Lifetime updates become available again after brief experiment

Every once and a while I'll try my hand at 'marketing'. This usually doesn't turn out well, and my most recent experiment is no exception.

Based on reviewing other software vendors policies, receiving opinions from partners, and having a desire to simplify my licensing, I decided to try doing away with lifetime update purchases. I figured that if every license had a one year update subscription, it would simply be less confusing and the price of the product more clear. Also, it would allow for more recurring revenue.

Sales this week didn't go bad, but I just haven't felt right about this action. I figure my users are sophisticated and intelligent enough not to need the licensing simplified. Further, they should have the option to purchase licenses with lifetime updates. If *I* were a customer, I'd want this option. So, despite whatever theoretical benefits to doing away with lifetime updates, I never felt comfortable with it, and am now bringing them back.

This experiment lasted about a week. I've now reverted to my old price structure, once again allowing purchase of licenses with lifetime updates at a small premium. Any user who purchased in the interim is eligible for an upgrade to an equal lifetime license by paying the difference. Simply email me and I'll send you an upgrade link.

I don't intend to adjust my prices and licensing structure again for a long, long time. Its fine as-is. I'll be leaving well enough alone ;)

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v3.84 released

Go grab v3.84 from Bitsum Technologies ;). Those who use the Active Processes tab will like that it fills instantly now, amongst other improvements. The full change log is at the usual location.

As an aside for new readers, for more information about how Process Lasso's ProBalance works, see this page.

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Development advances

I'm working hard on getting v3.84 final out quickly. This version will be a good polish. There may be a few minor updates after it, but I want to start with version 4 beta immediately after v3.84. Its been since v3.80 I really ripped at the guts of Process Lasso, and so its past time for my usual improvements. I'll create the best product I possibly can, and let the market decide if its worthy.

I am going to retreat on the nags yet again. Yes, I move back and forth with the aggressiveness of the nags like a crazy person. In my defense, they haven't ever been nearly as aggressive as most nags I see, and at least I've never included an IE toolbar with Process Lasso, lol.

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Before v4, there is v3.84

Version 3.84 is coming soon. This version fixes a few rare cosmetic bugs and makes several little additions (i.e. multiple date formats). I was going to skip a beta series, but it looks like one is mandated. It will likely be coming tomorrow.

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Version 4 on the distant horizon

Version 4 is on the distant horizon. This will be another major upgrade of the product. I'm not going to be adding bloat, don't worry. It will actually streamline the product in some respects. There will be lots of improvements. Some I don't want to mention yet, but others I will. Here are a few:

1. Vastly improved update mechanism - Registered (Pro) version users will no longer have to log in to our Support area to download updates. Further, an optional automated update function will be available. Not everyone will want to use it, but most of our users should find it works great for them. Since our installer already supports silent updates (the /S command line switch), this feature is already halfway there.
2. Improved user interface - v3.80 extended and improved the user interface, at least after the quirks were worked out. Yes, I am still bothered that I let a couple GUI glitches slip by my QA in v3.80. The new interface will be more modern looking, while more functional at the same time. Details on the additions I'll note in time. You will like. Don't worry, there won't be additional overhead.
3. A separate free version - For those who ONLY want ProBalance, I will offer a separate completely slim free edition, as a contribution to the world. There won't be nags, or anything like that. However, it won't be fully featured. I must also admit that this plan is tentative, and depends a lot on sales. If sales are fine, I'll be able to go ahead and give away this free slim edition. To avoid confusion, let me say that the  planned slim edition won't use any less resources than the regular edition, it will just have less features. In the standard edition, I wrote the software so that unused features don't use any additional resources.
4. New core engine features - I don't want to elaborate on these just yet, but many of the most requested additions to Process Lasso will be implemented ;).

Thanks to all those who have supported my software. If you haven't bought a license, please do so. Developing quality, light weight software to solve user common problems is my passion, and I hope to continue doing that independently. It is not easy being independent; taxes are higher, health insurance costs are higher (I have actually none at this time), and its just plain difficult. Thankfully, I've had great user support. I know my nag screen is annoying, but its just a reminder. Without it, most people wouldn't ever think twice about Process Lasso sitting silently in the system tray, doing its job. I have had reports that many people uninstall Process Lasso after the nag gets annoying, only to recognize the benefit after its gone ;).

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v3.82.5 - a minor update

I've released v3.82.5. This is a very minor update, as the version number indicates. The Server Edition was branched, so people using the standard edition on a server are going to see a warning when they start the GUI and log entry when the core engine is started. Additionally, the French translation was updated and a few other little things were tweaked to handle the full branch of the Server Edition.

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Server Edition Branched

I've branched the Server Edition so that it is treated as a completely separate product than Process Lasso's standard branch. In the past, it was simply a different license type. For existing Server Edition users, you will be receiving an email in the next week explaining the new branch and what steps you should take for future updates. Basically, you will be switching to the Server Edition and assigned an activation code. One advantage of using an activated edition is that updates will no longer require you to login to our Support area. In the future, optional automated updates will allow for product updates without any human intervention required.

For Site License owners, you'll be given licenses for both the Server Edition and Standard (workstation) Edition.

Any existing customer who is eager to get their activation code assigned, or who does not receive an email in the coming days, should email support@bitsum.com.

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v3.82.4 released

I've rolled up all minor adjustments since the launch of v3.82.3 and put them into v3.82.4. This is merely a quickie release prior to larger changes planned for v3.84.

One notable difference in v3.82.4 is that the standard edition of Process Lasso will emit a warning when installed on Windows Servers. Since we now have a dedicated Server Edition of Process Lasso, it is that edition that should be used on Windows Servers. For now, it is just a warning, but in the future the standard edition will refuse to run on servers. By differentiating between the editions, we can make more targeted server and workstation optimizations.

I suppose I will push this update out via the product's update checker, but may wait a day before doing so as I rewrite some server side components of the check mechanism.

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