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JetBrains Moving Its Dev Tools To Subscription Model
esarjeant writes: For many Java developers, IntelliJ has been our predominant IDE. JetBrains is looking to make their tools easier easier to buy and use by switching to a subscription program. Their plan is to have people pay a monthly/yearly fee for access to the tools instead of upgrading when they're ready. Fortunately, if your subscription lapses it looks like you'll have 30 days to check all your stuff in. How does NetBeans look now?
Many members of various developer communities are pushing back against this change: "For a developer with an unstable income, it might be perfectly fine to stay on an older version of the software until they've stashed enough cash to afford the upgrade. That will no longer work." JetBrains has acknowledged the feedback, and say they will act on it.
This is really quite simple.
The people paying for the upgrades consider the changes improvements. The people who don't pay, don't.
Now you can understand why so many people were on Office 2003 for so long.
Just to be clear, "stashing enough cash for to afford the upgrade" means setting aside $100 for the year.
If you have to "stash cash" to afford the upgrade chances are you should save your money; you can get by with Eclipse. I don't approve of the new pricing model, but the "I can no longer afford to be a developer" argument doesn't work. The new model is actually cheaper per year for anyone who always renews their license.
Personally, I prefer to purchase something and be done with it. If I want the upgrade I can purchase that outright as well. If I don't then I think I should be able to continue using what I have already paid for.
People do pay for improvements. You come out with an improved product and I'll buy it--if I want to.
These rent seekers want you to pay whether there are improvements or not, and this may come as a shocl, but some people don't like that.