Zugg Software :: View topic

Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 9:00 pm

CMUD is a new product. This is NOT just an upgrade to zMUD. Just because CMUD is compatible with zMUD doesn't make it an upgrade. The compatibility between CMUD and zMUD is there as a benefit for existing zMUD users.

So, to be absolutely clear on this: CMUD is NOT part of the free upgrade program for zMUD users. CMUD is a new product and you will need to pay for it.

However, I have put together some offers to make it cheaper for people to buy CMUD if they already have zMUD. Here are the offers that are currently available:

Customers who have purchased zMUD since July 1st, 2005 can obtain a free license for CMUD during the CMUD beta period.
Customers who have purchased zMUD since Sept 5th, 1999 (the date Zugg and Chiara got married...had to pick something!) can obtain a license for CMUD at half-price during the CMUD beta period.
Customers who have purchased zMapper will receive a free copy of the new zMapper updated for CMUD when it is released next year.
Customers who have purchased zApp will receive a free copy of any future CMUD Developers Kit that is released. zApp customers will also receive a free copy of the SSH addon for CMUD.

Now, I know that this will make some people happy and some people upset. Obviously if you have purchased zMUD recently you will be happy. If you purchased zMUD on June 30th, you will be upset.

No matter what I do, some people will be upset. This is something I'll need to get used to with CMUD since some people will probably also be upset that I just didn't upgrade zMUD for free. But there was no way for me to do that. Upgrading zMUD with the features planned for CMUD was too much work not to get paid for. I couldn't stay in business that way. The alternatives were either A) stop supporting zMUD and go out of business, or B) write a new program and get paid for it and for it's continued improvements and support. I choose option (B). In the long-run, (B) is better for everyone, including existing zMUD users who don't buy CMUD. Because with (B), I'm still here supporting everything that I do, and hopefully making enough to pay bills and support our family.

So let's get back to the offers to existing zMUD users that I provided above. They all say "during the CMUD beta period." This means that you will need to take advantage of the offer during the time that CMUD is in Beta status. It is expected that CMUD will be in Beta status for many months. And I'll announce when the public version is getting ready and will give people at least a week right before the public release to redeem their offers.

In order to redeem your offer as an existing zMUD user, you will need to use our new online store system. When the first CMUD beta version is released, you will be able to log into your store account and redeem your CMUD offer (either free or half-price depending upon when you purchased zMUD).

If you do not redeem your offer during the CMUD beta period, then your offer will expire and you will then need to pay full-price for CMUD. Existing zMUD users will be notified about all of this a couple of months before the public release. So everyone will get plenty of notice and information about this when the time comes.

As far as actual price? The full price for CMUD is $29.95...the same price as zMUD. The Half-price offer will actually be for $14.95. The SSH addon will probably be $9.95, and the new zMapper for CMUD addon will probably be the same $19.95 as the current zMapper.

The upgrade policy for CMUD is different than zMUD. You will get free upgrades to CMUD for 2-years after your initial purchase. That's it. Any version released after 2-years from your original purchase will cost half-price of whatever the cost of CMUD is at that time. So if the cost of CMUD stays the same, then an upgrade will cost $14.95 after two years. Buying an upgrade gives you another 2-years of free upgrades.

The licensing of CMUD will use the same new system that is used in the latest zMUD 7.2x version. We are not using eLicense. Your license for CMUD does not expire. You never need to upgrade if you don't want to. Your license for CMUD will work forever. It's only if you want to run a new version after 2-years that you would pay for an upgrade.

Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2006 3:06 am

The discounts for zMUD users have now expired.