@MereCivilian Do they offer discount or free upgrades to newer versions?
I don’t know that they have made a heckuva lot of improvements since Things 3 was released. I’m content with it as is except I’d like to be able to add images. I was told that would constitute a considerable overhaul.
I love the UI and it is so simple to use.
OmniFocus never would work for me. It wasn’t intriguing enough for me to put in the effort to learn it. If I’m not mistaken, I didn’t care for the UI nor how it was organized. I did look into Todoist and just wasn’t interested there either.
What I have been doing is sending my info to my iPad via AirDrop which is pretty cool. I may eventually ante up but in the interim I’m just being cheap about it and doing without.
I’d just as soon spend that $ on a truly new app (ie not one I already have).
Are there any advantages, especially features that would make it worth the $?
I also asked about sales which went over very well. ;o)
Interesting you say that… I wrote about it just yesterday:
Basically, their keyboard shortcuts feature was notable and I use it everyday. My two biggest feature requests are attachment supports and the ability to finish repeating tasks early.
Things suits my needs the best. Most importantly, its the only task manager I actually enjoy using and that’s mainly because of how beautiful it is and how easy it is to use.
@andy4222 they do not have upgrade pricing. When v3 was released, they discounted it by 20% for everyone and after a few months (i think) they increased the price which remains the price till now.
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Things
Screens
Scrivener
Good Links
Apollo
iBird Pro
Paprika
Tot
Yonks
Pcalc
If Apollo delivers a Catalyst app …I’ll pay for premium. I’m just waiting …carrot dangling.
One iOS app I use frequently is App Wish List by Eric Brown. Does what I need to do which is collects interesting apps and alerts me if there’s a discount. I’ve tried others but they’re unstable or bloated.
AWL and Cheapcharts.info are my go to for app, movie, TV shows, book sales.
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Could users still continue to use v2 then? What if someone’s laptop/phone crashes and have to reinstall it, would v2 be available to install on App store?
Beyond Compare, for comparing folders of files. Available on Mac, Windows, and Linux
ChronoSync for syncing/backing up folders of files
Arq backup for backing up files
Carbon Copy Cloner for backing up files
ResilioSync for all-ways sync between both my Macs and Synology.
VMware Fusion for running e.g. Windows and Linux on virtual machines
aText text expander for macOS
Complete Anatomy for creating pics and animations of anatomy Sorry, it’s a sub (great program though)
Downie for downloading videos
Fork maybe the least-bad git client
Magnet for managing windows
Paletro use application menus from the keyboard
Service Station add things to the right-click menu for files, like opening in your favorite editor
Also
Edit: Pro Pinball, the best pinball simulator ever made.
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There a lot of good apps out there, it seems churlish to pick some out. For me though I am dependent on one. DEVONthink 3 If I lost that I might not even be on Mac now. Keyboard Maestro not far behind, which I use for things I used to have other apps for.
In fact I am using less and less of other ones. I use Mellel, Bookends and Byword, and might reload, if I need, my LaTeX suite, which is free aside from my editor TexPad.
One-Time is a movable feast though to some extent and sooner or later an upgrade comes along. All the ones I use I would be happy to have on straight forward subscription. Costs are minimal and software is really underpriced.
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The idea that Things 3 is expensive also needs to be considered in light of the fact that many apps in that space are moving in the “subscription” direction. If Things 3 went to that model and charged $40 or $50 a year, that initial investment of $80 (all 3 platforms) breaks even in 2 years or so. And Cultured Code doesn’t have a history of re-releasing every year to try to force you to upgrade. Their apps tend to live for quite awhile.
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Here are my buy-once apps:
Alfred
Arq
Bartender
Byword
Carbon Copy Cloner
DaisyDisk
DEVONagent Pro
DEVONthink 3
FruitJuice
Hazel
iThoughtsX
Keyboard Maestro
Little Snitch
OmniFocus
PDF Expert
PopClip
VMware Fusion
Here is my Dock:
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I would say yes.
I believe what OP is trying to get at is apps with individual license purchases. Just because you don’t want to use a major upgrade that requires a new license doesn’t mean you will no longer be able to use the older version like with subscription software.
That’s what I like about Things 3 too! It actually enjoy using it as it is so beautiful. It’s a great way to get organized. And it is EASY to use.
I’m just a bit cheap about stuff like this. I cannot really afford it. However, I’ll likely get it eventually. It is an app that I use every day.
If they come out with a new version I am NOT anteing up three times.
You may be too young. But can you remember when just about no one had a personal computer? I took a Statistics class in college. Someone asked if we could use calculators during tests. Prof said sure if everyone has one. They were about $100 for a very basic calculator.
Anyway, our computers contain SO much information it boggles my mind. Oh and I’m great at collecting and processing information. At home at least, where did we put all the info that we have to have back then?
In a couple notebooks and a binder?
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This is also getting to be less of a benefit with Apple’s yearly release cycle and the perpetual re-doing of frameworks within the OS, but many programs still function for quite awhile even if you’re upgrading the operating system.
Of course if you’re willing to freeze the OS in time and not upgrade that, then your only real limits (as far as using software with a “buy once” license) are external technology upgrades that render your software inoperable. Sync services shutting down, authentication servers going away, etc.
That’s how the App Store works, unfortunately - there’s no such thing as “upgrade pricing”. But…when Things 3 released, Cultured Code provided a very generous “free upgrade” policy for people that had purchased Things 2 within (I think) the past couple of years - at least for the desktop version. 
This is another reason I always try to buy direct from devs instead of the App Store on platforms where I have the option.
You know, if it were something like $30 for the Mac I wouldn’t complain. But $50 and there are no additional features? If only they included something new to “play” with…
I detest subscriptions. I think they are typically pure rip-off. How people scurried to jump on the band wagon. If I’m looking over an app, the first thing I look for is the price. Apple conveniently puts it on the bottom. Often there are several prices and I wind up emailing the company to find out the actual price. If there is a subscription involved I just move on to something similar.
I have no problem with occasional fees to upgrade to keep the app up-to-date and to reimburse the developers.
I think I pay for two subscription apps…Keep IT and Noto Pro. The latter I had no intention of signing up. I’m not sure how it happened. But it is $10/year so I didn’t contest it.
I really appreciate that Things 3 did not go with subscriptions. I don’t think they are that outrageous in their pricing. It’s just on the high side. If I had extra $ I would pay it. As I said, I’ll likely get it at some point because it is a wonderful app.
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Web, you know Agenda has a thoughtful, impressive pricing in place. It is not a subscription but you can upgrade to include new features whenever you want. The basic app is free.
Like Things 3, Agenda has a gorgeous UI and is actually a lot of fun.
I paid one price and you are entitled to new features for a year. After a year is over you can upgrade your app to include new features which come out periodically.
If that is not upgrading then I don’t know what you’d call it.
The developers have a lot of respect for their customers. The tech support is fantastic.
Their software is not buggy. If I have a question, they get back to me within a day.
And I did not have to dish out $50 for the privilege of using the app on my laptop.
The app store absolutely doesn’t “support” what they’re doing. The app store makes what they’re trying to do just shy of impossible - and everything they’re doing is effectively a way to hack around the App Store’s intended purchasing model.
Their process is to have a completely free app plus in-app purchases, all coordinated with a licensing server that they maintain. From reading their discussion of it, it took a colossal amount of work for them to implement a back-end infrastructure to support that particular model. And I’m guessing that it also increases development cost for new features.
That’s completely different from the App Store supporting upgrades.
Conventional upgrades are of the form, “you purchased version 2, here’s a 50% discount on version 3”. That’s not supported by the App Store. Apps like Agenda have found some creative ways to try to work around it, but those require a lot of extra work and involve tradeoffs that Apple may or may not later ban via policy changes. It’s very clearly not the way Apple wants devs to do business.
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The challenge is, it’s a smaller platform than iOS (user base wise), but it still costs them the same amount of time and money to write the app. So on a cost per user basis, I understand why it’s more expensive. It’s not about additional features, but the cost of even having the app on the platform to begin with.
The other logical alternative would be to increase iOS pricing by some amount to subsidize the Mac app. I’m guessing they figured that wasn’t a good idea.
That all said, now that Apple has the Catalyst stuff, I’m wondering whether some of these devs are going to start moving in that direction - and whether that’ll pull down some of the costs.
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Yes, it is obvious that developers at Agenda did a great deal of work to come up with the pricing model. But I don’t know if Apple would have a problem with it. And ingenuity I wouldn’t think would equal hacking.
I am so impressed with the people at Agenda that I would be willing to pay for a subscription were Apple to come down on them as they appear to be so very conscious of the needs of their customers.
Apple is pushing these subscriptions and it is outrageous, maddening.
I’m thinking of something Omni did a ways back. They basically came up with a system where if you had an App Store license for an Omni product, they’d give you a non-App-Store license for that product which would enable you to upgrade from their site instead of purchasing the new version at full price from the App Store.
Apple shut them down. I’m guessing the logic was that they were steering customers away from the App Store, and even though Apple wouldn’t offer the customers a discount, Omni was effectively prohibited from doing so as well.
Apple’s big thing seems to be that they own the customer relationship. And it doesn’t take too many devs investing in ways to “do right by the customer” and getting smacked down to deter others - especially smaller shops - from even trying inventive options. The incentive to spend a lot of time innovating within what you think are the rules is very, very low when a new rule interpretation can invalidate your business model overnight.
Regardless. In the case you mentioned, customers were being sent OUT of the Apple Store. I can see where Apple thought they had standing.
In Agenda’s case, we have an app that is doing well. There would be no reason to crack down on them. Apple is making money.
Developers are not exactly flocking to institute the same pricing that Agenda has.
Let’s say I make up altered books (an art project) with the Mickey Mouse theme. Is Disney really going to bother with someone not even putting a dent in their business? Are they that anal retentive (excuse me)? Does Apple micromanage?