$35 for Reflector
In lieu of my past complaining about Reflector’s new owners you might expect some outrage about the announcement today that redgate will be charging $35 for this product starting in March. Your current free version will stop working shortly thereafter forcing you to buy the upgrade or find another tool. I can’t say, however, that I’m all that surprised. The .net ecosystem is a place where tools cost money. Visual Studio costs money. SQL Server costs money. Sure there are ways to write C# code in notepad++ and run the compiler on the command line, but I don’t know too many developers who operate like that. And $35 is small fries compared to what I pay for a control set like DevExpress. I say vote with your wallet. If you find value in the tool at that price – great! Otherwise, find an alternative or build your own. As for me, I’m holding out for this - especially since I’m already a customer and love what they put out.
Quite a shame they charging for it, greedy bastards.
Not everything costs $$ in .net land, Visual Studio Express, SQL Server Express, CodeRush Express, DXCore and the many community addins.
John
February 2, 2011 at 6:00 pm
You are right, John – there are still some great free tools in .net land. I would still say it isn’t quite the same as some of the other development communities.
Tim Clem
February 2, 2011 at 8:55 pm
Alternatively, have your employer buy you Reflector Pro six months ago, and Red Gate will give you the next three years for free.
Rory MacLeod
February 2, 2011 at 7:00 pm