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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'> I’m sure the main thrust of their strategy is to try to budge
people still on </span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Delphi 4-7 anyway so it wouldn’t have hurt them much if at all.</span><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>This is the most worrying
aspect of the decision to my mind, because it seems to be evidence that
Embarcadero don’t understand their market – they are treating their customers
as simple bean counters, not developers with technical challenges.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>People who haven’t already upgraded
are by definition on old versions of the product. There are likely to be good technical
reasons why they have not upgraded. Closing the window of opportunity in which
they can get upgrade pricing is not going to affect those reasons, all it
affects is the price of upgrading once that window closes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>It doesn’t make it any more
attractive to upgrade in the next 3 months, it simply makes it *<b>less</b>*
attractive *<b>after</b>* those three months and leaves a sour taste in the
mouth into the bargain.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>If Embarcadero wanted to “budge”
people on Delphi 4-7 they should be offering a 3 month special to entice
upgrades, not wielding a bit stick to threaten people who don’t “upgrade now or
else”.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>And I’m sorry, but the
buy-one-get-one-free deal is not going to work... if I *<b>need</b>* a product
I’ll buy it. If I haven’t bought it already then I don’t need it. Sure I may
take a freebie to look at some other product out of curiosity, but isn’t that what
trial versions are for?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>But if there was a special
deal on upgrade pricing there will be uproar from the people on SA or who have
upgraded – why should people who didn’t get suckered already get better pricing
than they did?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>The answer to that of course
is the same as the answer to why my mate got his TV cheaper than me at JB Hi-Fi
last week compared to when I bought the exact same TV 3 months ago. He just
got lucky. Plus of course I’ve been enjoying my TV for 3 months already, he’s
still waiting for his to be delivered.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Yet you won’t find me – or anyone
else - among hordes of angry people barracking the management of JB Hi-Fi for giving
those people special treatment last week compared to me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>In the meantime JB and the
TV manufacturer got themselves a few more customers than they perhaps otherwise
might have, and definitely more customers than if their promotion had been “buy
your TV at the same old price now or next month we’ll charge you more!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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