News and Reviews > Mini-Reviews by Members
Mini-Review and Discount (Sep 2010): USB Safely Remove and Zentimo
mouser:
Just to clarify -- from my reading you don't need to renew the license to use the program.. it's just a question of whether you get free UPGRADES after a year. Regardless, you can always keep using your last version. That's pretty standard and seems not a big deal to me. That's how i read it.
(i agree with you about avoiding programs where you actually need to renew your license every year in order to keep using it)
Darwin:
Yes, sorry for the confusion. I meant lifetime upgrades, not a lifetime license. From what I can see, Zentimo works as advertised, so upgrades may not be all that urgent. Also, Crystal Rich have reduced the cost of extending a subcription from $20 a year to $15 a year, so upgrades will hardly be a big hit on the pocket book.
superboyac:
Just to clarify -- from my reading you don't need to renew the license to use the program.. it's just a question of whether you get free UPGRADES after a year. Regardless, you can always keep using your last version. That's pretty standard and seems not a big deal to me. That's how i read it.
(i agree with you about avoiding programs where you actually need to renew your license every year in order to keep using it)
-mouser (September 06, 2010, 11:10 AM)
--- End quote ---
I think developers don't need to actually mention or brag that you can use the version you bought for life. I've seen companies do this many times and the end result is that the consumer is always confused and there's a lot of miscommunications and back-and-forths because of the whole thing. First of all, there is no program that I know of where you CAN'T use the version you originally bought forever. So it's nothing to emphasize or brag about because all programs work that way. So just the fact that it is mentioned is confusing. Why is it being mentioned? What's the point? So what? That's why people get confused. It sounds like a great thing is being offered, but it's really the standard practice for just about all software. When people say the word "lifetime" in any software licensing situation, the user will assume they mean lifetime upgrades/updates/everything. That's why we get excited when we hear that. So the fact that the word "lifetime" is used when it's describing the standard situation is misleading. I have to think it's done intentionally. Now, I like Crystal Rich so I won't criticize them too much for this. The bottom line is that they have decided to use a different licensing for Zentimo than they were doing for USB SR. And as a developer, you have to mention this, but you have to do it in a nice way. Maybe that's why they say "You can still use the program for lifetime and on each of your computers", even though that was never in question. What software do you know of where you can't do this? That would be the equivalent of software rental, which just doesn't happen (maybe in some big corporate software it does).
Like I said, I've seen this happen many times and in all cases, I've seen the developers throw in that statement, "You can still use the program for lifetime and on each of your computers." You shouldn't say this. It causes confusion, it's misleading, and as soon as you say this, you have to:
1) Explain to MANY people the difference between lifetime upgrades/updates vs. using an old version forever. This is always difficult for developers because they have a hard time saying "you can still use your old version forever." That sounds depressing and negative. So they go for the more positive/happy sentence "You can still use the program for lifetime and on each of your computers", which just doesn't get the same point across.
2) Makes people resent the developers for seemingly trying to do a switch-and-bait or other trickery. This does happen, but I don't think Crystal Rich is one of those. I think they just realized the lifetime thing is an impossible business model. It really is. It's great for us as consumers. I jump on lifetime licenses all the time because I know they're going to have to change it sometime in the future. But it's bad for the developers. I think Crystal Rich, from all the companies I've seen that had to go through this change, were the most honest in dealing with this. They explained on the website how with lifetime licenses, the user base keeps growing and growing, and no more money is coming in other than that initial purchase. It really doesn't work.
tranglos:
I think developers don't need to actually mention or brag that you can use the version you bought for life. I've seen companies do this many times and the end result is that the consumer is always confused and there's a lot of miscommunications and back-and-forths because of the whole thing. First of all, there is no program that I know of where you CAN'T use the version you originally bought forever.
-superboyac (September 06, 2010, 11:58 AM)
--- End quote ---
It must be pretty rare, so far, but I do have one example of such a shady/shoddy licensing scheme: Returnil System Safe. From their FAQ:
Q: What happens after the subscription expires (one year normally)?
A: Returnil Virtual System 2010 will simply revert to the unregistered version of Home Free called Free. The System Safe and Virtual Disk features will continue to work but the Virus Guard, File manager, and Real System Access features will be inactive.
--- End quote ---
So unless you pay up every year, the product you originally bought reverts to the limited, free version. Instead of an upgrade (new features, improvements), you're buying the right to keep using what you've already bought.
Other than that, I'm with you all the way.
mouser:
Antivirus programs tend to stop working (or at least become worthless) if you don't renew; which is why i would ignore any special offers of "a free year" of any such program.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version