Sparkol Help

Topic not covered?

Start a new topic

New Version

is there an ETA when the new version will be coming out?

I'm still using 1.3.26. Is this still the current version?

Thanks

 


1 person has this question

What's up Dan B


1.3.26 is current and presently they are testing the Beta but no set date for release of new version as of yet. The last they said was that it would be a few months before release of version 2.0 :)

Hi Dan, there is currently no ETA on the next version release.

Once there is we will ensure an announcement is made.

Thanks, Joe 

It has been EXTREMELY frustrating to have purchased a PRO version, then there be over 8 months now before a new version is released. Now we are told that it will likely be closer to a year.


The mere feature of multi-select that was available in .31 saved so much time, but that was a buggy version.

Your company provides excellent support for users. It does not provide good maintenance of its software. 


Agreed Jeffrey,

I regret purchasing a Yearly membership and wish I would have just purchased a monthly membership only when I needed to do projects. Oh well, what can we do now? Nothing much, like crying over spilled milk :)


 


milk.jpg milk.jpg
3.6 KB

Can you give a ball-park indication of the next release?
E.g. 1-2 weeks/months/quarters Something... Any idea will do.

It sounds like it has been a long long time where people have been struggling without multi-select.

Hopefully will see it soon–it's the only reason I'm in two minds about buying a subscription right now. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Absence of this feature is a real problem as it takes so many clicks to change one property on multiple objects. Or, if you want to move multiple-objects together this is just impossible. This makes the experience of creating the videos quite painful... even if the end result is quite satisfying.

Fixing this one issue as a patch would be worth doing IMHO rather than making everyone wait for lots of new whizz-bang features...

Hope someone is listening :-)

Hi,


Yes, we are listening to you and working hard to get the next release out to you.


We do not have a release date at the moment. 


Version 2.0 is currently in Beta test so all I can say is that it will be soon.


When we release it we will update our social media Facebook & Twitter and our website so you will know


Regards


Andy

Cool.
1. So you can't give even a ball-park indication (no guarantees or promises)?
E.g.
a) More than a week, less than 6 weeks

b) more than a month, less than 3 months

c) more than 3 months, less than 9 months
?

2. How can I get on the beta?
Thanks
Antony

Hi Antony, as Andy has advised we cannot give you a release date.

This would also include a ball park figure as we are still in the process of testing. 

We will be making announcements when it is available.

The Beta testers are a closed group for testing this version.

I can add you to the list of Beta testers for a future version but the list is closed for the current round of testing.

Thanks, Joe

 2014 is half over.....you can't even tell us if the new version will be released in 2014?

It might be best to wait on any lifetime license until we see if a version 2.0 is actually going to be released.

Glad to see that VideoScribe 2.0 came out on the 9th. I've just discovered this by accident, as it happens.
Congratulations. I'm going to try it out now. Before I do...


As a bit of feedback: You may think that refusing to give a ball park estimate of a release (see above) then releasing it 5 days later will make customers even more delighted? It's had the opposite effect on me. It was a very negative customer experience for me, and judging from at least one other comment above, I wasn't alone.

Maybe it seemed like if you kept the customer wondering then the initial disappointment of not knowing would be turned into amplified delight when hearing, just a few days later, that 2.0 was released? Instead, it's made me feel like... "why didn't you just say that it's not going to be long. It could be as soon as a week or as much as a month" (or some other duration you felt confident in?

I hope you take this feedback on board and consider the customer experience element and how that can affect customer's perception of the product. It couldn't have been too big a risk to say "from 1-8 weeks ball-park estimate (no promises)" given how close you were. Even if you said "we hope to make an announcement about our plans in the next week or two" would have been better than a flat refusal.

"Don't build a fortress of secrets, bet on open." -Seth Godin

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/08/foundation-elements-for-modern-businesses.html


I hope to see a much leaner[1] approach to ongoing enhancements so that people feel like they're getting a little something every month or two rather than nothing for ages and ages. This way no one will ever feel like they have to ask when the next release is coming.

Nonetheless, well done on getting the release out.


[1] http://theleanstartup.com/principles

Well said Anthony Marcano! All we want is respect, and it's not to much to ask for :)

Hi Anthony, thanks for your comments and feedback.

I would just like to explain the reasons why we have not given the release date.


We have decided that we will advise customers when the release is available rather than given a date not to get praise from customers as they are surprised when it is available.

We decided that taking a staged release approach would be best. The software has been made available to new users of the software and is available for people on their account page should they wish to try the software out.
We also wanted to ensure on the release date there would be enough information about the release available including the tutorials. 
We were Beta testing this for some time with users and gathering feedback, trying to implement new features and fix any bugs identified  in the Beta test and with our testing partners.
This also has an on ensuring things like the tutorials are consistent with changes. Having a deadline for a software release and all the supporting information can change very rapidly.


We understand that you wanted some general information on the release period, I will feed this back as a suggestion.
I hope you now have a better understanding of the reasons we did not provide a release date.

Thanks, Joe


Hi Joe, Thanks for your reply.

I'm grateful of your time in writing your reply but most of your response focuses on justifying the refusal to provide information I didn't ask for... i.e. the release date. I've looked back over my comments and have tried to find where I requested anything other than a ball-park figure. I am open to feedback if there is anything I said that gave the impression that I needed anything more precise than an approximate range (note that I even gave one example range that was 6-months wide).


I work in software development myself. I know the damage a pre-set release date can cause in terms of pressure on the team and compromises on quality. This is why I asked for a ball-park idea, not a release date. 


The thing I hope the Sparkol team take away from this is that it's ok to give an approximate range. That the size of this range can be based on the level of confidence you have in when everything will be ready. I also hope that the take-away is that complete opacity creates frustration among your customers. This is why many companies give "release dates" in terms of which quarter it's expected. Again, it doesn't have to be a commitment just "our current expectation is that it will be available in 2-8 weeks".


The impression given by refusing to give *any* information is that you were in trouble. That things were so bad that you couldn't say if you'd have it in a week, month, quarter,  year or ever. This opacity is quite harmful in customer confidence.


I hope that we can move on from the issue of a release date, because that's not what this is about, and focus on the feedback... Transparency builds trust. Opacity harms confidence.

I hope Sparkol reflect on that and see if there's a way to enhance its customer interactions on releases with those values in mind.

Suggestions relevant to transparency on this issue:

a) Give people a very approximate window for the release. Update that information as you discover and learn more. It might start with '...in the next few months', be refined to "in the next 2 months" and then "we hope to make an announcement in the next couple of weeks"... and then "Proud to announce our latest..."
OR...

b) Frequent releases combined with visibility of feature/bug-list priority makes this problem go away. People stop needing to know when the next release is because they just get used to the cadence you establish with frequent releases. They see the order of things and just get a positive feeling that they know that what they're waiting for is on its way.


Hope that's helpful.


Antony


Login to post a comment