jjs@burdvax.PRC.Unisys.COM (James Solderitsch) (08/07/87)
On the Freesoft Roundtable (Red Ryder Support Service on Genie)
Scott Watson recently reported that version 10 of Red Ryder will
be sold commercially and *not* be available as shareware.
The version will *not* be available for downloading from the
Genie Roundtable.
Registered Users can get the new version through the mail
for an upgrade fee that
was still not determined although the figure $20 was mentioned
in discussions on the roundtable.
New buyers will look at a list price of $100 or so but the price
will be discounted by the usual high-volume mail order places.
Availability was also not determined, although best guestimates place
release during the latter part of August (undergoing final beta test now).
Package will include complete printed documentation and will work
on all Macs (512 through Mac II).
It is interesting to consider the implications of one of the few nominal
shareware success stories coming to an end.
Discussion on this topic welcome!
I for one plan on upgrading when the version is released;
people in the know claim its a dynamite product.
I don't know whether Freesoft will be exhibiting next week in Boston.
Thought you all would want to know.
Jim Solderitsch
USENET: sdcrdcf!burdvax!jjs
{sjuvax,ihnp4,akgua,cadre}psuvax1!burdvax!jjs
ARPANET: jjs@burdvax.prc.unisys.compalmer@tybalt.caltech.edu (David Palmer) (08/07/87)
In article <4129@burdvax.PRC.Unisys.COM> jjs@burdvax.PRC.Unisys.COM (James Solderitsch) writes: >Registered Users can get the new version through the mail >for an upgrade fee that >was still not determined although the figure $20 was mentioned >in discussions on the roundtable. I registered my Red Ryder with the understanding that nominally priced (e.g. $5, or free for downloading) upgrades would be the policy for all eternity. Now it turns out that the upgrade costs half as much as the original registration. $20 is not much, but the principle of the thing rankles me. Does this price include a printed manual? If so, then it would be reasonable, as the previous understanding included the manual coming on the floppy, and each user printing it out himself. Are all the bugs fixed? Can you kermit a text file to a unix system without losing the newlines? David Palmer palmer@tybalt.caltech.edu ...rutgers!cit-vax!tybalt.caltech.edu!palmer
alcmist@well.UUCP (Frederick Wamsley) (08/09/87)
Version 10.0 will be distributed with a printed manual. This is one
of the reasons it will not be shareware. Another reason is that Scott
Watson, the author, wants access to the retail channel.
In the GEnie discussions, Mr. Watson broke his long-standing silence
on the subject of how many people actually pay for Red Ryder. His guess
is that 30% of regular users have paid, 60% are still putting it off, and
10% are deadbeats. This may be another reason.
The proposed US$20 is really a nominal charge. Freesoft has been charging
$10 for the handling involved in mailing out a disk, and good manuals are
not cheap to produce. I'm a registered user and don't feel betrayed, since
Freesoft has always reserved the right to recoup distribution expenses on
upgrades.
--
Fred Wamsley {dual,hplabs}!well!alcmist;well!alcmist@lll-crg.arpa;
CIS 72247,3130; GEnie FKWAMSLEY;ATT Mail fwamsley; other uucp
uw-beaver!uw-june!bcsaic!asymet!fred; USPS - why bother?
"once a man gets a reputation as a liar, he might as well be struck dumb" - RAHbytebug@felix.UUCP (Roger L. Long) (08/09/87)
In article <4129@burdvax.PRC.Unisys.COM> jjs@burdvax.PRC.Unisys.COM (James Solderitsch) writes: >On the Freesoft Roundtable (Red Ryder Support Service on Genie) >Scott Watson recently reported that version 10 of Red Ryder will >be sold commercially and *not* be available as shareware. >New buyers will look at a list price of $100 or so but the price >will be discounted by the usual high-volume mail order places. >Discussion on this topic welcome! >I for one plan on upgrading when the version is released; >people in the know claim its a dynamite product. Well, it has the *potential* for being a dynamite product, but in my experience in trying to use RR since Version 5, I'd be *real* surprised if Version 10 had any fewer bugs than any of the previous versions. Bugs in shareware don't bug me, since you aren't forced to use (or pay for) said shareware product. However I would have been *very* upset if I had paid $100 for the bug-ridden Version 9.0. And before you remind me that RR v10 has been through beta-testing this time (we've been beta-testing it for at least a couple years that I know of, but the same old bugs keep popping up), let me remind you that Word 3.0 went through beta-test, too. -- Roger L. Long FileNet Corp {hplabs,trwrb}!felix!bytebug
jeffp@phred.UUCP (Jeff Parke) (08/13/87)
In article <4876@felix.UUCP> bytebug@felix.UUCP (Roger L. Long) writes: >In article <4129@burdvax.PRC.Unisys.COM> jjs@burdvax.PRC.Unisys.COM (James Solderitsch) writes: >>Scott Watson recently reported that version 10 of Red Ryder will >>be sold commercially and *not* be available as shareware. >>.... people in the know claim its a dynamite product. > >Well, it has the *potential* for being a dynamite product, but in my experience >.. (we've been beta-testing it for at least a couple years that I know of, but I happened to get a peek at a very early beta version of 10.0 and was hoping to see it giving faster throughput rate when hooked up to a 9600 baud line. It didn't. Mr. Watson was boasting around version 9.2 how he was going to really speed up the throughput to the screen. Now I'm a registered user of RR, but it just doesn't cut it against VersaTerm, which I just bought, as far as speed to the screen goes. VersaTerm also can be set to 19.2 Kbaud which is really nice for the xmodems and kermits I do a lot of. Question to those of you who have been testing RR 10.0: Is is faster? Even as fast as MacTerminal? Or is it still being designed primarily for the 1200 baud modem market? -- {ihnp4!allegra!fluke , seismo!rutgers!uw-beaver}!tikal!phred!jeffp {Jeff Parke} Genie : JEFFP DELPHI : JEFFPARKE Disclaimer: Random coincidence finds official policy here.