The end of software

TalkBack 9 of 21:: Next »; « Previous

Thread View
Flat View

ACT: ACT may not be the best piece of software to use for these examples. ACT is a terrible, relatively inflexible program when used for anything other than strict contact management, and even then it's not so great for anything other than a small business.
Yes, I have and support clients who use this product.
When I was reading this article, however, I was thinking about the bigger products, such as SQL Server, or the library's management system (Unicorn Workflows in my case).
It could be useful even for smaller software packages such as Quickbooks, for example.

One thing I see in the traditional model is that in mature products, you have bugs that can only be fixed in the new version of the product which you must pay for. What they don't tell you is that the new product introduces a whole new set of bugs (some of which may have even been resolved in previous releases), which will only be fixed in the next version, which you'll have to pay for again, and the cycle continues ad nauseum. I'm sure not all companies do this, but it doesn't hurt (especially if the customer is locked in), because they get revenue from constant upgrades that would otherwise be unnecessary.
With a subscription model, the guaranteed income means they can focus on making the product more stable without having to worry that sales will drop if it ever becomes "perfect."

At the same time, I would hate to use a subscription service for certain pieces of software, Microsoft Visual Studio, for example. I have no desire to use .Net, I'm quite happy with 6.0, but if it were part of a subscription plan, I imagine I would have no choice now but to use .Net.

I do agree that the cost of subscription plans is probably too high at this point.; Posted by: boxmonkey Posted on: 07/23/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use