U before O.
Lu-oh-mah.
#offtopic
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I think they also implemented their own backend as a possible security method to prevent users from downloading pirate version of v3 for the Mac.
I understand that subscriptions arenāt for everyone and that this one is pretty expensive, especially if you donāt use all the platforms.
I also agree that the whole upgrade process and transition to a new business model probably hasnāt been handled or messaged in the best way.
Butā¦
Having used the new apps a bit over the last couple of days, I do think that this is an impressive update with lots of useful new features that puts Fantastical well ahead of any other calendar app I have used (and no I donāt have any connection to the developer).
Things I really like so far includeā¦
- The new iPad UI
- Calendar sets on iPhone and iPad
- Subscriptions to interesting calendars (impressive selection of holiday, sports and tv info)
- Greater customisation of colours for calendars and events
Iāve taken advantage of the free 14 day trial subscription to allow me to try the premium features and so far Iām minded to continue this at the point where I have to start paying.
So my advice would be to take a bit of time, have a look at whatās there and then make a decision.
If the update or new business model isnāt for you then thatās fine and there are many very good alternatives.
However, you might also find that the new version offers a level of utility and delight that makes it worth the money !
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I am convinced this was one of the main reasons Adobe moved to subscriptions way before they existed in the Apple store. Sharing Adobe CDs/DVDs with a serial number was common and the need for constant re-activation through Adobeās servers made it more difficult. And then they did a very smart move: the āphotography bundleā, one of the biggest bargains ever, costing less (average yearly cost) than buying releases+updates.
The Adobe Photography Plan, Office 365 Home and Setapp are, IMO, the best value subscriptions I have. I will be looking at all the other subscriptions I have and evaluating whether or not I really need them. The Fantastical situation over the last couple of days certainly puts into perspective what you are getting for your monthly subs.
You are 100% correct. I donāt understand why that isnāt a bigger deal. Why do I have to give you my data AND pay a significant premium to use your calendar app?
Entirely off topic (do not read if you are only looking for Fantastical content):
Yes, the question is how this will serve them in the long run.
I listened to a podcast with one of their higher level managers a few years ago and she basically acknowledged that this practice was largely tolerated for private use. They easily could have turned up the security a notch, but they intentionally didnāt. This user base that grew up with those tools from a teenās age that then transitioned into fields that require knowledge of such graphic tools would always gravitate to Adobeās software, because they simply were so used to it. This was their most effective driver for growth.
Now you see a different landscape. They introduced the CC in 2013 and users were very reluctant to switch. Over the last 4-5 years their revenue skyrocketed, but nowhere close to exponential growth. Itās pretty linear, due to more and more professionals transitioning from their old CS bundle to CC. But you can see the curve is already starting to flatten since early 2019 up until now. The CC has already reached a certain level of market saturation. The drivers that made people switch were twofold: Mainly platforms that no longer are supporting 32bit apps (and plugins etc.) and the transition to HiDPI screens across all industries. Even the smallest agency that was reluctant until this day will slowly consider the switch.
Unarguably the vlogging/YouTube boom of 2014+ was also a growth driver, because more and more content creators bought into using Premiere Pro.
The issue that Adobe is facing nowadays is that talented youngsters now have a wide selection of tools at their hands. Undoubtedly ProCreate on the iPad Pro is exploded and has integrated more and more features of Photoshop (blend modes etc.). Figma is free for students to use and a powerful mix of Adobe XD, Illustrator and Sketch. Even the non-Adobe Sketch seems to lose its edge already. For video there now is the free and powerful Davinci Resolve or LumaFusion on the iPad.
There also are a lot of ācontent creatorsā, especially in the world of Instagram influencers, that entirely do their work on mobiles apps, as high-res quality (for example for print production) is less of a worry these days. The key is to produce content quickly on the go.
Adobe is now in the dilemma of having largely killed their mechanism to get users hooked for life. Weāll see how this plays out.
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Indeed. My comment, though, really was just in good humor. I certainly understand the frustration. I like Fantastical but Iāve defaulted to the stock app and it is fine for my purposes. Iām blessed to have an executive admin., so I donāt have to manage much of my calendarāI just have do what she tells me and go where she tells me. 
Iām very restrictive about subscriptions so I donāt have a lot but this has caused me to now question my Ulysses subscription. I like it a lot and I use it a lot for short and long form writing. That said, Iād be willing to bet that I can get by just fine with the non-subscription version of Drafts and Apple Pages (which can be exported as plain or rich text as well as PDF for legacy purposes). As I write this I realize this may save me a step. Nine times out of 10, when Iām done drafting in Ulysses I export to Pages to finish it. Perhaps I should just start with Pages and be done with it. Plus, I can annotate in Pages with my Apple Pencil. Dropping the Ulysses subscription will save me a few more bucks a month.
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I wanted Ulysses so bad two years ago or so. But I just couldnāt justify it at all in my budget at the time. Then I found them on SetApp. It was only a couple more dollars to get the sub, including Ulysses. Sold!
Now, I no longer use Ulysses at all - moved on to other markdown utilities. But what I found on SetApp was so useful. I use at least 12-15 apps weekly and it has helped my productivity immensely. SetApp subscription has far more value (and you can get BusyCal if you want too). They even have an educator discount for 50% off. Wonderful.
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Thatās interesting. I need to check SetApp. Iāve heard a lot about it on this forum but Iāve never checked it out. Thanks for the kick in the pants.
Setapp is probably the deal of the century. Just looked at the dashboard, I have 50 apps installed through it. Might remove 10-15 because of low usage, so an alternative (FOSS) might be out there. But several are among my most used apps and essential tools.
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My most used SetApp applications:
- Bartender
- Better Touch Tool
- BusyContacxts
- Unite
- Gemini
- Ghost note
- Marked
- MindNode
- Paste
- PDFpen
- Slide pad
- TextSoap
- Yoink
Ok, at the moment it is 13. Nearly on the mark. There are others that I use too, but not nearly as often.
- Sip
- Permute
- PDF Squeezer
- Path Finder
- Noizio
- IconJar
- CleanMyMacX (made by the same company)
- BetterZip
All this for 9.99$ month (there are a total of 150 apps), but with discount $4.99 month (education). That is a subscription that I see āvalueā in. Subs are fine, but does it bring value to your work equal to or greater than the expense. I donāt use a calendar for that much (student and admin appointments) so therefore unneeded on my end.
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My take it pretty simple. I understand the subscription model, and I like supporting developers. I like this app, but $40/year is more than itās worth to me. Both in terms of my perceived return on the annual investment, and relative to other subscriptions and app costs. Bummer.
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CleanMyMac and Ulysses by themselves will pay for Setapp subscription 
And from some of the developers I have heard talk about it, the system makes them money. Win-Win??
Interesting. Not sure if I fully understand what they mean, but Iāll give it another try. What I noticed some time ago was that I lost everything after accidentally clicking the upgrade button in Reminders. And when I searched for more information it seemed I couldnāt reverse that process.
Iām not using iCloud, but an open source calDAV server.
Does the Setapp education discount limit the apps you can access vs. the regular price? That was the impression I got. Hoping that I was wrong! 
I have not fully switched yet. My full price sub ends this month. As far as I saw, though not 100% sure, it does. It was just that landing page that, I think, was giving suggestions as to what students could get out of it. I have an email out to support for clarification. I will post when I hear back.
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Same problem with the Watch, totally buggy. Reinstalled several times, but nothing.