"Issue reported to our bugs team."

Scriptcase 8 Discussion
#21

Well, unfortunately I won’t be around to see it, if they do.

Evidently my “Lifetime License” does not entitle me to updates any more, unless I pay almost full price again (“Update Renewal” is USD$1509 for 4 seats versus USD$1600 initial purchase price).

I guess all of my contributions helping out NM by tracking down bugs and giving them the relevant information to fix and release updates has been a one-way arrangement.

I find it insulting to me that they value their updates so much, and yet value my time so little.

I can’t see paying exorbitant prices year after year for update releases that fix bugs that I have helped to track, diagnose and test.

Perhaps when NetMake becomes a more professional company, with communication channels regarding bug status to the hardworking customers that depend on the product, I will consider paying them. In the meantime, what they do currently is just not worth the money they are asking.

Dave

#22

Dave, I understand your anger. But maintaining old versions ‘for lifetime’ is something you won’t find in any product. I don’t see that in products like Oracle’s PeopleSoft which costs tons, I don’t see that in Embarcadero’s products like Delphi and C++, which costs thousands and I don’t see that in Scriptcase which costs hundreds. We develop products in a wide range of products, even Cobol which costs thousands a year per user. I’m not defending SC because you do have some points but pricing is not one of them. To keep a company alive they need revenue, the costs of the environment you need to calculate into the product(s) you make. I’m sure if you develop products for your customer that they don’t have a lifetime guarantee. We don’t. So if you can’t make profit with the development of your products, you need to quit, which is a valid argument. It’s why we dropped our Delphi and C++ Embarcadero’s because it had cost us more than we could earn from it. That’s how things work…

#23

Albert,

I am not asking or expecting them to “maintain old versions ‘for lifetime’”.

The key points I was trying to make were:

  1. Bugfix updates for current product versions should be free. 8.0.027 to 8.0.028 should be no-charge. It is free for virtually all software in the marketplace (even windows).

  2. Annual charges were never stated when we purchased the software, it was billed as “Lifetime License”. The only option was with or without support. There was no discussion that bugfix updates would be charged. I fully expected that major updates (v7 to v8) would not be free, but I expected that updates to fix bugs in the current version of the product would be free. I think that is a reasonable expectation.

  3. The developers that frequent this forum do a lot of NetMake’s work for them. Testing, isolating bugs, workarounds, fixes. It seems that NetMake places zero value on this. You, me, and many others on this forum are doing NetMake’s work for them by supporting their customers. Not only does NM not acknowledge this by reduced costs for contributors, but they cannot even be bothered to maintain a Bug Tracker, or even to post a word of thanks on the forum.

  4. Fixes that I have worked hard on and have submitted to NM will be released in an update soon. If I want the update, I have to pay NM. I have to pay for the same fixes that I did for them at no charge. In my view, that is simply not the way to treat customers if you want a good reputation.

  5. Prices for ScriptCase have gone up again today. I agree with you that pricing needs to be able to generate a profit. That is 100% correct. But pricing should not be increased simply to compensate for sales declines due to poor customer service. If NM’s customer service was anything above dismal then I would gladly pay a reasonable price for support, but my fiduciary responsibility to my stockholders prevents me from paying something for nothing.

BTW, Peoplesoft and Embarcadero have customer accessible bug trackers, as does my company. This is not 1995.

Dave

#24

Ad 1: When I bought the product (V6) the conditions where the same, a one year update. I don’t know how it was before. Embarcadero sometimes produced more ‘major updates’ a year to get enough $$$. I think that a subscription model is more fare.
Ad 2: Lifetime means here that you can continue to use the current version after licence expiration.
Ad 3: I have done a lot here but also on other products in the past. Except for a simple thank you I never got any rewards regarding licencing. Perhaps I’m demanding too little …
Ad 4: Similar as above
Ad 5: I don’t know about this. I renewed when there was black friday. Most companies have specials now and then. Currently there are special offers but I don’t know what it means in your currency. Regarding support/pricing, I have bad experiences with a lot of companies. Embarcadero changed licence conditions within the subscription period, and besides some hotfixes the real fixes where always in the next version. Nothing new, I don’t think that SC is doing it that bad actually.

Regarding the bugtracker, I don’t want to repeat myself over and over again because I agree on this and the QC issue. On the other hand, the main devs are native Portuguese as are the threads in their Mantis. I’ve had access to it and although I speak a bit Portuguese it was not for me. I was told that most devs, and even management are Portuguese only so there’s a problem.

Again, I understand your anger as well as your points although I have a different opinion about some things. For me productivity is the main key and despite the fact that I need to find some work-arounds now and then I still am able to create applications that satisfies our customers. Yes support sucks and I hate the empty standard message ‘sent to bugsteam’ telling nothing. But the alternative products are even worse and building code from the bone (pure php)… as you say, it isn’t 1995. (Although I am older than that :wink:

#25

I just can fully agree with Albert. I would like to add… We as partners are working very hard to try to change things