Bvckup 2 (commercial version)

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webfork
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Bvckup 2 (commercial version)

#1 Post by webfork »

So this program is commercial software (save for the unsupported, somewhat old beta we have listed in the database) but I did want to point out there are a fair number of significant changes and nice extra features over the past year. Also this is the first changelog I've read in some time that was actually somewhat pleasant to read and didn't just come off as a shopping list: https://www.softpedia.com/progChangelog ... 33126.html

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Status: Untested. I haven't tested the commercial version, but being self-contained is baked right in and sounds like the dev had this plan early on and plans to keep it, I'd be surprised if the current process listed for the old beta didn't work on the commercial version.

Early discussion: https://www.bvckup2.com/support/forum/topic/196
Statement about self-contained:
https://bvckup2.com/support/forum/topic/774
Bit more conversation on the topic: https://bvckup2.com/support/forum/topic/43

I was surprised by the price (currently 20 USD) and could make the case that the program will pay for itself in the overall life of your backup device, especially if you use a flash/SSD.

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Midas
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Re: Bvckup 2 (commercial version)

#2 Post by Midas »

Current Bvckup 2 commercial version is release 79 (full changelogs at https://bvckup2.com/support/forum/topic/584).

Image
webfork wrote: I haven't tested the commercial version, but being self-contained is baked right in and sounds like the dev had this plan early on and plans to keep it, I'd be surprised if the current process listed for the old beta didn't work on the commercial version.
I did and can confirm that it does.

I don't usually do this but let me join the choir here: Bvckup 2 is hands down the best backup utility ever, IMHO. And a bargain for the price, given the excellence of the UI and programming, along with its thriftiness regarding system resources. Highly recommended. :!:

Onesimus Prime
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Re: Bvckup 2 (commercial version)

#3 Post by Onesimus Prime »

Thanks, webfork and Midas, for your posts about Bvckup 2--I've been using the free old beta for several years now, but you and the info reproduced below finally convinced me now is the time to buy it.

*long post warning*--TL;DR Settings are portable, but licensing is per-machine and explicitly NOT. Also, sounds like (potentially disadvantageous) licensing changes are imminent, so for anyone wanting to purchase the program, right now may be the best time to do so. By my understanding, if you go to buy and you see that the Purchase page lists a "Basic" license option, you've missed the boat and the newer licensing terms are already in effect.


More info re: licensing change (emphasis added and a few typos corrected):

From the dev, Alex Pankratov: "There are two types of updates - milestone (feature) releases and maintenance (bugfix) releases. For example, release 79 is the former and releases 79.1, 79.8, etc. are the former. Right now both types are included with a license, perpetually [for Bvckup 2 only?]. This will change shortly. Maintenance releases will remain perpetually free, but the access to milestones releases will be included for one year and require a fee to extend it for another year after that." - https://bvckup2.com/support/forum/topic/1147/6322

(Apparently that fee will be only "20% of the original cost," so certainly a more significant discount than most devs give for continued updates!)

"As of right now we are still on Personal/Professional licenses. Shortly we'll be adding 3 new license types - Basic, Pro, Server. At the same point we'll be taking Personal and Professional off the purchase page. They will still be fully supported, but it won't be possible to buy them. In other words, after the licensing model switch there will 5 license types, 3 of which will be available for purchase. Feature-wise existing Professional will be same as new Server and existing Personal - same as Pro (but still subject to at-home, non-work-related use only restriction)." - https://bvckup2.com/support/forum/topic/1149/6337

Features and licenses overview for upcoming tri-level licensing, from the development blog: https://bvckup2.com/wip/03122018
Looks like the new lowest-level "Basic" license, in my view, guts several of the best aspects of this program (e.g. Delta copying, Shadow copying), though it may be fine for people who really only need barebones backup if the new pricepoint of the Basic is sufficiently lower.


Finally, a bit longer quote, also from a development-blog post:
"As you might've heard (and more than once), the next release will coincide with a change to our licensing model. Existing Personal and Professional licenses will be phased out in favor of Basic, Pro and Server tiers. The principal change is that licensing options will now differ in what the program can do as opposed to what it can be used for."

"The change itself is that we will continue providing maintenance updates for free, while the access to new features will be free for one year and an optional paid extension after that. The one year starts from the moment of licensing an installation. All major releases within one year window are included, each of which coming with a lifetime of maintenance updates. Basically, the bugfixes are on us. The new features, should you need them, are at a small cost after the first year. If you don't find any new features useful, you will be able to keep on using your existing release that will remain fully functional and supported."

Most importantly, "Finally, all legacy licenses (of Personal and Professional types) [for Bvckup 2 only?] will continue receiving all feature releases free of charge, just as they do now."


From all that text dump, it seems as though the "older" license includes...not "lifetime" updates, but possibly longer-term ones. Sounds like the only way this is a bad deal is if v3 is right around the corner (which doesn't sound like the case; he apparently still has several major features planned for the future of v2) or if the new license model has a significant price drop (again, sounds unlikely for at-home, non-business users who still want advanced functionality).

And a purchase now would hopefully let you keep the advanced functionality of the older Personal license while still getting in the discounted-upgrade path for v3 ("Regarding the upgrade discount [to v3] - it's likely to be in the 30-50% range, probably closer to the higher end of it"), though I may try to verify that on the Bvckup forums.

It's late and I am therefore too wordy, but hope the above info has been helpful to my fellow TPFC-ers! :-)

Specular
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Re: Bvckup 2 (commercial version)

#4 Post by Specular »

Onesimus Prime wrote: Sun Jan 06, 2019 11:57 pmBy my understanding, if you go to buy and you see that the Purchase page lists a "Basic" license option, you've missed the boat and the newer licensing terms are already in effect.

From the dev, Alex Pankratov: "There are two types of updates - milestone (feature) releases and maintenance (bugfix) releases. For example, release 79 is the former and releases 79.1, 79.8, etc. are the former. Right now both types are included with a license, perpetually [for Bvckup 2 only?]. This will change shortly. Maintenance releases will remain perpetually free, but the access to milestones releases will be included for one year and require a fee to extend it for another year after that." - https://bvckup2.com/support/forum/topic/1147/6322
I haven't found a need for this program yet but looking at the purchase page currently there are still the Pro and Personal options available however they both are listed as only containing 'Maintenance updates'. 'Milestone' updates aren't listed in the features.

I'm not sure if the dev has already updated what is included in these license options already under the same names or whether milestone updates are also included but just not listed.

I'd probably jump on buying a license just to have it if I knew both were still included tbh.

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webfork
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Re: Bvckup 2 (commercial version)

#5 Post by webfork »

Midas wrote: Sat Jan 05, 2019 1:07 pm I don't usually do this but let me join the choir here: Bvckup 2 is hands down the best backup utility ever, IMHO
This site's membership has endorsed very few commercial software programs, so that's encouraging.
Onesimus Prime wrote: Sun Jan 06, 2019 11:57 pm ... now is the time to buy it.
As someone who's read a lot of software licenses, even I find this whole topic tedious. I do understand the shift to the new license model and don't blame the dev for it, but it just seems like all this could be so much simpler.

Whatever the case, thanks for the very thorough post on something I expect only a handful of folks (myself included) would care about.
Last edited by webfork on Tue Jan 08, 2019 4:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: (better wording, added reply to Midas)

Enternal
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Re: Bvckup 2 (commercial version)

#6 Post by Enternal »

The developer has been quite slow about changing the software licenses as announced. He announced that he will "soon" change the licenses about a bit more than a year back, lol. Since then, I have bought several licenses. But yeah, this is one of those few software that I actually buy (others include Directory Opus and XYplorer, both which I LOVE) because of how darn good it is and how well supported it is. But also importantly, how much care the author obviously puts into it. That being said, it's a good idea to buy it soon because I don't know when "soon" will runs out and from the working on Bvckup2's blog, it seems "soon" will soon be soon :D

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