I know you mean well :)
But what if after paying $395, Vue 8 doesn't come out until more than a year after I buy the maintenance plan, which is then outside the "free upgrade" time?
And do you think I can just pull that kind of money out my ass? :/

E-On's attitude is seemingly saying it doesn't want "scumbag normal Joe Blow users, it only wants business customers who will ALSO pay for maintenance, yes you have to pay TWICE just to keep going with this app!",
that's how folk will see this, think about it a minute...it's going down like a lead balloon, regardless of facts or how E-On may actually mean it.
This is incredibly badly thought out, and alas, typical of "corporate" stupidity.

it also means it will have a LOT more folk demanding direct maintenance help because they have paid for it just to avoid being screwed over...which will tie up more E-On staff...

E-On needs ot pull it's head out of it's cloudy ass and re-think it's attitude and how it presents itself. All of this and the complexity of versions and bugs = E-On doesn't get a good name.
They need to get back in touch with their grass roots customers, pare their products versions and prices down, ask customers questions a LOT more, put feedback questionnaires up or whatever.

Simple fact that corporates simply cannot get their heads around:
digital products, you can potentially sell them to every person Earth with broadband...
never occurs to corporates, always how much they can get per customer is what they think about.

Ah well.

"I'd rather be a Fool who believes in Dragons, Than a King who believes in Nothing!" www.silverblades-suitcase.com
Free tutorials, Vue & Bryce materials, Bryce Skies, models, D&D items, stories.
Tutorials on Poser imports to Vue/Bryce, Postwork, Vue rendering/lighting, etc etc!