Version 2: Almost-Freeware

I've taken the difficult decision that from the version 2 of gAttach! onwards, the software will no longer be "donationware" for individuals. The simplest reason I can give is that in my particular case, it just isn't working. Instead, it'll be "almost-freeware".

How successful has the donations model been?

I'll lay my cards on the table: with just under half a million downloads, the total amount of donations received is just short of £30 (roughly US$60) thanks to fewer than ten donations.

My personal view on software like gAttach! is that it should be made available to as many people as possible without cost and that people should be able to show their appreciation by donating according to how much they feel the software is worth to them. So given that literally 99.99% of people using my software haven't made donations, the implicit assumption would be that it's of no value to end users.

However, this is clearly not the case: the great reviews and sheer quantity of downloads in such a short period of time are evidence to the contrary, as are the countless hours of answering support emails (typically where it's a dodgy PC setup that's the problem, rather than gAttach!).

Personally, I must confess that I'm disappointed that many of the people I've helped haven't even replied to say thanks, let alone made a gesture by donating 50 cents.

From a lifestyle and financial point of view, I'm sad to say that it's simply not possible for me to continue on the existing basis.

How things will change:

When "Affixa" (the new version) is launched, the following changes will happen to licensing for individuals:

• you will be able to use the software for free on 5 different occasions (e.g. using "Sent To > Mail Recipient" five times);
• to continue using the software, you will need to buy either an annual licence for about US$1, or a lifetime licence for US$5.

I've tried to hold true to my belief that software should be free as much as I can with the new charging structure by making the licence cost incredibly low. It's enough for me to be able to justify my time and efforts both to myself and more importantly to my wife; so I can at least buy her a decent bunch of flowers every now and then for ignoring her whilst working on the software!

For those few people who were kind enough to donate or have volunteered to help translate the software during version 1, you'll automatically get lifetime licences at no cost upon release, regardless of how much you donated. Thanks for showing your appreciation; you certainly have mine!

So what else can I buy for a dollar?

To put the new charging structure into context, here's what else costs $1 in the USA these days:

• One McDonald's Double Cheeseburger;
• Two-thirds of a small coffee at Starbucks;
• Sending a "virtual" Birthday Balloon to a friend on Facebook;
• Two-thirds of a 1.5 litre bottle of Coke;
• One-third of a box of Kellogg's Corn Flakes;
• One packet of Lay's potato chips;
• Parking for one hour downtown.

And if you're in the UK like me, you get even less than the above! It's just short of $10 a gallon for gas here at the moment..

Your Personal Information

One piece of feedback I received in the last 48 hours was that a user was uncomfortable with the type of information that was being sent to me in the event of an error occurring.

This convinced me that gAttach! needed to provide more information and control over the detail in the diagnostics sent back to me.

Today's new version includes a much clearer explanation of what happens and allows you to preview the information before it is sent. You can also control the level of detail sent; the default setting is one by which no confidential information is sent to me.

Hopefully you'll not be unlucky enough to encounter an error, but if you do, here's how the new screen looks:

gAttach! and yAttach! Featured on Windows Weekly Podcast

I was tipped off today that gAttach! and yAttach! have been featured as downloads of the week on the Windows Weekly podcast.

I'm feeling very honoured today!!

Take a listen. We're mentioned after about 1 hour and 9 minutes.

Moving from Google Apps to Yahoo! Small Business Mail

Not directly related to gAttach! or yAttach!, but a friend asked today if it would be possible for him to move his emails from his Google Apps account to a new Yahoo! Small Business Mail account.

It's not a straightforward operation, but it is possible. The main sticking points are that Google only uses POP3 and IMAP with SSL on non-standard ports and that Yahoo! has no IMAP support whatsoever.

I thought I'd post a mini how-to on the blog in case it's ever of use to somebody else in the future:

1. Enable POP3 access in the Settings screen in your Google Apps mail account;
2. Sign up for an ordinary Gmail account (i.e. not a Google Apps account);
3. Configure your Gmail account to pick up mail from your Apps account using POP3. Ensure you specify the non-standard port number and to use SSL as per these instructions;
4. Wait for your Gmail inbox to be filled with all your Google Apps messages;
5. Use this service to move all the messages from your Gmail inbox to your personal Yahoo! Mail account;
6. Once you receive a message in your personal Yahoo! Mail inbox telling you that the transfer is complete, move the messages from the newly-created folder to your Inbox;
7. Configure your Yahoo! Small Business Mail account to pick up messages from your Yahoo! Mail personal account using POP3. Note that you'll most likely have to use an IP address for the mail server (plus.pop.mail.yahoo.com = 209.191.108.191, pop.mail.yahoo.com = 206.190.53.11)as it doesn't seem to accept yahoo.com domain names;
8. Click "Check Mail" in your Small Business Mail account and wait for all the messages to be transferred to your inbox;
9. Delete the POP3 account from your Small Business settings;
10. Delete the messages from your Personal inbox.