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How long is a license valid
http://forums.winstep.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10713		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  mangar74 [ Tue Jun 26, 2018 7:53 pm ]
Post subject:  How long is a license valid
After experimenting a bit with a several similiar programs I've come to the conclusion that I like the concept behind it and would like to invest into one that is actually being actively developed.

So given that this software gets regular updates I wonder how long is a license valid ? Only for the current version ? Or for X amount of time ? Or something else entirely.

Couldnt find anything on the website that answers the questions. Hope someone here can fill in the details.
Author:  nexter [ Tue Jun 26, 2018 8:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How long is a license valid
mangar74 wrote:
After experimenting a bit with a several similiar programs I've come to the conclusion that I like the concept behind it and would like to invest into one that is actually being actively developed.

So given that this software gets regular updates I wonder how long is a license valid ? Only for the current version ? Or for X amount of time ? Or something else entirely.

Couldnt find anything on the website that answers the questions. Hope someone here can fill in the details.

Winstep has been (very!) actively developed for twenty years and will continue to be developed for years to come. Or at any rate as long as people are using and subscribing to the software. :)

The subscription works like this. For one year, you get all the updates that are coming along (about 6 major ones a year, often adding major new features - as will e.g. the next one with the ability to have multiple and also vertical shelves and full scalability for shelves). At the end of your one year subscription, you can either renew, or else you keep what you have and can continue to use that indefinitely or you can also renew at any time later. It's a very fair scheme and a real bargain at the price, given its great versatility and power, especially with the full Winstep Xtreme package.

I have used it since the beginning and will continue to use it as long as I'm using Windows computers. And it gets better and better all the time - like a fine wine or its creator, Jorge aka winstep. ;)
Author:  mangar74 [ Tue Jun 26, 2018 9:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How long is a license valid
This indeed sounds very fair. Thank you very much for the explanation.
Author:  nexter [ Wed Jun 27, 2018 1:17 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How long is a license valid
You're welcome :)
Author:  SullyPanda76cl [ Thu Jul 05, 2018 1:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How long is a license valid
This is a great software. And sure I'm buying it.
But don't like the subscription model. Specially when there are still minor bugs that may be fixed after end of subscription
Author:  winstep [ Thu Jul 05, 2018 3:12 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How long is a license valid
SullyPanda76cl wrote:
This is a great software. And sure I'm buying it.
But don't like the subscription model. Specially when there are still minor bugs that may be fixed after end of subscription


But you already like receiving a TON of NEW features for a whole year without having to pay anything extra for them, don't you? :wink: Because you're not paying anything for those extra features, but I sure had to put in the work required to add them. :P

Plus, what you said is misleading: bugs are fixed as soon as they are reported. I really, really, don't like bugs. This said, it *can* happen that a new version introduces a new bug, which will only be fixed in the release right after that - but you can ALWAYS go back to the previous version if that particular bug has such a major impact on you.

Also, normally any MAJOR (i.e.; show stopping or important) bugs found right after an official release are immediately fixed in a silent update.

The current subscription model is the fairest system I can think of for both the customer and the developer.

Also, when you buy something, you buy it for the value if offers to you NOW. You don't buy it for the value it *might* offer to you in the future. Seen from this perspective, any new features you get after your purchase of the software are a BONUS. The free updates you get for a whole year after purchase are a BONUS, not a RIGHT (unless you're feeling entitled).

I can, if I want, not release a single update for a year and I won't be breaking any laws or agreements - but that's not happens, instead customers get 3 to 6 new updates per year. And they're not one liner bug fixes either, each update is filled to the brink with new features.

So, what actually happens is that you get a LOT of value for your money, not the other way around.
Author:  nexter [ Thu Jul 05, 2018 3:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How long is a license valid
SullyPanda76cl wrote:
This is a great software. And sure I'm buying it.
But don't like the subscription model. Specially when there are still minor bugs that may be fixed after end of subscription

Well, let me put it this way. Without the subscription model, you would be getting - err..., nothing, zilch, zip, nought, zero, neeto at all. There simply wouldn't be a Winstep app. It could not exist or survive any other way. (And developers, too, like everybody really, like to eat at least a little sometimes. ;) )

As subscription models go, this is the fairest there could be. You don't rent the software, with Winstep you own it for the rest of time - everything that you get during your one year subscription period. For your subscription, you not only get the programme but a whole years updates, which often include major new features that otherwise - say in the old-fashioned 'buy one version outright and pay for major (and sometimes even very minor) updates' software model - you could end up paying full whack for all over again. Granted, occasionally - not very often, mind - there might be the odd minor bug/buglet, usually fixed and updated within days, and you could just get unlucky and miss out on that if you don't renew your subscription. That's the luck of the draw. Sure, there could be an alternative of, e.g., free bug-fixes for say a year after your sub ends, but then that would make it very much more expensive and in the end, you'd be little better off than renewing, and effectively it would penalise those who renew.

Having been with this programme from before it even was any kind of programme, I can tell you that a simply mindblowing amount of work has gone into it, from the start and ongoing, Jorge slugs his guts out and sweats bucket-loads over Winstep, often burning the candle at all ends, living and breathing Winstep, and often even bending over backwards to add something that a user may have requested. Winstep Xtreme - the full suite with everything including the kitchen sink - is currently and has been for a long time a mere US$30. As a year's sub, that works out at about 8 cents a day. A bargain, even on an ongoing basis. Given that money today is worth cow dung compared to 20 years ago when Winstep started, it should cost more like in the region of $100+/year. And I'm sure you would agree that Jorge deserves a little bread and margarine to keep going. ;) (Hell, I'd give him butter and marmalade/jam to put on that bread. :P ) And there are still a lot of major features to come. In the next update alone, you'll get the option of multiple shelves and vertical shelves, shelves will be fully scalable, there will be a new sub-set of a shelf provisionally called (rather awkwardly, I think) a drawer, and goodness knows what else! :)

Matter of fact, Jorge did not like the subscription model per se either and was very reluctant to go over to one, and at that left it quite late to do so. But without it, he simply would not be here still developing it further and further. He would have had to simply call it a day, abandon it and embark on a much more financially rewarding career with some major developers. He could be seriously rich by now and retire to the Algarve. ;) Oh wait, he lives there anyway! ;)

Glad that you like the programme enough to buy it anyway - I'm sure you won't regret it. :)
Author:  winstep [ Thu Jul 05, 2018 3:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How long is a license valid
Also, I can't believe I neglected to post this here, but a link to detailed information regarding Winstep's upgrade policy can be found in the Buy Now page for each product:

Please click HERE if you need more information about Winstep Xtreme's Upgrade Policy.

I think it provides a very clear explanation on what the upgrade policy is, what it does, what you get, why it is this way, etc...
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