1Password Licensed "Upgrade" issues

timefliez

I have used AgileBits products religiously since November 2008. I just recently upgraded to Snow Leopard and then hopefully to Lion.

However, I feel as though AgileBits is trying to take advantage of me by making me purchase a "discounted" upgrade of the new 1Password to use with new versions of the latest web browsers.

I have purchased 1Password for the mac @ a price of $39.95 in Novemeber of 2008. I then also purchased 1Password for iPhone for $9.99. Why are they charging so much for an upgrade when I have already purchased close to $50 worth of software? I can understand $10, $15 or even $20 for licensed upgrades, but $27.99?

If you were to buy a vehicle for $50,000, you would want to use it on all of the current roads and on new highways, right?

But, by AgileBits means, wanting to drive on the new roads and highways would mean you would have to spend another $27,990 just to have the ability to go on those roads? That just sounds ridiculous to me.

For now, I will stick to the old roads and highways then when my vehicle doesn't work on those roads anymore, I will go find another vehicle that will allow me to do so.

I really do feel that AgileBits needs to rethink the licensed upgrade system.

brenty

Hey there, timefliez! Welcome to the forums! <img src='http://forum.agile.ws/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />



I am sorry to hear that you feel that way. I do not think that the car/road analogy is appropriate. Cars, of course, do not require upgrades to drive on newer roads. In most cases, newer roads are smoother! Maybe upgrading your car to fly would be more apt.



In any case, I see your point. We are certainly not trying to gouge you. This is why, to date, we have only charged for a single upgrade. I don't even remember what web browser I was using in November of 2009 when 1Password 3 was released. Camino 1? This year alone, we have released free updates to support Firefox 4 and 5, Safari 5.1, Fluid 1.0, and I can't even count how many releases of Chrome we have supported in that same time period...



Different versions for different platforms, however, require resources (time, money, and manpower) to develop and support. This is not quite the same as supporting an updated web browser. Quite the contrary. In the case of 1Password Windows and the iOS apps, each had to be written completely from scratch, and have their own unique demands when it comes to technical support.



While we would love to give everything away for free, we all need to put food on the table and pay rent, etc. In any case, I know that I am personally indebted to you and the rest of our awesome customers. Without your support, I couldn't make a living doing what I love.



We're on version 3.6.1 currently, but I still support 1Password 2.12.1 users. I imagine that we will charge for the next major release of 1Password as well. Whether or not you choose to upgrade, I (and the rest of my colleagues) will be here to support you, no matter what version of 1Password you choose to use. That's my pledge to you. <img src='http://forum.agile.ws/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

[quote name='timefliez' timestamp='1311219941' post='32552']

I have used AgileBits products religiously since November 2008. I just recently upgraded to Snow Leopard and then hopefully to Lion.

However, I feel as though AgileBits is trying to take advantage of me by making me purchase a "discounted" upgrade of the new 1Password to use with new versions of the latest web browsers.

I have purchased 1Password for the mac @ a price of $39.95 in Novemeber of 2008. I then also purchased 1Password for iPhone for $9.99. Why are they charging so much for an upgrade when I have already purchased close to $50 worth of software? I can understand $10, $15 or even $20 for licensed upgrades, but $27.99?

If you were to buy a vehicle for $50,000, you would want to use it on all of the current roads and on new highways, right?

But, by AgileBits means, wanting to drive on the new roads and highways would mean you would have to spend another $27,990 just to have the ability to go on those roads? That just sounds ridiculous to me.

For now, I will stick to the old roads and highways then when my vehicle doesn't work on those roads anymore, I will go find another vehicle that will allow me to do so.

I really do feel that AgileBits needs to rethink the licensed upgrade system.

[/quote]

timcharper

Hey timefliez,



I can understand your frustration, it's a valid feeling. You buy something and you want it to keep on working. Why should you have to pay to continue to use what you already bought.



I also understand the 1password folks, software development is tough and takes time.



With your car analogy, imagine if you bought a car to drive on roads designed with round tires. Then, the government decided that it would save fuel to design the roads for square tires, so all the roads were "upgraded" to support cars with square tires (square tires do exist, and do work on surfaces designed for them http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_wheel ). Obviously you would get quite a bumpy continuing to use the circle tires! It would probably destroy your car after continued use. So, in this case you'd have to pay for an upgrade to your car in order to support the roads.



Apple, with almost every operating system, "changes the roads", sometimes more than others. This causes software to decay. Apple needs to do this because they discover new paradigms that work better, than they are continually striving to implement them to improve the computing experience, making it safer and easier.



So, I still agree, it sucks to pay so much for upgrades, but I suppose it's the price we pay for staying current. It seems that the hardest part of Agile bits job is continually making their product compatible with the latest web browsers, which is a reason I am glad they exist, and am happy to pay them to keep it that way. I would hate to leave 1password. I'll pay the upgrade every year.

khad

Thanks for the kind words, Tim! Excellent points.



As Brent mentioned, there has actually only been one paid upgrade in the five years of 1Password's existence, so our track record isn't even "upgrade every year" at this point. <img src='http://forum.agile.ws/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/skype_smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':-)' />



From the "[url="http://help.agilebits.com/1Password3/how_many_licenses.html#upgrade_policy"]Upgrade Policy[/url]" section in the 1Password User Guide:



[indent]When you purchase 1Password your license will never expire and you can use it on the current version of 1Password indefinitely. Do note, however, that system updates from Apple could cause certain aspects of 1Password to stop working in the future. For example, when Apple released Safari 3, 1Password required an upgrade to continue functioning.



Historically, we have been very generous with upgrades: Since we released 1Password, [b]we have given away over 100 free updates and upgrades[/b]. We will continue this tradition of generosity and paid license holders will always get all point updates for free. (Going from version 3.5 to version 3.6 is called a “point update” and will be free if you have a 1Password 3 license.)



Major new releases will require a paid upgrade, but it will be a discounted upgrade for paid license holders. Those who purchase 1Password within 45 days of any major upgrade will be able to upgrade for free. (Going from any version of 1Password 3 to any version of 1Password 4 is called a major version upgrade and will be paid, except if you purchased your license within 45 days prior to the new version’s release.)[/indent]

Giving upgrades away for free would certainly make things simpler for everyone, and it would be a wonderful gift to give to all our users. It is something we put a lot of thought into and while thinking this through, we found giving upgrades away for free to be cost prohibitive.



The costs don't stop with just product development. They include design, marketing, web development, documentation, coordination, and probably most of all, customer support. Because of this, we decided to charge for upgrades as they cost a lot of time and money to make available.



One caveat that is often over-looked is our generous (we call it "sane") licensing mode. Many companies charge per computer (regardless of platform) which greatly increases the cost of ownership and this is not something we wanted to do. To make things as simple and fair as possible, we elected to license 1Password on the basis of per user, per platform. Having licenses associated with a person instead of a physical machine is more natural and, in our opinion, fair. This means you can use 1Password for Mac on as many Macs as you can afford and similarly for 1Password for Windows.



In the end, we decided that in order for 1Password to be a vibrant product going forward, it has to have a supporting business model. The last thing we would want to see is it wither on the vine due to lack of financial support from users.



Thank you for your support of 1Password, we really do appreciate it!

timefliez

Thanks for all of the replies to the post.

I understand that software development, advertising, etc... etc... costs money.

I now know AgileBits is a company who strives to be successful with their products and to the people who use their software. Just like any other company out there.

Like I said in my first statement, I am a religious user of 1Password. However I think my issue with the cost of upgrades was lost somewhere in translation.

I am not looking for the major upgrades to be FREE, I think licensed users should be given more of a discount than the current $27.99 upgrade price.

Sorry to all who might have misconstrued my point. I felt I needed to express my opinion.

So please do not deem my original post as a "jab" at AgileBits. It was never meant to be perceived as negative in any way.



Again, thanks for all of the posts. They have definitely shed a different light onto the software upgrade process.



Regards,

timefliez

[Deleted User]

Hey timefliez,



Lately, your alias has been my reality!



Thanks for your kind words! We do not take anyone's comments as "jabs", so please don't worry about that!



We all appreciate your feedback, and I'm very happy that you are content...at least for the moment. <img src='http://forum.agile.ws/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />



Cheers!



Brandt