At 03:52 PM 8/21/2001 +0000, you wrote:
>3) If I pay for the full version of AB, does that entitle me to free
>upgrades for life for Army Builder?
No. If you buy the full version, you are entitled to free UPDATES, but NOT
UPGRADES. This is an important distinction that is potentially confusing.
Updates are minor enhancement releases and bug fix releases. For example,
V2.2 was a minor enhancement release, and V2.2a was a bug fix release.
These are updates and free for existing users. In contrast, upgrades are
major enhancement releases, which include lots of significant new features.
Upgrades are typically denoted by a change in the "major" version number,
such as a V3.0 release of Army Builder. Upgrades are NOT free.
If anyone believes I ever claimed all upgrades were free, I recommend that
person re-read the materials where the information was seen. There is a
critical distinction between updates and upgrades in the software industry.
Being a software developer, I wouldn't be surprised if I made a statement
like "updates are free" and didn't think to clarify the definition of
"update" to the reader, thereby enabling a misinterpretation.
For users who purchased the V1.x CDs, I chose to allow them to upgrade to
V2.x for free. This was NOT policy nor had it been promised to them.
However, for various reasons, I made that decision as a special-case
exception. If a V3.0 of Army Builder is released at some point in the
future, all existing users will need to purchase the upgrade, just like any
other piece of software. Discounted upgrade pricing would be made available
to enable existing users to upgrade at a lower cost than new purchasers.
This model is consistent with the vast majority of the major software
publishers. Notable exceptions to this are online games such as Everquest
and Asheron's Call, but users pay them a monthly service fee, so the
developer is already being indirectly paid for the upgrades.
I hope this clarification makes sense to everyone. This question has come
up a couple of times in the past few months, so I decided to make a formal
statement here to eliminate any confusion that might still exist.
Thanks, Rob
>3) If I pay for the full version of AB, does that entitle me to free
>upgrades for life for Army Builder?
No. If you buy the full version, you are entitled to free UPDATES, but NOT
UPGRADES. This is an important distinction that is potentially confusing.
Updates are minor enhancement releases and bug fix releases. For example,
V2.2 was a minor enhancement release, and V2.2a was a bug fix release.
These are updates and free for existing users. In contrast, upgrades are
major enhancement releases, which include lots of significant new features.
Upgrades are typically denoted by a change in the "major" version number,
such as a V3.0 release of Army Builder. Upgrades are NOT free.
If anyone believes I ever claimed all upgrades were free, I recommend that
person re-read the materials where the information was seen. There is a
critical distinction between updates and upgrades in the software industry.
Being a software developer, I wouldn't be surprised if I made a statement
like "updates are free" and didn't think to clarify the definition of
"update" to the reader, thereby enabling a misinterpretation.
For users who purchased the V1.x CDs, I chose to allow them to upgrade to
V2.x for free. This was NOT policy nor had it been promised to them.
However, for various reasons, I made that decision as a special-case
exception. If a V3.0 of Army Builder is released at some point in the
future, all existing users will need to purchase the upgrade, just like any
other piece of software. Discounted upgrade pricing would be made available
to enable existing users to upgrade at a lower cost than new purchasers.
This model is consistent with the vast majority of the major software
publishers. Notable exceptions to this are online games such as Everquest
and Asheron's Call, but users pay them a monthly service fee, so the
developer is already being indirectly paid for the upgrades.
I hope this clarification makes sense to everyone. This question has come
up a couple of times in the past few months, so I decided to make a formal
statement here to eliminate any confusion that might still exist.
Thanks, Rob