I’m really sorry to read this. I have no interest in having my data in the cloud. Not only, anyway. When the Internet is down, which actually happens quite a lot nowadays, you have no way of accessing your information. It’s really bad.
If I have read this correctly, there is no need for me to have a licence för the desktop app? Since you’re not updating the software anymore? Wish I have known this before I bought another year.
Is that really such a big problem?
If the internet is down, you cannot use email either, or internet banking, or Facebook, Instagram, you cannot use Google, you cannot do internet shopping etc…
Does that fact stop you from using those services completely?
No, I don’t think so. You just use them when you are online. When you are not online, you don’t. Simple.
Also, when the internet is down, is “not being able to access your book database” really your biggest problem? And, in the “internet down” situation, if you really need to check your book database, why not just use your CLZ Books mobile app?
Really, it is 2026. The “internet down” argument is getting old. The whole world is online, always, every minute of the day, on fast 5G connections or even faster Wi-fi connections.
Well, that stands for you. I, personally, do not live my life on the Internet. And I prefer to own my own data. Considering how the world looks like, I really don’t think it’s a good thing to depend on the cloud. But I don’t think I have to explain my feelings about this. To anyone.
But you didn’t answer my actual question: Since you’re not updating the software anymore, is there really a need for a license?
That sounds like you conclude that the only reason for paying the subscription fees, would be the software updates?
The updates have always been only a small part of the fees. The subscription is for using the software, using the online services, like CLZ Core for adding books, CLZ Cloud for syncing and backups, the Find Cover Online service… and of course for getting customer support.
So paying to the subscription fees is still a good idea.
That said, if you are in the lucky situation that you purchased the software BEFORE it became a subscription software, then you are grandfathered in, and the online services would keep working, even if you subscription expires.
It’s up to you, really.
In our view, the subscription fees have been crucial for us, and have enabled us to stay alive, by keeping our software and apps up-to-date with today’s technology, which means going web-based.
No one makes desktop software anymore, that really is a thing of the past. If we kept doing desktop software, we would have gone bankrupt years ago, like most of our competitors.
Remember BookCat, ReaderWare, Book Label ? Where are they now? All gone.
Folks, I appreciate that feelings are running a bit hot here, but if you want to continue this argument, then can I ask you move it onto a thread of its own so I don’t get updates? You’re spiking my anxiety here!
@bookzombie yeah, it’s a bit silly this thread gets picked up every couple of months with 1 user being surprised. But I feel bad closing the thread to be honest. But we might do that.
For now, scroll to the bottom of this page, find the “Tracking” button, and you can disable getting updates for this topic completely.