the seller might need to confirm the transfer with the company". What if he won't do that? I am not sure if it's worth the hassle. Also, what about updates? As I understood it I have to pay for updates annually? Now, so far AD is still maintaining FTK 1.x, but what if they decide to stop? Then I will have to buy 3.x anyway for the full (or almost full?) price?
2) FTK 2.x
Well, for me the last versions of 2.x tree seemed fine, having Oracle on separate machine seems nice too as I have multiple computers on gigabit lan. But does it make any sense to buy 2.x now when they just released 3.x? I've read that the upgrade from 2.x to 3.x will not be for free. On AD's website the 2.x has been already put into "Previous Releases" section, as there is only FTK 3.0 and 1.81.4 for download. The AD's resellers are still selling the 2.x, though.
3) FTK 3.x
On AD's website there is a proud message "FTK 3.0 Available Now!" but where (the ..beep..) is it available? I haven't found anyone who is actually selling 3.x. Also, what is the price? Anyone has any insight?
What would you recommend me, guys? I can wait additional month or two, but I really need to buy it this year. My budget for this is $4000 max. If it was still possible to buy 1.x (Ultimate Toolkit for $1949) I would buy it immediately. 2.x is selling for $3830, no idea what 3.x may cost.
1.x is obsolete but still updated, 2.x seems to be replaced by 3.x, but 3.x is not available for purchase.
I am quite familiar with 1.x as my colleague is using it and from my point of view it has everything I need. I don't really know what functional advantages are in 2.x/3.x. I mean, there must be something more than just a look&feel. On the other hand, all those people still using 1.x wouldn't do that if in 1.x was lack of some major features. Or would they?
I don't know what to think of it.
Any advice will be appreciated.
John
You have to buy the latest version, which includes a license for previous versions. You can't buy just FTK 1.x any more although updates to FTK 1.x are (thankfully) still be being released.
All the resellers details are at http//
Thank you for your response, although it really didn't answer my questions. But thanks anyway.
Also thanks for the link to the resellers. I am aware of this link as this was the place where I was looking when I said that I haven't found any reseller who is selling FTK 3.x, despite the message "FTK 3.0 Available Now!" clearly visible on AD's homepage.
Your question was "what version of FTK should I buy", I answered you have no choice, you buy the latest version giving you access to 1.x, or 3.x, 2.x is no longer available. See
Only current licences give access to updates of any of the versions; without this you will only be able to use the version of 1.x or 2.x which was available when the license was last valid.
Data Duplication in England sell 3.x, am not sure what 'CZ' in your location means?
Greetings,
You can occasionally find 1.x and 2.x licenses available on the open market. These can be legally transferred but if you want maintenance and support be prepared to pay a significant fee.
If 1.x is working for you, go for it. A lot of us still use 1.7 and 1.8. I tried 2.0 and pretty much skipped it. I've seen a lot of people reporting problems with 3.0 but, if those get resolved, I'll give it a try. Bear in mind that the hardware requirements for 3.0 are a lot beefier than for 1.8.
-David
Thanks for the feedback guys.
Jonathan, I see only FTK 2.x on Data Duplication
CZ stands for the Czech Republic, you can find all country codes in ISO 3166, or for example
3.0 is available for download from the AD website. If your license dongle is current you can run 3.0.
Oh, so you are saying I can normally buy 2.x from any reseller and the dongle will work with 3.0 downloaded off the AD website?
So there is no price for 2.x => 3.x upgrade after all?
Can anyone confirm this, please?
Oh, so you are saying I can normally buy 2.x from any reseller and the dongle will work with 3.0 downloaded off the AD website?
So there is no price for 2.x => 3.x upgrade after all?
Can anyone confirm this, please?
No, 2.x is no longer available.
Hi everyone,
I have some update info about this subject.
1)
Basically all resellers who are selling FTK 2 should be able to sell FTK 3 by now, despite their websites still show FTK 2 (they are just a bit slow with updating their websites D ).
2)
A dongle for FTK 2 should work with FTK 3 as well.
3)
Explicit Image Detection (LTU), which is a new feature in FTK 3, is an add-on included in the standard FTK 3 installation and it requires a separate license to work. The LTU license is $500.
So the total price for FTK3 Standalone Corporate + LTU is $4330.
I just ordered all this so I'll let you know how FTK 3 works and especially how reliable is this LTU add-on in pornographic pictures recognition.