With version payments, you can even keep the version in use and stick with the current system. Then later, pay again in the future when you also update all the hardware, the system and the programs used. Just as if you stop using the program for a while, you can read and access the data with the latest paid version, and you just cannot update to subsequent ones.
That reasoning I like and can appreciate.
It appears that, so far, the overall consensus is "paid for Major version updates".
I will keep this survey going until Conor deems it no longer useful.
I would much rather be able to buy a new version with updates every year. Renting would not be an option for me. Neither with Microsoft, nor any other company.
I will not continue if it moves to subscription model. I am willing to pay for major new releases if the features are important to me. I actually prefer a crowd funded option. I tried to vote but could not.
I'm concerned about bug fixes that have been reported for along time. I'd like to see progress in that before committing to paying for a new version.
I am definitely in the avoid subscription model camp as it is very, very rare that I have subscriptions to apps. That said, Bookpedia is essential for my business and has been since 2008. I have paid only from the Bruji website, since I know more funds get to the developer. But as stated before, there's been some version number increases w/o charging payment. I briefly tried version 7, but it broke Amazon search, so I went back to v6. That's the main reason I like having access to prior versions. For iPad and iPhone and MAS apps, I always have updates set to manual since often new versions remove a feature or introduce bugs. With App Stores, it is near impossible to roll back, so I always tend to buy software direct from the vendor [which helps give them a touch more money too].
There are some quirks with Bookpedia on a 2-screen setup, and as I've mentioned a few times over the years, I would love more fields per record. The fact I can put any item I want into Bookpedia [not just books, but toys, media, electronics, etc] makes it my main inventory app I use for my online used bookstore [which in recent years has expanded to non books and media]. I end up always purchasing the other Pedias when they are released as a way to show support and my main computer has 2 accounts [both with me as the only user]. I tend to use the other Pedias for my personal account to keep track of the movies/music I own, vs my work account which I strictly stick to Bookpedia with the zillion records it has.
I think my use case is not typical - most Pedia owners are using the apps to keep track of their own collection. For me, it's my main inventory program for my business. The flexibility of the app - being able to export into CVS, and into formats that can be added to a SQL statement to put into database for online sales, are all huge advantages for me, and the reason why I stick with the app. So, because I consider it essential, if it moves to subscription, I would most definitely be paying yearly for it. Conor has proven to be a very skilled developer who seems to value stability in his apps over adding new features before fixing bugs. In today's app world, that seems to be rare. I use another app to organize and post my eBay listings, and it is anything but stable - tons of bugs, and I'm always told to upgrade to a beta, but as I like to keep my production Mac running production software, I avoid betas as I have a huge backlog of work to get done, and no time to test things or risk losing data to crashes, etc. That's something I've never had to worry about with the Pedias.
I paid $18 for each Pedia almost twenty years ago. I’ve since gotten free updates and tech support, plus eventually a phone app at an equally modest price. That’s been great for me. But it’s not a viable business model.
On the major update model, we’re at version 7. Even at full price six times, that’s still a pittance for the developer.
Subscriptions or advertising are the only feasible business models these days. Any one who says otherwise just wants a pony. Or a unicorn.
BTW the big noise back when I started with the Pedias was Delicious Library. Look what’s happened to that.
