Could you please admit to the public reading this that after the one year is due all the plugins are DISABLED and you can't do ANYTHING in the IDE.
Now assume the following scenario. Your deadline is almost at the corner and you realized your subscription has expired. You choose to purchase another renewal by bank wire transfer. Since wire transfer may take up to 5 working days, within that period you're stuck because the MyEclipse IDE is unusable. This is exactly what I want to avoid.
Jens, I'm not saying the $30 is not a good deal. I'm only concerned your licensing model may result in frustrations and missed deadlines.
Your request of "admitting" it as such makes it sound as though we are hiding something. So let me be clear so you don't misunderstand...
On day 366 after you purchase your subscription (one year plus one day), the IDE will NOT be completely disabled. It will just begin to nag you incessantly with some reminder screens. After several days of this, however, you will begin to see features being disabled. Just like if you had a magazine subscription, if you don't pay the bills, the issues quit coming. So in your scenario, you have a couple of options: a) suffer through the several days of reminder screens until your license arrives - or b) send a note to our subscriptions department to let them know what is going on and they can often issue a temporary key to use while the bank info goes through or your company processes a PO, etc. We don't want you to be high and dry.
As for why we don't offer a one-time license... our business model is the key to our success. It keeps the lights on, keeps us honest and forces us to deliver value (which you obviously see and have seen). As you know, products comparable with MyEclipse, MyEclipse Blue Edition and MyEclipse for Spring can cost from $1000-$8000 for a license. This is not an exaggeration - look at IBM's RAD.
Products in a "one-time" payment model not only charge large fees, but also often 15-20% support fees annually to have support and access to updates. This means a 20-year career of a developer could cost $20,000+ for the same tool over and over. No one in the industry could afford to do what we do for [under $200 price point for all our products] and stay in business with their sales models. Period.
We also utilize the subscription model to keep us honest. Releasing every 2-3 years like many companies allows a certain lax in the sales cycle that means they know they'll be visiting their customers irregularly, but getting wads of cash each time. We operate differently by forcing ourselves to keep up with the changes in technology and earning the subscription fee with every release - not milking customers over and over. We release every few weeks, not every few years. And this rapid release schedule ties in with our annual value proposition.
By utilizing the recurring subscription model, MyEclipse versions are available in any world market at any time (if we're talking economics). We are also the only folks I know of in the space offering a money-back guarantee, so it's even a risk-free $30 (or $199 in the case of MyEclipse for Spring).
So, while the model is different than what you are used to, it tends to empower customers to demand change in an industry standardized on locking companies in to their sales structure. You never feel locked in, regretful or trapped by MyEclipse. You can opt out at any time and even get your money back if we didn't meets your needs.
We have never offered a one-time license, and likely never will. Once we do, it would allow us to become complacent, lazy and not feel like we have to earn your money every year. Once that laziness kicks in, all of our customers lose out and ultimately, we lose business. While I'm sorry the subscription model causes concerns for you, the lengthiest license we allow (not by policy - we've even hard-coded the software this way) is a three-year purchase. If that interests you, I'm happy to help.
Jens, Genuitec
