$10 licence - excellent idea to support product development

[sabarnett]

Even Microsoft don't do that.Steve

MS may well be there in the next few months based on what I have read. No details yet but my guess is it may be related to Office in the "Cloud".

They may well do that. I'd be surprised if they didn't as it makes sense for the corporate body to rent software. At work, I have a copy of office 2010 installed on my PC from thich I run Outlook all day long, Access 4/5 times a day and Word/Excel a couple of times a week (except when I'm working on the plugins or to print specs). How often I use my copy of office, however, makes no difference to the license cost. Renting the software on a per-use basis from the cloud makes good economic sense.

That said, I also run Office 2003, 2007 and 2010 at home on my local PCs and they didn't stop working 12 months after I installed them and Microsoft continue to send me patches an upgrades to them even though I have never paid for a subscription.

MS are cute enough to understand that not everyone likes subscriptions so they don't force them on people. While a large amount of their revenue unboubtedly comes from the corporate licenses, many of which may well move to the cloud, they also recognise that there are a lot of individuals and smaller organisations out there who buy MS software. Forcing them in to the cloud on a subscription basis would be corproate suicide because those users would just move to another product or stick with what they have. I know I use a small fraction of the capabilities of the Office suite and I'm one of the 'power' users! There is nothing I can do in Office that I could not do with another suite. I stick with MS Office because it suits me and does not impose any restrictions on how I use it.

Firetrust could solve this issue in one easy step. The software runs forever. After 12 minths, it disconnects from First Alert if you do not buy a subscription - that's a service and I have no isses paying for services that I can see a benefit to. If I decide not to pay for the subscription, them my software runs and I get bug fixes. Once a year, there is an upgrade issued with any new features. If I want the upgrades, then I pay the upgrade price.


Steve

[yatgirl]

I have never been to this forum before, but I felt strongly enough that I must weigh in on the new Mailwasher 2010 upgrade topic. I am trying to just offer my perspective and I am not trying to slam Mailwasher in anyway and so please no attack responses.

I use Mailwasher to preview my email prior to it being downloaded to my computer. I don't use First Alert, I don't bounce emails, I have a separate virus checker for any emails that I might download that are infected.

I have always felt so highly of Mailwasher, I started out with the free version, years and years ago. I purchased Mailwasher Pro in 2008 and have been thrilled with it. I have recommended both versions to dozens and dozens of people over the years, always with glowing recommendations.

I looked at Mailwasher 2010 with the expectation that I would feel a one time $10 charge would most probably be well worth it.
Then I noticed the $10 renewal fee per year - that is when the brakes came on. Since I don't need or want First Alert, and the databases my Mailwasher accesses are spamhaus and spamcop, which I dont believe that mailwasher has to pay to have access to (perhaps I am wrong here and if I am I apologize, but I would be happy not accessing any databases and just viewing my email on the server prior to downloading it to my computer) and I am assuming that Mailwasher 2010 is a fully finished piece of software that will not need constant fixes in order to work properly - I am at a loss as to why the Mailwasher software would stop working after a year and I would have to pay what amounts to a subscription fee or renewal fee. Most of the promotional material I have seen and received almost seems apologetic for the upfront $10 to upgrade from Pro to 2010 but yet, the renewal fee of $10 a year seems to me - to be mentioned as an after thought and is almost buried in other information.
I will not be upgrading to Mailwasher 2010 and will stay with my already paid for Mailwasher Pro - it does everything I need and I love it, sure I would like to have a prettier version, but not at $10 a year fee or my software will cease working.
I must say, that I am a bit disappointed with the Mailwasher company for the first time ever.

[rbrooks]

Even at the point of sale there is no mention of the words "annual subsription".

I agree that the email should have mentioned it was an annual license.

What happens at the end of a year? I'd like to know.

[rusticdog]

Even at the point of sale there is no mention of the words "annual subsription".

I agree that the email should have mentioned it was an annual license.

What happens at the end of a year? I'd like to know.

MailWasher will expire. If it didn't expire the program then we'd probably need to charge full price for major updates, which considering is around $30 I expect would be more expensive in the long run if you wanted to stay up to date.

The expiration is the biggest point of contention, but it's up to us to prove that this is value for money, and that's our focus moving forward. Only time will tell....

[Pierre]

I have heard that phrase the past 5 weeks.

moving forward

that is all she could say.

Sorry could not resist that. FYI. It is election day in OZ today.

[rusticdog]

I have heard that phrase the past 5 weeks.

moving forward

that is she could say.

Sorry could not resist that. FYI. It is election day in OZ today.

Oh joy of joys

Election is a good excuse to disappear into the pub isn't it

[cfheinz]

MailWasher will expire. If it didn't expire the program then we'd probably need to charge full price for major updates, which considering is around $30 I expect would be more expensive in the long run if you wanted to stay up to date.

Thanks. This answers my question. I assume the annual renewal will continue to be for two machines.

[rusticdog]

Thanks. This answers my question. I assume the annual renewal will continue to be for two machines.

Yes of course, unless I can convince The Big Cheese to make it 3 machines per license

[sabarnett]

The expiration is the biggest point of contention, but it's up to us to prove that this is value for money, and that's our focus moving forward. Only time will tell....

All I would say is that, if you honestly believed that the new MWP will be value for money, you would not have to make the product expire. If you really had faith in the product you would not have to hold the threat of expiry over your loyal users. All through this debate I, among many others, have said that I am willing to pay the $10 subscription but not if the product expires. Chances are I woul dnot have thought twice about the subscription - it would have just become one of those things I pay.

The debate over expiry, however, has cast a dark cloud over the way Firetrust feel about their customers. We're no longer a community of like-minded users but a cash-cow to be milked on an annual basis and thrown away if we choose not to upgrade.

Firetrust developed a large and loyal following over the years by treating it's customers well, supporting them and producing a good, reliable product. Had you wanted to charge upgrade prices for the old MWP, I would have gladly paid. MWP serves a useful purpose for me and I gladly pay for the share-ware I use.

I'm currently evaluating G-Lock SpamCombat.

Steve

[rusticdog]

Saying that we're trying to milk customers is just trolling, you have no appreciation at all for what it takes to keep MailWasher active and well supported.


Take GLock as an example...sure it's free but....

Tech support from G-Lock Software is NOT free. Tech support for 1 year costs $35. If you need any support from G-Lock Software, place a ticket with our support department and include your order ID.

[sabarnett]

Saying that we're trying to milk customers is just trolling

No it's a reaction of someone who has used a product for a very long time, would like to keep using it and is being prevented from doing so by a "marketing decision". The point is the same, if you have the faith that you profess in the product, you do not need to make it expire. The loyalty of the MailWasher community is such that we would continue to pay the subscription. For my part, the only reason I would NOT pay the subscription is if you offered no additional benefits to me.

you have no appreciation at all for what it takes to keep MailWasher active and well supported.

Not Mailwasher specifically, but I work in software industry. I've worked for several organisations that sell software and services. The ones with the hardest sell have been the ones that charged annual subscriptions and whose software expired if you stopped paying. One of those organisations went from a turnover counted in the millions to bearly surviving because they decided that was the way to go and the customers disagreed. Been there, done that - it's a painful thing to have to watch.

Take GLock as an example...sure it's free but....

Tech support from G-Lock Software is NOT free. Tech support for 1 year costs $35. If you need any support from G-Lock Software, place a ticket with our support department and include your order ID.

Sure, it costs for support. I get that. But the product is free and does what I want. If it fails to deliver, then I'll stop using it or I'll pay up. IT IS NOT ABOUT THE MONEY it is about the expiry.

[anniebrion]

No it's a reaction of someone who has used a product for a very long time, would like to keep using it and is being prevented from doing so by a "marketing decision".

Nobody as far as I can see is stopping you using your old version, that never expires!

Nobody is forcing you to upgrade to the new 2010 version!

[sabarnett]

No it's a reaction of someone who has used a product for a very long time, would like to keep using it and is being prevented from doing so by a "marketing decision".

Nobody as far as I can see is stopping you using your old version, that never expires!

Nobody is forcing you to upgrade to the new 2010 version!

BUT I want to support MailWasher. I want to be there to help it grow. I have very few loyalties to software companies, but Firetrust is one of those that I want to see around in 10 years time, that deserves to be there in 10 years time. They produce software that 'does the job' and does it well. They just seem to have forgotten that it's their customers who will keep them going for the next 10 years and, to keep this kind of passion for a piece of software alive, you have to treat those customers properly.

The message I'm getting right now is 'if you don't like it, then shove off because we don't need you".

[rusticdog]

Well that's simply your take on it, that doesn't make it true.

[cfheinz]

The message I'm getting right now is 'if you don't like it, then shove off because we don't need you".

The message I'm getting is that this is what it takes to keep MWP healthy. I was concerned about this until I received an answer that satisfied me. I'd much rather pay a $10 fee instead of a $40 fee. This assumes that Firetrust continues to provide a product that I think merits it. If it doesn't, I've still got my copy of the old version.

As an aside, I've used MWP since prior to Firetrust. The only "face" then was Nick Bolton.