so called software maintenance
I have used Geolab since 1986, back when it was just a dos program. In years past I did all of my work using this least squares package. It is an excellent program, but it was updated infrequently. Updates were mainly to the interface (i.e. made it a windows program, etc). I wrote a bunch of programs to format data for input, and to read the output and make graphs, extract data, etc.
One of my main clients (USACE) wanted me to use Star*Net so that they could better understand the output (they use Star*Net) for deformation surveys that I was doing, so I started using Star*Net for smaller projects. One of the limitations of Star*Net relates to the areal extent of the network (i.e. not the number of stations). I have found Star*Net to be easier to use, and the output is more understandable for some less sophisticated users. But I still consider Geolab to be the gold standard. I especially need it for large 3DEP projects. I just finished field work on a 16,000 sq mile project, and had one last year that was 70,000 sq miles. I have looked at other packages, for example MOVE3, but have not found any reason to change.
As I mentioned, updates were infrequent, so sometimes I would pay the maintenance fee only to have no update at all that particular year. So There were many years I didn’t pay. Last year I paid and got the latest version. Hardly any difference, in fact I find the new interface annoying because I have to type in the path every time I start the program, whereas older versions I could just click on the .iob file.
I got some messages recently that the maintenance was about to expire. So I try to run it this week. Won’t run-maintenance expired. The pricing page does not mention that you MUST have a current maintenance agreement to run the software. In my experience with other packages, not having a maintenance agreement simply means you cannot get support or upgrades.
Here is what I received when inquired…
The standard licensing for all versions 2020+ is a yearly subscription-based model, meaning your license would have been valid until March 20 2024.
And when I asked about getting an install for an older version which I deleted from my PC when I upgraded.
Pre-2020 software is no longer available, but there is a perpetual licensing model for the current software:
Are there other software packages out there that REQUIRE a current maintenance agreement to even run?
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