Looks like someone doesn't know the definition of "upgrade" and likes to pick and choose their "facts".  From Wiki on "upgrade" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_upgrade): replacement of a product with a newer version of the same product... a newer or better version, in order to bring the system up to date or to improve its characteristics."

But even if I agree to your fake definition of upgrade where an upgrade must contain new features, Lite, Pro, and Studio still fit the definition of receiving upgrades.  By the real definition of upgrade, all of the following would be considered an upgrade but even using your own made-up definition, we have:

Compatibility with future OS's: update
Compatibility with future printer hardware and software: update
Compatibility with changes to image formats: update
Bug fixes: update

Support for new camera models: upgrade
Print speed improvements: upgrade
Print quality improvements: upgrade
Improvements to existing features (like the upcoming ability to see text info on preview page): upgrade

So obviously you are still getting free upgrades for Lite, Pro, and Studio.  I could very easily have done exactly what our accountants wanted us to do and dump Qimage Lite, Pro, and Studio completely!  They had even written up a statement that went something like "Qimage (LPS) has reached the end of it's expected life cycle of ten years... that product has been discontinued... Our new product, XYZ, is being built to compete in the 2010 marketplace...".  But I won't do that.  I have too much respect for my users.  I think the vast majority of my users return that respect which is why I will NOT discontinue Qimage Lite, Pro, or Studio!  I'm not going to take the recommendations made to me and leave those products behind even if there are a few people out there who think the world should be 90% take and 10% give!  Qimage Ultimate is a new product.  It has significant changes and additions on the outside, massive changes on the inside, a new registration and support process, new resources assigned to it, and a very aggressive upgrade schedule.  

As recent as about 5 years ago, we could develop Qimage Lite, Pro, and Studio with free lifetime upgrades but as you may (should have) noticed, there have been fewer significant advancements in technology WRT Qimage than 5, 7, 10 years ago: advancements like you are getting in Qimage Ultimate: Lightning Raw, tone targeted sharpening, full UI reviews, code rebuilds to bring Qimage to near-perfect on all platforms, etc.  The reason for this is simple.  Our user base grew to the point where we were spending 70% of our time supporting existing users for free: support like replacing unlock codes that users should have saved themselves, tutoring users who refuse to read the manual, helping users solve problems with other equipment, and even giving advice on cameras, printers, and computers.  We are quickly getting back on the cutting edge of the technology wave with Qimage Ultimate, but that takes resources and a different approach.  It can't be done by extending the free ride of the past into Ultimate with generous discounts.  We simply cannot support this new venture doing that.  I do feel a special loyalty to those who purchased Studio because in general, they haven't had as long a "ride".  Again due to the resources involved on the new Ultimate project, discounts are out but I will give away our full archive of (raw) camera profiles to anyone who purchased both Studio and Ultimate.  See the link near the bottom of the mini-FAQ for details: http://www.ddisoftware.com/qimage/minifaq.htm.  That's an archive of 53 profiles that sell for $17.95 each.  Of course, I can't refund profiles you've already purchased nor will you have all 53 cameras to get the full $951 value but even if you have one or two cameras on that list or you frequently deal with photos from other photographers, that's a significant incentive!

Mike

And - for what it's worth - I sure don't remember ever being promised free increased functionality when i bought Qimage or Studio.  I thought updates would take care of bug fixes and compatibility with printers, operating systemsn etc.

OK.  First of all, who is this "we".  You are the only one I see still beating this dead horse.


That's what you would like people to believe because you feel "cheated" that you can't get a new product for a considerable discount just because you used another one and got free upgrades for 10 years, 5 years, whatever.  Now somehow you think I "owe you" on new work I do!  So I don't think the people who have received upgrades for 5 or 10 years are free loaders: they got what they paid for (and what I'm still providing).  The freeloaders are the ones who want to take those 5 or 10 years of free upgrades and somehow use that against me to "bargain" their way into a new product or make up arbitrary requirements about how I can use my resources.  I think I've explained myself quite well and consider this topic closed.

BTW, as a Studio user if you buy Ultimate you get all camera (raw) profiles for free.  Since raw is a big part of Studio/Ultimate, I think that's quite a bargain on top of the bargain you've been getting since you bought Qimage in 2004.

Mike

Let me add a few thoughts and comments.

When first notified of QU, I was annoyed as there seemed to be very little difference between the Studio Edition and the Ultimate and there was not upgrade path.  As time has gone on, QU has evolved and the tone targeted sharpening is a significant added capability from prior editions.  If QU had been introduced with this, I would have grumbled about lack of upgrade path similar to that for Adobe whiich Jeff identified but said ok.  I understand Mike's problem in "upgrade" as in prior editions, you paid the difference in price and Mike has opted not to increase the price above that of Studio prior to QU introduction - so what we as Studio users would have expected was paying a minimal charge plus the annual fee and a lot of grumbling if it were more.  Calling it a new product and providing an opportunity to purchase the new product at a discount similar to what Adobe or Corel does would have worked for me and NO subsequent bitching.  Regarding Mike's offer of camera profiles, this isn't a benefit to me personally as my camera is not one on the list and due to the life cycle position for those on the list, I'm unlikely to buy one of them.

Currently I use use either an Adobe product or Bibble for RAW pre-processing as both programs offer easier capability than QU does.  If QU could read and build on their results that would make me a very happy camper (HINT, HINT) as it would eliminate a conversion step.  The fact that tone targeted sharpening can work on jpegs or tiff files is an alternative that I'll have to evaluate for my workflow.

Personally, I think Mike's offer to maintain the QImage versions through camera and OS changes is fantastic.  I do worry about OS changes however as new OS versions under Mircosoft do not necessarily have backward compatibility - try running DOS or 16 bit apps or even some older 32 bit programs under Win 7.  Needed or not, we'll all be going to 64 bit if for no other reason than hard drives will require it in the future due to addressing space.

I think you have too Mike, and folks should give it a rest.  Either they're going to buy QIU or they won't.  I've been very happy with QIPro, and may or may not buy the NEW product.  If it suits my needs I'll buy it, if it doesn't add significantly to my needs, I won't.  I'm waiting for a while to download the trial version because you keep adding new stuff at such a fast rate that by the time I would download it and have a chance to check it out, something new comes along, and my trial period has run out before I get a chance to try it.  How about lengthening the trial period a bit?

Mike

I wasn't trying to be argumentative.

My comment on the Adobe discount was relative to Jeff's offer for an upgrade from Photoshop Elements 7 (an older version of PE) to Photoshop for a 50% discount.  PE7 and PS CS5 are significantly different programs.  I did not suggest that you should have offered a 50% discount although that would have been nice.  I said I understood your dilemma in offering any discount as previously it was only the difference in version pricing and QS and QU were essentially the same product price at the time of introduction.  You chose a price point to maximize your sales but it created a problem relative to your treatment of old customers as the price of QS previously and QU were identical.  

Since you appear to be caught up in nitpicking on analogies - Adobe doesn't do a version change every year - there's been a minimum of 2 years between versions in the CS series which is approximately the time at which you will also get 50% of the purchase price.  QU has no longer Free upgrades for life so your policy is currently essentially the same as Adobe's except that you collect your 50% over 2.5 years versus Adobe's at time of version change and that they offer a discount on upgrading from a competing product to encourage sales.

Terry

This is an irrelevant discussion because the various RAW pre-processing programs are not identical and do offer differences in features and ease of achieving an effect.  While I have no intention of getting into a feature by feature discussion, I find the gradated filter in Photoshop RAW processing that allows maximum differentiation between sky and clouds up high with minimum effect near the horizon where land meet the sky similar to that of a polarizing filter useful and quick.  You might be able to do the same in QS but not as easy nor in its variations.

Both Adobe and Bibble do not make permanant changes to the RAW files but rather use an associated file similar to Q.  The ability to transfer your processed RAW file from either of these programs and then finishing the job in QU would be beneficial without having to make the conversion to a jpeg or tiff file as the final step prior to QU.  I'm fuilly aware that tone targeted sharpening can work on RAW files in QU but I can't get my other adjustments to QU because it won't read Adobe's or Bibble's preprocessing files.