Roy writes:

> Certainly, the last I heard, Alfredo wasn't even tier-charging; if you
>  had an Adager licence and you upgraded your machine, you just got your
>  copy validated for the new HPSUSAN instead of the old one.
>
>  Has something changed? No doubt his clarification is even now winging
>  our way.....
>
>  And while everybody has had a down on C*gn*s at some time or other about
>  the sometimes breathtaking costs of their upgrades when you ascend the
>  HP model range, I never heard that an existing user had to pay the same
>  as a new user on a particular platform. Not when the old machine wasn't
>  being retained......

Rather than wait indefinitely for that clarification, this is what Adager
says on their site:

=======================================

"You can transfer an Adager license from one computer to another

"Every Adager license is assigned to a specific HPSUSAN number. Instead of
paying for a new license whenever you exchange a computer, we allow you to
transfer an existing Adager license. The fee $975 for Adager Model Two and
$300 for Adager Model One."

     --http://www.adager.com/PriceList.pdf

=======================================

Astoundingly similar, although there was no collaboration or collusion
involved, we say:

=======================================

"Transferring a QueryCalc license

"You can transfer your QueryCalc license from one computer to another. Every
QueryCalc license is assigned to a specific HPSUSAN number. Instead of being
required to pay for a new license whenever you exchange a computer, we allow
you to transfer an existing QueryCalc license to the new machine. The fee for
this license transfer is $975."

     --http://aics-research.com/qc/pricing.html

======================================

I think this pattern is fairly common nowadays.



>  I agree the issue is more emotive than real, but I think it *will* bring
>  a few potential users up short, who think that if they licence a piece
>  of software, it ought to work for them until they decide to stop using
>  it, or to upgrade the software (at possible $$). Not until they happen
>  to switch PCs.
>
>  I'm on my 4th PC since 1996. I'm sure glad I'm haven't had to buy four
>  copies of Paint Shop Pro in that time, just two upgrades. And those
>  weren't coterminous with PC switches.....

In place of charging for upgrades, as Microsoft has traditionally done, it is
our intention to provide the upgrades for free, just as we have done for
QCTerm, for as long as the user cares to upgrade his use of the products. In
return, we will adopt the same general copy protection plan as we have for
the HP3000. The software is licensed to the machine, not to the user.

While you can't please everyone, and some will not perhaps purchase a product
on whatever basis a vendor attempts to protect his investment, we're not
talking about great sums of money here: $50 to $100 per product. If some find
a vendor's copy protection schemes objectionable, they will not likely be
customers and will go elsewhere, but that is their right. None of this of
course would be necessary if rampant software piracy weren't a problem.

Wirt Atmar

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