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Survey Results

How do you rate the ways you can purchase software?

Survey period: 5 Sep 2022 to 12 Sep 2022

Rate these 7 options, with 1 = "No way, ever", to 5 = "Absolutely support this model". Answer generally, if you can, and add you specific "it depends" caveats in the discussion forum

OptionVotes12345 
Outright purchase of software: Use anywhere, anyhow, anytime, forever3103%1%4%7%86%
Purchase a perpetual license per user3108%8%23%28%32%
Purchase a perpetual license per device31028%23%28%17%4%
Annual or Monthly Subscription31042%23%19%12%5%
No cost software, but with ads31032%26%23%15%4%
No cost Software that is a functionally limited version of larger version31011%15%36%26%12%
No cost Software that isn't supported31019%15%29%18%19%



 
GeneralWill I use it? Pin
Sander Rossel7-Sep-22 20:05
professionalSander Rossel7-Sep-22 20:05 
GeneralRe: Will I use it? Pin
kalberts8-Sep-22 14:24
kalberts8-Sep-22 14:24 
Generalsome of the "oldies" are still gold Pin
BillWoodruff6-Sep-22 22:42
professionalBillWoodruff6-Sep-22 22:42 
GeneralRe: some of the "oldies" are still gold Pin
Bassam Abdul-Baki7-Sep-22 5:17
professionalBassam Abdul-Baki7-Sep-22 5:17 
GeneralRe: some of the "oldies" are still gold Pin
Bassam Abdul-Baki7-Sep-22 5:19
professionalBassam Abdul-Baki7-Sep-22 5:19 
GeneralRe: some of the "oldies" are still gold Pin
BillWoodruff7-Sep-22 5:36
professionalBillWoodruff7-Sep-22 5:36 
GeneralWinZip ... Pin
Bassam Abdul-Baki6-Sep-22 9:09
professionalBassam Abdul-Baki6-Sep-22 9:09 
GeneralRe: WinZip ... Pin
Nelek6-Sep-22 14:46
protectorNelek6-Sep-22 14:46 
GeneralRe: WinZip ... Pin
Bassam Abdul-Baki7-Sep-22 5:13
professionalBassam Abdul-Baki7-Sep-22 5:13 
GeneralRe: WinZip ... Pin
kalberts6-Sep-22 16:41
kalberts6-Sep-22 16:41 
My version of WinZip is from the days when it was free. It still works.

Paintshop went the same path.

Java did, too, but I didn't follow it closely after it became restricted, so I really don't know the end of that story.

I believe that if MS had followed the same path with VS, MS as a whole and C# in particular would have been in a lot weaker position today. They went the other way, giving amateurs and small business with tight economical constraints full and unrestricted access to VS, for creating millions of small and medium applications that ties the entire population of the world, literally, to Window, dotNet and MS. Which customer cares about access to the source code? The customer cares for software developed by someone who knows their needs and expectations. That is what a freely available VS gives them.

People would rather pay a moderate sum for something solving their problems to a local three-man company (or maybe a clever neighborhood teenager) than getting something for free that they can't make heads or tails of, and fails to handle data from clients because the files contain non-English characters, file names contains a space or they are forced to either learn English terminology or learn to decipher some "translation" to the local language by a computer guy who doesn't know the professional terminology but makes stupid guesses. (In the worst case, the "tranlator" doesn't even master the everyday target language.) Quite often, you are much better off with a local developer, working in the field, even when that is not a ph.d. level professional FOSS developer, and you have to pay for the software.
GeneralFunctionally limited Pin
kalberts6-Sep-22 0:28
kalberts6-Sep-22 0:28 
GeneralRe: Functionally limited Pin
PIEBALDconsult6-Sep-22 5:11
mvePIEBALDconsult6-Sep-22 5:11 
GeneralTicket card Pin
kalberts6-Sep-22 0:14
kalberts6-Sep-22 0:14 
GeneralRe: Ticket card Pin
Moshe Katz6-Sep-22 3:40
Moshe Katz6-Sep-22 3:40 
GeneralRe: Ticket card Pin
kalberts6-Sep-22 16:16
kalberts6-Sep-22 16:16 
Generalit all depends - plus one time purchase with X year of updates, update fee after Pin
maze35-Sep-22 23:04
professionalmaze35-Sep-22 23:04 
GeneralYou should add... Pin
Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter5-Sep-22 20:08
professionalKornfeld Eliyahu Peter5-Sep-22 20:08 

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