netwalker.nl » software http://netwalker.nl exploring the web and random thoughts Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:17:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Adobe charges premium prices from European customers http://netwalker.nl/2007/03/27/adobe-charges-premium-prices-from-european-customers/ http://netwalker.nl/2007/03/27/adobe-charges-premium-prices-from-european-customers/#comments Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:08:14 +0000 walker http://netwalker.nl/2007/03/27/adobe-charges-premium-prices-from-european-customers/ Adobe just announced the next generation of their Creative Suite family software products, including prices. As in previous years, there are significant price differences between the US and European market (as example I looked up the prices for the Netherlands) for the same products (English versions, prices excluding VAT):

Product USA NL %
Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium $1,699 $2,668 57%
Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection $2,499.00 $3,735.82 49%
Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium $1,799.00 $2,668 48%
Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Standard $1,199.00 $1,693.73 41%
Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium $1,599.00 $2,267.65 42%
Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Standard $999.00 $1,333.36 33%

Exchange rate used: €1 = $1.335

I currently have licenses for Dreamweaver MX 2004 and Creative Suite 2 Premium. Adobe doesn’t offer custom bundles with only those product one really wants, so in my case the Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium comes closest to my needs. As upgrade it would cost me $1,133.16 in the Netherlands vs. $599.00 in the US, which is a difference of 89% – enough to fly over the Atlantic and buy it there myself.

I can not imagine how Adobe justifies these extreme differences, especially as I am not talking about localized versions. Since Adobe took over Macromedia they have more or less a monopoly on design and image editing tools, which are de facto standards in the industry. As a honest customer I don’t have much choice. I have been using their software for many years and once I am switching to an Intel-Mac, I will have to upgrade or search for alternatives which I have not seen yet.

If you would like to react:

Managing Director Central & Eastern Europe:
Fritz Fleischmann

Adobe Systems GmbH
Georg-Brauchle-Ring 58
D-80992 München
Deutschland

Update [April 16, 2007]:
Sign the online petition for Fair pricing for European Software
more posts about this subject:
Adobe is ripping off European customers

Adobe posted a net profit of $143.9 million, or 24 cents per diluted share, in its fiscal first-quarter ended February 28 2007, versus a profit of $105.1 million, or 17 cents per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Obviously we are supposed to help them to achieve an even higher net profit this quarter.

Update [April 23, 2007]:
Danielle Libine did a lot of work and wrote a long article about the situation:
Adobe pricing in the EU
and how it affects customer behavior, encourages piracy and harms company image

]]> http://netwalker.nl/2007/03/27/adobe-charges-premium-prices-from-european-customers/feed/ 2 Gmail 4 Mobile http://netwalker.nl/2006/11/03/gmail-4-mobile/ http://netwalker.nl/2006/11/03/gmail-4-mobile/#comments Fri, 03 Nov 2006 15:11:47 +0000 walker http://netwalker.nl/2006/11/03/gmail-4-mobile/ Gmail for MobileGoogle is not only buying more Web 2.0 companies, they are also expanding their platform. We already had Google Maps for mobile phones and now the newest child in the family of Google apps is Gmail as e-mail client application on java-enabled mobile phones. If your phone is on the list, surf with the browser of your phone to http://gmail.com/app and follow the instructions. Mobile phones, which are not being supported can use the special web-interface for mobile devices – http://m.gmail.com.

]]> http://netwalker.nl/2006/11/03/gmail-4-mobile/feed/ 0 Firefox 2.0 released http://netwalker.nl/2006/10/25/firefox-20-released/ http://netwalker.nl/2006/10/25/firefox-20-released/#comments Wed, 25 Oct 2006 17:33:50 +0000 walker http://netwalker.nl/2006/10/25/firefox-20-released/ Mozilla releases major update to Firefox and raises the bar for online experience. Enhancements to usability, security and customization make Firefox 2 a must-have upgrade for all Web users.
Firefox 2 is immediately available for Windows, Mac or Linux operating systems as a free download from www.mozilla.com/en-US/ or www.mozilla-europe.org.

Features include:

  • Improved Tabbed Browsing
  • Spell Checking
  • Search Suggestions
  • Session Restore
  • Web Feeds (RSS)
  • Live Titles
  • Integrated Search
  • Live Bookmarks
  • Pop-up Blocker
  • Phishing Protection
  • Automated Update
  • Protection from Spyware
  • Clear Private Data
  • Add-ons Manager for Extensions and Themes

      • ]]> http://netwalker.nl/2006/10/25/firefox-20-released/feed/ 0 Harald 0.4 released http://netwalker.nl/2006/10/21/harald-04-released/ http://netwalker.nl/2006/10/21/harald-04-released/#comments Sat, 21 Oct 2006 16:29:52 +0000 walker http://netwalker.nl/2006/10/21/harald-04-released/ Harald 0.4Sebastian Krauss has been working on a small remote control utility for iTunes using a Bluetooth connection and a mobile phone. The program is called Harald, which might seem unusual but it makes sense, since it is not only my first name but also the first name of a Danish and Norwegian King – Harald Bluetooth Gormson. Harald is a client/server application. The client is a small (60kb) java application for your mobile phone and will probably run on most phones with java support. I tried it with my Nokia N70 and most of the functions worked fine. Harald requires at least Mac OS 10.4 or higher and a mobile phone which supports MIDP2 as well as JSR82. The current release 0.4 0.4.1. is still very experimental (I had a kernel panic when I tried it out) and not ready for release on sites like Versiontracker and MacUpdate. Sebastian’s web-page is only available in German but the application is works in English, so just click on the Harald download link, unpack the zip file and start the application.

      A similar, well known and established program with support for more applications (EyeTV, VLC, Keynote,…), which also runs on Windows, is Salling Clicker.

      ]]>       http://netwalker.nl/2006/10/21/harald-04-released/feed/ 0