Mr. Mike 2003-01-20 22:06
I have tried UM and found it to be very usefull under the right circumstances, and would like to purchase. However...isn't $40 bucks a little steep? Yes I understand the effort put into it. However, it seems to me that you would get a lot more customers at a lesser cost. Jus A thought.
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Joey 2003-01-25 11:18
I'm pretty sure that I only paid $24.95 - where are you getting $40 from???
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Laurent 2003-02-01 09:59
I found UltraMon the other day on the net. It's great for what it does. I use it on my laptop along with an old refurbish monitor. Actually, it's only the Window management feature I need. I don't care about screensaver, wallpaper, shortcuts or profiles. These are just bells and whistles for me. I worked over and over with the same settings, so I don't care changing them manually from time to time. I just whished the price was cheaper or a "light" version existed. At 40$US, the utility is way out my budget. Some much more specialized program are at this price. *sigh* Does anybody know a cheaper or free alternative for Windows Management on two monitors ?
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Jonathan B. 2003-03-11 10:23
OK. I agree that $40 is steep (by about 2x) for a small add-on utility that pretty much amounts to being just a cool toy. However, it does target the "wierd" folks that have a hankering for multiple monitors. So, maybe it is just a novelty-surcharge. As competitors come into the field, I'm sure someone will have a suitable product in the $10-$20 level. If Cris can make more money at $20 per sale, then I'm sure he'll do it ... although, how will he know that if he doesn't have "promo" to beta-test that idea.
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Mark Major 2003-04-22 14:45
$40 is too expensive. A free alternative is MultiMon from http://www.mediachance.com/free/multimon.htm
It seems stable, but is not quite as refined as UltraMon. EG windows don't pop-up when you drag a file to the taskbar.
/Mark
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Laurent 2003-04-28 10:35
Thanks !
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Me 2003-05-20 00:28
The free alternative is very good and stable. Thanks to Mark Major for pointing it out. Since it's free and does the basic, I now use it and because of that, I obviously decided not to register and not to use UltraMon anymore.
Yet, there are some features that I slightly miss in the free solution, like the Extended maximizing button, and the fast switching profiles.
My point is that I won't ever pay 40$ bucks for these features in UltraMon, but I could be more inclined to register to a cheaper and lighter version of UltraMon that would have them at, let's say, 10 or 15$. Like Laurent, I don't need the mirror feature, nor the screensaver, and wallpaper stuff.
The author of UltraMon decides what he wants for his business strategy, but my feeling is that he would gain customers having a "light" and a "pro" versions of UltraMon.
500 registered users at 40$ for UltraMon
0 registered users for a non-existent cheaper/lighter UltraMon version
= 20,000$
500 registered users at 40$ for UltraMon
500 registered users at 15$ for the Light
= 27,500$
This is simple math.
(dummy figures, of course)
I might be wrong, and again, the author can decide what he wants, but ultimatelty, I see little point in positionning UltraMon only in the geek luxury market when there are a base market available and not reached at all and that can be slowly taken however by free alternative if nothing is done.
IMHO
As far as I am concerned, I'll continue to monitor UltraMon website from time to time to check if a light version will eventually come out, but unless it does, I unfortunately not be part of UltraMon customer family :-( I have not enough advantages to pay 40$ for small features when the basics are well covered with a free alternative.
No offense, just a point of view :-)
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Jeff 2003-11-20 11:50
Agreed. $40 is definitely too expensive. I'd certainly fork out $24, but $40 just feels way too much...
At my business, we want to buy about 15 copies, but we can't get the approval to spend that much money... It's a shame it's so much :(
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Christian Studer 2003-11-20 23:25
For 15 licenses you would already get a $10 discount per license, see the price list for more information about volume discounts.
Christian Studer - www.realtimesoft.com
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S 2004-05-13 06:19
I agree its too much... I would spend $10 - $25 on this but not $40. I have downloaded much cooler utilities for only $10 or $15 in the past.
Please lower the price...
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marc 2004-05-20 12:44
am i the only one that finds the price is right?
:) not to flame, but if you can afford a second monitor, ultramon is a good investment to go with it.
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Shifty 2004-05-23 03:40
Yes! I've been putting up with the ultramon nag for a couple years now just to get different wallpapers on each mon. $29 is the top I'm willing to pay and have been waiting for them to lower it to no avail. Oh well! My firewall/antivirus costs $39 for a year. What is going to compell me to pay that for ultramon?
Sometimes you price yourself out of more business than you will ever know!
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Kevin Saliga 2004-06-24 06:37
Interesting thread. I was debating whether or not to spend $40 on this application as well. After reading the complaints about the price, my decision was made - I'll take it! I just registered.
I hope you get rich off your programs (or at least can do it full time - I imagine this is a side hobby now). You seem to have put a lot of time and effor to making this program stable and user-friendly - something programs that sell for hundreds of dollars lack.
Worth every penny.
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efexuk 2004-06-26 01:55
$40 is too much in my opinion.
I would 'donate' $15 as a thank-you to the developer(s), but $40? I don't think so, there's free software available which does more or less the same thing, not forgetting a 'crack' exists for UM.
Suggestion: Make a 'donate' option for those who have a fully working version but haven't paid for it and may want to show their appreciation.
Pete
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Ken 2004-06-26 14:53
40 is a bit steep for me, too. I will check back later, though.
Smart Taskbar is the feature I needed the most and just got that by installing the free alternative mentioned above.
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louar 2004-06-27 11:05
One problem is the fact that if you buy the 2.5 version for 40$ you'll have to pay minimum 20$ to upgrade to the 3.0 version
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Blake 2004-08-09 04:18
I would buy it if it was 25$
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MKDC 2004-10-02 09:01
I agree that the price is too steap. I really like the program, but I can't justify $40 for another taskbar. :(
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DarkKewlz 2004-10-02 15:31
$40 bucks is too steep for what you guys use it for. But for others like me. i would have paid 90 bucks. This program is like the only one out there for managing multiple monitors. I'm sure this will soon change as most graphics cards are coming out with dule heads on them. but even those card makers dont really support the functions.
The main problem with Ultramon, is documentation, and advertizing of its abilities. I'm sure alot of the "bells and whistles" are unknown to most of you, just as it was to me.
But you will one day find yourself in need of specific functions for your axulary monitors, you will find you need them to do other things besides show pretty desktop patterns, then you will see that 40 bucks is a small price to pay.
ok realtime, how much did you say i would get paid for this? LOL/ Just kidding
save your mind, save yourself, dont stress over small problems.
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Avi 2004-10-07 02:12
I was sure I posted on this thread. It turned out I didn't, so here's my two cents:
I'm very happy I spent my $40 on this software. It is one of my most usefull applications. I'm using just two features: Maximize to desktop and Move to Other Monitor (and the taskbar on both monitors) but this really makes my two monitors investment work.
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Dustin 2004-10-14 01:48
I would like to see pricing based on the number of monitors supported. Most people that only have two monitors (or sometimes three) don't really want to shell out $40. But someone that's using it to manage 3+ monitors would probably be willing to spend a bit more.
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Nelson Ford 2004-11-04 13:12
I have to agree. I was very surprised when I looked into ordering it and found out that it is $40, especially since http://www.majorgeeks.com/download2069.html shows it as only being $24.95.
I can't justify paying that price for it, as nice as it is. I learned about UltraMon from a nephew who quit using it after the end of the eval period for the same reason.
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Wolfgang Sailer 2004-11-10 21:08
Everything is expensive in Switzerland! Cross the border to the EU, and the price is half...
Still the software is excellent, and when my 30-days trial period is over, I will consider bying it, however, the price IS high. Perhaps I'll wait for a 3.x release, because if i buy a 2.5 now, I will only be able to upgrade to a 3.0 beta, and then I would have to pay 40 USD again, and I definitively don't want that...
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Duvall 2004-12-04 16:01
It's a fair price, considering some of the corporate programs that do not run as smoothly.
- Duvall, WA
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Mikey 2004-12-04 18:41
Too Expensive?
Come on... I am one of those "wierd"os who use multi-monitor software. I specifically bought my last video card, AND this one because they had a 'dual-head' feature...
WHY?
Because I am, apparently, "wierd". I thought it was because I use a dual monitor setup in my business lefe doing Graphic Arts, and wanted all of my Photoshop and Illustrator palettes on a second monitor so that I can see what the hell I am working on. Turns out, I'm just "wierd".
As for the COST of this program, even though I am currently having issues with this software when trying to play games, it is DEFINITELY doing what I need it to when I need it to, and better than the free alternative that came with my card. It's not a "toy", and $40 spent on this is FAR better than $40 spent on such clunkers as DOOM3 or MOH: Pacific Assault, just to name some of the more recent pieces of garbage that people have put on the market.
I find a LOT of software at a "bargain" price, or softeware that I try for free(over and over and over)... UltraMon is one of the ONLY software packages that I will actually PAY for. It does what it should when it needs to. If you think it is a "toy", or only for "wierd" people, it obviously isn't for you.
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Jeff 2004-12-09 02:44
$40 isn't too bad if updates were more frequent and possibly a better deal on full version upgrades (currently $20 for single lic.)
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Tantalus 2004-12-10 07:23
I too would like to see some consideration for a revised pricing schedule for updates.
users upgrading from the most recent version should pay less than someone upgrading from ultramon of 2 or more releases back.
this way you 'reward' your most loyal customers who upgrade each time over the ones who might skip a release or two.
i don't have a problem with the $40 initial price, btw.
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Christian Studer 2004-12-10 08:28
Please note that all existing customers can upgrade to the latest version of UltraMon (2.5) for free, even if you bought UltraMon 1.0 back in 2000.
Minor releases (2.4, 2.5) and betas are always free upgrades.
The first paid upgrade will be 3.0 final.
Christian Studer - www.realtimesoft.com
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Tantalus 2004-12-10 14:03
thanks for the clarification, Christian.
i always try to recommend Ultramon to anyone who uses multi-monitors and in fact, have mentioned it recently on on TechIMO and other boards i visit.
cheers...looking forward to v3. :)
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Shane 2004-12-18 18:17
For a simple add on utility (which is great for what it does) $40 is WAAAAY too much. Lets be real, I can the latest state of the art video game for $40 bucks which has probably 100x the amount of code, money and time put into it then ultramon does. I love the program but had to stop using it when i tried to purchase it... lets be real guys you'd make more money in volume if you brought the price back down.
-Shane
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Andy K 2005-01-17 19:14
Totally agree.
In my office we've about half a dozen of us, just switched to a dual monitor setup in early december.
I tested out Ultramon for the 30 day evaluation period, and I thought it was great. So I was asked 'is there a free alternative?'
We can either pay nothing, and have the smart taskbar & 'move to monitor' functions noted in the software above... or splash out a load more just, really, to have windows resize when they're moved between monitors. The other functions are not going to make a great deal of difference to us.
If it was $25 I'd have recommended this to management, but I just cannot justify doing that at present.
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Adam 2008-12-29 06:10
I also think the price is too high. A little app like this should be $10-$15. I would pay $20, but no more than that. :/
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Rubaiz 2009-12-03 05:30
Does it ever go on sale? Is there some kind of list I could subscribe to which alerts me when it is on sale?
What can I say, I am stingy when it comes to software :)
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Patchm00 2009-12-10 05:45
It may seem a bit high but I have to say I bought Ultramon in Nov. 2006 and there has not (yet) been an upgrade that I did not receive for free. Christian is very conservative on releasing major versions which is unlike most capitalists :) Another feature that you get with this software is great support. I have had maybe 4 issues the last 3 years and upon an email to Christian I receive a reply within 24 hours with some sort of workaround that has always worked until it is implemented in the next release. I am very happy with this product and will purhcase the 3.0 final upgrade if I have to (I think I get a discount for upgrade).
Just my .02
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Albert Wiersch 2009-12-17 13:18
I've gotten much more than $40 of productivity out of it. If you really use multiple monitors, it's worth it. Maybe if UltraMon sold in huge volume (which it doesn't as far as I can tell) then it could be lowered to $30, but less than $30 is not asking enough in my opinion. $40 is pretty reasonable considering how useful the application can be.
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NetMage 2010-01-05 07:37
I too am a long time Ultramon user. I Have been disappointed in the slow development recently.
I could see paying for 3.0 if it was competitive but it is a long way from Windows 7 functionality.
Maybe if it had Aero features, button grouping, etc. but there are better priced alternatives that do.
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Dave Small 2010-01-09 12:52
I might be alone on this, but I've found UltraMon to be simply essential in setting up a multi-monitor system the way I need it to be.
It has that quality so hard to find: stability. Stability takes gallons of time and testing in the very damndest odd configurations. I know, having been on the programming end.
The author has an email address and I've found he answers emails quickly.
I think $40 (forty dollars) is *** LOW *** for the performance and access to the author which I've gotten.
I believe I've paid twice for two licenses because I want the author to make enough to continue development.
Just my random collection of quantum foam,
Dave Small
DSA
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Zolgar 2010-01-31 09:22
I, too, feel that $40 is too high for the features this offers a 'standard' multi-monitor user.
Dual monitors is becoming the norm for us 'nerds', and we like our features!
Problem is, most of us are not made of money, and have a hard time spending $40 for something that.. just makes our life a little easier.
There's a few features of Ultramon that Windows cannot replicate, and the others Ultramon just makes easier. But of course, Ultramon is just 'quality of life' software. everything it offers can be lived without.
Not to mention, this is the age of the nerd. Many pirate things, and the rest of us will find a free alternative or do without.
There is a massive market for this software which is currently going almost untapped, because.. most of us look at this and go "... yeah, this is really nice.. but it's not $40 nice."
For anyone who thinks it IS $40 nice: More power to ya! Support the indy developers! :)
Me? I'd be willing to pay $20 for it.
What I would propose doing with the cost of the software is going to rout that is slowly getting more popular, and appeals to the masses of the internet.
Sell it for "what you think it's worth."
The person downloads the 30 day trial, and once the trial period has ended, have something which pops up explaining the system, and asking that they pay whatever they feel the software is worth. Perhaps have a noted minimum value (to cover bandwidth costs and the cost of processing a credit card)
Currently, if 100 private parties stumble across this software, I would estimate maybe 5-10 of them will buy it. Meaning you're getting $200-400, and 90-95 people are finding an alternative.
Under a "pay what you want" system, you get 100 people..
5 of them say "screw this, I'mma pirate it."
50 of them pay the minimum ($5 we'll say).
20 of them pay $10
10 of them pay $15
10 of them pay $20
5 of them pay $25
That's $925.
even if we say.. 5 of them refuse to pay, 75 of them pay $5 and the last 20 pay $10 that's $575
And, there's the added factor of this: Word of mouth.
Currently a lot of what you'll get by word of mouth is "Ultramon is great, but it's $40. there's this free alternative that's almost as good." or "Yeah, Ultramon is awesome.. it's way too expensive though, let me send you my crack."
Meaning, people are being turned to alternate methods. Whereas with a "pay what you want." system, a lot of people will tell their friends "Yeah, Ultramon is great, and you only have to pay what you think it's worth!"
which will lead to more business being drawn in.
..
OK, I'm done rambling now.
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Steve 2010-02-01 04:27
I side with the majority here. $40 is a ridiculous price. Consider that the documentation is nearly non-existent and the configuration menu is poor. However, the features are useful and NOT just for geeks. The idea of a "Lite" version is flawed. Unless you could purchase just the features you wanted (an impossible scenario) there will never be a Lite version that would fit with most users. So... I would consider a price in the range of $15 to $19 with free upgrades for life. Seeing that there are so many assorted open-source programs that are free nowadays, and increasing... I can not see spending this kind of money.
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Valamas 2010-02-08 10:34
I see an old thread has been dug up...
For a tool i use every day, for years now. $40 is nothing to me. My only gripe is living with the bugs every day since i have to use the beta.
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Bob Haden 2010-02-09 10:26
I have 6 24 inch flat panel monitors and find UltraMon invaluable and well worth the price. My particular arrangement is one on top, four across trhe center, and one (primary) on the bottom. I guess I fall into the Geek category when it comes to customizations and unique configurations.
I find UltraMon to be much more stable than NVIDIA NView Desktop Manager and it has loads of additional features. With the number and layout of monitors that I have installed, I especially like the ability to graphically select which monitor I want to send an open application to.
I also like the ability to display different wallpapers, chose a desktop setting complete with different resolutions, etc.
Considering the time and talent involved in creating and delivering a product such as this the price seems more that fair.
Bob
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Ethan 2010-03-28 15:18
I agree with both sides on this one. $40 seems pricey but a laborer is also worth his wages. This is an AMAZING program and I couldn't build it for $40. The time it saves me from hassling with other multiple-monitor programs pays for itself. One hour of messing with Nvidia display manager sold me on that fact. Add to it all the other features and the fact that it doesn't cause any system slow-downs or freeze-ups and you have a program worth $40. Save up and buy the program... you only have to buy it once (save for upgrades which are 50% off anyways).
I see both sides but I'd rather have the program for $40 then not have it for $25 if that makes sense...
Ethan
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Doug 2010-04-05 16:01
Well,having used the demo for only a short while, I would have to say the $40 price tag is too high for the product, it is a nice tool, just not a "gotta have it" tool. There are some inconsistencies/bugs in the product that need fixing (screensaver is the one I encounterd). At this point I'm not convinced the tool is worth the price. Yes, some of the base feature are nice, but not quite worth the cost. From my perspective the price should be between $25-$30. For now, I'll keep using the demo and see if something in the fuctionality convinces me that I need this tool.
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Doug 2010-04-07 14:10
Sigh... Good 1st effort for Win 7 folks, but ultramon crashes my Win 7 64-bit after system goes to sleep. Good luck... after a bit of work the app may be worth using (for a much lower price). For now... uninstall and use the native Win 7 mode.
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saymyname 2010-05-20 22:23
i used ultramon only for the trial time and it's a very nice tool :)
but i'm also agreeing that 40 $ is to expensive.
in my opinion 20 $ would be ok.
i made also a little bit advertising and a friends company bought 5 licenses.
But as a private person 40$ is too hard.
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tanstaafl 2010-05-22 04:18
If it were virtually bug free then I would pay $40 for it. But it is buggy. I would pay $20.
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Feanor 2011-05-15 08:51
Bringing up a thread from the dead I know...
But my trial period just ran out, and I couldn't believe the $40 price tag. So I googled Ultramon pricing and this thread came up near the top.
Seriously developers, you obviously haven't been listening to the people in this forum. And you obviously need to take a course in basic economics. Or bring in a professional marketer to sell your products.
Sure, I could afford $40. I could also afford $100. Do I think it's worth $40? No. And if every little bit of software I buy for my computer cost $40, I'd have to spend a fortune on it.
And these days iPad owners complain on the App Store if they have to pay more than a tenner for an app.
Get real guys. Drop your prices. $40 is a joke. As much as I love Ultramon, I'm insulted that you expect me to pay that much. I've therefore uninstalled your software from my machine and won't come back until you get some sort of grip on the real world.
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Customer wannabe 2011-05-21 16:00
I paid $30 for a legit student edition of 7. I refuse to pay more for a minor addon. $10 is a very fair price for something done for free by zbar, even if it does not work as nicely.
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Stevenm 2011-05-27 02:33
Here's the thing. I am in the A/V staging business...on one particular very important job I do every year, among other things I am called upon to run a loop of videos on a projector. The loop runs for 10 hours a day. I need to be able to edit the playlist, and move new video files to my laptop, while the videos are playing. I NEED A SOLID APPLICATION that will let the videos run on screen 2 of my laptop! I "could" just run media player classic, drag the video window to screen 2, maximize it and call it a day. BUT, that technique will blow up if I move MPC's playlist too close to the top of the screen, and other simple boo-boos that will result in the video loop falling out of fullscreen, or stopping altogether. I have yet to install ultramon, but if it is as solid as I have read, then it is definately worth the $40 to me.
If I ran Macs, I could have an application called playback pro from DTVideolabs. It does more than ultramon, but I don't need it. AND, it costs $900!
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00pontiac 2011-05-30 10:49
I've never seen such a huge bunch of whiners!
Get a grip on reality children. Have your folks cough up 40 bucks for this guys hard work. You've all obviously never scripted so much a dos copy command before or you'd know better.
What I'm amazed about is the author hasn't deleted this asinine thread yet.
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Mike 2011-07-20 03:26
"$40 is too much. I'm not made of money."
Seriously... If you honestly can't afford $40, then perhaps you shouldn't have wasted all of your life savings on that additional monitor you already bought.
As for what it's "worth", that depends largely on the developer and the target consumers. If you don't have a use for the software, then don't buy it. If you find it useful, but just "can't afford it", then you can just add that to the "stuff I wish I could afford" list and move on. If you find it useful and can afford it but are just a tightwad, stop whining about software that costs a very small percentage of what your additional monitor already cost you.
And as for all those made-up analysis showing how much more money the developer would make if he lowered the price, they're worth about as much as the effort put into them, or paper they were printed on. (ie; ZERO)
I'm relatively certain that if the devoloper lowered the price to $20, there would be a thread saying "$20 is too much, but I'd pay $10", followed closely by "$10 is too much, but I'd take it for free".
Get real.
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Ernie 2011-07-25 07:08
Just noticed this thread. LOL, very interesting and entertaining.
Bought a bunch of seats of Um for my office since several people have 2 screens running. Everyone loves it. When I redo my system every year or so it is one of the first apps I install.
Granted they dont have to pay for it since my company picks up the tab but still, $40 too much? I dont think so. I am a programmer myself and I can FULLY appreciate how much went into this thing. Whenever you are dealing with graphics cards and displays you are talking serious development time. Thats complex stuff.
And there is a lot of features that I dont think people know about. I just did some VB script stuff and so I can handle docked vs undocked and Chris had the foresight to make the UM API's available to it. That is a BIG deal.
True, most will not use half of the features of UM but when you need it, what a difference it makes. Its still a bit of a niche market so whenever you have that things are going to be a little more expense.
My $0.02...
Ernie
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Planet Orb 2011-09-04 00:54
Just purchased it and feel it is worth every penny. I use it for work and move things back and forth or assign to specific monitors saves an incredible amount of time for me. I would highly recommend it!
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Tin 2013-12-06 08:45
I'm an old lapsed user from a ways back, and I saw a 'PowerTools' list and saw UM was still out there. Couldn't recall why I stopped using my license, so I decided to poke around on current status.
I bought a copy of UM back in 2005, and used it under XP until I upgraded to Win7 in 2010.
At that point, I found my old licensed version of UM wasn't Win7-compatible. Considered upgrading, but decided, even discounted, it was a bit too expensive for the niche I used it in. Plus Win7 had added the Win+Shift+[arrow]window-handling feature that I really used UM to provide. So I moved on without it.
Now, several machines later, I'm still using Win7, prepping to move to another new box in a few days. So here I am, three years later, looking to see if there's new value to the proposition, and again, I'm making the same decision: $40 is too steep for me to add a functional 2nd monitor task bar.
No criticism implied -- you price your product to suit yourself, and customers either buy or they don't. I'm just explaining my choices, in case it could factor in to license policy changes down the road.
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Christian Studer 2013-12-06 13:44
Tin, version 2 licenses are valid for all releases up to 3.0.9, and 3.0.9 does support Windows 7. You can download it here.
If you want to use a later version, an upgrade is available at a 50% discount.
Christian Studer - www.realtimesoft.com
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