I know that upgrading to a new version of a company’s software is a major source of revenue. Put out a new release and usually 20-30% of the users upgrade. It is like printing money. But how do you get the other 70% to upgrade? Intuit, the makers of Quickbooks have now found a nifty way to get me to upgrade. While recently using the 2005 version of Quickbooks I bought 3 years ago, a message came up that said as of May 31, 2008, unless I upgrade to a newer version of Quickbooks, I would no longer be able to use the free emailing service for my bills. Of course they said that they do this so it “allows us to focus resources on support of more current products used by the vast majority of Quickbook customers. The result: a better customer experience…” And by the way, click here ad we will give you 18% off of the new version of the product.

Nonsense. They only experience Intuit is enhancing is their own revenue. It is unfair for Quickbooks to take away a feature that I bought with the product 3 years ago. I can understand not getting new features on the new releases, but shouldn’t I be able to retain all the features of the product that I purchased? What gives Quickbooks the right to take away features that I already own? Is it because it is a “free” service? It is not a free service- it is a feature that came with the product when I bought it. This is similar to buying a new car and three years later the manufacturer disables the radio and says that it will no longer work until you buy a new car.

Do other software companies have similar unfair practices?