MyInfo Community Forums

Hi, I am at the moment testing MyInfo and I have a few questions.

1 I saw the other post saying that version 7 is coming before at the end of this year. If I make a purchase now will I get free upgrade to the 7?

2 One of the reasons I think MyInfo is for me is that it will be cross platform supported (I use OSX, Windows and iOS). Could you share if it's going to be SaaS or just simply a software with multiple OS supported? I'd prefer SaaS and I don't mind subscription basis.

3 If I make a purchase now, would I be eligible for beta version? and is it OSX supported at the moment?

Thanks.

Our plans are for cross-platform support, but the initial version will be the Windows client. So, at this time we are beta testing the Windows version and there is no other yet in development. After we are ready with MyInfo 7 for Windows, we will start working on Android and iOS versions.

It will be not a SaaS solution in the beginning, but ultimately, this is our plan.

P.S.: Everybody who owns MyInfo 6 license will be eligible for the beta soon.

Thanks for the info Petko.

I think 'Software as a Service' is a terrible idea!

For software developers it is a good idea because it represents a continuous revenue stream but for customers renting software represents a continuous monetary drain.

This is why I do not have the latest rental version of Microsoft Office and will never get the rental version.

But I can see why software developers are pushing this idea and trying to push customers into it.

I don't really see any advantages for the customer.

It's more convenient for me.

I think that's why SaaS model works.

I suppose some models of Software Rental are worse than others.

With 'TheBrain' Technologies for instance if you stop paying then you can no longer use the cloud services and you no longer get updates but you are left with a working copy of the program as it was when your payments expired.

Much worse is 'Microsoft', where if you stop paying the rent then the programs stop working altogether, in effect they are holding all your documents and data hostage against your future payments.

The Microsoft model is very bad indeed.

But almost always with any software rental model it costs less to start with but over the long term you end up paying much more that you would have paid if you had bought the program or an equivalent program.

It depends on how you see.

You may want to buy and own the software. So you can use it eternally. and have a choice not to pay for an upgrade.

but I don't see it that way. I just want to use it wherever whenever I want, at a reasonable price. Especially for this kind of program. Be able to use it instantly is vital. ideas sometime run off quickly haha.

I want to use it at my office, my home, on the go. with multiple devices.
I don't want the hassle to install, to upgrade, even to store/manage the data. (but yes, the ability to port to different services/softwares, just incase, is a must too.) I just want a tool to make me more productive. Not something added on my shoulder to manage. (Yes, I'm that lazy haha)

so webbased software and SaaS answer my needs. Of course, all of these must come with reasonable price.

For these reasons I mainly use workflowy.com but I love some of Myinfo's features too. (Yes, I've bought Myinfo but only occasionally use it)

As for microsoft service, I assume you mean microsoft office. Yes, I agree with you, if you don't regularly upgrade every 2-3 years, you'd better off pay for the perpetual license. It's nice that we can choose what model we prefer to pay.

Civiloze wrote:As for microsoft service, I assume you mean microsoft office. Yes, I agree with you, if you don't regularly upgrade every 2-3 years, you'd better off pay for the perpetual license. It's nice that we can choose what model we prefer to pay.

Yes I mean Microsoft Office 365.

Where a lot of software developers make their money is from support contracts. The software rental model effectively turns all the customers into support contracts, and having a continuous revenue stream which is predictable is very attractive to many companies.

But to be successful in the personal marketplace, there has to be a "free", non-subscription option. This means twice the work for the developers, providing a "Free"/light version and the full feature version. The light version is to get people using it and to provide a common user base, and the full version ("pro", etc) is to make enough money to pay the rent.

The question Petko has to ask himself is where MyInfo is aimed and where does he want it to be aimed in the future. Is it aimed at business users or is it aimed at personal users. On average business users don't mind the rental model but the personal market does not take well to software rental.

Which model Petko chooses is up to him but if the user base is mainly personal users like myself then the results might not be what Petko wants.

On the other hand If the user base is mainly business users then it might have a very positive effect.

I think that Saas model is a good one, only if you offer something more than a single application. I see its merits if there are MyInfo applications for all major platforms that require constant updating and/or backup and synchronization in the cloud (which are recurring expenses for us). Anyway, this is not something that will be changed in the next one year I think..

If I may give some suggestions.

First, I think it would be nice if you could port Myinfo to webbased ASAP. then it will be crossed platform and make your life as a developer much much more simple.

As for payment model, you could do what you see fits. Pjmiller has made a good point about personal use vs business use. Something for you to consider.

But I believe these are in your mind already anyway. Just another voice to confirm this is the way to go.

Cheers.

If MyInfo goes to a SaaS (software as a service) model for yearly rent, I will most definitely stop using it and move to MyBase which has had a powerful cross-platform client. Open source solutions are quite weak at the moment.

I am happy to pay for good software, but I greatly dislike the idea of renting my software just as much as I dislike the use of a rented "cloud" for the storage of my data. I will avoid using rented software and cloud storage or applications as long as I am able.

When Adobe moved to their "Creative Cloud", it pushed many users to Corel Aftershot Pro for RAW editing, and to Corel Paintshop Pro for photo editing because Corel's products do not follow a SaaS model. Corel releases "new" versions every year so that users can decide if they want to upgrade or not.

Adobe's move to Saas also encouraged users like me to begin using the powerful open source DarkTable for RAW editing and Digikam for photo organization.

I would also like to see a non-SaaS option remain since I prefer to manage my own data (i.e. no cloud syncing services).