Wikipedia and competing software

I have to laugh sometimes. Long ago I created a Wikipedia page for Memorize-It. I did this mostly for a better Google rating, but also as a historical reference. I've been revisiting it recently as another company I do some advisory work for has been talking about adding a Wikipedia entry. I then went to look at the electronic flashcards entry on Wikipedia to see what software was listed.

It seems that Wikipedia has removed all references to the different flashcards software. Which seems odd, but as much as I really love Wikipedia, their content rules for external links are quite schizophrenic. It doesn't bother me really, but then I started looking at the page history for edits to the electronic flashcards page (anyone can edit a Wikipedia page) to see when those references were removed.

The edit history looks like a war zone where tons of people (mostly Supermemo) are desperate to have their link on that page. Wikipedia editors have been fairly quick to delete references to real electronic flashcards software (over and over and over again). I don't understand why Wikipedia doesn't want links to real electronic flashcard systems, but it is just interesting to see the attempts. Then I went and looked at the Wikipedia Memorize-It page and there were a ton of similar edits to competing products added and removed. I wouldn't mind them there since I still believe that Memorize-It is the best flashcard software, but then again the Wikipedia editors have been fairly diligent about removing those links as well.

It should be noted that I did include a real link to a (very militant) competitor (Supermemo). Some may think it strange, but my goal in this venture is for people to learn with the method that is best for them. The more information you have in your decision making process, the better life will be for all of us. I don't always agree with the tactics some companies use, but I don't mind the competition at all. My suggestion to the Supermemo folks is to use a little larger font and a little more substance on their main page. My eyes went cross after about 20 seconds. Looking at their history, Supermemo has been around just as long as Memorize-It. The original DOS versions were both developed in 1987. Interesting. It has been a long road. I've never met or spoken to Piotr Wozniak, but I'm sure we could have an interesting conversation.

Recap

This is a recap of this blog I have been writing for the past few years. Memorize-It is alive and well and the best flashcards software available since 1992. I continue to develop and support this product have a version that works for every version of windows since Windows 3.1. That includes Windows Vista which we have been using to develop the next generation of Flashcard software. Upgrades are always only $10 and we give free upgrades to anyone who purchased Memorize-it in the 6 months prior to the upgrade release. We don't have a target date for the next version and it has been in development for over a year now, but it is showing progress. The time frame is unknown mostly because there are some huge new features and a new look and big changes just take time. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Don't pay extra for extended downloads

There has been a trend lately in the software download industry to try and up-sell customers with an extended download service. This is the scam. You pay an extra $5-10 dollars when you purchase and then you can have your serial numbers resent to you later if you have a hard disk crash or something. I've seen a number of e-mails praising how well this works to increase revenue. To me it just seems like robbery or taking advantage of people. If you purchase Memorize-It and lose your serial number, send us an e-mail. We keep records (like everyone else) and it is pretty simple to look up and send you the serial number.

As for the download, you can always download Memorize-It from right here: http://www.memorize-it.com, including older versions in case you can't afford the $10 for an upgrade.

Extended download, just say no.

Behind the scenes

For the past few years I've been working on a new version of Memorize-It. Before you decide to hold off on your purchase I have given a FREE upgrade to anyone that has purchased in the 6 months previous to every release. Also, upgrades are always only $10. One of my biggest disappointments with the software industry is the cost of maintenance and yearly updates. It really gets my blood boiling: the yearly cost, the upgrades that are nearly the same price as the original and the crazy schemes that companies come up with the take advantage of you. I never started this venture to make a ton of money. I have a regular job and did this on the side for my own benefit and decided to release it as a product after a few years of refinement. Mostly just to share what I've done with others. Anyway, here is a screenshot of the latest quiz win.


I still have a lot more work to go, but it has been a consistent bit of progress forward for the past six months. Probably a lot longer to go, but I'm excited to finally get this done and have been putting much of my extra time on getting there.

Flashcards with sound

One of the best things I ever added to Memorize-It was sound. I did this on the first computer that came with a microphone. It was a macintosh IIsi. I've since abandoned the Mac and have lately been trying to revive it with limited success due to other obligations, but that is a different story. I added the sound on flashcards while I was in Germany learning German. I would come home from the local Gasthaus and type in the words I had struggled with to for the evening. Later I would add the sounds and archive them for others to use. Sound on cards really adds a lot of potential to the value of flashcards.

Printing Flashcards

Printing flashcards was a feature that came along much later. I had only envisioned an electronic quiz system, but it seemed that many people also wanted to print their flashcards. Not a problem, I'm always open to new features and added it to the 2.0 version. I do most of my printing on business card paper because they travel well and you get more per page of paper making them less expensive. I've added a lot more formats over the years and am always surprised (but quick to add) the many different formats that people are interested in.