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wineCellar 2.0 is Released!

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:25:23 -0700

After many delays, the release of wineCellar 2.0 has finally happened!! The secret new feature is out: Cadent Cloud. Yes, I know, the word "cloud" is heavily over-used these days and can mean many different things. With regards to Cadent Cloud, it is a web-based synchronization service.

Cadent wineCellar 2.0 uses Cadent Cloud to sync up to 500 wine entries into the cloud (including labels). There are two web sites to access the entries once they are in the cloud: one for standard web browsers (uses javascript and other Web 2.0 features) and one for mobile devices (no javascript or extraneous decorations). Both web sites are secure (use SSL) and require browsers which support https. wineCellar itself also uses SSL.

Observant readers will notice that the price of wineCellar has gone up from $20US to $25US. This small increase is meant to help cover the creation of Cadent Cloud. In return, purchasers get one year use of Cadent Cloud in the purchase price. Thereafter, a $15US/year subscription fee will be needed to cover the cost of the service. Cadent Cloud is not supported by advertising. You can see my thoughts on using advertising here.

In appreciation to those who purchased wineCellar 1.x, the new version is a free upgrade for existing license holders.

I just finished a screencast giving an overview of the new sync feature. In the weeks ahead, more details will be added to the wineCellar help pages regarding syncing.

Still Working on 2.0

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 23:23:03 -0700

Two posts back, I mentioned being, hopefully, one month away from completing version 2.0 of wineCellar. Well, as you can see from the timestamp on this blog, over three months have elapsed.

A lot of projects, critical to the financial health of Cadent, have created delays to the work on 2.0. However, it is still progressing. Current estimates are a release on, or shortly after, June 30th.

I feel current wineCellar users will not be disappointed!

The Advertising Model

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:53:15 -0700

I've been told that the "new age" way to make money with software is to offer it for free, and then make money off of advertising on the web site or in the product itself. This is especially true if the product is web-based. Such an approach is contrary to Cadent's current strategy of charging for products/services and to not have any advertising. I've been called "old fashioned" and "out of date" because I have not jumped into the advertising pool.

How the advertising model came about is going to be a topic of a future blog (which will be very controversial) but for this blog, we have to just accept that the advertising model has made significant inroads into the software industry and is heavily promoted by companies such as Google. For me, I'm just not interested in following the advertisting model. It does not make sense to me that I should work months on crafting good software, and then have to give it away for free expecting my revenue to come from being an advertising conduit for the likes of Google.

I see this as a false economy: I can't get paid directly for what I do as a profession but rather have to bring into play a middleman like Google to see that I get some sort of compensation. Having to do this de-values my work. I might as well be working for an advertising company and give up software development altogether.

With the economy in such bad shape, I predict the advertising model will take a nasty hit in the months ahead. With less money, companies will cut back on advertising which will impact companies such as Google. That, in turn, will have a ripple effect of cutting back on the money software developers make from advertising. By marrying your revenue to an ad company, you end up sharing their fortunes even if customers are very happy with your product.

Being paid for the actual product, your software, is a true economy where good workmanship makes money, and badly written software goes broke. Under the advertisting model, both good and bad software can be equal if the hit rate on the web sites is the same. The assumption that a web site's hit rate is a reflection of the quality of the product is one I do not accept. In addition, software download sites like VersionTracker and MacUpdate can put your software into many hands without any advertising revenue coming your way.

Going back to a traditional model where people pay for the software they use helps to ensure well written software thrives and badly written software fades away. I'm not saying we should go back to the 80's and 90's where proprietary software was very expensive (usually over $100). The economy of scale of the modern computer industry means you can charge much less and make much more. That is why Cadent charges much less for our products than our competitors do. We are not free, but I feel we are reasonably priced. And Cadent web sites are now, and will alway be, free of advertising and the "visual pollution" such ads bring.

Foreshadowing

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 12:20:17 -0700

In this blog, I wanted to foreshadow some up and coming happenings at Cadent. A big one: version 2.0 of wineCellar is under heavy development! I don't want to give out too much information on what changes are being made at this time, but to give the following points:

The current look and feel will remain the same.
The current feature set will remain the same.
One critical new feature is being added. It is this feature which justifies the version number change to 2.0.
The new feature involves the internet.
Both Mac and Windows versions will be upgraded at the same time.

With the addition of this new feature, the price of wineCellar will need to go up. Not by much. I'm anticipating an increase of only about $5US. On that note, it is important for me to outline the following:

Out of gratitude to those who have purchased licenses to wineCellar 1.x, there will be no upgrade cost. Version 2.0 will recognize your license code and continue working at no cost to you.
On the day of release, the ability to purchase 1.x license codes will be turned off so you will be forced to download version 2.0 and pay the new price

This blog is a "prompt" to those who are thinking about buying wineCellar but have not done so yet. If you buy now, you will be able to get version 2.0 at the 1.x price. Wait too long and you will miss out.

As to when version 2.0 will be shipping, that is difficult to say. There is a lot of work still to be done. I would not expect it to be done for another month now, but not long after that.