Please consider having an LTS version of EssentialPIM

Your suggestions for future versions of EssentialPIM

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Why should developers consider supporting an LTS version separate from Bleeding edge version

LTS required
3
38%
Bleeding Edge is enough
3
38%
both LTS and Bleeding Edge should be there
2
25%
I do not care
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 8

surya
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Please consider having an LTS version of EssentialPIM

Post by surya »

Hi,
Please consider having an LTS stable supported version with a life of at least 2 years and a bleeding edge version separately for one year like in Libreoffice or Linux.
--
Sincerely,
Suryanarayana,
Visakhapatnam
India
lk
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Re: Please consider having an LTS version of EssentialPIM

Post by lk »

I would strongly endorse this and even pay extra for such a version (and I have been a lifetime license user for more than a decade)! A well-tested release with some years of support. No new features, no UI changes, only bugfixes. Some overlapping with the next LTS version in order to get it ripened before the previous LTS version reaches end of life.

(Firefox has a similar scheme with its ETS versions.)

lk
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Re: Please consider having an LTS version of EssentialPIM

Post by kb5cth »

+1 here.

I simply cannot understand the constant stream of bugs in this program that linger for years while the Devs issue new versions that carry those bugs with them.

Stop issuing "Upgrades" until the program is stable.

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Re: Please consider having an LTS version of EssentialPIM

Post by a8907433 »

+1
I notice some bugs, every few versions coming and going and coming again. I don´t even report some bugs, I´m accustomed with. They will disapear in the coming versions, so why making an effort to explain the bug in 15 postings.
At the moment there is a bug, not showing Tags in emails, the same bug one or two years ago. But I know how to deal with this bug.
I would like to have some new features, for example a spread sheet in notes- but I would strongly prefere a bug free version, not introducing new features, only just doing its job and and working without trouble and take care of my data in tha db. EPIM is a very good and usable program, but it is oszilating between very buggy with new features and no new features and stable running without bugs.
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Re: Please consider having an LTS version of EssentialPIM

Post by lk »

Amen. There was a similar discussion two years ago (see https://www.essentialpim.com/forum/view ... hp?t=35749), things haven't got better since then. Sometimes even confirmed bugs are waiting a long time for a fix (and only after some reminders).

During the past years I have filed many bug reports in this forum. Most of them have been fixed since then, sometimes only after several time-consuming tests on my side, something I usually only do for open-source software (on Github and similar platforms). EPIM has been the only exception: I hoped to contribute to a better software, but more and more it feels like a fight against Hydra: one bug reported, fixed in a future version which introduced two new bugs. Many of these bugs and quirks weren't really difficult to reproduce, they should have been easily detected by testers. (And I'm far away from using each and every feature of EPIM!)

EPIM definitely has a QA problem! I will never understand why testing and QA has such a low priority for the developers!

@Admin/Developers: Please take my rant seriously. As you see, I'm not the only one complaining about quality problems. I have stopped recommending EPIM to other people some years ago mainly for this reason and if I had just started using it, I certainly would have dropped it after just a few weeks. I have been a long-term EPIM user, my first calendar entry is from 29 June 2007 (no typo!) and I have been organising almost every part of my life with it since then (with the exception of e-mails). But I fear the time for a switch will come soon. My lifetime is limited and I don't get paid for reinstalling old versions, restoring databases from backups, reporting silly bugs and so on.

So here is my suggestion: No new features for the next 6-12 months! Just concentrate on fixing all known bugs, correcting inconsistencies and testing, testing, testing. (I'm pretty sure, you will be quite busy with all that alone!) Make the next version an "EPIM Rock Solid Edition" (which could save as a basis for a future LTS version).

lk
Last edited by lk on Wed Jan 18, 2023 10:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
surya
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Re: Please consider having an LTS version of EssentialPIM

Post by surya »

Hi Admin,
Please, please do not introduce any new features for the next 6 months. Just test, test, test, fix all known bugs that have ever been repeated so far. You have released 11.2.1. I still see bugs. When I introduced a 100 MB attachment into an encrypted database, the software does it, but becomes completely unresponsive and hogs CPU time. Do not know what it is doing. But it just becomes unresponsive and stays that way for more than 30 min and i then use the task manager to kill it.
Also There were database files which I created in 2009 which 11.2.1 or 11.2 or 10.x refuse to open with an error message, while 6.5.8 nicely opens it, creates a backup and upgrades to its version. How strange I thought.

Yes I did not submit any bug reports on the above two issues so far. But as I see it, it is not reliable and robust.
FYI, I also use ActionOutline software to encrypt my banking data and other software license codes. It NEVER crashed in the last few years. It is so stable. Just NEVER crashed, never gave me an error message. Yes it does not take and store attachments. Has few features, but is rock solid stable for the features it has.
So although I am not comparing EssentialPIM with ActionOutline software, I am trying to make a point on stability.
I purchased a lifetime license for EssentialPIM because I need to store attachments along some text.
Now as I started to settle to use it, I see problems which do worry me.
So consider - no new features for the next 6 months and Fix all known ones. I will stress test it in many ways and will submit more bug reports.
Will you consider the above request.
--
Sincerely,
Suryanarayana,
Visakhapatnam
India
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Re: Please consider having an LTS version of EssentialPIM

Post by bofh »

stability is much more important for me than new features!
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Re: Please consider having an LTS version of EssentialPIM

Post by admin »

Do you find the latest version unstable?
Android version of EssentialPIM. Keep all your data in sync!
bofh
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Re: Please consider having an LTS version of EssentialPIM

Post by bofh »

No, I didn't yet test the latest version, since it is too new - I usually wait weeks/months after bug reports in the forum get less. I'm still using 10.2.1.

After all, it's just what I wrote: Stability is top priority for me, so I support the request for a version only targeting removal of issues, without adding new features. As in LibreOffice, already mentioned above.
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Re: Please consider having an LTS version of EssentialPIM

Post by kb5cth »

Admin,

Yes I find the latest version unstable. I still experience the "'m' is not a valid integer value" problem. I understand the problem lies in MY database, but your product allowed invalid data into my data set...or caused a data corruption. Either way, it was a problem with your program that caused or allowed my data problem.

I run several databases daily that never experience data corruptions like yours allows. Very frequently, users post of issues that require sending to you to be repaired. If your program did not allow data corruptions in the first place, there would be no need for this ongoing "personal" attention.

Thus, I too would like to see a focus on stability before you introduce new features. Make it work correctly before you make it work better.

Bill L
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Re: Please consider having an LTS version of EssentialPIM

Post by admin »

bofh, so 10.2.1 seems stable to you?

kb5cth, no LTS version will fix your specific database related issue, which could have been caused by your SSD malfunction, for instance.
Android version of EssentialPIM. Keep all your data in sync!
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Re: Please consider having an LTS version of EssentialPIM

Post by a8907433 »

I use latest version, 11.2.4.
YES, it is STABLE, but it is really far away from bug-free. There is one old bug again: The list of tags in emails is missing, I can´t choose a tag, there is nothing to choose. I have to click on an old email in my drafts, where I saved all tags, an then tags are working again. This is a bug which first occured one or two years ago, now it is here again.
Second, now reminders aren´t working correct. If I choose 6 hours, EPIM doesn´t remember this, next time it is set to 5 min. again.
And last but not least..... Synchronization: Sometimes it is working, but most times not. Neither direct (WLAN) nor with EPIM cloud. Since EPIM introduced multiple calendars, my calendar is not synchronized. In cloud my notes are not synchronized. Often synchronizing is not working at all. Don´t ask for details, the forum is full of it.

For the tags I have a workaround and sometimis it will work again, don´t know why. Perhaps it is database related. But, there is no way I can send you my complete db, and without it, you can´t help. The new bug with the reminders.... I can live with it, and somtimes it will disappear.
And synchronization.... I have given up. For calendar, passwords and contacts I have a solution: ical, a specialiced service and app, and vcf. This works fine for me, without any troubles. Notes I will edit on my phone only (I have different notes on desktop and phone), so I can live with it too.

So, EPIM is stable and a wonderfull program on desktop for which there is no substitute for me. But I still would prefere a version with no new bugs, but all features working without any troubles. And, the the Database management should be enhanced, so that bugs in the db would be detected and corrected. So, an LTS would be this version, with all bugs removed and stable (stable it is!!).... I would not change version until there a new "killer"-feature (for example a table with calculating functions).
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Re: Please consider having an LTS version of EssentialPIM

Post by admin »

a8907433, thanks for the feedback. And I hate to be the bearer of bad news - your mentioned issues would never be fixed in an LTS version if there was one. We couldn't reproduce any of the mentioned problems on our side, unfortunately. If you wish we could dig deeper about any of them but that should be done in a separate topic.
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Re: Please consider having an LTS version of EssentialPIM

Post by bofh »

admin wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 2:23 pm bofh, so 10.2.1 seems stable to you?
can't tell since I used it rarely the last months.
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