Forum: Announcements

Ok, so I figured I should explain whats happening with TMJ, and why there has been a delay in releasing the next version...

I've been working on TMJ for over 3 years now in my spare time. Towards the end of last year I came to the conclusion that I could no longer justify the long hours spent on the project, without it at least contributing to my electricity, server, website and other costs (cider in particular)! I therefore added the Donations button to the site, but whilst I am extremely grateful to everyone who has donated, it has become clear that this isn't really a viable way to support the project.

So I have now decided to introduce a charge for TMJ-Mobile. There will be two versions: a free 'Basic' version and a paid-for Full version, costing EUR12 or EUR18 for 6 or 12 month subscriptions respectively. Both versions maintain most of the existing functionality, but the Basic version has some limitations, in particular the maximum number of trackpoints and waypoints stored, and the vector maps (though it will now include a free trial of these).

I realise that it may be annoying that some previously-free functions will now require a subscription, however I hope you can understand my reasons for introducing the charge. (Incidentally, anyone who has previously donated will automatically be upgraded to the full version for an extended period).

I have recently set up TrackMyJourney as a UK Limited Company, which is the main reason for the delays, but I hope to release the new version very soon, followed by some updates to the website, after which I can hopefully get back to concentrating on the techie stuff and working on even more great functionality for the future!!

Many thanks,
Stephen

Hi rolfovo,

I'm sorry if the price seems a bit much to you. I took a while to decide on the price level, but I will review this from time to time, so do check back occasionally. Maybe (even if you do use other programs instead), you'll still sometimes use the Basic version - there is a lot that is still free-to-use in it. In fact, for navigation its pretty much all available - raster maps, routing, live tracking, etc...

Regards,
Stephen

In my opinion the price is very well paid for this software. I'm using the software for 2 months now and it's certainly useful. Nevertheless I think the price for a year license is to high. I will start looking to other applications that can do the same for me.

Thanks for the work you've done Stephen. I'm only wondering how you decided this is the right price for a license.

Chris,

Couldn't agree more: the software is worth the money.

Mark.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the comments. I kind of suspected that the pricing 'model' would provoke different ideas, but I am listening to the feedback (good and bad). I think its probably impossible to hit a 'perfect' price but I will review this in the coming weeks. I'm also considering Rolfovo's suggestion of a shorter period option, but again, its only been two days, so will see how things go...

Regards,
Stephen

I think that the price is fair. At the same time I can understand that it might seem high for some, particularly in Eastern Europe but what can we do.

At the same time, I'm *very* disappointed that the voluntary donations model did not work out. Why do not people support free software development ? If we agree that 18EU a year is fair, why didn't we donate a similar amount when we were asked for, so that the software could stay free ? Really disappointing :(

I have been reading this thread, and I feel that I owe rolfovo something of an apology. I have to confess that at the time of writing my post, I didn't consider people in countries where average salaries were considerably lower than here. From what you said, I appreciate that the price to you is equal to me paying several times that amount.
That said, as someone else in this thread pointed out, Stephen lives in the UK, so he really has no choice but to charge UK prices...

Best regards, and hope no real offence was taken by my comment, as certainly, non was intended.

Chris.

Lets not lose sight of the fact that the price does not include just the software. I haven't used TMJ-Mobile since August, but I did use it almost every day in August, and about 3 times per week in the months before. I will use it again when I finally get the bike out again. It guided me the length of the country (UK) which in itself was worth the money but more importantly, the tracks I recorded during the trip are available to me wherever I am - They're not just stored on my PC, but on Stephen's server too. I did look at other software (like MapMyRide) and they keep emailing me to suggest that I ought to be using their software. This is something you don't get from this site.

I don't have a problem with the pricing model. I was pleasantly surprised when Stephen announced the cost and suspect that he is undervaluing the software (though I'm not complaining of course). Your $18 - $24 wouldn't get you very far with MapMyRide, which costs $11.99 or $19.99 per month to include (for example) the Blackberry app and $5.99 without that.

Can't we just accept the fact that we've had free software and services in Beta for quite some time now, and the time has come to pay if we want to continue using it.

> if i buy a program, i want to use it as long as i want to - at least the version number i got.

this does not work for many mobile apps though as they are usually restricted to your IMEI. this is based on my experience with blackberry market and symbian apps. on the other hand you can use TMJ on any number of device as you're paying more like for a subscription to use stephen's server.

what i'd personally like to see is better granularity in "subscription program". example:

- base version: no limits on number of waypoints, points in tracks - x EUR
- vector maps: +x EUR
- live tracking (less than minutely interval) - +x EUR
etc.

Hi all, any news???

Hi Rolfovo,

No news I'm afraid - I'm keeping to the current pricing for the foreseeable future, but am sorry if it seems too much...

Regards,
Stephen