The Omni Group

Personally I really appreciate the limited demos of OmniGraffle and OmniOutliner. It lets you use the application and get a feel for everything, and to a limited extent even use it for real within the limits.

I made several charts in OmniGraffle and imported them into OmniOutliner before I decided to purchase it. (which I still haven't, but soon will, I swear!)

If OmniGraffle had a time-limited trial I probably wouldn't have bothered to try. Partly because each system is different and confusing (is it 30 free days from when you downloaded, or does every use of the program count down the timer instead?) and partly because it discourages you from using it too seriously. If I know I'm going to have to make a decision in 2 weeks or a month or whatever, I'm probably not going to bother because I doubt that in that timeframe I will have used it enough to decide if the cost is worth it. So I think being able to use it as often as you want for the small projects is the best selling point, I would never have tried OmniGraffle out otherwise.

Well, being the first apparently, I go for the time restriction, which leaves me with two options: I try the full functionality (some apps turn quite stale when heavily loaded with data) before I make a decision and I cannot use it on a commercial basis, because when the app is gone so are my data. So I am constantly told by the splash screen that my work might get lost—and I am forced to really try and not just load the app. I admit I did exactly that for OmniWeb, Outliner and Graffle…

When i first tried out OmniWeb back in September, I loved how everything was unlocked in the trial version besides the homepage, which is still quite a bit nicer than the annoying nag screens that you get with other apps *coughunsanitycough* I ended up buying it after 11 days. However, if you're going for a different approach, check out http://www.codepoetry.net/2007/02/24/nag_methodolgy .

I've found the 20 item limit does not allow me to test how the software and I will interact at full scale. As an owner or OO and OG this obviously did not prevent me from making a purchase, but 20 items just gets me started and then “flump!”.

I vote for a full 30-day demo.

I think fully functional for x days (30 or so) and then go to dummed down versions (20 items, etc).

That and bundle all the apps or upgrades for a big OmniOmni bundle.

BZ

I guess I don't see any problem with the current way things are.  I don't see an inconsistency between the demo products.  The tools that allow you to manage groups of things limit the size of the group, the tools that deal with disks reduce what you can do with the disk, and the web browser lets you view things only for a while (hard to limit that to X number of web sites).  I like this model.  (Then again, I have purchased the Pro versions of all of them.)

I personally don't like evaluation software that has a certain number of hours.  Even a certain number of days is annoying.  Many times, I get interrupted during my first attempt evaluation, and can't get back to it until weeks later.  And by that time, the demo app has expired, even though I haven't actually used it.

So, I guess I like the model that you guys have been using.

I like the 30-day unlimited access model. I personally have licenses for OmniOutliner Pro and OmniGraffle (still waiting for OmniFocus!!!) and I'm sure I would never have buy if I hadn't have the opportunity to test them first. The same happened with Textmate. In reality I only have buy licenses for applications that I have been able to test fully and have become dependent on them during the 30 day test period.

I think that limiting number of items for apps like OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner and Omnifocus don't allow the user to fully experience the application and in many cases become dependent on it.

I'm a big fan of limited-time demos with full functionality.  If the app is something I want to try using for my daily routine—something like OmniFocus, for example :)—a limit on the number of projects or the number of objects or whatever prevents me from actually trying it out and seeing whether it works for me.  14-30 days, however, is generally enough to figure out whether it's worth the money.

I like the idea of limiting by hours of use rather than by days—I've made mistakes on how much I've had time to test apps before.  But the key for me is that I have enough time with a full version of the app to figure out whether it really, really fits into my workflow.

I side with many of the early posters. I prefer a full-feature, time-limited demo, but I don't want days on which I don't touch the app to count in the countdown. Because I can't devote intensive periods of time to trying out software, I will often endlessly delay trying a piece of software in hope that someday I'll have a month to make full use of the demo period.

Also, I like the demo restrictions to be spelled out clearly before I download.  If memory serves, Omni Group does this pretty well, thank you.

Well, I'll throw in with the fully-functional, limited-time crowd, with a set number of days preferred to a calendar period.  When I see a piece of software with a limited-functionality demo, I don't bother.  I want to see how powerful it is and what the limits are.  If I haven't integrated it into my workflow in 30 days, than it simply isn't the right fit.  If I have, then it's well worth the money.

OmniWeb is perfect.  It is x number of days plus, because as long as you don't quit, it still counts as one day (5.5.x).  I keep my browser open all the time and after using it for a month, I still had quite a few days left.  But at that point it was my main browser and well worth the $30.

A splash screen with a handy “Buy now” link, like OW's homepage, works well and made it easy when I made the decision.  I think with gentle reminders, most of the people that find themselves regularly using the software will go ahead and buy it.

I like the unlimited time - restricted number of objects in OmniGraffle, for OmniWeb the 30 days worked better.

I'm still trying to figure out if I should update to OG Pro ... I'm using OG daily, it's an excellent app together with Keynote for making illustrations for lectures.

Before I bought OmniWeb I had been using it for almost two years straight without breaking the 30 day limit. The trick was to never quit—which isn't very hard, since I almost never quit applications and only restart after kernel panics. You guys kept releasing betas and updates at a pace that kept me at no more than 20 days usage for each version (which was probably at least 60 days real time—but beta versions tend to crash at least once every third day).

Hi,

I think the 'functional, 30 active day trial version' is a good way to go for things like OmniWeb.

But I think the 'functional, 30 active day trial version' could also be used for software like OmniGraffle and OmniPlan.

My logic is that you'd get a real feel for using the software, and after the time period OmniPlan/OmniGraffle could continue to work as Read-Only applications.

They'd be kept around and useful [which is always a good thing], but wouldn't be freely able to create content.

Just my thruppence worth,

Peter

The limited-number trial is probably why I haven't purchased a license for OmniPlan - I have no idea how it will work for me under real-world conditions, since every plan I make has a whole lot more data than that.

My favorite trial process is limited launches. That lets me take as long as I need in elapsed time - weeks, months, whatever - and makes it easier for me to see how often I'm using the product. If I use 30 launches in a week, it's probably pretty darned useful and I should pony up, yes?

30 day time limited demo, with ALL features on.  Plus one chance to extended the demo for another 30 days if you ask nicely via e-mail, which gets you a new 30 day serial.  A number of times I've downloaded an app to try something, not hand time, gone back a month later, and the apps expired.  Probably lost me by then.

I am all for limiting time but not features. I want to see what software can do to its fullest. It doesn't help me to find out how well an app scales if it limits me to 20 items.

Also I, too, hate it when the time limit only accounts for calender days and not for days of usage. I often install an app planning to try it out, I suddenly get busy and 4 weeks later, my trial period is over and I have only launched it once. That's the best way not having people test your apps and not buying them.

You guys are lucky, because most of your apps do convince even after very short use, but especially for things like OmniPlan one has to take the time to really see whether it is the right thing or not.

I had a similar conundrum recently with Notae.  The method I'm going for is 14 launch days.  The user can start the program up on 14 discrete days.  If the user leaves it running, that's fine.  If the user starts it 10 times a day, that's once.  If the user powers on every day, then it's 14 real days.

I mean, really, you see most of your conversions within three days of download anyway, so after that you're catering to the crowd that's really pushing the program, so it needs to be an unrestricted demonstration period for those people.

More info about what I've pondered:

http://www.codepoetry.net/2007/02/24/nag_methodolgy

Yes, I too think fully functional for a number of days, but not calendar days. I too have had software for trial where I've only been able to open it briefly on the day on which I downloaded it and then something has come along and I've not been able to get back to it until after the demo has run out ... it's infuriating.

You run the risk of some people doing the “never closing the app” thing so that their trial period goes on and on, but I would hope that what you lose from those people not coughing up the loot is more than made up for by people who buy it because they have been able to put it to the test for real as part of their work-flow. And those cheap-skates who don't close it, when their very extended trial does finally run out are going to be so embedded in the app that they will almost certainly have to pay up in the end.

And yes, although I've never used it, the “one day trial license” is a very good idea for reasons that someone gave above.

I have been using OmniWeb, and then OmniGraffle and OmniOutliner for so long that I have lost track of the time, and I upgraded to the Pro versions as soon as they came out. I think that in each case I was very rapidly convinced that they were the apps for me.

Although OO and OG were on limited functionality trial, I still think that fully functional time limited trial is the way to go.

Mark

Keep it simple:

30 fully functional trail for everything.

The 20 item limit thing is just annoying. People are going to buy your product or not, after 30 days. The 20 item limit means they don't get to really try it for 30 days to decide so, I bet, are more likely not to, if they are really in try it out mode.

Reward customers who buy more than one product. (Free DiskSweeper and Dazzel licenses would be nice gesters for people who pay for the majority of your products + continue to upgrade (even on over time - as opposed to a bundle).

As Samiam said: keep it simple.

30 days trial license with full functionality and a link to the omnishop in the help or about window – that's it.

People downloading your software for evaluation have the possiblity to REALLY evaluate the product(s), in a reasonable time frame. And during this period, they get used to the software and purchase it easier.

I actually like the “20 items” version.

While I don't like time-limited trials, it's because I can rarely get in enough time during the time period. The 30 discrete openings is better, but it can leave the developer in trouble is someone opens the program and leaves it open “forever”.

As long as there is the one-day (24 hours, not one opening) full functionality, the 20 item trial works great for me. I can actually do small projects, start to finish, then come back on a month or two (after I've all but forget about the software) and work on the project again.

—Liz

[...] Original post by Linda [...]

Trials should be fully-functional for some amount of time, and ideally that time should be based on actual use and not the system clock.

Especially with something like OmniPlan, where I'm going to be using it to manage business projects—I need to load up a project I'm working on and try to manage it for a few weeks using the product.

And from your perspective—if I start using the trial and build out a full project in OmniPlan or a series of documents using OmniOutliner, I've invested some time in using your product and would rather just buy a license (assuming no major feature gaps) than start over with another product and another trial.

I'm glad you're looking into this. Your trial policy has always confounded me. I never understood how anyone was expected to evaluate your products given how limited the trials are. I think every Omni product I've purchased has been bought in spite of, rather than because of, the trial.

[...] But what I really like is their company blog. It’s a pleasure to read and I’m very addicted to it. Now if you ever wondered how cool it could be to do the things we all do, check out the first paragraph in an article of Linda. :-) [...]

i'm getting tired of owning software. forgive me.

i'd rather pay you say 200 bucks a year or something and subscribe/lease all the omni stuff i need in whatever combo i need.

download the parts i need to use offline (that then connect back to an online store) and juse use the tools i need when or if i need 'em, instead of buying a huge piece for one project that i won't touch again until another huge project.

in short, i want a sort of software-as-a-service model. gimme a 30-days download trial demo of whatever, and then just lemme lease the entire “suite” as i use/need/require whatever parts of it.

So what I mean by the above post, get your prospective customers on the hook so they become dependent on you.  That way they become paying customers.

The MacHeist (and MacSanta for that matter) events late 2006 were interesting.  Cheap versions of shareware, but I might just pay the upgrade price…