Purchasing 1.8

If I purchase 1.8 will I need to pay for an upgrade to version two when it comes out ?  

All 1.x updates will be free to registered users and all users buying v1.x within the last 4 months before the release of v2.0 won’t have to pay an upgrade fee. However, don’t expect v2.0 in Q3 (currently working on DT PE/Pro 1.9).

Note: DT Pro 2.0 will of course be a free upgrade for all DT Pro 1.9 users.

Many thanks for the reply :slight_smile:

My question would change to when is 1.9 going to be released then?

…or how much is the upgrade from version 1 to version 2 going to
be (estimate/ballpark figure).

I am willing to purchase DTPE now, but don’t want to be caught paying twice because I’ve purchased at the end(near) of it’s first phase of development.

Version 1.9 will be released next month and the upgrade to 2.0 will be probably priced at $10-15 (don’t expect v2.0 before Q4). That’s hopefully a fair fee after more than 30 months without upgrade fees.

Again thanks for the reply,

Do you think it’s good business sense to ask me to pay for a product knowing I will have to pay extra very shortly.
I think you are telling me and all the other potential users to wait for 1.9 or version 2 before registering, are you saying a new user who has not enjoyed 30 months of updates is treated as if he/she has ?

I don’t understand what you want - no matter how long you’ve been using DT PE, you get the same 1.x features for the same price now.

And DT 2.x will offer enough features to be worth the upgrade (and contrary to others, e.g. Apple, we do offer upgrades and don’t expect money or even the full price every year).

My $0.02:

DT is, IMO excellent SW and the developers are incredibly responsive to suggestions, requests and support. :slight_smile:

It’s not "perfect" but with our loving input, we’ll get there. :wink:

Back on topic- You derive the benefit of using the product in the interim between 1.8x and the 2.0 release. For that, we all must pay.

I see what your point is in that some of us will have used the current version longer than those who purchase later.
There is really no way around this, save giving  those who purchase within a certain time frame of an upgrade, the option of a free upgrade (4 months is gracious, IMO)

Q4 is at least 3 months away…at least.

V1.9 is a free update for current owners (this includes you if you purchase "today").
Or you can wait and buy 1.9 at the same cost as the current version in the hope that 2.0 will be released within 4 months.

However, there is also no guarantee that v2.0 will be released within 4 months after 1.9 so waiting may still put you in the "pay" category.

This is beginning to sound a bit like one of Pascal’s wagers… :slight_smile:

Perhaps it’s a bit of tough luck but life will throw much more difficult issues our way. :wink:  :P

The DT pro may be a better value for you as it’s initial release will be  1.9 and the release of DTPro 2.0 may follow relatively sooner (qualifying you for the "free" upgrade) , but I have no way of knowing that and in fact, the suggestion may be "out of line".  :-X

So, if you purchase DT today, upgrade to pro when the v 1.9 is released  you may avoid the 2.0 upgrade fee (assuming that DT and DTP 2.0 are released more or less concurrently and within 4 months of your purchase) and will be able to utilize the superior features of DTPro.

AFAIK, purchasing DT 1.8 qualifies you to "test" the beta’s of DTPro.
The alpha’s are quite good and even better quality than
many typical GM SW releases.
So, for a time, you’ll derive the benefits of Pro at the regular pricing if you don’t mind "betas". (I’m using the Pro alpha version exclusively and will upgrade as soon as it’s released.)

Of course I could be wrong about all of this in which case my hope is that you are a fast reader and didn’t waste too much of your life on this post.  ;)

cheers and good luck
:slight_smile:

Cheers milhouse,

That has about every base neatly covered.

Buy now for $40 and pay $35 for the upgrade to pro or buy now and pay for the version 2 upgrade of $15 ‘maybe’ by the end of the year. Or wait for version 1.9 PE and hope it’s within four months of the new version 2 and not have to pay the upgrade fee. etc, etc, etc…

Pascal’s wagers sounds more like the prisoners dilemma :wink:

Anyway thanks Milhouse, appreciate the honesty.
P.S. Is the PRO 1.9 or version 2.0 really worth the extra outlay ?

This is a little off topic, since this topic is about the actual plan, not suggestions. But here goes.

How about charging for upgrades by time, rather than version number.

In other words if you purchased within the last (year, 30 months, whatever), the upgrade is free. If you haven’t coughed up any cash lately, then there’s a fee.

This way, anyone could buy at any time with no fear of unfairness.

I can think of two other shareware apps that work this way.

Not a bad idea. Actually, I think, it would have to be "by time and version number".

If a version was upgraded by a full version number (Point updates are free regardless) then any person owning  that version for less than a specified time frame would recieve a "no-cost" upgrade…is that it?

AFAIK, this is what DT is offering.
The current offer extends to a 4 month time frame though.

Perhaps it might be extended to six months or more??  8)

That’s not exactly what my idea was, but I just wanted to clarify. It’s not really important.

My idea is actually more advantageous to Devon Technologies, because people could end up paying for a point upgrade. But has the benefit of clarity and simplicity. (And there’s nothing wrong with Devon Tech getting paid :slight_smile: )

Simply stated, Devon Technologies would advertise “DEVONthink comes with a year (or whatever) of free upgrades”. It wouldn’t matter -major upgrades or minor upgrades. You get everything free for the next year after you buy. If it’s been over a year, you would have to pay a “re-join” fee to download anything.

Everyone would get an equal deal no matter when they bought, and there would be only one factor to keep track of.

Since work is being done constantly, I think it makes more sense to think of it as a club with a membership fee, rather than a product being bought.

Committing to a price policy has been troublesome with certain products when the company/developer has changed it to a customer’s “disadvantage” (real or perceived).  That’s a reason why I prefer the informal and reasonable way DEVONtechnologies currently handles pricing and hope they’ll continue doing it that way.  And we know how Steve Jobs feels about the “subscription model” with iTMS. :smiley:

I see how pricing/upgrade policy can be helpful with purchase/budget planning, but think that would be more appropriate with the future (costlier) Enterprise version and other products in that category.

benignstar:

I registered DEVONthink PE way back at version 1.4, and consider DEVONthink one of the best software bargains around. There’s a good deal of other applications on my computer that cost more, and that have been far less useful to me.

My recommendation would be that you buy DT PE 1.8 now. Ask to become a beta tester for DT Pro 1.9 alpha x. The alphas of DT Pro have been so stable, with enhanced features, that I’ve moved all my work over to the test versions of DT Pro. Then, when DT Pro goes final, pay the reasonable upgrade fee, which will include further revisions up to version 2.x.

That way, everybody benefits. Your uncertainty about the upgrade route vanishes, DEVONthink has some new working capital, and you benefit by having some truly marvelous software to work with.

Not everyone will need DT Pro. In fact, DT PE 1.9 will handle quite large and sophisticated document/knowledge management chores. DT Pro adds the potential of multiple databases, and enhanced scripting.

As to software subscription schemes, I hate them.

Off topic note: This week I set up a 802.11g wireless network and Internet connection, using a Buffalo wireless router and Belkin CardBus notebook card for my TiBook. I chose Buffalo and Belkin because they use the same Broadcom chipset as Apple’s AirPort Extreme. Although the Buffalo wireless router came with an automatically configured repeater station, I don’t need the repeater to get a strong signal anywhere within our house (100 feet in interior length). I’ll use the repeater to do some outdoor Web surfing after our hot Louisiana summer has ended.