Well it’s been a long three long of doctoral coursework. I finished the courses for a Ph.D. in educational technology in June, and now it’s time for the dissertation. The topic today is that for three years I have been using the same version of the same bibliography tool: Endnote, version 6. I thought I would treat myself to an upgrade to take advantage of better Internet tools and other features. One thing that has changed since I started using Endnote is that the company now has an online store (I had to buy it from a vendor the first time). Apparently, since I live in Japan, I am required to order from the Japanese distributor of Endnote, USACO. The problem is USACO wants ¥20,790 for an upgrade, while the U.S. company is asking $89.95. At current exchange rates, that is double the price! After several email exchanges with “Customer Technical Support” (notice the section lacks the word ‘service’), I have learned that there is nothing to do but suck it up and pay the inflated price.
So guess what? I am no longer an Endnote customer. As of today, I am making the change to Bookends, a Mac-only package by the folks at sonnysoftware. I have played with version 7.7.5.5 for awhile. I mailed in the check for an upgrade (that’s another story itself), so we’ll see how this transition goes…
Tags: business, Research, software, technology, thumb down, thumb up, tool, writing