LWELCH@COLGATEU.BITNET (05/19/89)
>> One facet of the piracy issue that I'd like to bring up is the >> question of early version penalties (EVP - a.k.a. upgrade fees). When a >> software item is upgraded to a newer version the same suggested retail >> price is kept. People with older versions usually must pay an early versi on >> penalty in order to trade in their old version for the new one. These .. >When was the last time you went to a car dealer and complained >because they wouldn't give you this years version of your car for >30% of the price you paid for the old one? >You have two choices with software. You can do what you do with >your car - sell the old one and buy a new one. Or you can do something >unique to the software industry, upgrade to the new one for a small >percentage of the full price. Of course if you do the latter you ------------- To use the same analogy, what if you bought a car and a year later, you learned that th car's engine would occasionally stop dead because of a faulty valve that was designed improperly. Don't you think that the car maker should be obligated to pay to have the valve replaced since the defect is his fault and the car will not perform as advertised? Don't you think that if the defect were serious enough (such as causing the car to catch fire) that the automaker should issue a recall and have every defective valve replaced at no charge? There is a difference between software updates which mainly fix such defects (bugs) in programs and software upgrades which provide the user with new features that were not available with his old version. CLARIS's update of Appleworks 2.0 to 2.1 is free and it is a good example of the way bugs should be corrected in commercial software. For software upgrades, the software seller can expect to get some extra payment in return for the new functionality of the program. This could be likened to adding a casette stereo to an already purchased car, or to the trade-in policy of carmakers when buying a new car. (You can trade in last year's car, but you'll have to pay something for the new model). I don't think that upgrading is unique to the software industry, though it is much simpler to copy a new version than to buy a car. In the case of bugs in the software, commercial retailers should be obligated to provide updates for free or the cost of postage & disks. In the case of added features, commercial retailers are not obligated to provide ANY new product. The old version still does what it was claimed to do. How much they decide to charge for the new product or an upgrade if they choose to offer one is solely up to them. If you don't think the new features are worth the price, then don't pay for the upgrade. of the way bugs should be corrected in commercial software. | Chip Welch "Apple ][ Forever!" | | Chipmunk Computer Systems | | CU Box L3058 BITNET: LWELCH@COLGATEU.BITNET | | Hamilton, NY 13346 GEnie: C.WELCH3 | `----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
nazgul@obsolete.UUCP (Kee Hinckley) (05/19/89)
> There is a difference between software updates which mainly fix such defects > (bugs) in programs and software upgrades which provide the user with new > features that were not available with his old version. CLARIS's update of Agreed. > In the case of bugs in the software, commercial retailers should be > obligated to provide updates for free or the cost of postage & disks. There are bugs and there are *bugs*. We are many years from getting software to the quality I expect from a (non-american :-) car. If any bug required a free update your initial software would cost *much* more. It then becomes a judgement call. Data-destructive bugs should clearly be "recalled". More minor bugs might not be. How good a company is about this clearly becomes one of their selling points, and in my experience companies that screw around with their customers tend to lose out in bad-publicity and lower sales. > to offer one is solely up to them. If you don't think the new features are > worth the price, then don't pay for the upgrade. Absolutely. -------
KMILES@CC.USU.EDU ("Kurt Miles, VAX Consultant") (05/21/89)
>From: LWELCH%COLGATEU.BITNET@CORNELLC.CIT.CORNELL.edu >Subject: RE: Piracy and Software Upgrade Policies >features that were not available with his old version. CLARIS's update of >Appleworks 2.0 to 2.1 is free and it is a good example of the way bugs should >be corrected in commercial software. For software upgrades, the software Learn something new every day. I wasn't aware of this. What do I need to do to upgrade form 2.0 to 2.1? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ | GreyMan ------> and the <----- DRAGON Kurt Miles | KMILES@USU (Bitnet) | ..... remember, sometimes the DRAGON wins! KMILES@CC.USU.EDU (Internet) | ------ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^