Search Results for 'script'

[Mike Lapchynski]

Well said Walter! I agree with everything you said. People need to sit back and relax.

I am pleasantly surprised with Cloudant. I was hesitant at first. I have been using it for months during the beta testing, and really have no issues with it. It is fast and reliable. So far, I have not even come close to being charged. I have multiple databases and use everyday at home and work.

As far as the paid upgrade, you get a lot of value with Tap Forms. Reasonably priced when you break down cost over the life of the software. Much better option than some of the subscription based software out there. People want quality apps, but don’t want to pay for the development and support. There is enough bad software out there. I am more than happy to pay and help support great, dedicated developers like Brendan.

[Christopher Hansen]

I agree that Cloudant seems to be working well so far — after some frustration with initial set-up. I’m also more than a bit concerned about using a new service with little track record, and having it be the only sync option available. We (software users in general) are starting to catch on to the fact that subscription services may not be around for as long as we’d like to use the software, and that prices and terms will change!

Is anyone else now getting multiple emails from Cloudant sales reps? Gross!

Still, good work on the recent upgrades!

[Michael Berstene]

When you click on the open book icon you are placed in the welcome script which is wonderful but there is no exit without creating another My Life database. Please provide either an option to exit without creating a My Life database or simply make the creation an option.

[W P]

I’ve been waiting for the new version to be posted. I checked today and I see it has an update of August 10, 2016. However the version number still says 5.0. Was just the description updated or was the version number not changed and that is why I’m not getting a notification that there is an update available?

[Brian Quinn]

So disappointing, Brendan!
Having paid £26 for the OSX & IOS versions I’m shocked to find that they no longer sync over iCloud.
That was the great advantage of the previous product for me – synching across my several devices. Now I’m supposed to open an account (possibly chargeable) for IBM Cloudant, which I’ve never heard of before.
The alternative of wi-fi synching requires all devices to have Tap Forms open at the same time, which is hopelessly impractical and messy.
I feel deceived that the store description refers to Cloud synching without making it clear that it’s not iCloud.

[C F]

Subscription? Bleh! Take that back at once…a pox on your keyboard! I think the pricing is fair and there won’t be another version like this in near future–does suck for those that just bought TAP, but we are talking less that 40 bucks for months and months of product use (and months and months of his development). I am sure that subscription would be more, and no one likes their credit card on file and being auto-charged if they can avoid it.

[Brendan]

Louis,

That in and of itself is a controversial topic. Not everyone agrees with software subscriptions. I myself subscribe to Adobe Photoshop too and have no problems with it. But it may not be so easy for everyone to accept. They may feel they’re being nickel and dime to death.

This is the first time me ever charging for an upgrade, so it’s a new experience and learning process for me too.

Thanks for all your understanding.

Now back to my 320 emails which keeps growing…

[AngriBuddhist]

Yeah.

I’m not suggesting you go this route. I am, however, interested in what a developer and users of a very cool and useful productivity app think of the whole thing. The fact that there are new possibilities is fascinating.

The first few well known developers who switch their productivity apps to subscriptions will be self selected canaries in the coal mine for all the rest. While, however slight, there’s a chance that just good enough apps (that would gain features over time) could disrupt the more established ones with the right subscription price.

Or, hopefully, it’s just that we get some new cool types of apps. I don’t know if it’s even possible, but, I’ve had an idea for an app/service that, if available, I’d personally pay more than $10 a month for.

Here’s my first App Store Subscription Model prediction.

Marco Arment will make one of the first big splashes with a subscription only app for the total creation, recording, editing and publishing of podcasts. It’ll be his first Mac app and, if iOS 10 doesn’t have the needed changes, he’ll bring it to the iPad once the system is opened up further.

[Brendan]

I saw a tweet today that productivity apps are good candidates for subscriptions, even if the productivity app goes into a read-only mode if the subscription ends.

I still haven’t decided if I would entertain even going down that route. It didn’t seem to be a good move for TextExpander. They got lots of flak for it. I think people will just take a little time to get used to the idea, especially if more apps go that way.

[AngriBuddhist]

Just finished watching the WWDC Introducing Expanded Subscriptions in iTunes Connect session video.
https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2016/301/

I had read that the durations for subscriptions could be 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. This video didn’t cover that so I’m assuming that’s still true.

The presentation that did show prices was in U.S. dollars, the lowest being $.99 and steadily increasing by a dollar. From here on out I’ll just round up to the nearest U.S. dollar.

A developer could combine these durations and prices to come up with a variety of subscriptions.

At the $1 subscription
$1/year (12 month subscription)
$2/year (6 month subscription)
$4/year (3 month subscription)
$12/year (1 month subscription)

At the $2 subscription
$2/year (12 month subscription)
$4/year (6 month subscription)
$8/year (3 month subscription)
$24/year (1 month subscription)

At the $3 subscription
$3/year (12 month subscription)
$6/year (6 month subscription)
$12/year (3 month subscription)
$36/year (1 month subscription)

And on and on.

I was originally hoping that Apple would allow subscriptions below $1 as some apps might not justify $12 a year indefinitely. Obviously, though, I hadn’t thought through the implications of the duration options.

Then there’s the ability to offer different prices for the different durations. A developer could set the subscriptions as follows.

$1 every 1 month
$5 every 6 months
$9 every 12 months

Or…

$1 every 3 months
$3 every 12 months

All together, it means that developers can find a reasonable subscription price for their app.

[AngriBuddhist]

@Steve

Either I chose the wrong words or you perceived a tone that I didn’t intend. Either way, I agree with everything you’ve said.

When it comes to Feedly, I use it an hour or more a day. It’s a simple app but I get so much value from it that I’d pay a subscription.

On the other hand, it takes about 45 days for me to use the way more complicated app Numbers for a total of an hour. Yet, it also provides me so much value that I’d pay a subscription for it too.

Someone else may get little to no value from either of those apps.

[AngriBuddhist]

As far as I’ve read, App Store subscriptions can be for 1, 3, 6 or 12 months. I wonder if a dev can have all four for just one app?

[Brendan]

Those are all good points. I guess we’ll have to wait until next week to find out what Apple can tell us more about subscriptions. I currently pay for Adobe Photoshop CC for $120 USD per year. I think that’s fair for what I get, even though I’m not a graphic artist and don’t use it as much as an artist would. I use it mostly for tweaking icons and making graphics for Tap Forms. But I also use Sketch for that and they’ve just recently announced they’re moving to a subscription model. In fact, they announced that a day before Apple announced their subscription model. But they sell exclusively outside of the Mac App Store. They used to sell in the MAS but they left. I sell both in the MAS and direct. I will have no problems paying an annual subscription fee for Sketch since it’s a really useful app for developers. It’s my go-to app when I need to make an icon.

Paddle.com is the provider I use for direct downloads. They have a Subscription module with a yearly option, but I don’t know how that works as I haven’t investigate it yet. I don’t know if it’s for downloadable content or just for access to the app and all upgrades. I’ll probably have to look into it now though.

Also, I’m close enough with my next upgrade that I don’t want to wait to release it to turn it into a subscription model. But hopefully Apple will have some guidelines on how to migrate an app to a subscription model.

I agree, a yearly option is much more preferable than a monthly option for software. Although strangely enough I find it just fine to pay a monthly fee for Netflix. I guess it’s because you’re not paying for the app, but you’re paying for the content and that’s always updated and changing every month.

Lots to think about.

[AngriBuddhist]

I fully believe that the drive to the bottom of App Store prices has helped to re-enforce the notion that non-physical items have little to no value. The financial well being of people who make non-physical items then, of course, is taken into little or no consideration.

I pay subscriptions to Netflix, Hulu, HBO, mobile phone service, electrical service, etc. and when I unsubscribe it’s completely understandable that I have nothing to show for it. I paid for access to something that I value and have now stopped paying.

I have no use for, and therefore ascribe little value to, SaaS such as Office 365 or Adobe Suite but I understand that some do and are willing to pay a subscription fee even though they’ll lose access once they unsubscribe.

I wonder, though, if there’ll be a be way to offer an app as both a purchase and a subscription? I’ll use Tap Forms as an example although I’m unsure whether this would be possible.

Currently, Brendan has TF ($9.99 as of today) and TF Lite in the App Store.

Could there instead be Tap Forms 1 ($19.99) and Tap Forms Subscription ($.99 per month)? On Day 1 they’d both be the same.

TF1 would be usable forever, or until Brendan stopped updating for OS compatible, and only get bug fixes. However, TF Sub would get both bug fixes and new updates/features.

Then at a certain point down the line, Brendan could cease offering TF1, fork off TF Sub ($.99 per month) into TF2 ($19.99) and start again with them both being the same.

There’d be no need for TF Lite as TF Sub can offer one month free. After that “trial” period, the user could continue subscribing, simply stop subscribing and using TF, or stop and purchase TF1 (or 2) because, in it’s current state, it’s good enough for them.

[Steve Cross]

Did a little more research and it appears that Apple will allow you to offer 1 year subscriptions. With that in mind, I would vote for annual billing for the reasons mentioned above. However, it seems as if you can also offer monthly subscriptions at the same time with perhaps a discount for a 12 month commitment.

Good luck with adjusting to the new changes in the app store. It always seems to take a while for Apple to get all the kinks worked out of new systems.