Fer cryin' out loud!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tara K.
  • Start date Start date
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Grisoft is really starting to annoy me. Their new site (www.grisoft.com)
has no obvious links to the free edition (which, incidentally, is now to
be
Click to expand...

Click "AVG Products" on the lefthand side to expand the menu. "AVG Free
Edition" is clearly listed.


- --
Frode

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Frode said:
Click "AVG Products" on the lefthand side to expand the menu. "AVG Free
Edition" is clearly listed.
Click to expand...

I decided to check out their site... and at first glance, I was having a
tough time finding the free version as well. I thought it could only be
accessed via their site map. Then I looked again after you said that, and
yep, there it is in the expanded menu.

This new web site isn't great at all - I think this is less a problem with
the OP's original concern, and more of a problem of bad web design. It
loads really slow from here as well.
 
Richard S. Westmoreland said:
I decided to check out their site... and at first glance, I was having a
tough time finding the free version as well. I thought it could only be
accessed via their site map. Then I looked again after you said that, and
yep, there it is in the expanded menu.

This new web site isn't great at all - I think this is less a problem with
the OP's original concern, and more of a problem of bad web design. It
loads really slow from here as well.
Click to expand...

I'll have to take your word for it, because the site isn't there at all
right now . . .

"Requested document
not found
Please check your URL address, or contact our webmaster."

It's almost as bad as finding the free version of Real Player.

TK
 
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"Requested document
not found
Please check your URL address, or contact our webmaster."

It's almost as bad as finding the free version of Real Player.
Click to expand...

Actually, it's exactly as bad. The free version of RealPlayer is also
exactly 1 click on the front page away. Clicking "RealPlayer" in the top
navigation bar gives you a page of which about 30% is dedicated to a boxout
titled "or get our free player".

That Grisoft managed to mess up their own homepage a matter of days after
launch is rather hilarious though. :)


- --
Frode

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Steve C said:
Women and navigation... best not go there, eh?
Click to expand...

<rolls up sleeves> . . ..

OK. Right. There it is, "clearly" listed on the left. And not listed
anywhere in the main pane of that page.

The "downloads" page has this:

"If you want to try our products before buying them, visit AVG Trial
Versions page for more information and trial registration".

. . . but no link for the free edition (maybe I'm missing it again?)

Let's look at www.real.com. GET THE *NEW* REALPLAYER 10 - DOWNLOAD NOW! -
FREE TRIAL!1!!11! . . .. (teeny tiny light grey writing in the top right
hand corner) . . . "oh, yes, we do a free version as well".

Companies which have free editions of software (not trial, not time-limited)
usually have a great big button saying "get this software for free!"
somewhere on the homepage. Or if not, somewhere alongside the other product
listings. Not buried off to the side in a menu, or masquerading as a "free
trial". It's bad web design, plain and simple. And it's misleading to make
the trial version more obvious than the free version. Some users just don't
understand the difference.

Me, I visit these pages often. I know where to find this kind of stuff
(usually - that "we'll list in on the side but not in the main product
listing" thing that grisoft has done, I admit, had me fooled). The average
user doesn't. Saying to a client "go to www.grisoft.com and download the
free edition" will result in a callback saying "Where? What free edition?"

Look at Avast's product listing, for instance.

http://www.avast.com/eng/programs.html

There's the free edition, right there along with all their other software.

The point? They should fix this.

TK
 
<rolls up sleeves> . . ..
Click to expand...

[snip]

Tara, I'm not going to get into a fight over this...
. . . but no link for the free edition (maybe I'm missing it again?)
Click to expand...

Referring back to the post from Frode.
Click on "AVG Products" then click on "AVG Free Edition" from that page is
the link to the page you eventually found yourself. I can't understand
where the problem lies????
 
Steve C said:
<rolls up sleeves> . . ..
Click to expand...

[snip]

Tara, I'm not going to get into a fight over this...
Click to expand...

Neither am I. For one thing, I don't have the time :)
Referring back to the post from Frode.
Click on "AVG Products" then click on "AVG Free Edition" from that page is
the link to the page you eventually found yourself. I can't understand
where the problem lies????
Click to expand...

Re-read the above post. Yes, there's a link. No, to the average user, it's
not obvious. Or at least, not as obvious as their trial version and full-fee
software is.

My original post stated that "obvious links to the free edition" are not
there. It's a sneaky trick and it's not right (imho) when the user base who
really *needs* free software (little old biddies, pensioners, etc) can't
immediately find the link to the free version. So they read "free trial!"
and think "oh, this is the free edition that my tech support person was
talking about" and panic when the license runs out.

The key word here is "obvious". Compare the obvious links to the free
version on the Avast homepage, for instance, and you'll see what I mean.

Now, you and I - and most of the posters in this forum - do not have a
problem with finding a buried link. In fact, some of us have so little
problem with it that they barely notice the extra cycle time required to
find what they need (it took me about 2 seconds to work out where it had
gone). That's not the point. The point is that web design of this nature
is - intentionally or otherwise - misleading and improper (once again,
imho).

Or maybe it's just poor web design.

Look at this page, for instance:

http://www.grisoft.com/doc/Enterprises/lng/us/tpl/tpl01

"Select your desired solution from the complete list of AVG products bellow.
If you are not sure, which product fits your needs best, please contact our
Sales Support or read more details about each AVG product."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't a "complete list" include the Free
Edition somewhere in that list? Yes, there it is on the sidebar. But this
paragraph was not talking about that side bar, it's talking about the "list
bellow" [sic].

Maybe the Free Edition might "suit your needs best"?

Real do *exactly* the same thing on their homepage (go have a look if you
don't believe me . . . yes, the link is there, but you can't exactly call
that "obvious" can you, compared the trial version advert).

Ok, so I'm being pedantic (so sue me ;) I'm just a stickler for this kind of
thing. But it strikes me as unethical to do this.

TK
 
On Fri, 25 Mar 2005 08:31:41 +0800, Tara K. wrote:

[snip]
My original post stated that "obvious links to the free edition" are not
there. It's a sneaky trick and it's not right (imho) when the user base
Click to expand...

[snip]

So you don't think it's obvious that if you are looking for an AVG product
on the AVG website to click on the link entitled "AVG Products"? After
all, it is the first link in the navigation pane (oops, I mentioned that
word again).

There is obviously something in a woman's psyche that I'm just not capable
of understanding....
 
(snip)
My original post stated that "obvious links to the free edition" are not
there. It's a sneaky trick and it's not right (imho) when the user base who
really *needs* free software (little old biddies, pensioners, etc) can't
immediately find the link to the free version.
Click to expand...
(snip)

I find this intentional for most vendors so you'd buy their non-free
product.
I can't blame them for saying "BUY THIS GREAT VERSION (or get this
one for free" rather than "GET THIS ONE FOR FREE (or buy this other
version)". Writing s/w is not free.
 
Zilla said:
(snip)
(snip)

I find this intentional for most vendors so you'd buy their non-free
product.
I can't blame them for saying "BUY THIS GREAT VERSION (or get this
one for free" rather than "GET THIS ONE FOR FREE (or buy this other
version)". Writing s/w is not free.
Click to expand...

Thanks for getting it, Zilla :)

I can live with a difference in opinion over whether the free version should
be as easy to find as the trial version. Yes, it's not free to write
software, and programmers *should* be paid for their work. This is something
I feel very strongly about, believe it or not ;)

The one gripe I have is this: either provide the free version as obviously
as the trial or full fee, or don't provide one at all. Especially when it
comes to something as essential as anti-virus.

Like I said, those who can afford to pay for anti-virus protection are
buying a subscription already. Those who can't afford to pay rely on AVG,
Avast, Clam, etc. I just think it's sneaky and unfair. My high regard for
Grisoft has dropped a couple of notches because of this.

This is just my opinion. YMMV.

TK

PS Steve: you are a sexist wanker and there's really not much point in
continuing any discussion with someone who can't follow the finer points of
a logical argument. You should learn to read and understand what people
write in their posts, even if that writer doesn't have a penis (yes, I know
it's a hard ask, but if you try really really hard you might just manage
it!)

PPS However, just to show there's no hard feelings, mate, here's my wish for
you: may you one day actually get a date with a real live woman. Then
perhaps you might be on the path to learning that we do actually have
brains.
 
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Like I said, those who can afford to pay for anti-virus protection are
buying a subscription already. Those who can't afford to pay rely on AVG,
Click to expand...
This one has me a bit puzzled. A two year AVG subscription costs USD 33.
That's less than 1.5 dollars a month. How does someone afford a computer,
internet connection and the electricity to run it, but $1.5/month is out of
reach?

A side note. I have a subscription to both AVK and AVG. Yet I still use
the free edition of Avast.


- --
Frode


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