Hello friends,
pasted below an article from matilda Zieglar magazine. I felt it as worth
reading and thought to share it here.
With regards,
Jaison Bellarmine
Feature Writer Steven Famiglietti - The Software Upgrade Mystery
I've been working in the field of adaptive technology since 1998, and
over
that time I've seen many software upgrades.
There are many reasons why upgrades are released. A common reason is
that
Microsoft will issue a new version of Windows. Since Windows is the
operating system on most of our computers, it then is a necessity to have
the software upgrade so that your program will work properly with the new
version of Windows. A more frequent reason for software upgrades occurs
when bug fixes and program enhancements are added to a program in between
major Windows updates.
All of this begs a few questions. First and foremost, should you upgrade
your software? Are the upgrades worth the price after you've already
bought
the program? Why should you upgrade anything, if everything is already
working well? These are all valid and important questions to consider,
especially if you find that things are currently working well and your
budget doesn't support extra expenses, like a software upgrade.
Many visually impaired computer users utilize adaptive software in some
way.
They also pay a lot of money for that software and for someone to set it
up, if necessary. When it comes time for an upgrade, they then have to
pay
again for the upgrade and any assistance reconfiguring the setup, to
ensure
things continue to run smoothly. In most cases, several versions of a
program can be released year after year, forcing the customer to pay for
each subsequent version.
When it comes time for a new computer, even if a person already owns an
adaptive software program, they have to pay for the versions of a program
they never used--as if they're starting from scratch all over again.
This
continues to happen and the companies get away with charging these
prices.
This is a truly unfair practice. Shouldn't the fact that a customer has
purchased a product be seen by the software companies as a positive
thing,
and shouldn't these companies value our business enough to say, "Thank
you
for purchasing our program. As a token of our appreciation, we will make
sure your software is upgraded free of charge"?
Also, if a customer does their homework and reads the feature list for an
upcoming upgrade and, subsequently, they decide that the new upgrade has
nothing to offer to them, why should they be charged more money if they
skip
a version or two of a program? As a person who has to use this software,
I
feel it is wrong to be charged for upgrades in this way and I wonder why
this has gone on for so long.
At this point, with all of the advances with VoiceOver--which is included
with many Apple devices--and the free NVDA screen reader, these companies
need to wake up and realize that if they keep treating their customers
like
this, they may soon be without customers altogether.
What are your thoughts on this issue?
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