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Seems that the Trillian “free patches for life” policy may have disappeared with the release of Trillian Pro 2.0 or at least the wording on their revamped website seems to suggest it:
“How much does it cost?
Trillian Pro costs $25 USD. For your money, you receive:A copy of the software, including patches and upgrades during your subscription period (1 year).
Full technical support via an e-mail ticketing system for 1 year after your purchase date.
Caveats: No refunds for any reason – this includes, but is not limited to, dislike of the product, the product not working on your system, etc. Make sure to try our free software before purchasing Pro.In a nutshell, you get to keep whatever you purchase for the rest of time – after the year ends, you can no longer continue to download major upgrades or utilize the technical support system unless you extend your support package with us. If you don’t need support and don’t want the upgrades, you can use your copy as long as you wish.”
This raises a potential issue for those using Pro 1.0 who choose to continue using it as they were assured that they could when they purchased it. Pro 1.0 purchasers were also assured that they would get free patches for life for the software that they purchased.
Hopefully the new wording was just an oversight or mistake and it will be corrected soon or if it was intentional that CS will find a way to honor the agreement underwhich Pro 1.0 was purchased… If this is indeed a policy change it puts a new spin on the necessity of maintaining ones subscription and the need to pay continously…
I didn’t really read the policy when I got Pro 1.0, but with almost all software that you buy there’s only a set time during which you will receive updates (usually one year or until a new version is released). After that, you’ll have to pay for upgrades again. So, this doesn’t come as a shock to me, although if you’re right, this is a bad move. Especially seeing how this kind of software needs updates relatively often to ensure constant compatibility with the IM networks.
The one thing about Trillian that has made me decide to not pay for updates is the fact that during the year that they’ve had Pro 1.x they hadn’t had any major upgrades/patches.
Actually they did have a couple of patches during the year after the release of Trillian Pro 1.0, just no updates. Granted there were things that required patches that didn’t get one but there were 2 or 3 that did come out… Also they specifically said that you could get upgrades for a period of one year but that patches would be free forever and this has been reinforced time and time again on their forums…
This quote states the previous “free for life” wording but raises additional questions of what is the difference btw a bug fix and an update?
ameoba
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Registered: Jan 2002
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IP Logged07 Sep 2003 07:38 PM
quote:
Originally posted by slavik
So, you are paying for bug fixes, too
You get free patches for life (patches are released when something massive breaks like AIM connectivity or something similar). Bug fixes are usually in releases, so if your subscription is still alive, then you’re covered. If not, then you don’t.The promised webcam feature for Yahoo IM never worked. It was a bug in Pro 1.x, and it took them a year to fix it. Aside from the webcam feature, I couldn’t think of any reason not to stick with the free version.
I’m probably wrong, but as far as I know, bugs are fixed with patches, not just with new releases/versions. As far as I’m concerned I’m done with Trillian. I’ve already got the seperate programs downloaded again and will stick with them. At least then I’m sure it’ll all work the way things are supposed to work, and I won’t have to pay anything either.Quote:quote:I’m probably wrong, but as far as I know, bugs are fixed with patches, not just with new releases/versions.Not as far as CS is concerned…
Quote:quote:You get free patches for life (patches are released when something massive breaks like AIM connectivity or something similar). Bug fixes are usually in releasesYou could read that pretty much as a policy statement as it is from an employee and representative of CS.
It’s a commercial decision.. (Read greed dicision):pActually, although ameoba is a moderator on the Trillian forums he is not an employee of Cerulean studios and nothing that he says on the forums is official as Cerulean Studios states on their website: http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/support/
“* The Trillian forums are provided as a place for the global Trillian community to gather, discuss the program, and exchange technical support tips. The forums are member run and not staffed by Cerulean Studios employees. Cerulean Studios may monitor content to ensure the accuracy of the information you’ll find, but any information provided there is offered “AS IS”.”
As for the Yahoo webcam issue, FrutZle, that is exactly what I meant when I said “granted there were things that required patches that didn’t get one”. I too took CS at their word that Yahoo webcam was a new feature of Pro 1.0 and just assumed that it would work and was a little dismayed when the company did not fix the problem for a full year and perhaps never will in the version that you & I purchased. What made it worse was the failure to correct their advertising and as a result more people paid for the product thinking that it now supported Yahoo webcam, even as much as 6 months after the Yahoo webcam feature stopped working. And while CS does say to try the fee version before you buy that does not help with this issue as the free version doesn’t have any webcam features to try. So not only is the advise given on the forums “AS IS” the product is bought “AS IS” which usually only applies to second hand goods…
As for bug fixes only coming out with new releases.. I guess it is a matter of semantics and what CS means by bug fixes, updates and patches, respectively. If their definition of these terms differs from the widely accepted definitions they might want to consider stating it very clearly somewhere in the purchase agreement… That would be only fair since they do not intend to give refunds for any reason.
Now with the new wording on the website, if patches only include *major problems like connectivity, as suggested by a non staff member and are not free for life anymore. Unless people keep paying continuosly they will not continue to have use of a product for life as was once suggested by CS. For if patches are connectivity fixes then one can not be assured of connectivity unless they pay…
This is somewhat confounded by how the Trillian basic client is promoted for if one never has to pay and connectivity issues (which are patches according to some non employess of CS) are fixed in the free version why is it that connectivity is something that people who have paid to use Trillian will have to continue to pay more in order to receive?
And just to tie things up with regard to the terminology and what has been suggested that the terms mean:
Those who paid for Pro and whose subscriptions have now run out will-no longer be eligible to receive updates
-nor bug fixes which have been claimed to be only part of new releases (aka updates?) and
-possibly no longer receive patches depending on whether or not CS’s new wording regarding patches (free for life no longer mentioned) was intentional or not and if it was intentional, if they intend to honor their previous promise made to purchasers of Pro 1.0 that patches are free for life*Major being determined by CS and thus they could conceiveably see nothing as major since an advertised feature failure to work the day after the release of the product was not considered major.
I agree that the honorable thing for Cerulean Studios to do would be to continue providing connectivity patches for free. That way, if I purchased 1.0 but my subscription ran out, I’d still get patches even beyond my subscription. Of course I wouldn’t get upgrades or new features, but I’d get the patches so I’d be able to continue using the software I paid for.
I don’t think they should do this indefinitely, but it should extend for at least two years beyond the original release date. Microsoft issues patches for older versions of it’s operating systems, but not indefinitely. At some point, they draw the line and say they will no longer support the OS (like they’ve done with Windows NT).
As you noted, Lana, it’s really not fair that someone who pays NOTHING for the free version should get ongoing patches indefinitely while the paying 1.0 customer does not. I’m sure CS doesn’t mean to treat their customers unfairly, and it’s just a point that needs clarification.
To their credit, they have issued connectivity patches for both .74 and 1.0. I just hope they keep’em coming (as needed) even beyond the subscription dates.
Agreed, Jeff… CS’s original promise to provide patches “free for life” to those who purchased the software prior to the new website wording was perhaps a little too generous and not very realistic… Hopefully they will address the issue in a timely manner… it would be nice to see them explain and rectify the issue as quickly as they were to promise the impossible… I think the way in which they handle this will have a large effect on the way in which people who purchased the product will react to the resolution. The suggestion that you proposed appears to be a sound one and I hope that CS’s resolution somewhat mirrors it… (but there still remains the conundrum of the free version being patched forever for free, not sure how to approach that one)
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