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ambush · May 17, 2003, 04:10 PM

Hi,

I have an interesting question for you guys
PLEASE BE HONEST.

Here's the situation:

Suppose you download this new app (which is nagware) and you really like it. It displays messages every 30 mins to ask you to register with a nice little message ( � la OmniWeb ). You use it like very very often and you like it a lot.

Are you going to pay it? Or just endure the messages and not pay?

nagware examples: Acquisition, OmniWeb.

remember: nagware isn't crippleware!

Thanks!

m2bored · May 17, 2003, 05:30 PM

I think you forgot one option...

Some nagware is so annoying that I stop using it completely.

It's a careful balance between nagware...and really-effing-annoying-ware.

If the application is Really good BUT really annoying i will buy it.

If the application is Really good and not very annoying (i.e. reminder when launched...or only a few times in the day), I wont buy it.

but if it's "ok" and really annoying I will stop using it

M2

P.S. I should mention that I am a poor college student, and that if I had more money i would register more apps.

cpac · May 17, 2003, 06:07 PM

Originally posted by ambush:
nagware examples: Acquisition, OmniWeb.

Well if it's any evidence, I paid for both of these. Not so much because of the annoyance, but because I like to support excellent software.

BUT, for example, I haven't yet bought a license for Graphic Converter - I find the wait very annoying, but I don't use it enough to make it worth my buying it.

juanvaldes · May 17, 2003, 08:22 PM

Originally posted by cpac:
BUT, for example, I haven't yet bought a license for Graphic Converter - I find the wait very annoying, but I don't use it enough to make it worth my buying it.

exactly. It depends on the software, how good it is, how annoying the nag is and how bad you need the app.

A recent example for me is iconfactory. Now I'm not a graphics person but I dabble some and have been using this plugin to make icons for invididual folders. It's very handy and a nice piece of software. But I only use it every now and then so it small wait is not very annoying.

Also the more naggy it is while I don't need it *bad* will increase the chances of...borrowing

a serial for it.

On the other end is stuff like OW which I just didn't have the cash for but left the nag intact to honor them in a way (plus they are ammusing in the morning

).

so yeah. It really depends.

MacGorilla · May 17, 2003, 10:03 PM

Like everyone else, It depends on the nag. RPGMaker is the worst. Its nag dialog box stays on the screen for 5 minutes at start up and pops up every 5 minutes afterwards.

wtmcgee · May 17, 2003, 10:17 PM

for what it's worth, i registered omniweb 4.1.

i would NEVER register acquisition or limewire or any other p2p app though. i understand time and effort goes into those programs, but the idea of paying to be able to steal software/mp3s is just silly to me.

Arkham_c · May 17, 2003, 10:19 PM

Price and features matter. I bought SQLGrinder, which was $50, but it's truely awesome for what I do for a living.

I also bought Net Monitor. I could live without it, but it's so cheap that I didn't mind registering. Note that NM is not just nagware, it quits after 30 minutes if not registered.

MrBS · May 17, 2003, 10:58 PM

I don't see Acquisition and OW as equivalents. It's been awhile since I've used an unlicensed OW, but as I remember it all it did was pop up a humorous 'please pay us' note at launch and then if you were idle for a long time it would paste 'Unlicensed' across your browser window. Very unintrusive, got the message across without annoying me. I bought it.

Acquisition I don't use much at all, so I probably wouldn't pay for it, but it pops up a dialog box every x minutes or something, so I'm working on my computer and it has stuff popping up demanding my attention. That's annoying.

I do buy nagware more often than I buy crippleware or shareware though. Just don't do anything that's intrusive. Popping up windows when I'm in another app is annoying. A 20 second delay is annoying.

I don't think many people will actually pay you to get rid of those hinderances, if they pay you it's because: they like the product, want to support it, know that it's not intended to be freeware, and it's easy to register. So don't do anything that peeves people off too much, just a quick 'register now' or 'maybe later' dialog box with an explanation at launch would keep it in people's minds that they should pay if they like it, and won't make them angry.

~BS

ophion · May 18, 2003, 12:49 AM

Originally posted by cpac:

BUT, for example, I haven't yet bought a license for Graphic Converter - I find the wait very annoying, but I don't use it enough to make it worth my buying it.

Some of us bought a "lifetime" license for Graphic Converter, which turned out not to be lifetime at all.

SSharon · May 18, 2003, 06:13 AM

I find lots of Apple's software to be nagware. Mail.app in particular always wants my attention to tell me something is wrong and just loves bouncing in that dock, I only wish I could pay to have that app cooperate a bit more. Talking about a delay when opening, anyone try the apple system profiler lately? When it opens for me which is not always it takes forever. Anyway, I love my Mac and I don't want to complain, but well I do, so its off my chest, but don't worry, I wouldn't give up my Mac for anything.

Sharky K. · May 18, 2003, 07:02 AM

I really don't care if it is nagware or other-ware.. If it is good I pay for it.

Peter · May 18, 2003, 07:19 AM

Originally posted by Sharky K.:
I really don't care if it is nagware or other-ware.. If it is good I pay for it.

blybug · May 18, 2003, 09:39 AM

Originally posted by ophion:
Some of us bought a "lifetime" license for Graphic Converter, which turned out not to be lifetime at all.

Graphic Converter is probably the best shareware deal on the Mac platform...$35 for a continuously updated and improved feature set close to what one gets in the $700 Photoshop.

Lemke gave good reason for changing his policy last year. You only need to pay again if you want versions beyond 4.5...your old version should continue to work perfectly as before. I paid my $35 back when GC was on version 2.something years ago, and certainly didn't mind paying again (actually I bought 2 more licenses to "legally" use GC on both my computers).

To imply that asking for a re-license was unfair is ridiculous...it's incredible that Lemke has continued to develop this product from the 680x0 days to PPC to OS X and until last year never asked for a paid upgrade! Especially when so many people continue to use GC and only pay by waiting for the splash screen...

Severed Hand of Skywalker · May 18, 2003, 12:49 PM

Originally posted by m2bored:
I think you forgot one option...

Some nagware is so annoying that I stop using it completely.

Exactlly.

ambush · May 18, 2003, 02:06 PM

What do you think of the OmniWeb nag?

tikki · May 18, 2003, 02:10 PM

Originally posted by ambush:
What do you think of the OmniWeb nag?

i think the startup nags are clever. i miss them now that I registered.

MrBS · May 18, 2003, 04:43 PM

Originally posted by ambush:
What do you think of the OmniWeb nag?

They're great. They remind you that it's not meant to be freeware without making you resent the developer.

~BS

ophion · May 18, 2003, 04:56 PM

Originally posted by blybug:
I paid my $35 back when GC was on version 2.something years ago, and certainly didn't mind paying again (actually I bought 2 more licenses to "legally" use GC on both my computers).

Yes, you got a good deal. Some of us only got a couple of point updates with our "lifetime" licenses.

To imply that asking for a re-license was unfair is ridiculous...

It is most certainly not ridiculous. The agreement was that ALL future updates of GC would be free to registered users. Although the licensing and upgrade fees for GC are quite reasonable, I do expect to get that for which I have paid.

ambush · May 18, 2003, 08:23 PM

Anyway, thank you guys for your precious input, it's always good to know what MacNN users think.

Due to circumstances beyond our control, our next app will be "nagware"... We'll write nice little messages (� la Omniweb)

Anyway, the first betas of our first game are coming soon, so stay tuned

Hint: it's a classic board game but you can't play it on OSX.

Peter · May 19, 2003, 03:52 AM

Originally posted by ambush:
Anyway, thank you guys for your precious input, it's always good to know what MacNN users think.

Due to circumstances beyond our control, our next app will be "nagware"... We'll write nice little messages (� la Omniweb)

Anyway, the first betas of our first game are coming soon, so stay tuned

Hint: it's a classic board game but you can't play it on OSX.

ooooooh, a Panther OS game?

Zimphire · May 19, 2003, 04:01 AM

Originally posted by blybug:
Graphic Converter is probably the best shareware deal on the Mac platform...$35 for a continuously updated and improved feature set close to what one gets in the $700 Photoshop.

Not even CLOSE to Photoshop. Not even near it.

JKT · May 19, 2003, 10:04 AM

You also forgot another option - nagware that you do need but don't need the pro version of. Ergo, QuickTime. I HATE that it continually bugs me to upgrade to the Pro version when I neither want or need it. There should be some means of disabling that message...

FWIW, I pay for shareware/nagware/etc that I end up using a lot. Truly irritating nagware I more often than not end up deleting before I've given it a chance to grow on me.

ambush · May 19, 2003, 11:44 AM

Originally posted by PeterClark2002:
ooooooh, a Panther OS game?

Hmm. How about you try to make sense?

coolmacdude · May 19, 2003, 12:11 PM

Originally posted by Zimphire:
Not even CLOSE to Photoshop. Not even near it.

I have to agree. GC is great for casual users who want a simple app to do simple editing. However, there is know way I could do serious graphic work with it and it doesn't approach Photoshop in many areas. Photoshop Elements is a much better inexpensive ($99) alternative.