Poll: How often do you feel you should pay for updates of your CAT tool(s)? Người gửi thông tin lên tuyến đoạn: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How often do you feel you should pay for updates of your CAT tool(s)?".
View the poll results »
| | | | Christine Andersen 
Đan Mạch
Local time: 18:08
Thành viên kể từ 2003
Danish to English
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| When I see major improvements is when I FEEL I should pay... | Nov 22, 2019 |
In practice I pay every year, however.
That is a drop in the ocean, but regular payments enable the programmers to keep looking for ideas, contacting translators and other users, working on the feedback - and generally be there if I need help.
The fact that I have not needed help for several years actually confirms my belief that paying is a good idea. That means the CAT just runs without problems,  whi... See more In practice I pay every year, however.
That is a drop in the ocean, but regular payments enable the programmers to keep looking for ideas, contacting translators and other users, working on the feedback - and generally be there if I need help.
The fact that I have not needed help for several years actually confirms my belief that paying is a good idea. That means the CAT just runs without problems, which is even better than instant help with bugs!
I send in suggestions when I have any. ▲ Collapse
| | | | B D Finch
Pháp
Local time: 18:08
French to English
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| Every 2 - 3 years | Nov 22, 2019 |
I think that given the price of CAT tools, one should expect at least 2 - 3 years use before paying for updates. However, I am currently using Wordfast Pro 5 and the last update (5.11.1) is so buggy that I really resent paying for updating. This CAT tool used to work really well and I was very happy with it, but the last few updates seem to have ruined it. 100% matches show as 99% and propagation is erratic, the progress bar shows that I am half way through a file, when I am actually only 20% th... See more I think that given the price of CAT tools, one should expect at least 2 - 3 years use before paying for updates. However, I am currently using Wordfast Pro 5 and the last update (5.11.1) is so buggy that I really resent paying for updating. This CAT tool used to work really well and I was very happy with it, but the last few updates seem to have ruined it. 100% matches show as 99% and propagation is erratic, the progress bar shows that I am half way through a file, when I am actually only 20% through or shows 8 words to go when I still have about 200 words to translate. The terminology search shows completely irrelevant results even when I know the term I am searching for is in the terminology. Some of the bugs in the last update seem to have been solved at the expense of new ones being introduced.
Also, the hotline used to give much quicker and more effective responses than it does now. My licence is due for renewal in a few days and I am, for the first time, hesitating over whether to renew it or switch to a different CAT tool. If I knew that the bugs I have reported were being sorted out, I would not be hesitating about renewal. I think the problem is that the people doing the updates seem to value innovation and complexity over reliability. I prefer reliability and simplicity. ▲ Collapse
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The only CAT tool I have been working with is one of my client’s XTM online portal. So, if there are updates they are not my concern at all.
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| Honestly? Never. | Nov 22, 2019 |
I don't think I should ever have to pay for updates, given what these things cost*.
However, CAT tool developers have stumbled on a nice cash cow, and it makes economic sense to draw translators in then keep squeezing them.
*Although from what I've seen of mechanical design software prices, CAT tools are actually pretty cheap.
| | | | Marjolein Snippe
Hà Lan
Local time: 18:08
Thành viên kể từ 2012
English to Dutch
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| Not too often... | Nov 22, 2019 |
I agree with Christine that payment helps developers ensure everything runs smoothly. I prefer a good, reliable CAT tool to a free one with bugs, or which is slow, or without support for users.
I tried Wordfast 5 when it came out, but I never liked it much, so I am still working in WF3 and have not had any issues for years. The two versions can be installed (and run) on one computer.
| | | | | I wouldn't pay for updates ... | Nov 22, 2019 |
ProZ.com Staff wrote:
This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How often do you feel you should pay for updates of your CAT tool(s)?". View the poll results »
I wouldn't pay for updates, but I would certainly pay for feature upgrades, e.g. when a new, for me important file format is supported.
However, since I have a Proz Plus Membership , I don't have to pay for any upgrades for my CAT tool at all.
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Developers of apps for iPhones, etc. are expected to provide support and upgrades for life. Why should the same not apply to CAT tools, which have a much higher price and yet are relatively easy to programme?
[Edited at 2019-11-22 21:51 GMT]
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neilmac
Tây Ban Nha
Local time: 18:08
Spanish to English
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If my CAT is working for me, I don't want any gratuitous upgrades. "Not broke, don't fix it". And I consider them expensive enough to be an outrght purchase. However, if the only way to keep using it is to pay a tithe, I'll usually do so grudgingly, or find a workaround.
| | | | Jan Truper
Đức
Local time: 18:08
English to German
| yearly subscription | Nov 23, 2019 |
I prefer a somewhat low entry price and then a yearly subscription, provided the software is kept bug-free and on par with new technological developments and system software changes.
| | | | Mario Freitas
Braxin
Local time: 14:08
Thành viên kể từ 2014
English to Portuguese
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I used to do it on a yearly basis in the beginning. Then I realized it was a big waste of money. The new features are rarely ever worth a new update so often.
Now, MemoQ has several bugs that are never solved by Kilgray. The worst one is all of a sudden consumming about 5-6 GB of RAM, and the only way to stop it is to close MemoQ and restart. Till this issue is resolved, I will not update the CAT.
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