So you mean the game (or on a more serious note-CAD software used to make a living) I bought for Windows 3.1 should keep getting updates that make it work with every version of Windows that is released in the future? Sorry people, and app is a piece of software, plain and simple. It was a one time payment, and I'm not sure I should 'expect' anything after that.
Actually, I don't think it is that simple. Customers have the reasonable expectation that they should be able to use a product for a certain amount of time. In fact some countries have pretty strong customer protection laws, that require that products work for a reasonable time.
Of course, Sparrow will continue to work with Lion and iOS 5. But how reasonable is it to expect that people continue to run iOS 5 if Sparrow breaks on iOS6, missing on all security updates, to get the expected lifetime of their purchase? Or what if it turns out that there is a grave security vulnerability in Sparrow tomorrow?
Suppose that you spend five Euro on a knife. Sure, you should not complain if it breaks after ten years. But if it breaks after six months during normal use, you take it back to the store.
> or on a more serious note-CAD software used to make a living
Yes. Updates should be provided. Paid updates, of course. And the updates don't need to work on older versions. The issue isn't providing the same version working forever for free. It's providing an upgrade path. Adobe doesn't just release new software for a money grab. Professionals rely on Adobe to keep up to date, and Adobe does this.
> It was a one time payment, and I'm not sure I should 'expect' anything after that.
I'd hope for any tool you invest time in you would expect continued support for the product.
But, if a company doesn't want to release updates for this, there is a solution (which happens to solve your game problem).
Open sourcing the code is always a solution, and if Sparrow did that, it would, in effect, silence all the people with an issue.
I hope that better explains my point of view. I'm not expecting anything free. I'm not expecting long term support for old software. What I am expecting is an upgrade path. New version coming out that keep up with the times. That's software I'd pay for (and I do).
Note: I didn't purchase Sparrow. I just understand the issues.
