Updates available but no description

[cv27]

DemoPad,

For the last few updates to Designer, I could not find any description of what the update corrected or improved.

I suspect professionals do get more information than home users. I can't imagine a professional blindly installing a new release on a customer premise without knowing the impact. In any case, it would be great if DemoPad put a little effort into documentation.

The download page stiil says 2.166 while the current version is 2.169. Version history stops at 2.159.

As I've said in public and private messages, I've been previously captive of technologies where business objectives switched from home users to professionals, but only after the 'pains' have been ironned out with home users. It should be said that, in the end, professionals rely on home users to pay the tab. So end user opinion counts, I hope.

[trevorst]

Could not agree more with your thoughts.

In defense of Demopad I have to say they have always answered any questions I have had and helped me with multiple coding issues. Usually in less than a day...

Their customer support has always been first class. For my part I have always documented what I learned in a forum post.

But as you state the documentation of changes and how to implement them has been less than stellar. I do understand the need for Demopad to move to a sustainable business model to keep generating income. As end users we paid the original $30 (I think that is what it cost) and that is it...
From my personal view point It was worth more, so I bought the Pro Graphics and iTunes modules, neither of which I use at the moment, but maybe I will soon.

So after all that I agree, so please:
Demopad give us a little more info on the changes.......
Users give a little more to Demopad, it is their living......

[cv27]

Could not agree more with your thoughts.

In defense of Demopad I have to say they have always answered any questions I have had and helped me with multiple coding issues. Usually in less than a day...

Their customer support has always been first class. For my part I have always documented what I learned in a forum post.

But as you state the documentation of changes and how to implement them has been less than stellar. I do understand the need for Demopad to move to a sustainable business model to keep generating income. As end users we paid the original $30 (I think that is what it cost) and that is it...
From my personal view point It was worth more, so I bought the Pro Graphics and iTunes modules, neither of which I use at the moment, but maybe I will soon.

So after all that I agree, so please:
Demopad give us a little more info on the changes.......
Users give a little more to Demopad, it is their living......

My turn to agree with you

I'm split between 2 things:
1- the reality of support from DemoPad: simply exceeds my expectations. I remember how many quick replies I got from support when I started off with DemoPad.
2- the paranoïa of being left behind, or worst, being totally dropped because of pressure on DemoPad from professionals accounting for more and more of DemoPad's revenues (remember, I lived through this twice before with other technologies)

So why this paranoïa ? Because of the personal investment, not so much financial but time wise, to develop my system. And because today I couldn't find as good a solution as DemoPad. I know, I surveyed them all end of 2012.

I'd like to stress again the role of end/home users. Sure, it's a selfish thing. But it's also to DemoPad's benefit. My belief is that any company needs to stay grounded, aware of what it's installed base (not only installer base) likes, dislikes, wants next.

[starwarsmike]

CV27

I'm not going to Agree or disagree with your comments, but I feel posting my experience is only right when you have posted yours.

Since I purchased Demopad over 1 year ago now, I have found Demopad to be very supportive throughout that time. They have assisted me with over 20+ support requests and talked me through several issues I could just not resolve. All support requests were normally answered in same day or the following day. Just last week I sent a request June 5th at 07:09 and they responded at 08:33 on the 5th. Same day support, I cannot complain.

As Trevor said £30 for Demopad, plus you get updates & support free, This is a bargain...& we should be appreciative of this.

[cv27]

DemoPad,

For the last few updates to Designer, I could not find any description of what the update corrected or improved.

I suspect professionals do get more information than home users. I can't imagine a professional blindly installing a new release on a customer premise without knowing the impact. In any case, it would be great if DemoPad put a little effort into documentation.

The download page still says 2.166 while the current version is 2.169. Version history stops at 2.159.

As I've said in public and private messages, I've been previously captive of technologies where business objectives switched from home users to professionals, but only after the 'pains' have been ironned out with home users. It should be said that, in the end, professionals rely on home users to pay the tab. So end user opinion counts, I hope.

I thought I would reactivate this post, I feel it is still pertinent. What has changed is:

"... The download page still says 2.193 while the current version is 2.196. Version history stops at 2.188 ..."

I know, the old DemoPad Designer is end of life. But I have to reiterate what I said in mid-2014:

I suspect professionals do get more information than home users. I can't imagine a professional blindly installing a new release on a customer premise without knowing the impact. In any case, it would be great if DemoPad put a little effort into documentation.

So I looked at CentroControl to see what the version history documentation was like. I was redirected to iTunes (!!) where it showed: "What's New in Version 2.0.2: minor update"

With such exceptional technical support from the DemoPad team, I just don't get it (or want to admit to it).

Currently, I have no incentive to move to and purchase CentroControl. Please give me something positive to grab on.

Why not offer current users willing to move to CentroControl the benefit of having 'read' access to the professional forum?

[DemoPad]

Version changes (some of which are used internally only, and are never released - hence the jump from 2.188 to 2.193 for example) are only documented when there are new features. More often than not, releases are there to solve specific bugs / oddities that are not relevant to everyone, and would require in depth knowledge of the internal workings of the solution to appreciate. The jump from 2.196 to 2.197 was simply for bug fixes for example, there was nothing to document.

App updates reflect changes to the designer software, eg Apple Watch support, which was covered in the designer release note.

Pro users have no more information than anyone else, they use the same forums as end users for information.

I accept that our documentation is not as in depth as it could be - I suspect we are not the only company with that flaw. We do however offer excellent 1 to 1 support by email - which our customers seem to prefer. We spend many (costly) hours answering support emails (often from historical customers who purchased the app 3 / 4 / 5 years ago), the majority of which relate to questions where the answer is already in the existing documentation! We are happy to do this, we never ignore such emails.

The DemoDesigner PC software is not end of life, it is still current, even for those who are still using the old DemoControlHD app.

[cv27]

... Pro users have no more information than anyone else, they use the same forums as end users for information ...

I wasn't aware and under the impression from past exchanges that the Pro's had their own forum, thanks for the information. I guess then that Pro users mostly communicate with DemoPad via email or phone, as there is very little activity on the forum. Too bad in a sense since forums allow users to learn from others' experiences, while emails remain private.

... We do however offer excellent 1 to 1 support by email - which our customers seem to prefer...

I would go further than "excellent". DemoPad's support is outstanding, as in a level not seen with the vast majority of other support organizations.

... The DemoDesigner PC software is not end of life, it is still current, even for those who are still using the old DemoControlHD app.

My bad, I meant to refer to the iDevice app, DemoControlHD, as being EOL.