Locale beta expired

[UncleMike]

I was very disappointed this morning when I went to deactivate one of my Locale situations and was advised that the Locale beta has expired, and aside from clearing the message or choosing to upgrade, I was unable to interact with the app, forcing me to leave the situation enabled.

Over the past two weeks or so I have gotten a message when interacting with Locale, indicating that a new version was available, and suggesting that I upgrade. Knowing that the new version is a $10 paid app, my Google Apps account doesn't support Google Checkout, and that there have been some feature changes that I prefer to avoid, I kept canceling the notice. In all these notices, there was not one mention that the version I am using would expire.

While I understand that developers don't necessarily want beta version floating around forever, the fact that the expiration mechanism and date remain undisclosed until after the expiration has occurred leads to either a reluctant upgrade (due to cost or feature changes) or alienation of users.

I fall into the alienation category, and this sudden expiration of Locale is all the reason I need to look at alternatives. Even if I had been inclined to purchase Locale, this behavior on the developer's part would give me second thoughts.

So, who else is faced with this dilemma?

 

[agemme27]

+1 This sucks!!

 

[esocid]

I haven't opened Locale in about a week, but I've also been ignoring those fake "update available" prompts it give you. I just tested it out myself and can verify what you said.

I have nothing against devs getting paid for their work, but this guy has been shady. First, trying to deceive people with the beta to upgrade to t $10 app (worth $3 max IMHO), and also the thing about collecting user info with flurry agent.

From looking in the market, doesn't look like a lot of people are pleased with the "upgrade" version over the beta either. I definitely won't be paying for it.

If someone else were to make a similar app, I would definitely be interested in paying for it, but sure as hell not $10, and as long as it worked, and didn't collect info.

My 2c.

 

[bluenova]

Strange still working here. I'm also in a 'no paid apps' area so will be anoyed if it stops working. I did un-install Locale and re-installed it a few days ago. The version I installed is just called Locale (no Beta in title like it had before) the version number is 0.696 beta.

 

[mikespe]

I am another who has been using the beta and just realized thanks to this thread that Locale has expired. I refuse to pay $10 for an app that is only worth $2-3 max. I paid $10 for Documents to Go which does FAR MORE than LOcale...

Check out an app called Timeriffic. I have heard good things about it and I am checking it out now as we speak. It doesn't have GPS functionality (however GPS doesn't work in my work building anyway). But if you do everything time based then you are in business...

I'll be that now that Locale is $10 and the beta is expired some one will create a similar app for less money and put Locale out of business...or at least lower its price

 

[mihalich]

Same here. Wound up uninstalling last night. No way I'm paying $10 for this. Especially when the location based feature of the app never worked for me. It never automatically switched my profile based on my location. And I gave it far more than the "every 10 minutes" the help said it checks the GPS again.

I might be inclined to write an app that does something similar. That was my goal when I first got the phone, but the lack of being able to tie in all the 'core phone functionality' such as being able to get notifications for email and being able to differentiate between gmail, pop/imap email, and exchange email turned me off to the whole initiative.

If anyone ever used Phone Alarm on windows mobile, that is the kind of app I'd like to see on Android. That was the killer profile app on win mobile. Unfortunately, it's not 100% possible with the current SDK. Most of it is...wifi, bluetooth, radio, SMS. But there is some core/base phone events and functionality that you can't get to.

- Joe

 

[DaWeav]

LOCALE IS GONE!!! BUT, YOU CAN'T EVEN UNINSTALL THAT DARN THING SINCE IT WASN'T LISTED IN MY DOWNLOADS ANYMORE. HAD TO GO TO THE MANAGED APPLICATIONS TO GET RID OF IT!!! WHAT A SCAM!!!

I NEVER SAW THE LOCALE PROGRAMMERS EVER ADVISED US OF THIS END OF LIFE BETA APP CUS I DO NOT RECALL EVER SEEING ANY "IT'S GOING TO STOP WORKING AFTER..." DATE, EVER!!!

And, to charge $10 for something I can 'toggle' myself, well, I'm not that LAZY!

 

[takuya]

I found this out last night and must say that I am a little upset. I was cool with not getting the 'latest and greatest' features and wanted to stay with the beta as well. I still havent found anything that does what it does as well, so I will probably break down and buy it at some point in the future...but there are a few options out there that I will try first. Timeriffic and another beta called Tasker (if I can figure out where to get the install from) are two that come to mind.

Hopefully someone takes this guy to task and the price drops. At most, i want to spent $5 bucks for Locale. Its not worth $10.

 

[mihalich]

Tasker actually looks promising. I'm going to have to try to find it in the market and try it out.

Joe

 

[takuya]

Tasker actually looks promising. I'm going to have to try to find it in the market and try it out.

Joe

It is NOT in the Android Market.

Unfortunately its in 'public beta' right now but as of last night, the download is unavailable. My guess is that its because of Locale conking out and people flocking to Tasker.

Here is the link to watch: http://tasker.dinglisch.net/

Click the 'Forum Beta' link on the left and then the 'Latest Version' thread near the top. That seems to be where to get it once its available again.

 

[mihalich]

Yeah i saw that, where they took the download link away lol.

 

[UncleMike]

I already knew what would happen, but I decided to try anyway... un-installing Locale and then re-installing using backup created with Astro File Manager. It didn't work - and still reports that it is expired.

The sad part is that I would have actually paid a few dollars (3-4, not 10) for the beta app I was using. The "update", with notifications you can't disable, and a few other things I've read about, is something I would avoid, even if it were free.

 

[UncleMike]

It is NOT in the Android Market.

Unfortunately its in 'public beta' right now but as of last night, the download is unavailable. My guess is that its because of Locale conking out and people flocking to Tasker.

Here is the link to watch: http://tasker.dinglisch.net/

Click the 'Forum Beta' link on the left and then the 'Latest Version' thread near the top. That seems to be where to get it once its available again.

It's unfortunate that the download link has been removed. I understand that they may be overloaded right now, but this sudden issue with Locale is the perfect opportunity for another developer to swoop in and gain a loyal following.

 

[takuya]

It's unfortunate that the download link has been removed. I understand that they may be overloaded right now, but this sudden issue with Locale is the perfect opportunity for another developer to swoop in and gain a loyal following.

True. 100%.

 

[rich_r]

It's unfortunate that the download link has been removed. I understand that they may be overloaded right now, but this sudden issue with Locale is the perfect opportunity for another developer to swoop in and gain a loyal following.

I have been participating in the Tasker Beta program for a few weeks now. It was removed because the author (not me) was being overwhelmed with new Beta users and because Tasker is about to undergo some siginificant changes. Beta feedback has led the author to significantly redesign the UI (but not the functionality). The current Beta 0.7b is set to expire in March (each of the released Beta versions have had an expiration).

When it comes out of Beta and is available on the Market it will be a paid App. The author has indicated it will "probably" be priced in the $3-$4 range - but we'll have to wait and see. For me I would pay that amount but probably not much more.

Tasker seems to be able to do everything Locale can do, plus more. It requires more work to setup, but it is very powerful.

 

[CyBuzz]

+1 Annoyed, Uninstalled, will never buy any application from that company. Too much like a scam to me.

 

[UncleMike]

I'm now using Timeriffic and it seems to do most of what I used Locale for. One thing I did with Locale that Timeriffic doesn't do (as far as I can tell) is setup a profile that I would manually enable/disable to set my phone to vibrate only (when enabled) and return the Locale's default settings (when disabled). I'm looking at Quick Profiles to address this need.

I also found Toggle Settings, which appears to do a lot of what Locale does, but the comments don't leave me very enthusiastic. Has anyone tried it?

I'm thinking this will turn into an "alternatives to Locale" thread.

 

[esocid]

Nvm

 

[RayKinStL]

I don't understand why people say this guy was scamming. I had locale. The beta expired and I decided the app was not worth what he wanted, so I uninstalled. YOU DOWNLOADED A BETA. There are no guarantees. If you dont like the app or dont think its worth the money, then uninstall it like I did. I don't blame the guy for removing it. How can he make any money when everyone is going to just use the beta as their real version and never upgrade/pay him? Apparently, IN HIS MIND, he has worked out the kinks and no longer needs beta testers. You can debate whether that is true as much as you want. But for you people to get upset because he no longer wants to give away his intellectual property for free is ridiculous. There is an app market with over 20,000 apps. If you don't like him, his app, or the way he does business, then move on to something else. But to cry because you cant keep getting something for free, and then to call him a scammer for it is ludicrous. Yea, I thought it sucked that I had to uninstall it, and I might have even thrown him $2.99 for the app, but I am certainly not going to trash the guy because he is tired of people using the free version and never getting paid for his work. If you have a problem with it, go make the app yourself, and then maybe you'll understand why he wants to stop giving away his stuff for free!

 

[LarryCC]

Anyone find an alternative that'll detect if the phone is plugged in and change the notification settings? I read Toggle Settings does this, but not very reliably..

 

[esocid]

I believe we've all made it clear what we think the product is worth, and have stopped using it. People who have paid for it also made themselves clear what they think about in the market.

1. It was a timebombed beta
2. It included a deceptive way to get people to dump the beta and move to the paid version
3. It collects user information and sends it to a third party without disclosing it.

If you noticed, this thread has turned into an alternative to locale thread. So please don't troll.

 

[takuya]

I don't understand why people say this guy was scamming. I had locale. The beta expired and I decided the app was not worth what he wanted, so I uninstalled. YOU DOWNLOADED A BETA. There are no guarantees. If you dont like the app or dont think its worth the money, then uninstall it like I did. I don't blame the guy for removing it. How can he make any money when everyone is going to just use the beta as their real version and never upgrade/pay him? Apparently, IN HIS MIND, he has worked out the kinks and no longer needs beta testers. You can debate whether that is true as much as you want. But for you people to get upset because he no longer wants to give away his intellectual property for free is ridiculous. There is an app market with over 20,000 apps. If you don't like him, his app, or the way he does business, then move on to something else. But to cry because you cant keep getting something for free, and then to call him a scammer for it is ludicrous. Yea, I thought it sucked that I had to uninstall it, and I might have even thrown him $2.99 for the app, but I am certainly not going to trash the guy because he is tired of people using the free version and never getting paid for his work. If you have a problem with it, go make the app yourself, and then maybe you'll understand why he wants to stop giving away his stuff for free!

Generally, when you have a beta, there is a specific end date. I don't remember there ever being a published end date at any point when I was testing the beta. I think the biggest beef is that it just ended suddenly, without notice or forewarning of when the beta expired. Had that been communicated, I think people wouldn't be as upset. I, for one, agree that he has a right to make money...I don't think anyone would contest that. I feel that 10 bucks is just too much for the app he has developed. I would have gladly paid $4.99, no more.

It just sucks that we had the app installed and all of a sudden, without warning, it doesn't work anymore. And the way I found out was pretty bunk too. I had to go into Locale to even get the message. There should have been an expiration date published on the beta, and I don't recall ever seeing one. There could have been so much more - an alert in my task bar for example....an email to the google account I downloaded the app under. All kinds of automated processes.

Just because the dude wins the ADC doesn't mean he knows how best to do business, or what his consumers value his product at. Dont come in here yelling at us because we are looking for an alternative to a great program that we happen to think is overpriced.

 

[CyBuzz]

RayKinStL:

You are right. I was incorrect in saying it was like a scam. I guess I was just shocked by the price tag. With reviewers saying that the paid app was on par or worse than the beta, I was just caught off guard.

On the beta app, I don't recall ever seeing that it was a limited time beta. More than likely, I missed that somewhere in the EULA (who read those). It really wouldnt matter, but that should be discolsed. I was under the assumption that I could run the beta app ( as I have with other apps) indefinitely. WHen the new version comes out, I could upgrade if i felt it was worth it. A few windows apps I use are like that.

Anyway, I was out of line implying that the developer was scamming us. Thank you for keeping us in line.

 

[takuya]

RayKinStL:

You are right. I was incorrect in saying it was like a scam. I guess I was just shocked by the price tag. With reviewers saying that the paid app was on par or worse than the beta, I was just caught off guard.

On the beta app, I don't recall ever seeing that it was a limited time beta. More than likely, I missed that somewhere in the EULA (who read those). It really wouldnt matter, but that should be discolsed. I was under the assumption that I could run the beta app ( as I have with other apps) indefinitely. WHen the new version comes out, I could upgrade if i felt it was worth it. A few windows apps I use are like that.

Anyway, I was out of line implying that the developer was scamming us. Thank you for keeping us in line.

You are very nice!

I agree with the thought that we could run the beta indefinitely. There are plenty of other apps out there that allow you to use the beta for as long as you want, but offer some added functionality for those who upgrade when the paid version is released. There doesnt seem to be that here and a lot of the remarks on the non-beta paid version are not making me confident in dropping ten bucks on it.

 

[dhevans]

very useful thread - I have an equivalent app on my current Nokia - BestProfiles - which I can' do without. Had the app on two different phones (for at least 3 years now), and I've never had the need to use the GPS/cell based functionality they shoehorned into the later version.
Yes, you can set your profile without an app, but it's so much easier when you can have one do it for you - happy other half when phone isn't binging away in the middle of the night is worth a couple of dollars