Do You Purchase Software on Impulse?

[Renegade]

I just saw this SQL Server Comparison Tool when checking in at my .NET Preacher site, when I saw an ad there for it... 80% off! $20! WTF? Ok. I'm in. Bought sight unseen. (No time to test it as there are only a few hours left, and for $20?)

I suppose that I can't resist a really good deal. (If you work with MS SQL Server, you'd know that something like that is very useful to have in your toolbox when you need it.)

Anyways, anyone a sucker for a deal?

[tomos]

I'm half cheap and only go for the discounted stuff...

[Darwin]

Yes - My name is Mike and I am a software addict.

[nosh]

My name is Mike and I am a software addict.

[iphigenie]

If it is discounted enough I might kind of skip the 4 steps I normally do

* "do i need it?"
* "dont i already have something that does it?"
* "arent other tools that might do it better/cheaper?"
* "should I test it to make sure first?"

and just buy it. Then use it 3 times and park it, more often than not.

[zridling]

After two decades of buying the latest and newest, I finally began to wean myself from the (software purchase) impulse. Now it's moved to chess books, chessboards, and pieces. On top of that, since the USDollar is less than half the value it was just a few years ago, all my favorite software has in turn double or tripled in price, to the point that I can no longer justify the cost.

This came at a good time for me, since several open source apps have matured to the point where I only want to use them. Now instead of impulse spending, I can donate on impulse when I finally have some extra money.

[Renegade]

Arrrgggghhh!! The US dollar! I'm not happy about it's position right now. You got that one bang on there Zane!

I'm looking at buying a software license that's around 10,000 Euro. Ouch. I've got all my "software" money in USD. That hurts! Heck. The Canadian $ is worth more! (Depending on the day...) But still! The CAN vs. the USD? Huh?

For a lot of personal stuff I just go for free or cheap. I don't need anything else quite often. (For many things I can program it myself! And have fun doing it! ) When it comes to the business side though... I'd rather just shell out a few bucks and be done with it. But that US dollar thing does make things much different.

[Renegade]

This just in from the registration email I got from that software...

You can be sure that you get free technical support lifetime.

That just makes me feel that it was definitely worth the purchase no matter what (even if I only use it once or twice). Some developers have a great attitude like that, others don't. I like supporting the ones with the good attitude.

However, I have had impulse purchases go bad... Thankfully this one is looking very good!

[Curt]

Do You Purchase Software on Impulse?

Every program I have (except for Office 2003 and security programs) was bought on impulse
- discounted or not.


A bigger problem may be that I don't actually need all these programs...

[allen]

I've gotten better about it, but I still have the occasional "Drink too much, crave a new app to play with, buy the first thing I find" occurrence. It's how I ended up with a Core FTP license fairly recently.  I was struggling with a bad ftp connection and it became obvious I needed to use other means of uploading files than I was presently using, as neither my text editor nor rcftp handle their connection being dropped mid-transfer well at all.  I decided it was time to shop around for a new ftp client, and wanted to use one I'd never used before. Discover a little known, great ftp application.  Enter CoreFTP.  It's not the *worst* ftp client I've ever used . . . but certainly the most disappointing one I'd ever paid for.  After purchasing I came to find it offered almost no keyboard shortcuts, and really in general just isn't a contendor for "Best" or even "Good" ftp client, all things considered.  To make matters worse, feature requests, bug reports and general inquiries go unanswered -- support is allegedly offered via e-mail for paying users, but I'm not having any luck with it.

Long story short, impulse buy that turned out to be money thrown in the wind.  The upside is, my horrible experience with Core inspired me to bring my CuteFTP license up to date.  Much better.

[zridling]

[curt]: A bigger problem may be that I don't actually need all these programs...
________________________________________________
Yea, there's the rub. Until recently, I kept about 180 apps on my systems, including several text editors, a wide variety of archivers, and image editing apps. Because of the reinstall restrictions for Vista, I don't feel like I can freely install programs. After so many reinstalls, you have to buy the darn OS again!

[Darwin]

Heck. The Canadian $ is worth more! (Depending on the day...) But still! The CAN vs. the USD? Huh?

The last 30 years were a blip - the Canadian dollar has tended to trade in the 90 cent to parity range over the past 140 years. In 1865 it was worth something like $2.30! US Civil War was the reason... I think the Canadian dollar has been undervalued for the last 30 years and the US dollar overvalued over the same period. But what do I know... 

[tinjaw]

I was forced to vote yes, as HELL YEAH!!! was not an option. I am sure somebody could add it as a choice but don't count on my to come back to change my vote as I will be drive-by shopping for impulse purchases.

Oo oo oo oo shineeeeeeyyyyy

[Lashiec]

We need a SAA (Software Addicts Anonymous) for some of you

I don't even buy a bottle of water on impulse, so...

[cranioscopical]

Semi-impulse

If I see something recommended here, by someone whose views I respect,
I might just pick it up 'sight unseen' especially if it's discounted.
Gives me something with which to play when insomnia strikes. 
                                                                                       

[J-Mac]

I just reinstalled Windows on Friday and am still reinstalling software.  Sad part is---> I have programs I just purchased within the last four or five months that I have no desire to install, which means I didn't need the darn things at all!!  Sad; truly sad...

Hi.  My name is Jim, and I am a software addict...   

Jim

[MrCrispy]

The Never Ending Cycle (aka the Eight steps to SW Addiction)

1. Find new software on random blog
2. Check it out and realize although I don't need it, I want it
3. Search for freeware/oss equivalent
4. Spend a week researching, forum posting, trialing - to get the best solution to a problem that didn't exist before step 1
5. Be full of joy and happiness, bask in the glorious light from latest Start menu entry
6. "New beta version, would you like to update" ?
7. Hmm, I wonder what else is out there....
8. back to step 1

[Darwin]

What I'm more interested in are the 12 steps from SW addiction!

[tinjaw]

What I'm more interested in are the 12 steps from SW addiction!

Let's try this. Every time you purchase a piece of software, you also have to buy me a copy and ship it to me. This way, at least I get something out of the deal. 

[Darwin]

What I'm more interested in are the 12 steps from SW addiction!

Let's try this. Every time you purchase a piece of software, you also have to buy me a copy and ship it to me. This way, at least I get something out of the deal. 

That would be more like one step to penury... 

[cranioscopical]

Let's try this. Every time you purchase a piece of software, you also have to buy me a copy and ship it to me. This way, at least I get something out of the deal. 

Fair enough, stand by to receive my second copy of The Breakbeat-Techno Anihilator...

[Curt]

Because of the reinstall restrictions for Vista, I don't feel like I can freely install programs. After so many reinstalls, you have to buy the darn OS again!

I have never heard of this before. Quite frankly: You are scaring me! 
Will you (any of "you") please tell what this is about? 

[Lashiec]

Nah, I think that's one of the effects of Zaine experiments with Linux. He heads to the package manager, ticks a lot of programs and starts downloading. When he comes back to Vista, having to download apps one by one makes him lost all desires to try new software

What I'm more interested in are the 12 steps from SW addiction!

You can write a lengthy suite of songs afterwards

[Darwin]

Sadly, Lashiec, I believe that such a song would wind up being C&W. C&W is an acquired taste. I haven't (really) acquired it yet.

[app103]

See shiny new software...

step 1. find out if they take paypal
step 2. find out my paypal balance
step 3. find out price of software
step 4. if price < paypal balance, download & try software
step 5. wait till 30 days after trial expires to decide if I can live without it, find something cheaper/free, make it myself, etc.
step 6. if nothing found and I can't live without it and I don't want to try making it, go back and buy software.
step 7. Every few months, uninstall all the stuff I forgot about long before it made it to step 5 (which is most things)

I am very frugal by nature and there is no room for impulse shopping in my personality or my wallet.

I am not much of an impulse shopper for anything...not even food. My husband loves sending me to do the shopping, because I stick to the carefully planned list. It saves him a lot of money.

On the other side of the coin, I'll never ask him to pick up milk on the way home from work because it will be the most expensive milk in the world and come with 10 bags of free groceries.