Update for Fences pro promised in 2011 - hollow promise?

What version are you using ?

Welcome to the world of software development.  Resources get redistributed and priorities change.  Fences is still in development and alphas exist internally and we hope to get a version out soon  though.

Delays always make people sigh,
And for dev time, our projects all vie.
Let patience be virtue,
And we'll try to see to
Just giving the ol' college try.

@ Zubaz: That's really cheeky... I did not complain about the conventions of software development, that's not my world. I did raise a complaint about that you promise an update for software and that you announce it for 2011 - to ultimately ignore it and talk big. Who should know the world of software development better than the developers of this software its own. It would be the least not to make empty promises or at least not to react that insolent on a serious question.

NtoebookPrivate.  I understand where you are coming from.  I'd like to use whatever new features of a new Fences and I'd like to see the revenue it would generate.  However, I understand how software development works.  Promises are RARELY made (although then may be incorrectly inferred).  Announcements are made though.  And they are always the expectation that we  . . well . . expect.  That's not always the case though.  

The response I gave you though, was accurate and in the typical tone of these forums (and me).  Sorry it didn't meet your specific needs.  Such is the nature of a forum.

Having said all that.  Fences Pro is a great app.  For what it's price point is, you get a great product.  If you are using the free version, there's nothing to complain about.

I agree, Fences is a great product although I don't use it to organize my icons into categories I mostly use it for hiding my desktop clutter. There may be free programs that do that but I bought the pro version because I have the choice to use those features if needs be.

Just bought pro version last month.  Wow do I regret it.  I didn't realize StarDock had abandoned the coming soon features.  I only bought it to customize the look of each fence.  Obviously they're not going to invest any significant time in this product any longer.

So my real complaint now is TAKE DOWN COMING SOON.  Coming soon means...well soon... not years.  Please.

Bigweeble, please don't spam the forums replying to old threads with the same response.  Fences has not been abandoned- we just haven't finished the update yet.

I didn't say the product had been abandon. I see there have been updates and bug fixes.  I'm strictly referring to the Coming Soon features.   If I'm wrong about my claim on those- prove me wrong and release them.  Otherwise I have over a year of a 'coming soon' promise to back me up.

Again, quit posting the same comments to multiple threads. 

Soon, in the software world, is relative term. I'd prefer a good, working improvement over a quick, problematic one.

Examples for the rarely made promises:

We have it on the list for next year.

Zargon

December 21, 2010 10:34:52 AM

* Feature coming soon

On product page of the pro version from time immemorial

For users of Fences Pro these are not only promises, these are announcements. To sell software that will get updated "soon" and to have this update on list "for next year" is quite concrete. At least concrete enough for pro users that bought your software awaiting this announced featurs, this is simply a buying inducement.

Most would also have accepted some concrete reasonable reacions here. But to leave the world of software developemend holding the baby and to deny this cricumstances at all is not suitable. Thats the best way to lose customers that are not willing to accept this procedure in this case and for future updates or other software. At least you lost me and my references - mentionend here even if i think you don't care about.

NotebookPrivate,

I believe response #2 covered the issue adequately, and I can assure you there was no 'cheekiness' intended.

Software development, particularly that which closely interacts with the OS [as Fences does/must] is vulnerable to the vagaries of change/development/revisions of the parent OS.

Just when everything looks spiffy along comes some quaint update/security fix/ whatever that forces design revision, and along with that comes delays.

THAT is what is meant by 'welcome to the world of software development'.

Fences is a particularly popular product so it's in Stardock's interest to ensure it's "good to go" and give it the appropriate time and attention...;)

Jafo,

fact is: if you sell software with announcements like "this new features are coming soon" there is a good percentage of users that buy your software awaiting exactly this features. Yes, that's the world of customers. Really good for the company behind the software, an effective buying inducement. Welcome to the world of capitalism.

Imagine:

* Features coming presumably within the next 3 years (not sure now)

Don't you think you would have lost many of the purchasers that trusted in the announcement "soon" because they place value on the customization features (among other things)? You would have lost them, for sure. Quite rightly users trust in announcements like the one you made. And "soon" does not leave much space for an extensive interpretation, at least not for the meaning "years".

The main aim of announcements like this is the hidden agenda to catch additional purchasers. Don’t think we are stupid just because our world is not the world of software development. It's not the point that I can not grasp that this procedure is part of the "rules of software development". The point is that you instrumentalize promises to catch buyers and not even feel responsible for that afterwards. Sure, sometimes we all are wrong. But all the more it's necessary to grasp the mantle or simply to concede that you could have made things better (and still can). This is not sorcery, it's a question of decency.

If I want feature A that a product has, I buy that product.

If I want feature X that's coming soon . . I wait until it shows up.  I expect others to do the same.

Ditto.

Why you would purchase something that does not yet have the features you want is one thing. That's your personal choice.  When you make an issue of it publicly (again your choice) your going to get comments you don't like cause you (knowingly) didn't  get all the bells and whistles you wanted when you made the purchase to begin with. In the meantime..is the software broken? Does it not customize to almost any color scheme or level of transparency? Does it not do what it is supposed to on your desktop in as far as helping you keep your icons organized? You complain about not getting an update and it sounds like what the software is designed to do to begin with is just a by-product or after thought.

Please let me know what it's like on your world where it seems everything is on time and you never have to wait.

To be fair the feature was specifically listed on the purchase page as coming in 2011 as well as the feature list and people do sometimes purchase things now knowing other things are coming in the future which is why the features would be pre announced in that manner.  The additional features coming soon push the purchase over the edge for some.

An example of people buying now to get something later would be game pre orders where you get to beta test now, but get the full version at the end. The MS Vista Ultimate Extras are a good example of people buying for features as yet unknown.

Now as others have said sometimes dates slip which is why the mention of a specific year was less than wise given we are now in 2012 and sometimes technical reasons mean something simply isn't viable, usually due to circumstances outside the developers control such as major OS changes in between. 

I am not directly involved in Fences, but in short Fences has not been abandoned, but it would be unwise for anyone to suggest a specific date for an update given the inaccuracy of the last estimate!

There IS NO 'hidden agenda'.  It's a statement that further developments are CURRENTLY in the pipeline.  That is all.

To attribute subversive intent to such a statement is absurd.

Now, if all the public announcements regarding the timing for the release of the Fences update amounts to 'coming soon' or 'on the list for 2011' then this whole thread is on a baseless premise as 'promised' is not the case at all.

It's not simple semantics it's a totally different issue.