Customer: I've misplaced my Code for ****.vst
Developer Reply: ''We help customers once to retrieve lost purchase details. Then it costs $39 per plugin ...''
Customer: Eh ... thanks ...
The developer has since gone out of business.
Are these people insane?
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- KVRAF
- 44131 posts since 11 Aug, 2008 from clown world
I've been going through some emails. Without mentioning the Dev', what kind of crazy insane replies have you received yourself?
Customer: I've misplaced my Code for ****.vst
Developer Reply: ''We help customers once to retrieve lost purchase details. Then it costs $39 per plugin ...''
Customer: Eh ... thanks ...
The developer has since gone out of business.
Customer: I've misplaced my Code for ****.vst
Developer Reply: ''We help customers once to retrieve lost purchase details. Then it costs $39 per plugin ...''
Customer: Eh ... thanks ...
The developer has since gone out of business.
This is the same method MJ used when he was working on Anthony Marinelli's Thriller.
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- KVRAF
- 7883 posts since 20 Jan, 2008
A funny thing about that....
Support isn't free. Smart dev's figure cost of support into the final selling price. Which also has to cover R&D Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. If I wasn't paid as a support technician I wouldn't work where I work. Even business minded smart dev's don't have a crystal ball to look into the future and have to balance the long term costs of a product with what the user is willing to pay for.
The company I work for is not in development for any new products. We let the development team go years back. When someone buys our product part of that money goes to hosting and other expenses and the other part goes to support long since discontinued products. If you bought or original product back in 1998 for 19.95 which was discontinued in 2002 We still support it. Someone has to pay for that support.
We do verify identity / purchase records before proceeding which takes time but it protects the purchaser from identity theft and fraud as well as us from a litany of legal/civil actions.
The odd part about support is you either have someone who works totally from script/canned answers who doesn't know of what they speak and may have never even used the product or you have a headstrong developer who feels it's beneath them to muddle in support.
Then there is that constant barrage of trolls who contact support with no purchase or interest of purchasing who choose to make support calls just because they like being a jerk. They clutter up the support system and think they are getting even with "the man" when in fact all they are doing is needlessly harassing someone who is just there to help.
Yes, many companies deserve to go out of business due to their lack of concern with customers. And yes blackmailing customers with support is a really bad idea.
The subscription software model is a bad idea imho for consumers. What you pay for first is support (whether or not you get it or how good it is) and the filler is product development and bug fixing. If you are caught between a rock and a hard place with having to have a specific product for a specific use. Then you'll always be at the mercy of the dev. While it may be a way to reduce piracy and may seem like a good thing for those who only occasionally use a given product. There is less incentive for customer support / bug fixes and product development as they no longer have to earn the right to justify upgrade costs.
Support isn't free. Smart dev's figure cost of support into the final selling price. Which also has to cover R&D Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. If I wasn't paid as a support technician I wouldn't work where I work. Even business minded smart dev's don't have a crystal ball to look into the future and have to balance the long term costs of a product with what the user is willing to pay for.
The company I work for is not in development for any new products. We let the development team go years back. When someone buys our product part of that money goes to hosting and other expenses and the other part goes to support long since discontinued products. If you bought or original product back in 1998 for 19.95 which was discontinued in 2002 We still support it. Someone has to pay for that support.
We do verify identity / purchase records before proceeding which takes time but it protects the purchaser from identity theft and fraud as well as us from a litany of legal/civil actions.
The odd part about support is you either have someone who works totally from script/canned answers who doesn't know of what they speak and may have never even used the product or you have a headstrong developer who feels it's beneath them to muddle in support.
Then there is that constant barrage of trolls who contact support with no purchase or interest of purchasing who choose to make support calls just because they like being a jerk. They clutter up the support system and think they are getting even with "the man" when in fact all they are doing is needlessly harassing someone who is just there to help.
Yes, many companies deserve to go out of business due to their lack of concern with customers. And yes blackmailing customers with support is a really bad idea.
The subscription software model is a bad idea imho for consumers. What you pay for first is support (whether or not you get it or how good it is) and the filler is product development and bug fixing. If you are caught between a rock and a hard place with having to have a specific product for a specific use. Then you'll always be at the mercy of the dev. While it may be a way to reduce piracy and may seem like a good thing for those who only occasionally use a given product. There is less incentive for customer support / bug fixes and product development as they no longer have to earn the right to justify upgrade costs.
Dell Vostro i9 64GB Ram Windows 11 Pro, Cubase, Bitwig, Mixcraft Guitar Pod Go, Linntrument Nektar P1, Novation Launchpad
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- KVRAF
- 7001 posts since 20 Mar, 2012 from Babbleon
I can relate. A store at the megamall have done something like that to me. But nyah, nyah, na nyah yah. As a freeware user I don't have any of that problem. I have over 10,000 freeware VST plugins to choose from. Zero support on probably 99 percent of them. If 10 percent or a thousand don't suck then that's still plenty and should suffice.
Besides, melodies and harmonies and lyrics, etc, sucky or not, are not really affected "that" much by compressors and equalizers, etc? One can just say "hey my sound is like that because I believe in the fast Lo-Fi way of doing things". True, a not-so-sucky-according-to-some song like Purple Haze probably sounds better as it is (through amplification and/or mixed by a decent producer) but it should still sound recognizable if done by a decent busker on the street with just an acoustic guitar? Relatable and liked by others. Honestly, would music-makers keep doing "it" if they are the only human left on Earth?
Okay, maybe some would.
There is no flatulence without GAS? Or cash. Rich people fart a lot? Kidding. Bypass the insaned people via freeware. It's doable. But with enough cash I would probably abandon this principle in a sec. Or maybe no. Ah fark nevermind. Just babblin'.
Besides, melodies and harmonies and lyrics, etc, sucky or not, are not really affected "that" much by compressors and equalizers, etc? One can just say "hey my sound is like that because I believe in the fast Lo-Fi way of doing things". True, a not-so-sucky-according-to-some song like Purple Haze probably sounds better as it is (through amplification and/or mixed by a decent producer) but it should still sound recognizable if done by a decent busker on the street with just an acoustic guitar? Relatable and liked by others. Honestly, would music-makers keep doing "it" if they are the only human left on Earth?
Okay, maybe some would.
There is no flatulence without GAS? Or cash. Rich people fart a lot? Kidding. Bypass the insaned people via freeware. It's doable. But with enough cash I would probably abandon this principle in a sec. Or maybe no. Ah fark nevermind. Just babblin'.
ah böwakawa poussé poussé
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- KVRian
- 530 posts since 27 Oct, 2004
I'm head of IT department on my day job. A lot of the products we use are free software. I must say, sometimes free community support is way better than paid support.
Peace and tolerance
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- KVRAF
- 5564 posts since 13 Jan, 2005 from the bottom of my heart
No wonder.Aloysius wrote:The developer has since gone out of business.
Whoever wants music instead of noise, joy instead of pleasure, soul instead of gold, creative work instead of business, passion instead of foolery, finds no home in this trivial world of ours.
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- KVRAF
- 25849 posts since 20 Jan, 2008 from a star near where you are
I don't think anyone is more insane than users posting five times a day in the continue this thead with three words
Does the joke never get lame for some people
Does the joke never get lame for some people
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- Banned
- 892 posts since 23 Jan, 2011
I see it differently, I think the subscription model will be very beneficial to the consumer. Right now, when you buy a software title, the dev gets paid in full and if you need support or help, you are up to the mercy of the dev but after getting paid in full, there is little to no incentive to help. Whether you are happy or not, he's got you're money and you can't do a thing about it.tapper mike wrote: The subscription software model is a bad idea imho for consumers. What you pay for first is support (whether or not you get it or how good it is) and the filler is product development and bug fixing. If you are caught between a rock and a hard place with having to have a specific product for a specific use. Then you'll always be at the mercy of the dev. While it may be a way to reduce piracy and may seem like a good thing for those who only occasionally use a given product. There is less incentive for customer support / bug fixes and product development as they no longer have to earn the right to justify upgrade costs.
But in a subscription model the dev gets paid by the month and if the software is not working for you and support is unable or unwilling to help, you have the power to suspend or even cancel the subscription in needed. This is a great incentive to get the dev's attention because if you are not satisfied, the dev will not get paid.
A good example of this is GForce software ceasing development of PC products. A few months back I subscribed to PT12 and before I did, I did a quick check to make sure all my software would be AAX compatible.
I did a quick check on KVR to see if any would not be compatible. GForce showed that it was AAX but when I went to download it, I dicovered that this was only for Mac and that no development for PC would ever happen. ...nice.
I'm at fault for not going right there and seeing for myself but I didn't and now I either have to shell out more for a wrapper, rewire them in, or take a loss and sell it off.
However, if I had been in a subscription with GForce, I could have easily cancelled it and moved on. If at any time GForce wanted to fulfill it's commitment to it users and create an AAX format, then I could easily start back up. As it is, I will sell off these products and never look at another piece of software from them.