GS-911 and ezCAN User Forum

General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Benno on November 02, 2013, 01:28:41 AM

Title: annual update fees
Post by: Benno on November 02, 2013, 01:28:41 AM
hi HEXCODE team!

Love your product! have had one since the very beginning!

mailed you some years ago to ask about the annual update fees and I recall you saying you might introduce it when you introduce a new product.  Well, this was probably in '08 or '09 when I asked, and now you are close to releasing a new product and was wondering what the state of this was? 

I did search you FAQ's and found this one:
 http://www.hexcode.co.za/products/gs-911/support/faq/what-do-upgrades-cost
where you state that when you will introduce this, the absolute maximum that you would ever exceed would be $49 for the Enthusiasts and $99 for a Pro. Is this still the case?

Personally, I'm not against this, I just thought about it this morning and thought I would ask.  As a matter of fact I don't know how you guys have managed to bring out all those updates without charging us for them, and I for one would not mind a small fee to support your development efforts!

Kudos and greetings
Benno

Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: Haakon on November 02, 2013, 02:19:03 AM
Just guessing- (I am sure Cobus or Stephan will answer)
We have had free updates for a very long time now :-)
If Hexcode ask for a moderate fee for updates I personally do not mind at all.
Few if any companies give lifetime updates- some do, but the updates slow down and stop :-)
I am happy with my GS911 as it is now and do not need more updates- I think?
(yes, my bike IS old and outdated)
IF there was a way to use the GS911 to flash the EPROM I would hapilly pay a LOT for THAT update :-)
Haakon 
 
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: bikecrazy5 on November 04, 2013, 09:52:28 PM
agreed gs 911 is a brilliant product and outstanding support

thanx hex team
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: Eaton on November 07, 2013, 07:28:23 PM
+1

I don't mind paying for a good product. HexCode has many updates a year and great support. I'll start paying tomorrow if it keeps the product as great as it is!

What am I willing to pay? There price suggestions seem fair. I have a number of mobile apps in the 20 - 50 buck range but then realized that the HexCode product is a very niche space and I bet they have a fraction of the customers that these mobile apps have!

I say Go on and sign me up!

(I would love flashing my '09 R1200gs also  :P )

TheEaton

Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: StephanT on November 15, 2013, 08:31:09 AM
sorry guys, been traveling and that got the best of me...

Yes, many people have asked us how we have managed to keep up this level of development and support without any recurring income... The fact is that the BMW motorcycle market is pretty small, and even as our market share grows, so does the support load... and everything else around it...

I think the details around how we would do it are explained well in the example of the post I made right in the beginning of GS-911:
 http://www.hexcode.co.za/products/gs-911/support/faq/what-do-upgrades-cost

However, the cost has not been decided yet... the question is what is fair and good value at the same time?  ...let's make this somewhat of a discussion and get your feedback too!

That said, there is so much more we are in the process of doing, from the new GS-911wifi development (few people know that that's been an active project for since the beginning of 2010), to an online access to your bike's history (keeping log of the fault codes etc.) so you can go back and reference it...

Anyway, those of you who have been long time GS-911 customers, know that we are fair and only strive to better the product and its functionality, as well as our commitment to the product. And thus I would appreciate your feedback!

best
Stephan
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: Paul90 on November 15, 2013, 01:32:17 PM
This is a difficult one isn't it ?

At the moment the feedback on the GS911 and it's ongoing support is really, really good and IMHO well deserved.
It has to be funded to work, no doubt about that.

However, once you start charging for updates many people (perhaps myself included) may pass on that because we have old(er) bikes and are running them on a budget.  What we have today is "good enough".  Once people start passing on the upgrades little problems will creep in due to OS, driver changes, etc as always happens with older software.  So the (almost 100%) positive feedback may get erroded, just because not everyone is on the latest version.  People with problmes will be berated with "buy the update!" if that doesn't solve their problem, they will feel agreaved.

Of course there is also a cost in collecting the revenue and making the product secure so only those that have paid get the updates, etc.

We have seen Apple make bold moves in this space to ensure people are always running the latest software wherever possible (and perhaps using that to drive subsequent hardware upgrades).

You might want to consider a voluntary donation scheme - easy to admin and zero enforcement costs + lots of willing donations due to the great service.

Perhaps a charge for the "Pro" devices, people making a living from using your work should perhaps give a little back ?

Perhaps a charge for the active support - calls / mails to the helpdesk, etc rather than just use of the software.  I guess the majority of users are "self supporting" with the help of the internet ;-)  Others may just go straight to the heldesk with the most minor of problems and that costs HEXCODE money.

Perhaps only supporting some of the new, more advanced features on the newer (WiFi ?) hardware to encourage people to upgrade.  You need to produce in volume to keep costs down and upgrades would help in a limited market, you can't support the old hardware / software forever with an indentical feature set.  Perhaps bug fixes and "maintenance" only for old hardware rather than new features.

Perhaps a charge to add newer BWM models ?  I gues that's where most of the development cost is.

No easy answers but you have a great customer following and support.  In a limited market, maintaining that support is ultimately the key to success.
I guess you've stuck with the "free upgrades" model for so long becasue it has worked so well in terms of customer feedback / satisfaction.  If it's not broken, then plug in the GS911 to make sure ;-)

Best of luck for the future whichever way you decide to go.

Paul
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: sbrntnghm on November 15, 2013, 01:51:03 PM
The GS-911 is a great product and needs to be supported to keep it moving forward and I would not be opposed to such a fee if reasonable. The update fees could possibly to done by offering it in two ways; one would be an annual fee for those who want to have the most recent update and this would give them all done in a year and s second fee for those who want to purchase an update only once a year or as they feel they need to. The annual fee would be higher than the one time fee. This approach might appeal to owners with older bikes that don't always need some of the updates to the GS-911.
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: Vaderbloke on November 15, 2013, 03:43:59 PM
I would not be opposed to paying update fees for new features/bikes. I can see some negatives, however, if someone owning an older bike on a limited budget was forced to pay fees just to keep the original functionality. This may cause some valuable feedback and even sales to be missed.

Just my 2c,

Dave.
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: StephanT on November 15, 2013, 06:25:13 PM
I see there is a lot of confusion... so let me explain some more..

from the time we set out to produce GS-911, we envisaged that this would not stop or limit original functionality... As is already the case, the release versions do not expire... which means if you have a specific Release version with it's functionality, it will not be lost or expire or stop working...

The update will be in the form of an update window of 365 days. Thus when a user purchases an update, the date is noted to his interface and for the next 365 days the user can download all the updates, including both Beta versions and Release versions, as and when they are released... Once out of that window the user cannot download any updates... naturally any release version that the user has downloaded during his update window, are retained...

The user is also under no obligation to purchase or renew the update window.. If and when the user does decides to purchase an update (the update window of 365 days), the new purchase date is noted on the interface and for the next 365 days, the user can access the latest Release version and any other versions that are released within that 365 day period.

hope this explains it a little better... and makes it clear that no functionality will be lost...

best
Stephan




Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: fahrer on November 15, 2013, 07:34:47 PM
I have GS-911 since the spring of 2008 when I bought it directly from Hexcode. I have updated it (almost) regularly, and I will probably continue to do so even if it means paying a certain amount of money. I use it mostly on my bikes - R1200R and Dakar, before that R1200RT and F800S, and occassionally on my friends' bikes. I like to change my bikes(toys) every now and then, so when pro version was introduced, I upgraded my device, as it was not too expensive to upgrade. As I have no commercial use for my GS-911, I would probably be a bit dissapointed to pay more then the enthusiast user. Maybe the same amount can be charged for both versions, as I am sure, many of "pro" versions are not really used in workshops, and for those that are, well, good for them. I am more interested in the completely new GS-911 because in a year or two there will be some liquid cooled boxers on the used bike market, and then I might consider buying a newer bike for which I will need a new tool.  Maybe, if I will have no need for additional functions, I might choose not to update for a year or two, until I get the new(er) bike/you provide the new GS-911. Whatever you decide I will remain a very satisfied customer.


Best,

Boris
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: jeffkyle on November 15, 2013, 10:13:28 PM
This is a very good product. .. and to date has had very good support.   I have actually never used my gs911 for anything other than reset the service reminder. .  I carry it more as an insurance. ..  not sure I would have bought if I thought there was an annual maintenance fee.  However when I need it I would hope it is up todate and has the functionality I need.  So I might be one of those that would freeze it until I needed it.  I understand there are costs associated with development and maintenance. ..and I assumed all that was built into the original pricing. ..   I would be willing to make a donation for future development...   I just think if there is an annual fee fewer people would be willing to purchase...




Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: StephanT on November 16, 2013, 12:01:01 AM
It seems Benno's choice of subject wording might be throwing everyone off a bit...  ???

If you read the example, in the FAQ:
 http://www.hexcode.co.za/products/gs-911/support/faq/what-do-upgrades-cost

It is not a fee you HAVE TO pay annually...  if there is a release version, and you like the functionality it has and you are out of your 1 year updates window, THEN you can pay the update fee, for which you will get that update that you wanted PLUS ANY updates released within 365 days from your purchase date...

thus... you have an older model, and the new update has nothing you fancy... the why pay for it...  well, you shouldn't...

make sense?

best
Stephan
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: StephanT on November 16, 2013, 01:43:28 AM
I appreciate all the feedback, and I'm happy that this is being discussed, as this makes people sit down and think about what they are getting, and grants me the opportunity to show what we have achieved, vs what we have charged for it..

I have heard a couple of things, and am summarising between what I see on this web forum as well as our email forum.


Let me respond to these...

 
So, I did a quick search and got the numbers for BMW Motorrad, vs BMW cars, vs VW group  and I've summarised them in a table below...
(now make sure you sit down before studying this table...)

ManufacturerBMW MotorradBMW+MiniVW+Audi+Seat+Skoda
2012 vehicle sales (annual report)106,3581,841,6117,305,000
Volume factor11769
ToolGS-911bluBavarian Technic EnthusiastVCDS (VAG-COM)
Tool price$349$287349
VIN limit103unlimited
BluetoothYESNoNo
Mobile versionYESNoNo
* Cost multiplier  -  $4,969$23,970
** Difference amortised as
annual update fee at $49***
  -  101 years489 years

NOTES:
* Assuming we have the same market penetration, then this is what we would need to sell each GS-911 for, in order to make the same sales turnover as the comparative tool
** Assuming we keep the current sales price and make up the difference to sales turnover (to the comparative tool), at an annual fee of $49, then this is the amount of years of updates it would take to reach the same sales turnover
*** $49 is used as an example only, as it shows the "best case scenario" for amount of years (i.e. with a smaller fee the years would simply increase)

I hope this creates some perspective  ;)

best
Stephan
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: Haakon on November 16, 2013, 06:25:30 AM
Please forgive me, I am "laughing" now- or half crying?  :-)
I guess most of the GS911 owners who have posted comments on this is like me?
I want the latest sofware- for the GS911 AND all other apps I have.
Do I need the latest beta software? Not at all :-)))
Will I pay for it? YES!
-------------
Owners of "new" bikes need the updates.
(I may too, if I ever want a new bike)
With a "new" bike in the garage I would want all the new features you develop.

My suggestion: (much like what you told already) free updates, "beta" and final for a few years after the purchase.
Then a fee (yearly or not) for new updates after that.
I think the bottom line (for me) is:
The GS911 features save me so much time and money that a update fee is well worth it.
IF you have a "new" bike, needing more visits to a BMW workshop than my old bike:
One visit to a BMW workshop usually cost more than the GS911  :-((
Haakon 
 


 

Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: Paul90 on November 16, 2013, 08:12:27 PM
Don't forget Stephan - apples and bananas.

With my VCDS I can code up all the control units.
So I can fit options not fitted at the factory (Bluetooth handsfree, SatNav, cruise control, etc, etc) and code them up to work as if they were factory fitted.

Now if you make the GS-911 do that we don't have to go and pay a dealer just because we want to fit a later LED tail light, etc.

Paul
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: Alan T. Butler on November 16, 2013, 09:35:06 PM
I bought one of the first GS-911s, mainly because I had just purchased a 2008 K1200S and wanted to get rid of that pesky service reminder.  This feature was promised, but was not yet available when I bought my GS-911.  Finally it came out and I am very happy.  Since then I upgraded my GS-911 to "Pro" mode.  Just because, and (oh yeah) Hexcode was offering a killer introductory deal on the upgrade.  My upgrades are currently up to date.  Still very happy.

Here are a few data points:
1. Just updated my wife's i-Mac to the new "Mavericks" OS.  This was a free download.  Not sure why.
2. The cheapest thing on a BMW motorcycle is the rider.
3. The warranty on a BMW motorcycle goes for three years or (I think) 30,000 miles. 
4. Some guys (me included) send in an annual contribution to i-BMW.com just because they have a really cool site for crazed K-bike riders.

So throw all that into the big Cuisinart and see what comes out: How about "free" upgrades for the first three years, then a nominal annual fee, to be paid before the first "out of warranty" upgrade.  The fee could be based on the renewal fee for McAffee software renewal. 

Just sayin'

Seeya
 ATB
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: Frankskouts on November 17, 2013, 01:10:02 AM
So from what I am reading, most of us are willing to pay for something. However, what we call what we are paying for is of great debate. As a mechanic, I can understand that paying more to be able to connect to more bikes is understandable. Everytime I use my gs911 to reset my oil change, I have to download the latest beta. I am down for paying something. I would hope that as technology expands, any upgrades to my gs911 would be done with new beta or some sort of trade in program. Someday I hope to have a 1600 parked beside my r1200. With any luck there will be a gs911 that will work for both.

Thanks,

Tim


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: Haakon on November 17, 2013, 01:56:07 AM
"Frankskouts" wrote: Everytime I use my gs911 to reset my oil change, I have to download the latest beta.
Why do you not download the latest "stable" sofware?
(The Beta and the stable can both be on your computer)
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: Alan T. Butler on November 17, 2013, 02:06:50 AM
Just got back from a fine ride on my 2010 GS Adv, and had another "thought" while riding home.  If we went for an update fee patterned after the McAfee annual subscription fee, we might feel a little bit more entitled to "expect" a certain quantity and quality of increased functionality for our GS-911 devices.  As it is now, we gladly download whatever comes, whenever it comes.  The updates we have received have been great.  All kinds of cool stuff.  Still, we are somewhat contented to wait and see what comes along (unless it entails waiting to get rid of the darn service warning on an otherwise perfect K-bike).  This could change if we had to keep our subscription current, like we do with McAfee or Norton.

All that being said, I'd be willing to pay $35 or $40 bux a year to keep my GS-911 subscription current. 

Seeya
 ATB
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: Teezy on November 17, 2013, 11:54:50 AM
The day will come when Windows 7 and Windows 8 will be obsolete, and the GS911 may not be compatible without updated software. I have no problem with an annual fee of say$30 - $50 per year. While some software suppliers supply free updates, specialist software - especially in the engineering field have an annual fee. Take AutoCAD...each years its about NZ$1100. I think Hexcode does a great job and its not that expensive in the context of buying a BMW or having a BMW tech service or repair your motorcycle. My 2 cents worth.
Peace of mind in the ability of diagnosing motorcycle faults
Dave
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: FortyZA on November 17, 2013, 05:41:43 PM
I too was one of the originals who purchased his GS911 before the Enthusiast and the Prof version and once I did an upgrade, I could only do 10 bikes instead of many. Now, they want to charge for upgrades. When you compare exchange rates from one country to another, $50 is expensive as is almost 1/6th of what I paid for my unit.

What I originally paid for and what I have now is 2 completely different things, yes I appreciate the newer bikes / models, however I can only do / handle 10 bikes. I am not happy with this but like most other things, it will be implemented anyway and to hell with what our views are against this.
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: rideaway on November 17, 2013, 06:27:59 PM
This is a difficult one isn't it ?

At the moment the feedback on the GS911 and it's ongoing support is really, really good and IMHO well deserved.
It has to be funded to work, no doubt about that.

However, once you start charging for updates many people (perhaps myself included) may pass on that because we have old(er) bikes and are running them on a budget.  What we have today is "good enough".  Once people start passing on the upgrades little problems will creep in due to OS, driver changes, etc as always happens with older software.  So the (almost 100%) positive feedback may get erroded, just because not everyone is on the latest version.  People with problmes will be berated with "buy the update!" if that doesn't solve their problem, they will feel agreaved.

Of course there is also a cost in collecting the revenue and making the product secure so only those that have paid get the updates, etc.

We have seen Apple make bold moves in this space to ensure people are always running the latest software wherever possible (and perhaps using that to drive subsequent hardware upgrades).

You might want to consider a voluntary donation scheme - easy to admin and zero enforcement costs + lots of willing donations due to the great service.

Perhaps a charge for the "Pro" devices, people making a living from using your work should perhaps give a little back ?

Perhaps a charge for the active support - calls / mails to the helpdesk, etc rather than just use of the software.  I guess the majority of users are "self supporting" with the help of the internet ;-)  Others may just go straight to the heldesk with the most minor of problems and that costs HEXCODE money.

Perhaps only supporting some of the new, more advanced features on the newer (WiFi ?) hardware to encourage people to upgrade.  You need to produce in volume to keep costs down and upgrades would help in a limited market, you can't support the old hardware / software forever with an indentical feature set.  Perhaps bug fixes and "maintenance" only for old hardware rather than new features.

Perhaps a charge to add newer BWM models ?  I gues that's where most of the development cost is.

No easy answers but you have a great customer following and support.  In a limited market, maintaining that support is ultimately the key to success.
I guess you've stuck with the "free upgrades" model for so long becasue it has worked so well in terms of customer feedback / satisfaction.  If it's not broken, then plug in the GS911 to make sure ;-)

Best of luck for the future whichever way you decide to go.

Paul

Paul has said it much better than I would be able to. I just want to add - What a great company and great guys that run it, and what better way to get people to love a company than to offer all the free updates and support. I think these guys have paid there dues and probably think it's about time to make some money for all there hours of hard work. I can't blame them and hope it all works out the best for everyone. Keeping the costs down and options open will ensure the people with limited income will stay loyal. I met the 3 guys that run this company at the National in Salem. They have done an amazing amount for free and do deserve to make a decent income for all there hard work.

All the best in the future for all of us.

Dean
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: Jos on November 17, 2013, 06:51:39 PM
So, I did a quick search and got the numbers for BMW Motorrad, vs BMW cars, vs VW group  and I've summarised them in a table below...
(now make sure you sit down before studying this table...)

ManufacturerBMW MotorradBMW+MiniVW+Audi+Seat+Skoda
2012 vehicle sales (annual report)106,3581,841,6117,305,000
Volume factor11769
ToolGS-911bluBavarian Technic EnthusiastVCDS (VAG-COM)
Tool price$349$287349
VIN limit103unlimited
BluetoothYESNoNo
Mobile versionYESNoNo
* Cost multiplier  -  $4,969$23,970
** Difference amortised as
annual update fee at $49***
  -  101 years489 years

NOTES:
* Assuming we have the same market penetration, then this is what we would need to sell each GS-911 for, in order to make the same sales turnover as the comparative tool
** Assuming we keep the current sales price and make up the difference to sales turnover (to the comparative tool), at an annual fee of $49, then this is the amount of years of updates it would take to reach the same sales turnover
*** $49 is used as an example only, as it shows the "best case scenario" for amount of years (i.e. with a smaller fee the years would simply increase)

I hope this creates some perspective  ;)

I wonder if somebody really studied this table.

If Hexcode could sell the same number of diagnostic tools for BMW motorcycles compared to tools sold for cars, there would be no problem in offering free updates.
It also looks like nobody ever had a look at the pricing and update cost of other alternative BMW motorcycle diagnostic tools.
Compared to the competition, the GS-911 is a bargain.
@Stephan: maybe you could put some examples on the forum.

I bought a Bavarian Technic Pro tool in 2009 for my 2 BMW cars (an E93 and a F11). Price: 675 EUR ex 21% VAT.
If you read the site of BT, it all looks very promising.
Reality: bad support, nearly no updates and new functionality, very slow when resetting fault codes of all modules, the real-time values interface is a mess, coding is possible with the Pro version but is not documented at all, and a lot more I can comment about. But since there wasn't a more affordable tool on the market, I bought one and live with the limitations for the time being.
The latest beta release is from 7 june 2012. There hasn't been a new version since and no info about new versions coming.
And Durametric hasn't a support forum and e-mail list.

If I compare this with Hexcode, there's a world of difference. There have been problems with development and there were periods not much changed.
But the last years there have been a lot of improvements and new functionality to the product.
Support is excellent, both to distributors and end-users. There is a forum and mailing list, both monitored by Stephan and Kobus. Customers can give feedback and Hexcode listens to their customers.
And all this for a tool of $ 299. One maintenance visit to the BWM dealer costs more.
Over here, BMW dealers charge up to 50 EUR to readout a bike with the BMW diagnostics tool. I even know about a BMW dealer who charges his own technicians to use the BMW diagnostic tool to read-out there own bike in there own free time.

All of you who use a commercial anti-virus software on there PC, how much do you pay each year for an update? Do you discuss this with Norton or G-Data or F-Secure or whatever brand you use? Do you mail them updates should be free forever, since you paid for the original product?

It looks like many of you have no idea what support and development cost.
I'm a distributor of the GS-911 and also have an IT company. If I look at my margin and the free support I offer to GS-911 customers (including taking over there pc remotely and installing the software and even sometimes solving there pc problems if things don't work the way they should with the GS-911) compared to what I charge my IT customers for support, I would better stop selling GS-911's.

But since I'm a BMW enthousiastic and hate the monopoly of manufacturers like BMW on bike (and car) maintenance tools, I'll happily sell GS-911's.

Best,

Jos

Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: StephanT on November 18, 2013, 09:27:55 AM
I too was one of the originals who purchased his GS911 before the Enthusiast and the Prof version and once I did an upgrade, I could only do 10 bikes instead of many.
Well, if you think back, before we implemented the Professional vs Enthusiast, the GS-911 had only the functionality to:
I'm not sure whether you noticed, but even the Enthusiast version can still do ALL of the above on an UNLIMITED number of bikes... so you have not lost anything...

Now, they want to charge for upgrades. When you compare exchange rates from one country to another, $50 is expensive as is almost 1/6th of what I paid for my unit.
you purchased a device that reads and clears Fault codes and reads and displays Engine realtime values... and you've gotten 100 times that functionality for free since...

Also what most people seem to miss is that from the date of first sale of the very first GS-911 on 12 January 2007, we sold it as:
One year free updates for the Windows™-based (Windows™ XP SP2, Windows™ Vista, Windows™ 7, Windows™ 8 ) GS-911 software
...which means there have been 6 years of bonus updates since....

What I originally paid for and what I have now is 2 completely different things, yes I appreciate the newer bikes / models, however I can only do / handle 10 bikes.
Indeed... see my comment above... probably 100x more functionality now...  :o

I am not happy with this but like most other things, it will be implemented anyway and to hell with what our views are against this.
Why?, you don't have to buy an update!... not sure how many bikes you have or what bike models... but most of the existing bikes are pretty well covered... so in theory if you don't change you're bike, there will be almost no reason to upgrade... So what's the problem?

best
Stephan
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: ska on November 19, 2013, 09:46:32 PM
I am happy with this solution because it will increase the features available for our bikes now out of production rather than abandon the search in favor of new models.
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: Grizz on December 01, 2013, 06:45:38 PM
My concern is will I would have to make sure I download the latest stable version(s) (PC & Android) and
keep multiple copies archived to make sure I don't get charged every time I get a new PC or phone.
I only have one older bike (2000 k1200) so I don't use it often, but when I do use it I would often download the latest beta, considering it a favor to hex to do some regression testing for them. I'd probably stop doing that.

The problem  hexcode will have charging an update fee is bad PR.
Once people get used to getting something for free they get upset if they get charged for it.

Here's a link to a story about the phenomenon:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/07/13/156737801/the-cost-of-free-doughnuts-70-years-of-regret

Grizz

PS WTF? I have to look up maximum torque figure for the R1200GS LC to post - that's silly
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: Haakon on December 01, 2013, 07:48:53 PM
All the sofware ARE free!
For now.

If you register "here" that question will not pop up any more.
If you can not answer a new question will be asked.
It is just a precaution to try stop "bots" from registering.
Other forums often use pictures of codes- very often so hard to get right that I must try several times.
Oh well
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: Grizz on December 01, 2013, 09:22:45 PM
Not sure what you mean by register "here".  If that was meant to be a link it was not.
I did register for and login to the forum. I still get prompted for a distorted image CAPTCHA and a question.
Mostly I thought making the question about specs of an individual bike was a bit much.
I looked it up and still got it wrong - maybe they wanted foot pounds instead of newton meters.
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: Haakon on December 01, 2013, 10:07:24 PM
My "here" was this new Hexcode forum.
I registered once and it worked- I can reply to old and make new ...
I hope the Hexcode crew will get your problem fixed, soon!!
Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: StephanT on December 02, 2013, 01:50:55 PM
PS WTF? I have to look up maximum torque figure for the R1200GS LC to post - that's silly

no, what is silly is 600 spam posts in one night...   took both Kobus and myself the better part of a whole day to clean the forum up...  now that 2 man-days that we could have been developing GS-911... so for now, there are stricter posting requirements... you have to authenticate the first 5 posts...

now I can only imagine the amount of WTF  you would have given had you have to deal with that....

Title: Re: annual update fees
Post by: StephanT on December 02, 2013, 01:53:59 PM
My "here" was this new Hexcode forum.
I registered once and it worked- I can reply to old and make new ...
I hope the Hexcode crew will get your problem fixed, soon!!
There's nothing to fix... if you have less than 5 posts in total, you have to answer these silly questions... if you don't know the answer, choose another question...  ;)

It's a bit of a schlepp, but it's better than hundreds of posts on penile enlargement and other meds...

best
Stephan