BeerSmith 3: Here it comes. Thoughts?

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To me it looks like you need an internet-connection to start the software, by the short info given..

If license is stored online, your copy of the software needs to connect online (logging in to your account), to validate your license (which is held in your account), that's how I'm reading it at least.
 
Smellyglove said:
To me it looks like you need an internet-connection to start the software, by the short info given..

If license is stored online, your copy of the software needs to connect online (logging in to your account), to validate your license (which is held in your account), that's how I'm reading it at least.
Click to expand...

If this is true I won't touch this release. Nothing pisses me off more than paying for something I can't use whenever I want. And internet outages do happen. If the software truly needs to ping a server every time you open it before it lets you use it, then I won't be upgrading. I can ignore the annoying growing trend of subscription software, and making you pay for updates (which is still annoying), but do not make it so that I cannot use the software I paid for should I not have an internet connection.
 
How I read it is you will download the program over the internet, apply the activation code over the internet and then it will work the same way as BS2
 
I pre-ordered the gold membership too. I've been using BeerSmith since 1.4. It's nice to see there's a plan around adding more features after v3 is released. All in all it's pretty inexpensive for software that I use so regularly.
 
I'm excited, I purchased Beersmith 2 just a few months ago, so I get the free gold access for a year. If I like it, I'll continue or buy the stand-alone version, if not I've got the older version.

I agree with folks that aren't crazy about the subscription model, but I hate to break it to everyone - the software industry is moving away from perpetual licenses and toward subscription models. There are a lot of reasons why and benefits for the customer, but it costs more over time with a lower up-front cost.
 
I have no problem with a subscription model, if it's worth it. To me BS2 has been worth every penny I paid once. If I can support it further I'll do it as I quite often watch the podcasts and use the tool all the time. My plan is nine bucks a year. I feel I can afford nine bucks a year, it's just one less beer with a higher ABV pr year. If I want to upgrade I'll upgrade my plan because I feel it would be worth it. then maybe it would be one or two less store-bough beers pr year.
 
Smellyglove said:
I have no problem with a subscription model, if it's worth it. To me BS2 has been worth every penny I paid once. If I can support it further I'll do it as I quite often watch the podcasts and use the tool all the time. My plan is nine bucks a year. I feel I can afford nine bucks a year, it's just one less beer with a higher ABV pr year. If I want to upgrade I'll upgrade my plan because I feel it would be worth it. then maybe it would be one or two less store-bough beers pr year.
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I agree with something like Beersmith, paying for a subscription supports a valued member of the homebrewing community. My opinion is different when it comes to paying an annual fee the same as the old standalone fee to upgrade Quicken...
 
The BeerSmith 3 License and Online Activation System
For the new activation system your license is tied to your BeerSmith cloud account, which offers a secure way to manage the licenses and computers you have activated. When you purchase a license, it is added directly to your account. You can manage your licenses by logging into your account here. You do need an internet connection to activate your computer. It only takes a minute and is good for the term of your license. You also have the option when purchasing to sign up for a yearly subscription, which will renew automatically each year.

When you activate your software it will ask you to open a secure link and log into your cloud account, and then it will tie the activation to your online license. Each license comes with two or more device activations, and you can deactivate devices, renew your license or manage license options from your BeerSmithRecipes account, or by logging in and going to the profile page at any time.


I only see from this that you would need the internet to download the program and to use the activation key. Not to be online to use the program.
 
Earlier speculation in this thread suggests bug fixes and minor improvements - the .n versions - would be covered, but a major release would not for one-timers.
Makes sense to me, particularly the expectation of subscriptions to cover anything that changes in a subscription year. If BS4 comes out the last week of a subscription one should expect the upgrade to happen...

Cheers!
 
BeerSmith is important to me and so I am interested in the new version. It was good to see someone here say the UI is now better... BS2 is not awesome in that regard.

Zero chance I will buy a subscription. I never use the online features of BS2 and can’t see that changing. I’ll buy an upgrade down the road if I need it.
 
EDF713 said:
I agree with folks that aren't crazy about the subscription model, but I hate to break it to everyone - the software industry is moving away from perpetual licenses and toward subscription models. There are a lot of reasons why and benefits for the customer, but it costs more over time with a lower up-front cost.
Click to expand...

Whether it's a trend or not doesn't make it the best practice. If you purchase a product up front, it should be usable without a subscription fee, but possibly without the extra features the subscription delivers. If a subscription service is used, there shouldn't be an up-front cost for the application.
 
Bassman2003 said:
I am looking at the basic, non-subscription package but am confused with "minor updates only" text. Anybody know what this means?
Click to expand...

Major updates would be a change in design. like what you are seeing from BS 2.x to 3.0. Minor updates would be the 3.1, 3.2 ... 3.x updates that would deliver bug fixes and tweaks.
 
Rodent said:
I need to dig on this aspect further, to determine if I need access to run BS. I don't have internet access where I brew, and don't plan to add it there due to the cost of bringing it to the opposite end of the property into a steel sided shop.
Click to expand...

Again, not to hijack, but have you considered a powerline adapter like this ?
AV500.jpg
Plug em in, sync them up and you'll have two utp ports in your shop, plus your WiFi signal is rebroadcast as well. Speeds up to 2000Mbps depending on the model you choose.

Cheers!

Chris
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Anybody know if there is a way to add photos to a brew session or recipe in beer Smith? This is one feature I miss the most form migrating from beer alchemy.
 
mscroggi said:
Major updates would be a change in design. like what you are seeing from BS 2.x to 3.0. Minor updates would be the 3.1, 3.2 ... 3.x updates that would deliver bug fixes and tweaks.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Seems obvious but the wording is a little confusing. Maybe "version updates" would be more appealing?
 
kh54s10 said:
The BeerSmith 3 License and Online Activation System
For the new activation system your license is tied to your BeerSmith cloud account, which offers a secure way to manage the licenses and computers you have activated. When you purchase a license, it is added directly to your account. You can manage your licenses by logging into your account here. You do need an internet connection to activate your computer. It only takes a minute and is good for the term of your license. You also have the option when purchasing to sign up for a yearly subscription, which will renew automatically each year.

When you activate your software it will ask you to open a secure link and log into your cloud account, and then it will tie the activation to your online license. Each license comes with two or more device activations, and you can deactivate devices, renew your license or manage license options from your BeerSmithRecipes account, or by logging in and going to the profile page at any time.


I only see from this that you would need the internet to download the program and to use the activation key. Not to be online to use the program.
Click to expand...


I hope this is how it works. I've been using a cloud based CAD program (Fusion 360 from Autodesk) for a couple years now, and it will randomly just log you out and require you to log in again. No internet connection at the time? Too bad, can't log in, can't use the software, can't access your files. The cloud features are great when they work, like logging in on another computer and having all your designs right there, but when they don't work, holy hell it's infuriating.

Plex is another example (media server software). I run a plex server at home. They changed the way it works recently where instead of being able to ping your server from inside your home network directly everything goes out through their servers and then back. So if your internet goes out (happened to be recently when a storm took out a tree and the internet was out for a day), you can't watch anything on your own server without jumping through a lot of hoops to force a direct connection.

Cloud stuff can be great, but there are times when it's leaned on way too heavily.

/soapbox.
 
Bassman2003 said:
Thanks. Seems obvious but the wording is a little confusing. Maybe "version updates" would be more appealing?
Click to expand...

Actually Major and Minor are the standard industry terms for version updates. Minor updates keeps the main version the same (2.2 to 2.3), just a small update to the software. Major update is a large change in the software (2.X to 3.X).
 
TenaCJed said:
Actually Major and Minor are the standard industry terms for version updates. Minor updates keeps the main version the same (2.2 to 2.3), just a small update to the software. Major update is a large change in the software (2.X to 3.X).
Click to expand...

Just sounds like you only get the small problems resolved but not the "major" issues. :) I am always glad to see any software being offered in both the traditional and cloud models. I am yet to be a fan of the cloud model.
 
I agree on not being a fan of the cloud licensing model that forces you to pay for the software on a monthly or yearly schedule.

However from my understanding of the beersmith licensing, the cloud licensing is not so much for the software, but the additional cloud features like recipe backup and future cloud features like the online editor. These are the reasons I went with the cloud license and not standalone license. Honestly the online editor alone makes it worth it to me as I have been setup on my laptop to auto sync to google cloud and that has worked great. The cost for the year is also not bad at all, look at how much brewers friend is per year if you want beyond the 5 recipe version!

Regardless, I do like that he kept the licensing at standalone or cloud and added some nice features to go with the cloud and not just a forced you must pay every year even if you have no need for cloud features.
 
If one of the subscriptions came with cloud-accessible inventory, I'd have been inclined to go that way.
It doesn't appear that's a release function....and I'm not big on subscribing based on potential future features.
Especially considering how long it took between 2.0 and 3.0 ;)

Cheers!
 
Not fond of subscriptions but cant blame Brad for jumping on that band wagon and the recurring revenue stream. I'll take the stand alone version myself simply because I don't like subscriptions.

I dont need the cloud stuff either; have tried it to sync recipes between my PC and my phone app which works good. Except I always print my recipe sheet and write notes on it during brew day. Just what I do... And I work in IT professionally so you'd think I'd use the app exclusively..
 
Nagorg said:
Not fond of subscriptions but cant blame Brad for jumping on that band wagon and the recurring revenue stream. I'll take the stand alone version myself simply because I don't like subscriptions.

I dont need the cloud stuff either; have tried it to sync recipes between my PC and my phone app which works good. Except I always print my recipe sheet and write notes on it during brew day. Just what I do... And I work in IT professionally so you'd think I'd use the app exclusively..
Click to expand...

I’m with you on that. Over 20 years in software and consulting and I still don’t always trust technology!
 
Cloud doesn't excite me, but I can't wait for this:

"BeerSmith can estimate and use volumes for juices and honey to make it easier to measure your ingredients. Yeast alcohol tolerance is now taken into account so you can accurately estimate final gravity for high gravity meads and wines."

No more half-cocked workarounds, "40 lbs Apple Juice," or "Est ABV 21.4%" sweet meads.
 
I went with the Platinum version just for the extra device. I figure 5 bucks is worth it to be able to use it on my desktop, laptop, and tablet. I always hated the two computer thing in BS2. Now I can work across all three of my devices. I am most excited about the water adjustment tool being within the recipe. I hope it is more like some others I have tried. I am so tired of calculating water additions in a spreadsheet outside of BS2. IMHO water calculating was BS2 biggest down fall. I would like to add that I too am not a fan of auto renewing subscriptions but I am afraid it is just the way it is going to be from here on out. I also don't mind supporting something that I enjoy and believe in either.
 
passedpawn said:
It's $25 right now for the preorder. There's some subscription prices, presumably for the additional cloud recipe storage.

What's the advantage in keeping your recipes online? What do you guys use cloud storage for?
Click to expand...
I use cloud storage to have access to my recipe on my phone and use the brewing timers on the mobile app.
 
I just pre-ordered the "One Time Purchase" version; just couldn't bring myself into the subscription fold just yet... When there is another major release (4.x), I'll likely upgrade then too. I just like to keep my options flexible.
 

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