NI charges for bug fixes? SP1 not free.

[herrlin]

---

Ravens Fan wrote:

---

Orion HE wrote:

My analog is more in line with a Buick that lets you hit 59, but crashes when you apply the brakes while rolling down your window, returns an error when you try to use the wiper fluid between the speeds of 40 and 42 mph, and incorrectly displays the fuel in the tank by an error of +/- 2.4 gallons.  These are not acceptable.  Buick should fix the broken program for free.  Buick are jerks for selling a product as whole only to sell you the fixes later. 

---

So now we are talking about Toyotas?

---

I dont care who you are thats funny. LOL.

[Norbert_B]

Well, it seems that there are some mixups with the term "service pack". You are correct, that other companies supply service packs without charging anything whereas NI does charge.

But please note that LV 2009 SP1 is not just a mere set of bug fixes. There are some new features e.g. (support for certain Windows Server Editions) which have not been part of LV before.

If it was a simple bug fix, it would have been labeled as "fix", so e.g. f4 for LV 2009. Those fixes are free of charge and can be downloaded from ni.com anytime.

SP1 does supply many bug fixes, true, but not pure and is a complete version of the development system. Therefore, NI charges and you can significantly reduce the amount for it using the SSP.

There is much discussion going on about: How many updates are reasonable in a certain time frame (1 or 2 years)? Should every major update reliable to pay costs? What is a fix, what is a "service pack", what is a complete new version with xyz new features?

So you can see that there are things which cannot be done "right". Like "Does Ni charge for SP1 or not"? There are people who are content with this and there are other who are not....

Norbert

Message Edited by Norbert B on 04-16-2010 08:11 AM

[smercurio_fc]

---

Norbert B wrote:

Well, it seems that there are some mixups with the term "service pack". You are correct, that other companies supply service packs without charging anything whereas NI does charge.

But please note that LV 2009 SP1 is not just a mere set of bug fixes. There are some new features e.g. (support for certain Windows Server Editions) which have not been part of LV before.

---

Well, Microsoft adds "features" to their service packs, and they're free.

Was 8.2.1 considered a bug fix, or did it have "features"? 

[Coq_Rouge]

Norbert you must also admit that this also is NI business strategy, to get more customers on the SSP Program. Every software manufacturer do not like customers that is happy with current version and do not upgrade. As they contribute very little to the profit. 

[Elijah_K]

---

My analog is more in line with a Buick that lets you hit 59, but crashes when you apply the brakes while rolling down your window, returns an error when you try to use the wiper fluid between the speeds of 40 and 42 mph, and incorrectly displays the fuel in the tank by an error of +/- 2.4 gallons.  These are not acceptable.  Buick should fix the broken program for free.  Buick are jerks for selling a product as whole only to sell you the fixes later.  

---

The examples you've listed are by any definition 'critical' bugs in the Buick, and I agree that I would expect the car manufacturer to supply fixes for these for free (assuming they were not due to wear and tear, which of course doesn't apply to software).  I want to point out that we make sure that any and all 'critical' software bugs in LabVIEW are 100% free and available to all users (ie: f1, f2 and f3).  

Service Packs, which are free for the version you initially purchased or users who have a current subscriptions, include these and numerous other improvements to the product.  If you utilize an active SSP to upgrade, please realize that you will need maintain this subscription in order to continue to receive free upgrades (this includes service packs).

One final note: a service pack is not just a patch, but actually a stand-alone copy of LabVIEW.  In other words, you don't need the August release of LabVIEW to install Service Pack 1.  This is another illustration of why your subscription must be current to receive it.

Message Edited by Elijah K on 04-16-2010 02:03 PM

[Orion HE]

Thank you for the added information Elijah.  At least it added to my personal knowledge.  A question for you if you have time.  Does Service Pack 1 have it's own unique serial number?

[Elijah_K]

No problem Orion.  Regarding your question, if you're upgrading the same serial number can be used to activate a service pack.

[Orion HE]

That's interesting.  When you described SP1 as a standalone installation, I figured that would be it's own serial number.  NI really did a lot to confuse the issue by using the name Service Pack.  It's really more of a "Service to those who have an existing SSP Pack".  For the rest of us, it's Labview 2010.

[Elijah_K]

It's true of any upgrade - not just service packs.  As an example, the same serial number can be used to activate 8.6 and 2009 if SSP is active.

[rolfk]

---

Orion HE wrote:
That's interesting.  When you described SP1 as a standalone installation, I figured that would be it's own serial number.  NI really did a lot to confuse the issue by using the name Service Pack.  It's really more of a "Service to those who have an existing SSP Pack".  For the rest of us, it's Labview 2010.

---

We have an ongoing license since LabVIEW 3 or so. It used to have a new serial number with every new release until about version 7.1. Once the license manager was there, the same serial number was used for all new versions of LabVIEW.