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Alpha Five v5 Upgrade Mis-Information

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    #16
    RE: Alpha Five v5 Upgrade Mis-Information

    Hi Robert,
    I agree that some of the responses you received from your original post are "out of character" for the people on this board. I'm not sure if you were around the message boards when the prices for v5 were announced. There were threads upon threads upon threads of people shocked that the price of v5 over v4.5 had doubled and the prices of the runtimes in some cases had tripled. I was shocked myself. I expected the price to go up, but not nearly by that much. Anyway, the "sticker shock" threads continued and the message boards had gotten to a point where it was 75% complaints and 25% actual questions about how to use the product. You will notice now that most of the threads are back to actual questions about how to use the product. I think most people are just tired of the "price" discussion and don't want it to be started up again.
    This isn't an excuse for the way that some folks responded, but I hope it explains a little bit of the attitude.
    BTW, Even though I wasn't expecting the price to be what it is, I was able to talk my director into purchasing the upgrade.

    Here's hoping you make the purchase also,
    Van

    Comment


      #17
      RE: Alpha Five v5 Upgrade Mis-Information

      I am sure the benefits of upgrading are many but you still have the option of continuing with V4.5. Presumably your apps are still working. If it aint broke dont fix it!

      Comment


        #18
        RE: Alpha Five v5 Upgrade Mis-Information

        Gren,

        Excellant!! This is a point often overlooked.

        kenn
        TYVM :) kenn

        Knowing what you can achieve will not become reality until you imagine and explore.

        Comment


          #19
          RE: Alpha Five v5 Upgrade Mis-Information

          22 Aug. 2002


          Robert,


          It is quite clear to me that your post was based on honesty and sincerity, or your perception thereof. That is the beauty of this bulletin board that people are able to express their opinion to the whole wide world (www) about the "Good, Bad & Ugly" of a5.

          There is no doubt that the a5 managements gets a lot of "Free" advice from this bulletin board, whether they like all of it or not.

          In the long run, honesty will prevail and a5 will be a better product. There is no doubt that the a5 professionals/management need to be paid for their services. As with all pricing, it is one person's opinon vs. another. This requires balance. Not to get off on a tangent, your post was based on communication and "expectation" of what you "thought" you read in an advertisement.

          In the final anlysis, you are the boss as you control the checkbook. You or your boss are either willing to pay or you are not willing to pay for a perceived value.

          I expect a heck of lot of "Good" from a5 or I would not be here. Getting rid of the "bad & ugly" takes time and money. (Of course, I personally am not too much on waiting.) Communication from the a5 users to the a5 management is most important. If nobody ever posted, a5 would be a dead duck.

          (FYI. The "bad", in my opinion, is that a5 is not simple like a spreadsheet. But then, that just may be a personal problem on my side. -old, over the hill, slow learner, head of concrete, other excuses, etc. )

          People like you who continue to come back year after year and use a5 are a true asset to the a5 managment/owners.


          Just my two cents.

          Have a nice day,
          JG
          Houston, TX
          281-579-4546

          Comment


            #20
            RE: Alpha Five v5 Upgrade Mis-Information

            I still have the original postcard sent by Alpha regarding the upgrade to V4.5. It stated "Best of all your upgrade cost is effectively FREE [the emphasis was Alpha's] because it will be fully credited against Version 5."

            The language is clear, but it is also clear that someone reading it quickly could be easily misled. It wasn't small print, but it might as well have been; if you get my drift.

            Alpha is a great product, albeit a bit pricey. Actually, what irks me most is the tiny difference between the price for a new user ($349) and the upgrade price ($299). There should be a significant difference between the upgrade price and the price for a new user. Seems like it might be worth skipping an upgrade or two. This time I "effectively" paid only $170 for the upgrade ($299 minus the $129 rebate for my purchase of V4.5). Next time, if I have to pay the full $299, I will think it over.

            Comment


              #21
              RE: Alpha Five v5 Upgrade Mis-Information

              22 Aug. 2002.


              Bernard,


              Your comment as to the future versions of a5 is based on many unknowns. But, being that it is after 6:00 PM and I am ready to finish this day on a light note, I feel I must respond.

              Talking off the top of my head and having absolutley no idea what the next version of a5 is going to do, I question your statement "Seems like it might be worth skipping an upgrade or two." I look at a5 as a tool to be used (and abused) to the fullest extent. For example, say we use a5 365 days per year for the sake of simplicity, and if a5 saves me $1 per day on the next upgrade, then it is worth $365 for an upgrade after one year. (My hourly rate is more than $1.)

              I personally expect the a5 professionals to add numerous features to reduce my time on current projects and to improve the connectivity with other programs. For example, I want a5 to connect to the internet to update and track stock investments in an a5 table. Using current stock tracking info/programs is difficult to interface with complex cost structures. Many accountants have this requirement as we need to keep special history on cost, or evaluation comments/analysis on stocks.

              Another example, is I want a5 to read (interface) the current Novell Groupwise email addresses so that there is not duplication in collecting data and sending out information to ALL of the employees. They should do the same with Netscape.

              The a5 management should listen to the a5 users for suggestions to improve so that a5 is more useful. In summary a5 is a tool which the a5 professionals/developers need to keep sharp and in good working order. Technology which is not updated, becomes stale and rotten.

              Hopefully, the a5 management will add in a spell-check to this bulletin board.

              Just my two cents.

              Have a nice day,

              JG
              Houston, TX
              281-579-4546

              Comment


                #22
                RE: Alpha Five v5 Upgrade Mis-Information

                This is the E-mail I received (and all of us) on 05/14/2001 from Alpha software, to upgrade to v4.5 build 266. You can celery see it was never mentioned that V5 will be free.
                This is referring to the topic �Alpha five v5 Upgrade Mis-information�


                Subj: Alpha Software announces new build for Alpha Five v 4.5, 3rd party applications and user groups
                Date: 05/14/2001 07:50:46 PM Eastern Daylight Time
                From: [email protected] (richard rabins)Reply-to: [email protected]: [email protected]



                Dear Alpha Software Customer.

                We have a number of announcements in this mailing.

                1. For those of you have moved to Alpha Five version 4.5, we have released
                a new build - build 266.

                Build 266 has a few new features and some minor bug fixes.

                If are running version 4.5 and you are not currently running build 266,
                please go to:

                http://www.alphasoftware.com/products/a5v4/downloads.asp

                to download this build.

                There is no charge for this download if you are currently running
                Alpha Five version 4.5.

                (To check which build you are running, click on the "Help" menu when you
                first start Alpha Five, then click the "About Alpha Five" selection, and
                it will tell you which build you have).

                If you are not currently running version 4.5 of Alpha Five, please go to

                www.alphasoftware.com for more information and to place your order.

                The price for Alpha Five is $79 if you currently are running version 4 of
                Alpha Five.

                The cost of your V4.5 purchase will be applied in full to the version 5.
                For details on V5's feature set, please visit
                http://www.alphasoftware.com/products/a5v5/newfeatures.asp.

                Version 4.5 includes substantial and important performance enhancements
                that we
                would like you to have now, rather than wait until they become available
                in Version 5.

                2. Thank you for your responses to my email regarding user groups. Many of
                you have expressed interest in attending or staring groups in cities other
                than those listed in
                that first email.

                For those of you who would like to start a user group in a city that is
                not already covered, please email me at [email protected], so that
                I can include you in a future
                emailing to our users at large.

                3. Many of our customers ask us for more information on the applications
                that are available in Alpha Five.

                By way of a brief summary, below is a partial list of commercial
                applications that have been developed by third parties in Alpha Five.

                For a more complete list and details please go to:

                http://www.alphasoftware.com/apps/default.asp

                If you have built a commercial application and you would like to submit an
                application to be listed on our site, please go to

                http://www.alphasoftware.com/apps/devinfo.asp

                Sincerely
                Richard Rabins
                Alpha Software
                [email protected]
                Burlington MA, USA
                781 229 4500
                800 451 1018


                Advertising Agency - Tracking and Management System
                Automotive Service/Repair Business Records
                Accounts Receivables and Invoicing
                Budget and Purchase Orders
                Business Management
                Catering Job Costing with Invoicing and Receivables
                Childcare Business Management
                Claims Management for Insurance Adjusters
                Client, Airline, Hotel and Itinerary System
                Client, Contact, Vendor, Income and Expense Tracking, Time and Task
                Management
                Contact Management
                Contact management, Commission tracking, Accounting
                Contracting business solution
                Data Cleaning Tools
                Donor & Contact Management
                Elementary School Records
                Estimating / Invoicing / Costing
                Faculty Information, Contract and Codicil Information
                Furniture Manufacturing System
                General Accounting Program
                General Academic Course Information and Scheduling Program
                Girl Scout Archives Reference & Management
                Retail Store Sales Tracker
                Vacation Accommodation Rental System
                Home Health Care System
                Human Resources Management
                Inventory Tracking and Control system
                Investigation Control & Management
                Invoicing
                Job Costing
                Laboratory Information Management System
                Locomotive Maintenance & Repair Histories
                Funeral Business Management System
                Medical Billing and Records
                Medical Office Management
                Member Management Program
                Newspaper Classified Advertising Management System
                Optometry Office Management System
                Order Entry for Mail Order Business
                Order Processing and Fulfillment
                Pawn Broker Stock and Tracking software
                Personalized Assisted Living Management System
                Point of Sale - Marina Management
                Point of Sale Application
                Police Records System
                Project Quotation Management
                Property Management for Condos
                Referral System for Bar Associations
                Resident and Patient Management
                Schedules jobs for service technicians (plumbers, etc.)
                School Financial Management System
                Payables Management System
                Teacher License & Certification Filing System
                Textile Inventory and Billing System
                Towing and Storage Management System
                Vehicle Inventory Control and Management System
                Vessel Management System

                To be removed from our list please send an email to me at
                [email protected] with the word "remove" in the subject. Thank
                you.




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                From: richard rabins
                To: [email protected]
                Subject: Alpha Software announces new build for Alpha Five v 4.5, 3rd party applications and user groups
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                Daniel Weiss
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                Comment


                  #23
                  RE: Alpha Five v5 Upgrade Mis-Information

                  John,

                  Regarding upgrades, my point is simply this. With the overwhelming majority of software companies there is a significant difference between the uggrade price and the price for a new user. Sure, if the next version of Alpha includes features that I absolutely need, I will consider upgrading. Notice, I said "Next time...I will think it over."

                  I generally upgrade most of my software on a regular basis, because the price is usually right. But, if I am happy with what I'm using, and the new version is better, but not compelling, then unless their is a price incentive, I will stay with what I've got.

                  Also, with many companies, if you're not an early upgrader, then the upgrade price rises. Also, if you upgrade from a version several releases in the past, the price is also higher. However, that is NOT an issue with Alpha, since a new user only pays $50 more. Let's suppose there was no upgrade path from Alpha 4 to Alpha 5 (actually, I haven't checked if there is), and I was forced to pay the new user price of $349. In that case, the $50 premium is no big deal.

                  Again, my point on this issue is simple. Give me a price incentive to upgrade, and I will upgrade everytime. Don't, and I might not.

                  I assume your spell check remark was not aimed at me. Although I use spell checkers, I don't solely rely on them. I have found from experience, that the best spell checker I have is MYSELF. I PROOFREAD everything I write. It's not perfect, but it generally works. I even capitalize when necessary.

                  Alpha 5 is a great product. I simply think that loyal users should get a larger price break when they upgrade. As you said in your post, "Just my two cents."

                  Enjoy!

                  Comment


                    #24
                    RE: Alpha Five v5 Upgrade Mis-Information

                    Spell checking within a web browser is a function for the browser, not the web site. Since Alpha makes database software and not web browsers, you'd be better off suggesting this to Microsoft, Netscape or whoever else makes your web browser.

                    While there are ways to work around the fact that browsers do not spell check and implement something on our end, it would be very time consuming and take us away from adding the A5 features you and other users would like to see. I'd bet Selwyn's gonna have everyone stick to improving Alpha Five.

                    And besides, I don't think anyone here is grading you on your spelling ;) If you're that concerned about it, you could always compose your posts in a word processor, spell check, then copy and past the text into your browser.

                    -Lenny

                    Lenny Forziati
                    Vice President, Internet Products and Technical Services
                    Alpha Software Corporation

                    Comment


                      #25
                      RE: Alpha Five v5 Upgrade Mis-Information

                      I'm really not interested in dragging this thread on and on, it is apparent that my coworkers and I misunderstood the wording of the promotion. However, I will clarify that the e-mail listed in the previous post is not what I was referring to. I either did not receive that e-mail or do not remember reading it.

                      What I was referring to was a postcard-sized mailer that stated the promotion in very few words. We sure don't remember it stating: "The cost of your V4.5 purchase will be applied in full to the version 5." because that seems fairly clear in meaning.

                      Again, there is no need to further the conversation of this thread (for my sake anyway). I received the feedback necessary to understand there was a misunderstanding on my end. I must accept the fact that the v4.5 purchase wasn�t the deal I thought it was and additional posts won�t change the fact that my company will not allow me to spend that much money (over $500) to upgrade a non-standard (for our company) software package.
                      --Robert-->

                      Comment


                        #26
                        RE: Alpha Five v5 Upgrade Mis-Information

                        Agreed.

                        Sorry for the misunderstanding.
                        Lets all let the dead horse get some rest :)

                        -Brenden

                        Comment

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