February 3, 2010 at 6:05 am
Steve Jones - Editor (2/2/2010)
Tools cost money to build. I'm not sure there's a problem with someone charging for their work. I'm sure you charge for the work you do.
I don't have a problem with people charging for their work. I just find it very annoying when someone releases a "free" tool, gets lots of people to install it, and then starts demanding money for it.
If the later version is significantly better, then I might want to pay for it. However, if the original version is good enough for my requirements, why should I be forced to pay for an upgrade?
On the other hand, if the intention is to release a "flaky" version of the tool, get people to test it and help to improve it, and then charge for the finished version, then it's not a free tool - it's a public beta of a commercial tool.
February 3, 2010 at 8:08 am
You're certainly not forced to pay for an upgrade, but why would you expect someone to upgrade a tool for free?
February 3, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Steve Jones - Editor (2/3/2010)
... why would you expect someone to upgrade a tool for free?
I don't. My concern is not that they will charge me for the next version, but that they will stop me from using the current version once the next version is released.
Steve Jones - Editor (2/3/2010)
You're certainly not forced to pay for an upgrade, ...
Reflector, a free tool originally written by Lutz Roeder, was acquired by Red Gate in August 2008. Although the basic version of the tool is still free, it now features an expiry date. Once that date is reached, the tool will not work unless you download the latest version. Red Gate have also recently started beta-testing a paid-for "Pro" version of the tool. At the moment, there's no suggestion that the free version is going away. However, if Red Gate found their profits falling, it's quite easy to imagine that they might stop working on the free version, forcing everyone to buy the pro version.
My concern with the SQL Search tool is that Red Gate have clearly stated that they intend to discontinue the free version. If that tool also has a built-in expiry date, then I will be forced to either pay for an upgrade or uninstall the tool.
Once again, my concern is not that companies should commit to ongoing development and distribution of free tools, but that such tools, once released, should remain free. I don't care if version 1 is free and version 2 costs money, so long as I can continue using version 1 if it meets my needs. If version 1 has a built-in expiry date which forces me to buy version 2, then it's not a free tool - it's a time-limited demo.
OK, rant over! :Whistling:
February 3, 2010 at 8:37 pm
live with a few people at work,
Heh... shoot... why would I want to do that? I see them too much as it is. If you want productivity to go up, just stop making it a grind. Plan better so people can go home on time and enjoy their family and friends.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
February 3, 2010 at 9:05 pm
Jeff Moden (2/3/2010)
live with a few people at work,
Heh... shoot... why would I want to do that? I see them too much as it is. If you want productivity to go up, just stop making it a grind. Plan better so people can go home on time and enjoy their family and friends.
That's a good idea too 🙂
Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
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February 3, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Didn't realize that the free version would expire. I agree with you that you should be able to continue using that version forever.
Microsoft does expire their betas, which I understand, but free tools shouldn't have that limitation.
February 3, 2010 at 9:41 pm
Jeff Moden (2/3/2010)
Heh... shoot... why would I want to do that? I see them too much as it is. If you want productivity to go up, just stop making it a grind. Plan better so people can go home on time and enjoy their family and friends.
Definitely it would be nice to have companies better balance life and work. I'd hope, Jeff, that you had a few people you'd enjoy working with and would spend a week with them. The living with them thing works if you don't have kids, but once you do, then it's a burden.
I would like to try it, but it throws a pretty good burden on my wife if I do. I guess it's like going to PASS, but that's the same thing. It's hard on the family when I leave, and I end up somewhat distracted and guilty for leaving.
February 4, 2010 at 5:22 am
There are a lot of people at work that I get along with really, really well and we've all had some great times together both at work and outside of work. Some are still very good friends even after changing jobs. But spending a week with them on the current job isn't something that I'd think I'd enjoy. Admittedly, I've not tried such a thing yet.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
February 4, 2010 at 10:28 am
Reflector confusion: OK, I heard back from the PMs for Reflector. The expiration code is not something Red Gate added. Lutz added this to reduce support issues. A blog on this is from one of the developers at: http://www.simple-talk.com/community/blogs/bart/archive/2009/08/21/74486.aspx
This an auto-update, but if you have a firewall or something, you might need to do it manually. This upgrades you to the latest code, but there IS NO CHARGE. This is a free tool, and it remains free. The Pro version is there to add extra features, and generate revenue.
The SQL Search PMs confirm there is no expiration on that product, and it will remain free. There might be a pro version, but your download will remain free and working.
February 4, 2010 at 1:05 pm
Thanks for the update - I wasn't aware that Lutz had added the expiration code.
I know there's no charge for the update (at the moment!), but the expiry date still concerns me. If Red Gate's profits were to fall, or they were bought out by a less scrupulous company, it would be quite easy for them to stop updating the free version to force people to buy the pro version.
Even worse, if Red Gate went out of business, the tool would die. I doubt the receivers would take the time to release a final version without the expiry date!
I understand the reasons for the auto-update functionality, but I think they should make the updates optional and remove the expiry date. I don't expect much in the way of support for a free tool, and requiring users to get the latest version before providing any support sounds perfectly reasonable to me.
Anyway, I'm glad to hear that SQL Search doesn't have an expiry date. 😎
February 4, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Steve the free tool from Redgate works very well, easy to use on one of my machines (XP Pro) running 2005 Express.
The other machine (XP Pro) running 2005 and 2008 Developer Edition the tool keeps giving me an error. (See attachment)
Do not know if Redgate gathers enough information to be able to reply to me, but would be interested in learning if others have the same problem, and if Redgate acknowledges what is missing on my box and has a fix for said problem.
February 2, 2011 at 9:45 am
Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but it looks like I was right all along: 🙁
Red Gate will be charging $35 for .NET Reflector
Red Gate has announced that it will charge $35 for version 7 of .NET Reflector upon its release in early March. Version 7 will be sold as a perpetual license, with no time bomb or forced updates.As many of you know, our original intention was to maintain .NET Reflector as a free tool. But, after two-and-a-half years of providing it without charge, we realized that we could not make the free model work. We know that this will cause pain for some people in the .NET community, and we apologize for the change in policy.
As a commercial company, we need to charge at least a nominal amount to keep .NET Reflector up-to-date and relevant. Without revenue coming in, we cannot dedicate a team of developers to ensure that Reflector remains a valuable part of .NET developers' toolboxes.
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