adv-t

Given that they could just... keep track of the platform that installs/licenses are on, they'd know how many Windows machines are out there and how many Macs are out there. This doesn't strike me as a particularly reasonable argument - plenty of other companies manage this just fine. And, again - you're still talking two computers. I could have Macs with two different versions of macOS - would that not introduce the same sort of support headaches? And it's not as if this is a Mac-only software - they have thousands of users who are on Windows, presumably on everything from your HP All-in-Ones to Dell laptops to custom-built desktops. That's a lot of real-world experience running on that platform. Realistically, what kind of problems is someone running on one Windows machine going to run into that they haven't already run into on those thousands of other machines, which is isolated to them just because they happen to use a Windows PC AND a Mac? Again, it's their software, they get to choose the licensing model - I'm just saying that it does seem arbitrary when most other groups can do this just fine. I pay $10/month for Photoshop and Lightroom, and I can put it on any computer I want. I purchase Civilization V on Steam, and I can run it on my PC or my Mac. Etc, etc. EDIT: I should add, that the reason given was "we'd have no way to track license use between Windows PCs and Macs since we distribute through the App Store" - that's false. Not only DO they use license keys, they also distribute the software through a standard .dmg file if you so choose - I just bought Affinity Designer and my license key AND the .dmg installer is available on my account profile. ಠ_ಠ

While I understand the reasoning here, I do tend to think that this is out of line with what users are expecting in this day and age. A computer is, anymore, just a computer - the platform is increasingly less relevant. When people buy a software, they expect it to work across machines if indeed it is available on those platforms - and I tend to agree with them. The idea that you can't do it "because it's on the App Store" is, frankly, a little ridiculous. People who make a great content creation application can't make a basic account login and tracking system? You could just have people sign in, the way Office 365 does. Or you could just have people create an account on your website (as they already do) and simply go copy a license key from your website into their Mac and Windows versions. I appreciate that the software is cheap, and I will still buy it (for both platforms, even! you guys have really done good work!) but this does seem less like an honest technical hurdle and more an arbitrary way to bilk a few extra bucks out of your customers - and that's why people are understandably frustrated by it. Still, I like what you guys have built - I just respectfully request you reconsider this policy. Lots of us are multiplatform heretics these days!