4 ms·

I'll probably buy this because it is the best feed reader app out there, but not very pleased with being charged again - which I assume will also be done to the

by swombat 13y ago

I'll probably buy this because it is the best feed reader app out there, but not very pleased with being charged again - which I assume will also be done to the mac app!!...

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
orofino 13y ago
Reeder is an app I bought years ago, that my wife and I both use daily, and comprises a large percentage of our time on our iPhones and ipad. I got my $5 worth after 6 months, and I'm happy to pay again to ensure that development continues.
- koralatov 13y ago
  I'm not disputing anything else you've said, but how did you decide that you'd got your $5 after 6 months? I wouldn't have the first clue how to go about deciding at which point in time I got my money's worth.
- ruswick 13y ago
  There's something very pernicious in this story. The fact that you almost feel obligated to give this developer money just so that he doesn't stop supporting the app seems disconcerting. Developers have an obligation to support their paying customers even if it is not expedient for them to do so. I would never give money to an app simply out of fear that the developer is going to cease developing it; that just seems like throwing fuel on the fire.
DrJokepu 13y ago
But how else would the developer be compensated for his work?
- msh 13y ago
  There are many ways, ads is one.
  - koralatov 13y ago
    And what are the others? We really don't need to increase the technology sector's unhealthy dependence on ads as a revenue stream; we should instead be trying to wean ourselves.
    - msh 13y ago
      - charging a monthly fee for the back end. - charging enough for that the running cost is covered (the marginal cost is close to zero). But mostly I was responding to the comment that it was the only way to get payed for the developer.
      - DrJokepu 13y ago
        I didn't ask my question in a vacuum, I asked it specifically within the context of Reeder 2. Reeder 2 is (as Reeder always was) a premium app, so ads are not an option. It is a front end for other third party services rather than something that has its own backend, so charging a recurring fee for the backend is not an option. iOS App Store guidelines rule out other options. Really, the only option that can sustain the costs of the continued development of the application is charging for each major release.
coob 13y ago
So don't buy it. Stick with 1.x. Did you expect perpetual support for a £2.99 app?
- tomphoolery 13y ago
  Wow. We forgot already, didn't we? :) http://lifehacker.com/google-reader-is-shutting-down-here-are-the-best-alter-5990456 http://lifehacker.com/google-reader-is-shutting-down-here-ar...
- swombat 13y ago
  1.x on iPad no longer works. I'd have happily stuck with it if it did.
- ruswick 13y ago
  What happens when he stops supporting the original version and it ceases to work after an iOS update?
angerman 13y ago
While I do feel the sentiments against paying again for a successor, it makes me feel sick[1]. It's 5 bucks; generously about two coffees. After apple takes it's cut the developer receives about US$3.5, just how many copies does the developer need to sell to make it a worthwhile venture? Reeder has been in the AppStore since September '09, until it went free in June '13. That's, in todays terms, 3.75years of support and updates for an app that cost's US$5 today. If Reeder2 takes the same path, that would be about US$1 per year taxable income to the developer. [1]: I think this will become even more apparent over the next few years. Buy once for 99c, get lifetime updates is no sustainable business model.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- cliveowen 13y ago
  http://www.joshlehman.com/thoughts/stop-using-the-cup-of-coffee-vs-0-99-cent-app-analogy/ http://www.joshlehman.com/thoughts/stop-using-the-cup-of-cof...
  - koralatov 13y ago
    Thanks for posting that; I hadn't seen it before, and it does a pretty good job of covering the problem that analogy brings with it.
- swombat 13y ago
  I think what's annoying to me is also that they were so opaque with their plans. They could have said "we'll be releasing a new version for money that will have the new feed sources in it." But instead, they kind of half-supported feedbin et al in the iPhone app and then there was radio silence... And in the meantime, with zero information, I wasted money buying a bunch of other reader apps... Which I would not have done if I'd known they were coming up with this. Feels like they were not transparent and, well, wholesome about their plans or vision.
- Kylekramer 13y ago
  There aren't too many businesses where the customer is asked to take the business' health in mind when it comes to purchasing. Your lack of planning is not my problem and such. The real issue is there is a mindset of unlimited free upgrades in iTunes that app developers are benefiting from at the first purchase. Reeder got a bunch of buyers who most likely assumed free updates for life and were not told otherwise. Charging for updates is fine, but some backlash is going to come due to the fact you benefited from the status quo while not participating in the status quo.
jfb 13y ago
I would have paid $25 for this app. It is by far the best RSS reading experience I've yet encountered, and I use RSS multiple times a day. $5? Cheap at 5x the price, as far as I'm concerned.
coldtea 13y ago
>I'll probably buy this because it is the best feed reader app out there, but not very pleased with being charged again You can always use the online Google Reader, which has a great free of charge model just as you like it -- oh, wait, actually you can't. Because they closed it down for not making them any money! >which I assume will also be done to the mac app Why, did the Mac app appeared magically complete from the heavens? As I understand it, it too took time, effort and money from the developer, which needs to be compensated separately from the time and effort that went into the iOS app. Seriously, are the people making these comments professional developers, or 16 year old kids?
- swombat 13y ago
  I bought the mac app and got to use it for a grand total of 6 months before Google Reader shut down. Since then there has been very little communication about what would happen with Reeder (other than "we're doing something" - not the most reassuring). I think releasing a new full-price version should have been communicated far more smoothly.

by swombat 13y ago

I'll probably buy this because it is the best feed reader app out there, but not very pleased with being charged again - which I assume will also be done to the mac app!!...

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

orofino 13y ago

Reeder is an app I bought years ago, that my wife and I both use daily, and comprises a large percentage of our time on our iPhones and ipad. I got my $5 worth after 6 months, and I'm happy to pay again to ensure that development continues.

koralatov 13y ago
I'm not disputing anything else you've said, but how did you decide that you'd got your $5 after 6 months? I wouldn't have the first clue how to go about deciding at which point in time I got my money's worth.
ruswick 13y ago
There's something very pernicious in this story. The fact that you almost feel obligated to give this developer money just so that he doesn't stop supporting the app seems disconcerting. Developers have an obligation to support their paying customers even if it is not expedient for them to do so. I would never give money to an app simply out of fear that the developer is going to cease developing it; that just seems like throwing fuel on the fire.

DrJokepu 13y ago

But how else would the developer be compensated for his work?

msh 13y ago
There are many ways, ads is one.
- koralatov 13y ago
  And what are the others? We really don't need to increase the technology sector's unhealthy dependence on ads as a revenue stream; we should instead be trying to wean ourselves.
  - msh 13y ago
    - charging a monthly fee for the back end. - charging enough for that the running cost is covered (the marginal cost is close to zero). But mostly I was responding to the comment that it was the only way to get payed for the developer.
    - DrJokepu 13y ago
      I didn't ask my question in a vacuum, I asked it specifically within the context of Reeder 2. Reeder 2 is (as Reeder always was) a premium app, so ads are not an option. It is a front end for other third party services rather than something that has its own backend, so charging a recurring fee for the backend is not an option. iOS App Store guidelines rule out other options. Really, the only option that can sustain the costs of the continued development of the application is charging for each major release.

coob 13y ago

So don't buy it. Stick with 1.x. Did you expect perpetual support for a £2.99 app?

tomphoolery 13y ago
Wow. We forgot already, didn't we? :) http://lifehacker.com/google-reader-is-shutting-down-here-are-the-best-alter-5990456 http://lifehacker.com/google-reader-is-shutting-down-here-ar...
swombat 13y ago
1.x on iPad no longer works. I'd have happily stuck with it if it did.
ruswick 13y ago
What happens when he stops supporting the original version and it ceases to work after an iOS update?

angerman 13y ago

While I do feel the sentiments against paying again for a successor, it makes me feel sick[1]. It's 5 bucks; generously about two coffees. After apple takes it's cut the developer receives about US$3.5, just how many copies does the developer need to sell to make it a worthwhile venture? Reeder has been in the AppStore since September '09, until it went free in June '13. That's, in todays terms, 3.75years of support and updates for an app that cost's US$5 today. If Reeder2 takes the same path, that would be about US$1 per year taxable income to the developer. [1]: I think this will become even more apparent over the next few years. Buy once for 99c, get lifetime updates is no sustainable business model.

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
cliveowen 13y ago
http://www.joshlehman.com/thoughts/stop-using-the-cup-of-coffee-vs-0-99-cent-app-analogy/ http://www.joshlehman.com/thoughts/stop-using-the-cup-of-cof...
- koralatov 13y ago
  Thanks for posting that; I hadn't seen it before, and it does a pretty good job of covering the problem that analogy brings with it.
swombat 13y ago
I think what's annoying to me is also that they were so opaque with their plans. They could have said "we'll be releasing a new version for money that will have the new feed sources in it." But instead, they kind of half-supported feedbin et al in the iPhone app and then there was radio silence... And in the meantime, with zero information, I wasted money buying a bunch of other reader apps... Which I would not have done if I'd known they were coming up with this. Feels like they were not transparent and, well, wholesome about their plans or vision.
Kylekramer 13y ago
There aren't too many businesses where the customer is asked to take the business' health in mind when it comes to purchasing. Your lack of planning is not my problem and such. The real issue is there is a mindset of unlimited free upgrades in iTunes that app developers are benefiting from at the first purchase. Reeder got a bunch of buyers who most likely assumed free updates for life and were not told otherwise. Charging for updates is fine, but some backlash is going to come due to the fact you benefited from the status quo while not participating in the status quo.

jfb 13y ago

I would have paid $25 for this app. It is by far the best RSS reading experience I've yet encountered, and I use RSS multiple times a day. $5? Cheap at 5x the price, as far as I'm concerned.

coldtea 13y ago

>I'll probably buy this because it is the best feed reader app out there, but not very pleased with being charged again You can always use the online Google Reader, which has a great free of charge model just as you like it -- oh, wait, actually you can't. Because they closed it down for not making them any money! >which I assume will also be done to the mac app Why, did the Mac app appeared magically complete from the heavens? As I understand it, it too took time, effort and money from the developer, which needs to be compensated separately from the time and effort that went into the iOS app. Seriously, are the people making these comments professional developers, or 16 year old kids?

swombat 13y ago
I bought the mac app and got to use it for a grand total of 6 months before Google Reader shut down. Since then there has been very little communication about what would happen with Reeder (other than "we're doing something" - not the most reassuring). I think releasing a new full-price version should have been communicated far more smoothly.