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by okamiueru 1021 days ago
A model I would like to see is a variation of "buy once, and you own that software". Any and all fixes would be included. Extensions and features added on subsequent releases are also a "buy once" deal, and the price is calculated based on "distance" to what you own.

This incentivizes development of features a user might want, but also avoids the "lock in" and other predatory practices so many companies deliberately abuse.

Still possible to include other options such as SaaS models. Anyways, one can dream. Oh, wait, if I'm dreaming, societies by and large acknowledge the value of FOSS and fund this on a large scale. The cost of a small road bridge in a small country is enough to fund high level development of software used by the whole world for its whole lifetime.
1 comments
tomaskafka 1020 days ago
What fixes? You already bought a software as is. If you expect n years of support, what happens after? Either you pay some more (=subscription), or you paid $ for n years of software (=subscription).
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okamiueru 1019 days ago
That either/or seems a little bit to bombastic, don't you think? How things are typically done, is not the constraint for how things can be done.

It wasn't "N years of support". It was much simpler of a suggestion of. X.Y.Z versioning, where any increment of Z is free, then the pricing of a upgrade on X. or Y. is just some measure of distance to what you already have.

Simplicity in marketing is still more important than any fairness in sale. So, what I'm suggesting isn't a very good idea. But, I think it is interesting enough to think about. You might disagree on that point as well, but, I'm not here to argue.

- Version 1.0.0 of a software priced at 100 USD.

- Version 1.0.5 you get for free.

- Version 1.1.0 becomes available and you can upgrade for 2 USD, but you wait.

- Version 1.1.6 becomes available and you can upgrade for 2 USD. You do so.

Pros:

- A very friendly pricing for casual users.

- Similar incentive to develop new features for users to upgrade to, and get access immediately.

Cons:

- Maybe a bit more confusing pricing models.

- Non casual users don't think twice about the pricing anyways, and the pricing model becomes less predictable than a flat X pr month/year.

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