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Do You Pay?


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Pay for both gc.com membership and GSAK. I'm still learning my way around GSAK, but find it so useful that it's worth the $. Also as an small business owner I appreciate the work it takes to keep one running. I admire the fact that both Jeremy and Clyde have taken the plunge and devoted their skills to full time efforts in creating better caching utilities. (when is that forum ignore feature coming :blink: )

But I will take freebies where I can also.

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Paid user of geocaching. I started paying over a year ago because I wanted to support the website. Since then I have acquired a new GPS, Garmin iQue, and am very glad to have the GPX download capability (I think that's a permium feature, it's been a while) and I love pocket queries.

 

I have downloaded GSAK and actually did something productive with it for the first time today. It doesn't "talk" directly to my iQue, I still have to use CMConvert, but it did save me having a bunck of duplicate caches that CMConvert was going to load. If I find more reason to use it I will definately pay for it. I like having the option of "trying before buying," it's a great way to decide just how useful a product is.

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Whats the advantage of the GPX files?

 

GPX files contain basically every bit of information that is on the cache page. This is helpful when using a powerful tool like GSAK to convert that information (e.g. terrian rating, whether the cache has travel bugs, etc) into a comment that some GPSr units can store. I have only used GSAK for a week or so and it seems like a great product, but I want to evaluate some others before I make my choice.

 

I decided to buy a premium menbers to gc.com after only a short time (2 weeks) geocaching because I knew this was something I wanted to do and wanted to support the hobby. I have to be honest and say that I felt a bit odd having a premium membership while still being a noob. I felt as though I had "bought" my way into a group of experienced members. I'm over that now and happier than ever.

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Haven't paid for GSAK. I downloaded it but haven't played with it at all. I also broke my PDA so I have no use or any of them at the moment.

 

GC.com-premium member. I'm having to lug around my laptop to get my queries . It's heavier than all those print outs I used to have on hand.

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I paid for both (GC.com and GSAK), and have automated my geocaching to the point where now I have more time for geoposting since I don't need to actually visit gc.com's caching side very much. Wish there were more daylight hours, though...

 

In addition, I have some filters in GSAK which let me check for caches which are missing in the area which may need a note to the owner or approver. I also have a filter which I have to go through regularly to update my database for archived caches, since you cannot get archived caches in a PQ (and have to download the GPX files one at a time - I guess you could add them to a bookmark list and maybe PQs on bookmark list will include archived caches - whenever that is available - but I don't see that as being any faster). Since I basically am keeping up with the caches within 75 miles (I've found nearly all the caches within a 25-mile radius), that means that the caches and owners in that radius are also being indirectly helped to various degrees (more so with owners who have basically left the game) through GSAK/gc.com automation, too.

 

So the minimal cost is _well_ worth it if you factor in the hours saved by going paperless and automated, plus the general upkeep of the caching landscape in my small area.

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I paid for both. I don't really use the PQs yet, but I want to support the game because I think it is great for families (or people who want families, or people who want to get away from their family, etc.). I had a rough year last year and didn't get much done, but this is a new year with a new plan (once tha #@$%@ snow is gone)! I support GSAK because I love that Clyde has put so much effort into making a wonderful product.

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I paid for gc.com because I find it is truly worth the price. PQs and access to MOCs aside, the site is among the things that most interest me even when I cannot manage to get out hunting caches(like right now). I'd love to use GSAK, but there is no Macintosh option. If there ever is, I promise I will pay for it.

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I pay for both gc.com and GSAK because both provide a useful service to me and I want them to continue doing so.

 

On a philosophical level, I believe that the market should reward good products and services and ignore bad ones. If you don't pay for things that are useful to you, you're sending the wrong signal to the person who created it, i.e. "this isn't worth even a few dollars to other people". IMO, that wouldn't be nice! :(

 

As an aside, GSAK is one of the best values I've ever received - not only is it very useful for the many reasons mentioned here, but the amount of work Clyde puts into supporting users, and continuously improving the product, is truly remarkable!

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I am happy to say I finally broke down and paid for GSAK. I also have paid for gc.com, but for different reasons.

 

I bought a gc.com membership because there was specific functionality (Pocket Queries) that I could not get with the free version.

 

I bought GSAK because I think it is a very useful tool and one that I want to see Clyde keep developing and working on. In theory I could have kept using it forever for free and gotten the same functionality, so I did it just because it was the right thing to do.

 

I had used GSAK for about 9 months before buying. I had learned to start it right away and then do other things like check email while waiting for the "GSAK Spouse" (hilarious!) to disappear. You know, in many cases I specifically won't purchase products with a nag screen because I don't want to encourage the idea that they work (kind of like buying products advertised via spam or pop-up ads), but some things are just too useful to pass up.

 

I honestly cannot imagine caching without Pocket Queries and GSAK.

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1) In my line of work, and for the past five or so years, open source and freeware applications are the norm, and people like me take advantage of the wonderful things others do. Of course, in order for this system to work universally, people like me who use these tools have almost an obligation to develop open our own open source or freeware applications for the benefit of others. It's like a new currency system, where the currency is useful applications rather than money, and the value of each application is irrelevant as long as at least a few can use it.

 

Cool!

Where can I download the freeware you have developed?

 

I pay for good software I use because all the software I have written is lame.

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I pay, not only because I enjoy it, and hope my contributions help aid its furthering what it has to offer, but becaues in todays world, it is far and few things that impress me enough to require my help to keep it alive, that when i find one, i try to help out. geocaching helps people get out, stay fit, keep good traits and practices (cleaning up the enviroment, the honar system, etc), and aids in a 'smarter' group of hobbyists. when we do run across such an outfit, we do not merely subscribe to have more fun, but to help enrich society, and make it a better world.

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