I am adding back support for instance count limits to the free build of Process Lasso. This will help offset the recent additions of more 'buy now' type messages. This will occur in the next release, which may be v3.54.1.
Sunday, 29 March 2009
Friday, 27 March 2009
Whew! This has been the longest beta series in quite a while. The reason for this is because of the large number of important internal changes, and the stability of the current final build, v3.52. Many of the changes are to aid in localization, and others are much requested functional additions (i.e. selectable columns and silent install).
One of the more important changes was the transition to the full UNICODE build of NSIS. This has its advantages, as there will be no more annoying code page problems. However, it also has its disadvantages -- namely having to use an older build of NSIS.
The selectable columns feature was long overdue. Now users can turn off or on process columns. I intend to now add much more process information, since not all of it has to be shown by default.
For the enterprise market, silent install and password protection of the configuration file were added. There are many new command line parameters for the install, allowing full configuration of Process Lasso's basic start-up options via the installer command line. These new switches have been added to the documentation.
So.. enjoy ;). The new final is coming soon.
One of the more important changes was the transition to the full UNICODE build of NSIS. This has its advantages, as there will be no more annoying code page problems. However, it also has its disadvantages -- namely having to use an older build of NSIS.
The selectable columns feature was long overdue. Now users can turn off or on process columns. I intend to now add much more process information, since not all of it has to be shown by default.
For the enterprise market, silent install and password protection of the configuration file were added. There are many new command line parameters for the install, allowing full configuration of Process Lasso's basic start-up options via the installer command line. These new switches have been added to the documentation.
So.. enjoy ;). The new final is coming soon.
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
One of the most requested feature additions to Process Lasso has been the ability to select which process columns are shown.
The wait is over. Now users can easily hide process columns they aren't interested in. This will also give me the ability to add much more optional process information, leaving highly technical columns hidden by default.
Process Lasso v3.53 beta includes this new capability.
Sunday, 8 March 2009
Starting in Process Lasso v3.50, there have been a few minor changes to the licensing. The free build has these changes:
People say that it is not free if there is a nag. Now, I don't like nags any more than the next guy, but a little nag does not change the fact that you can continue freely using Process Lasso.
Users must understand that my situation has been dire for some time, and my choices are limited:
Options
Unfortunately, I simply can't seem to profit enough from Process Lasso home sales, so I plan to focus more on the Enterprise. That will take considerable development time though. In the interim, I must continue to feed my family, therefore I must keep getting more aggressive with pestering users to purchase the Pro version.
If and when sales become consistent and sufficient, I will start moving the other direction (more free, less nag). Until then, I encourage those users who DO like Process Lasso to please defend it when you see users complain about it no longer being totally free.
It may be that part of the problem is simply that Process Lasso doesn't have enough exposure/marketing. Without capital, that is a difficult problem for me to solve. However, I'm always thinking of possible solutions. Perhaps if I ever generate enough revenue I can reinvest into advertising.
If more users would purchase, I could actually lower the price of Process Lasso. Heck, if I could get a 100% purchase rate, I'd happily sell licenses for a mere $1 . Unfortunately, the customer to user ratio is 1:1000, or greater. Yes, that high! To be clear, that means that for each 1,000 long-time users of Process Lasso, there is only one person who purchases it.
Lastly, I want be sure to also thank the many people who have purchased Process Lasso over the last few years. Many did so long before I added any real incentives to purchase. In fact, there were many users who made voluntary donations. These users have kept this project alive this long - thank you!
- ADDED a system tray balloon tip to ask users to please consider purchasing the Pro build. It disappears by itself in seconds, causing no interruption of work. It only appears once per run of Process Lasso. Since Process Lasso is resident (always running) software, most users will only see when they restart their computer, or when they upgrade Process Lasso.
- ADDED a new message box asking the user to consider purchasing the Pro build. This is shown after the product has been used for 60 days. It only appears once per run of Process Lasso. Again, since Process Lasso is resident (always running) software, most users will only see this message when they restart their computer, or when they upgrade Process Lasso.
- REMOVED the 'commercial users: must purchase...' periodic message from the graph. The others still remain, though they are less lengthy and so less obtrusive.
- REMOVED the installation query on whether Process Lasso is for Home or Commercial use.
- REMOVED the forced expiration of commercial use installs.
People say that it is not free if there is a nag. Now, I don't like nags any more than the next guy, but a little nag does not change the fact that you can continue freely using Process Lasso.
Users must understand that my situation has been dire for some time, and my choices are limited:
Options
- Give up on Process Lasso
- Make it a time limited trial, so you must purchase it to continue use
- Keep putting in small nags or moving features to the Pro build until I get enough purchases.
Unfortunately, I simply can't seem to profit enough from Process Lasso home sales, so I plan to focus more on the Enterprise. That will take considerable development time though. In the interim, I must continue to feed my family, therefore I must keep getting more aggressive with pestering users to purchase the Pro version.
If and when sales become consistent and sufficient, I will start moving the other direction (more free, less nag). Until then, I encourage those users who DO like Process Lasso to please defend it when you see users complain about it no longer being totally free.
It may be that part of the problem is simply that Process Lasso doesn't have enough exposure/marketing. Without capital, that is a difficult problem for me to solve. However, I'm always thinking of possible solutions. Perhaps if I ever generate enough revenue I can reinvest into advertising.
If more users would purchase, I could actually lower the price of Process Lasso. Heck, if I could get a 100% purchase rate, I'd happily sell licenses for a mere $1 . Unfortunately, the customer to user ratio is 1:1000, or greater. Yes, that high! To be clear, that means that for each 1,000 long-time users of Process Lasso, there is only one person who purchases it.
Lastly, I want be sure to also thank the many people who have purchased Process Lasso over the last few years. Many did so long before I added any real incentives to purchase. In fact, there were many users who made voluntary donations. These users have kept this project alive this long - thank you!
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