You assume correctly
I guess that it depends upon the definition of 'cost'. Monetarily, I think that for an $80.00 software package, $50.00 for an upgrade is a little on the high side but then again, when we upgrade Mac OS X, Apple gives no concession to existing users. And those are users who not only bought the OS but also hardware from them. I'm not complaining... that's Apple's policy and I accept it because the benefits of using Macs outweigh the dollar expense.
The real cost to me in an upgrade is what is given up in stability in order to obtain new features. In my case, Parallels version 3 has no new features that are useful to me and so, since version 2.5 does what I need it to do, why fix something that doesn't need fixing?
That's also the reason that I use Windows 2000 Professional... it has no ongoing development and so is stable. It's been around long enough where we know what it's limitations and problems are. If it does what I need it to do, and it does, then there is no reason for me to use XP or Vista. XP or Vista would just result in a larger, slower, probably less stable vm that I would have to pay another license fee for and then deal with Microsoft's activation policies. None of that exists in Windows 2000.
I've worked in the software profession for a long time and one thing that I know for sure is that if your existing system works then why upgrade just for the sake of upgrading? If there is a technical reason to upgrade then, of course, upgrade but if not, stay with what is already working for you.
Personally, I'd be much more inclined to pay Parallels, or any software company for that matter, for an upgrade that has no new features but does address existing issues and bugs thoroughly.
The problem is that this is not how the software business works. Most people would object to paying for an upgrade that contains just bug fixes because they would say that this is a product defect and so should be fixed at no charge. Therefore, in order to sell another version, the software company is forced to add features and hopefully fix some of the previous bugs at the same time. Usually the new features also come with a new set of bugs... and so round and around we go.
Last edited: Jun 19, 2007