The MacOS X developer community is abuzz with the announcement that Bohemian Coding is pulling their Sketch vector art product from the Mac App Store. Here is why developers should pay attention. Continue reading Sketch Leaving the Mac App Store Shows Understanding of Sales
Category: Distribution
Sourceforge Joins the Ranks of EVIL with Filezilla Malware
A lot of people rely on Filezilla, the FOSS FTP application. Versions you find on Sourceforge are plagued with malware. And it is on purpose. Continue reading Sourceforge Joins the Ranks of EVIL with Filezilla Malware
How Subscription Based Software is Bad for Customers
Software companies are working hard to convince you that a pure subscription model is good for you. Sometimes it actually is. But mostly its not, because its implemented in ways that is bad for customers and their businesses. Nowhere is this more apparent than the direction of Adobe Creative Cloud.
Lets start with the painful lesson one user of Creative Suite 6 learned that caused him to invalidate his license and get locked into the subscription model. Continue reading How Subscription Based Software is Bad for Customers
Boycott Adobe Software as Service for Creative Suite
An anonymous reader over on Macintouch wrote this post that clarifies exactly why the software-as-service methodology is completely wrong for its user base. Having Adobe update creative suite automatically, along with any license changes and additions threatens the business model of much of its customer base.
Continue reading Boycott Adobe Software as Service for Creative Suite
Microsoft Gambles on Subscriptions in Office 365 and Office 2013
Ever since the introduction of the Office ribbon in Office 2007, I have begun to think Microsoft has a secret soft spot for open source software. No action prior to this had motivated me more to look at open source offerings. With Office 365, the version associated with Windows 8, Microsoft again provides sufficient motivation to look at alternatives*. Continue reading Microsoft Gambles on Subscriptions in Office 365 and Office 2013
Agency Model Should Be Familiar
Apple is in hot water over what appears to be price fixing with major book publishers, in an effort to harm Amazon. Steve Jobs apparently suggested following the agency model, which is more a business model than an actual pricing model.
In the agency model and in regular retail practice, the reseller is a kind of conduit to customers. By way of distributors, products appear on shelves. Resellers buy, based on a percentage of the suggested retail price. The reseller is entirely free to set their own prices (with certain exceptions) and compete with other resellers in the market. Resellers also generate additional revenue off of selling advertisements within their circulars, charging for end cap or point of purchase promotions or other in-store experiences. The agency model works quite differently. Continue reading Agency Model Should Be Familiar