Hi Phil, et.al., Ya, this is perhaps the most difficult issue that confronts software companies and customers alike. Our view has always been that "customer comes first". We value our customers and we strive to make them happy and keep them happy. We seem to do pretty well at this based on feedback we receive and where we can improve, we try to do that.
We like to think of our customers as friends and that makes the issue of piracy even more difficult because we take it personal and when we learn of piracy, we feel as if we've been slapped.... o well, such is life. Some of those who we know have pirated DXbase are people we've met personally at Dayton. Still others are local to us and we've been to their house. But anyway.... We agree with the idea that upgrades should not be simply a collection of bug fixes. I think we have a long history of providing upgrades with meat in them and we have always provided "fixes" free of charge via download. So, I don't think that DXbase has ever been guilty of offering a collection of "fixes" as an upgrade. We also agree with the notion that someone who purchases our product should be able to load it onto their inhouse machines and even on their work machine. Often times the "work" machine provides for high quality printers that you and I might not be able to afford and sometimes you want that professional print quality that your employer gratiously provides at work.. hihi... We also don't like the idea of copy protection. We tried that once a long time ago and we know that was a mistake because it inconvenienced our loyal and legitimate customers. Our preference would be for folks to just be honest and not steal our work. The costs of DXbase are very cheap compared to other products and while it isn't free, it's still only pennies a day averaged over a year. Heck you can't buy much these days for that! We are always looking for ways to reduce expenses, curtail piracy, add new features, and essentially keep our loyal customers pleased. We appreciate the comments to Joe's post. It is a very difficult topic and one that doesn't have any black and white answers. I just wanted to let folks know that we understand your concerns and will strive to continue with our long standing policy of placing you first and foremost. Having said this, we do want to appeal to anyone who may have pirated DXbase. Please don't. And, if you have already done it, ask whoever is using it to purchase it legitimately. Thanksgiving is a traditional time for giving thanks, and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank each and every customer for your support. Happy Thanksgiving, Courtney ----- Original Message ----- From: "Phil Duff" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, November 27, 2002 9:43 AM Subject: Re: [DXBase] Software > At 07:44 11/27/2002 -0600, FireBrick wrote: > > >Now do I have the right to purchase the software and use it on both of my > >inshack machines? > > I feel that as a legitimate purchaser of a software package the licensing > should allow you to install and run the software simultaneously on any and > all systems you own up to some realistic number of systems for > home/individual use. For larger numbers of systems such as for businesses > purchasing additional licenses for a small incremental charge is appropriate. > > > >As for upgrades, You have the right to not purchase upgrades if you feel the > >new features are of no value to you. > > For major new releases - Yep. But should we have to pay for defect fixes > in the package we originally purchased? > > >But if 3 years later there are features you do want, you should realize that > >this version is practically a whole NEW program. > > Nah - from my viewpoint as a longtime beta tester for another major ham > radio software package and software development testing professional most > "updates" are for bug fixes and relatively minor upgrades/additions in > functionality. There may be occasional major new releases but they tend > to be rather few and far apart as the development costs are high for real > major new releases. Bundling together groups of bug fixes and small > upgrades and releasing them periodically are not major version upgrades or > releases IMO. > > Bug fixes and upgrades to major releases should be made available to > legitimate purchasers of the package at no cost. As a legitimate purchaser > of Win XP I have gotten many many upgrades and bug fixes without > cost. Other software follows this model as well. > > > > >I presently have a 28 item wishlist. Hopefully some/most will be > >implemented. But even if they aren't, DXB will still be my favorite. > > Hopefully so... DXB is my longtime favorite as well. > > 73 Phil NA4M > > > > -. .- ....- -- -. .- ....- -- -. .- ....- -- -. .- ....- -- -. .- > ....- -- > Phil Duff NA4M [EMAIL PROTECTED] Georgetown, Texas > > > _______________________________________________ > DXBase Reflector - Please visit us on the web at www.dxbase.com > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > To UNSUBSCRIBE please visit: > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/dxbase >
