New version

[whiskeypilot]

New version looks promising so far......

My question is, I just upgraded to the pro edition less than a month ago. I did this only for the fact I wanted the import schedule function which I paid the upgrade fee for.

Am I understanding this correctly, If i want to continue to use the scheduler import function I will have to pay the 9.99 a month or the 75 a year (something like that)........????

Its a good program, but i can not afford 75 a year and if you guys are charging everyone that price..... i mean how many people use this program right? A lot... please correct me if im wrong.

 

[Neal Culiner]

Hello,

The Professional Edition enables the FAR 121 & FAR 135 features. It also was previously required to import .trp files. Now that the new system has a different method of importing schedule data from your personal cloud storage the .trp file system was discontinued. We also decided to allow all editions to import schedules now.

If you wish to use the schedule importer after January 1st a subscription will be required. The fee is only $5/month for a two year subscription.

Thank you for your inquiry.

 

[flyingaggie]

Neal,

If you guys are going to require a subscription, the importer should work correctly for all schedule types. It still, after years of trying to get you guys to do it right, won't import CDO's (naps, high-speeds, whatever you want to call them) correctly. And now, with the update, it doesn't import with dates from any of the filters for the ASA trips. It was bad enough before when I had to add back in legs it deleted by overwriting each day with CDO's, but now I have to tell it every date that the trip starts on. And you want us to pay for terrible programming like this????? I think you need to think again about how you're doing business. This is the worst update I've seen you guys make yet. It now takes me longer to edit what you guys import to my device that it does to just type it in myself.

Tim

 

[Neal Culiner]

Hello Tim,

For technical support please submit a support ticket to our help desk and provide your trip data, the filter used, and we'll gladly investigate the issue. The trip parsing should not be any different from the prior site.

Thank you.

 

[flyingaggie]

Hi Neal,

I did on the naps before and was told by support that I just needed to go in and change all the dates on my import schedule because they couldn't put them on the right dates, essentially telling me to log false data on days I didn't fly it because they didn't know how to program that. After weeks of arguing with them that it was simple and feasible to do, I just gave up because it wasn't worth my time. As a programmer myself I know it's not hard, especially with you guys only using xml to import. It's a pretty simple 'if' in the filter as it parses the file.

On the date issue, I'm not sure why it's not importing dates now, but they don't show at all after importing. Every pairing asks me for a start date. I'll be happy to do a ticket on that one, if needed. But as it is, it's really just faster to put them in myself because I have to put half of it in already after it's wrongly overwritten by the import.

Tim

 

[Neal Culiner]

Tim,

Thanks for the info. We have much better systems in place now (.NET 4) so if you want us to revisit the issue feel free to send us the information. Don't want to waste your time but if you want us to look we'd be happy to.

 

[tstafford]

Is there going to be no way for me to import my scedule without paying a monthly fee? I have been using Logbook Pro and APDL since 2006 or so, and never would have purchased a program that requires a monthly charge. I was perfectly happy with the old importer and will not pay to do what I have been doing for free for years. Without being able to import schedules on APDL the program is usless for me. If there is no free way for me to import my schedule, I am now part of a bait and switch.

 

[Neal Culiner]

Hello Trevor,

Effective January 1, 2011 you will need to have a subscription fee to use the schedule importer portal. The cost is only $5/month based on the two year plan.

Thank you for your inquiry.

 

[tstafford]

Not a good answer! I can't even think of how many airline pilots that I have convinced to use the APDL over the years. Not only will I no longer promote NC Software, I will advise against the purchase of NC Sowtware products to my pilot group until this problem is rectified.

 

[Neal Culiner]

Trevor,

We certainly appreciate your referrals and also hope you will find value in the service and realize the development and expense it costs to provide such a service. If you look at the small amount of money you've paid over the years for your products I think you'll agree we are not out to be greedy but instead simply trying to get some assistance with the cost of these services. I think you would agree a $5/month fee is more than generous. Evaluate what you spend on other subscriptions. How much do you or others pay to send 160 character messages on your cell phone? I pay $20/month for that. Movie rentals such as Netflix, monthly fees for a cell phone, if you look at what things cost these days, I think $15/month for the schedule importer would still be a value but instead I'm only charging $5.00. People want everything for nothing these days. If you don't find the schedule importer of at least a $5 value then you are welcome to manually enter your data which is free to do and you can still use your software. If you want to use the convenience and capabilities the schedule importer offers then you also understand there are fees associated with development, maintenance, servers, etc.

Thank you for your understanding. Every customer has a choice, if you don't find what we offer of value, you are welcome to find what suits your needs elsewhere. We will continue to provide the best software and service our customers expect from us. Even answering support and forum posts on holiday weekends. We are dedicated and committed, we hope you appreciate what we provide you.

 

[tstafford]

Airline Pilots are a frugal (cheap) bunch. Either you don't know many, or are willing to roll the dice on this one. I for one will not pay $75.00 A year for an importer when I paid less than that for the program. Unfortunately you have rendered what I did pay for unusable without an importer. I have lost respect for NC Software and will not promote your software anymore.

Respectfully,

Trevor

 

[wi_pilot]

Why not keep the original importer and offer the new and improved one as well with the monthly fee? I think we both know the answer to that question. For me this is not a decision based on affordability; this is about principle. The schedule importer was not a free service. It was paid for with the purchase of the APDL program and was originally not web based. This is bad business and I too will longer be a customer unless this policy is changed.

Adam

 

[livinthedream]

I agree with wi_pilot. This is about principle. We have purchased a product with certain features, To take away features is bad business. I've had APDL since 2001 and have purchased it twice. Once with the original developer and with NC Software. I also used to be able to generate reports from APDL but they have discontinued that feature also. He wanted me to buy Log Book Pro. I will no longer use this product either and advise people not to buy it either. Its ashame really, because the program is good. To bad NC Software isn't.

 

[flymacs]

$10/month is just too expensive for this product. I realize that I can reduce the cost to $5/month if I commit to 2 years. I’m reluctant to do this, however, because lately N-C Software hasn’t shown a lot of commitment to APDL.

First Web Report Utility gets turned off. Now there is a fee for Schedule Importer. This smells a lot like N-C Software is trying to kill off APDL. How do I know if Schedule Importer will even be around in a couple of years.

In my opinion, I understand the need to cover the costs of providing services for operating systems that are nearing the end of their life cycles (Windows Mobile 6.x and Palm). If you reinstated the Web Report Utility with Schedule Importer then that would justify the subscription (for me). I would also need to see a refund policy for unused subscriptions in the event N-C Software decides to pull the plug on APDL/Schedule Importer completely.

For now, I am evaluating other logbook programs.

 

[Neal Culiner]

Steve,

I’m reluctant to do this, however, because lately N-C Software hasn’t shown a lot of commitment to APDL.

Quite the contrary, the move to collecting a small fee for the schedule importer resource IS a move TO support APDL and continued development. We do not have enough developers to meet the demands we face which is the very reason you have not seen activity with APDL. As stated in our recent newsletter our priority is Logbook Pro PC edition vNext which will have all of the APDL functionality built in. Then we'll move to the new smartphone applications. By your contribution to the schedule importer subscription you are simply investing in your own future products and services.

You can spin anything negative but if you think hard on this you can see the positive move this is as some have already figured out. We have actually been chastized in the past by not charging for upgrades because it lends to consumer confidence in product and business growth. We are not going to add a few small features and change the version and charge you a heinous upgrade fee as some of our competitor products do (and often). I do have a conscience.

If the schedule importer is not worth $5/month to you then do not subscribe. I do suggest looking at other logbook products as you should always ensure you are using what meets your needs. Always see what's out there and be sure you are protecting no one's interest but your own. Logbook Pro and APDL speak for themselves and that's why this community has grown to what it is today. This move with the schedule importer will secure further growth, no doubt about it. Once people get over the natural desire to whine, complain, and try to get for free, they will see the value in what this is. With additional growth we may be able to build you a web report utility. It is not something that is free to create, it is expensive to create. The system used long ago was flawed and could not be continued. It has been rewritten and integrated within Logbook Pro via the PDA Wizard if you choose to use that functionality.

Thank you for your feedback.

 

[mrbacon18]

Trevor,

We certainly appreciate your referrals and also hope you will find value in the service and realize the development and expense it costs to provide such a service. If you look at the small amount of money you've paid over the years for your products I think you'll agree we are not out to be greedy but instead simply trying to get some assistance with the cost of these services. I think you would agree a $5/month fee is more than generous. Evaluate what you spend on other subscriptions. How much do you or others pay to send 160 character messages on your cell phone? I pay $20/month for that. Movie rentals such as Netflix, monthly fees for a cell phone, if you look at what things cost these days, I think $15/month for the schedule importer would still be a value but instead I'm only charging $5.00. People want everything for nothing these days. If you don't find the schedule importer of at least a $5 value then you are welcome to manually enter your data which is free to do and you can still use your software. If you want to use the convenience and capabilities the schedule importer offers then you also understand there are fees associated with development, maintenance, servers, etc.

Thank you for your understanding. Every customer has a choice, if you don't find what we offer of value, you are welcome to find what suits your needs elsewhere. We will continue to provide the best software and service our customers expect from us. Even answering support and forum posts on holiday weekends. We are dedicated and committed, we hope you appreciate what we provide you.

Please remember that there is a difference between work subscriptions and home enjoyment subscriptions. While many of us do have other subscription, many of us really do try to limit the work related ones. To be honest you are my only subscription that I use for work at this point. There are probably others I would like to have but cannot afford them all. There are many different ideas how you can make it all better but in reality we are a hard group to please. I personally would like you to make a option to buy all the subscription in one fee. For instance cloud sync, schedule importer and online backup and make us a deal for getting all three like you do for a 2 year subscription for schedule import. It is somewhat inconvienent to offer 2 years for schedule importer and then only offer 1 year for your cloud and your online backup. I personally realize that the fees are not going to go away and I am sorry about all the complaining that you are going to hear about it. I am willing to bet you can strike a deal that I think will make many people happy.

Thanks for listening and for the quick replies

 

[schulkeha3]

The subscriptions are all work related for me. I'll just include their cost on my next tax filing.