This is unacceptable. Opening the program caused an application to run on my computer, downloading an update and installing code that I didn't ask for or even know about. I still can't be sure what this update is or what it does. All I have is the developer's word for what it has done to my PC. Then we have this demand for payment for what we thought was free. No advance notice. Nothing! Imagine the outcry if Microsoft did this kind of thing. Noel.

Hi guys, surely some of you know the litte weather application "open clouds" which does a good work in wheather rendering. After I started it up today, I got a message, that I have to pay for a license key to have it working. That´s really bad and I think it´s somehow evil from the developer to release it as freeware at first and when enough users enjoy this superb thing, he decides to make us pay for it. They charge 12€ for a one year license key.

Although Im not happy about the change, I cant blame them for charging but not happy with the way they are going about the transition. I have a neutral feeling about it, neither good nor bad.Jim

Although Im not happy about the change, I cant blame them for charging but not happy with the way they are going about the transition. I have a neutral feeling about it, neither good nor bad.Jim

Jim, I agree. I think I could have handled it better. I was concentrating on the task of automating payments etc rather then the publicity or user emotion. Sorry.

Well, Dave, it would have been nice if you told us that before. I was very surprised when I started it andit downloaded and installed without any asking. That goes better.But I can understand that developing of this programm, as easy it might look at first view, is very time consuming and so you have a bit of payment for this freetime you´d spend for this.

HelloPlenty of freeware as transitioned to shareware or full payware over the years.A better way to handle this is leave V1.0 as freeware but no support and announce that the super improved V2.0 will be payware only going forward.

Well, Dave, it would have been nice if you told us that before. I was very surprised when I started it andit downloaded and installed without any asking. That goes better.

I understand but there was no way in the old version to ask the question. I would need everyone to download an update to then be asked if they want to download another update? Bit of a catch 22. Does that make sense? However, I guess users prefer this sort of thing to happen. Something I've learnt today.

Not having used it, I am of course not affected by the change. But, seeing it from the other side too, if I was someone who had used it and enjoyed having it, I don't think I'd begrudge the developer a couple of quid for their efforts.In fact, I did a very similar thing just this week with a product I do use, in buying Dirk Stuck's Basler BT-67 from Simmarket even though there is a virtually identical freeware version of it on the Avsim file library, and that was in order to reward the developer for his efforts creating something I happened to like.Al

Not having used it, I am of course not affected by the change. But, seeing it from the other side too, if I was someone who had used it and enjoyed having it, I don't think I'd begrudge the developer a couple of quid for their efforts.Al

I totally agree Al.The only complain I had was about the way this change was made without any information to the users but Dave already explained himself quite well and I can only wish his efforts to be rewarded.I for one always used Open Clouds for short VFR flights and ASE (which is a masterpiece IMO) for more serious virtual journeys.I will keep using both of them.

Yeah, I can see that point, and I did mention it on post two, so I won't labour the point again, especially when the dev seems to have just accidentally arsed the timing up a bit rather than intentionally tried to annoy people. After all, there's not one of us who has never done something like that at some point in their life.Al

Well I'm blessed. However, doesn't Open Clouds treat fog in a quite unique way, and different from REX weather engine and the RealWX programme? Doesn't it smooth the formation of fog and make it look more realistic or do they all do that? I'm sure Open Clouds is best at fog, what say you?

Originally I had intended it to be freeware for ever but I didn't realise the amount of time that goes into supporting a product, free or not. At the end of the day I decided that I must either pull the software completely or charge for it.

I would have liked the transition from free- to donationware. That was mentioned (and asked) quite often and I would have been among the donators, that's for sure.Now, being a pure payware product with a subscription rather than a buy, it has lost some of it's attraction (to me), I must admit. Now I don't think that other donationware products lead their devs to truckloads of money, but they will surely be fine with some server costs I think. That donation option wasn't available, sadly. But your decision is fully understood and reasonable, don't worry.However, the product still is nice and simple and works like a treat. :(

Great little program - Cant see myself paying for it, as my too buy list is rather large. I don't buy many (if any at all) utilites, so I guess ill just use the default FSX real world weather system.Sorry...

Well I'm blessed. However, doesn't Open Clouds treat fog in a quite unique way, and different from REX weather engine and the RealWX programme? Doesn't it smooth the formation of fog and make it look more realistic or do they all do that? I'm sure Open Clouds is best at fog, what say you?

At the time Open Clouds was being developed, REX in combo with ASE was having a few glitches on haze layers, but that was a while back and now that team seems to do okay, (which is what I use). I'd certainly consider Open Clouds if the REX/ASE combo was not doing it for me though.I'm quite picky about weather depiction, since like yourself, I am a 'glider driver' in real life, and as you know, the first thing every glider pilot does whenever he or she steps outside, is look at the sky and decide whether they think it would be a good day for gliding LOL, so we tend to really notice the weather and ###### about it if FSX does not depict it well. :( Al

Well I'm blessed. However, doesn't Open Clouds treat fog in a quite unique way, and different from REX weather engine and the RealWX programme? Doesn't it smooth the formation of fog and make it look more realistic or do they all do that? I'm sure Open Clouds is best at fog, what say you?

Yeah, this is why I like it that much. Best and realistic weather I´ve ever seen. I think I´ll buy the license rather geting another, much more expensive progarmm with a bigger footprint and much more CPU usage. If you take the HDEv2 (High definition environment) package out of the Avsim library and open clouds, I´ll definitely look near that good as the ASE/REX combo. And you´ve saved lots of money.

The main use of Open Clouds was and still may be that it can run well on the main FSX system while offering nice real time weather with a simple click and low resource usage.That other fancy product (which gives me really good weather too, no doubt) can only run on one PC of mine, so I always have to boot up that second one where it is installed, because of it's footprint.For the small VFR hops of mine, I could run it on the main system too, but then I need to contact support every few runs because the fancy protection thinks that I'm a friend of Jack Sparrow when I'm using two PCs (not simultaneously of course). One or two changes aren't a problem, but if you fly VFR here and IFR airliner there, you'll soon run into that activation limit, with the need to contact support. Not speaking about the installation of the program, but the simple start of the installed thing, not simultaneously.So although the pure operation of the thing is good, after getting onto the various options, that strange protection thingy really is a downside, for a valid customer. Ah, we had that before, I know. Sorry, it still annoys me and I don't see any protective use there since the thing can be loaded freely after searching Google for 1 minute, so why do I, as a valid customer, get checked every single program start?I've bought it, so I use it, on that one PC, acting as ordered, so to speak. Industry's dream.So I hope the now payware Open Clouds is free of such strange methods, only bugging the wrong guys.