When Windows Vista was released in January 2007, we knew it was only a matter of time before the need to attain Vista “compatibility” would become a necessity for software publishers. Despite an avalanche of criticism from all corners of the computing community, including the recently “awarded”, dubious designation as PC World’s “biggest disappointment of the year”, what Microsoft wants, Microsoft gets. Its that simple.
As the PC World article points out, “Vista will come to dominate the PC landscape, if only because it will become increasingly hard to buy a new machine that doesn’t have it pre-installed.” While Retail buyers (those that buy computers in stores like Circuit City, Best Buy, Staples and the like) found this to be true almost immediately after Vista’s release, companies that sell computers to business and insitutional buyers have been permitted to offer their customer a choice of Windows XP or Windows Vista, and will be permitted to do so until June 2008.
The unfortunate part of all of this for new computer buyers is that the cost of purchasing a new computer that runs Windows Vista does not end with the cost of the computer. Many “peripherals” like printers and video capture devices don’t work on Vista and need to be replaced. The story is the same for software, particularly specialized software of the kind that coaches purchase for coaching-specific tasks.
We had a two-pronged approach to Windows Vista at CompuSports. Like most publishers that want to remain in business for the long haul, we made a commitment to invest in the future viability of our Easy-Scout, Easy-Cut and Easy-Recruiter products.
The first prong in our strategy was to develop Vista-compatible versions of our video editing products, which we did shortly after Vista was released. Easy-Scout Professional 2.0 , and Easy-Cut 2.1shipped in March with Windows XP and Windows Vista compatibility. In each case, the application itself required significant modifications in order to run at all on Windows Vista, and since a new computer, often a laptop, is often purchased to run Video Editing software, that was our priority.
The second part of our strategy was to focus on those products that were typically installed on “office” or school computers, since there was a greater likelihood that Windows XP would be slower to “disappear”. With just a few exceptions, we found this to be the case, and in fact, expect Windows Vista to have a slow uptake in schools due to the fact that schools, like business, “have a choice”. The two products in this category were our Easy-Scout XP (football scouting) and Easy-Recruiter (athletic recruiting) applications.
Easy-Recruiter was shipped early this fall in a Vista-compatible version, that itself has been updated one time in early December to resolve what had been an intermittent, yet nagging issue.
Easy-Scout XP, while delivered in a Vista-compatible immediately upon Vista’s release, had a design that made it somewhat inconvenient for Vista users to install and run. Plus, its companion product, Analyzer 2006 was not Vista compatible and we learned that it would only function on Vista with a major overhaul.
For these reasons, our approach with Easy-Scout XP and Analyzer was to “consolidate” the two products and offer them in a single, Windows XP and Windows Vista compatible product. That product, Easy-Scout XP Plus, was shipped last month (November). In addition to consolidating the products, we took the opportunity to enhance the analysis and reporting module that had been in Analyzer before releasing Easy-Scout XP Plus. The result is a better product, where we believe 1+1=3.
While not free, these Vista-compatible versions are available at reduced upgrade pricing to current users. Season Pass subscribers for Easy-Scout Professional automatically receive the latest version with their subscription renewals, and software maintenance agreement holders receive them as needed.
