Micromat has come up with a crafty way of taxing TechTool Pro 4 owners to keep using their software… refuse to offer the updater online. Granted, I’ve butted heads with Micromat in the past on their practices, but like I’ve said in the past, I do buy and use their products, as there isn’t anything better on the Mac for a system-wide repair and maintenance tool.

When Mac made the transition from PowerPC to Intel, Micromat didn’t reinvent their program, they simply recompiled it for Intel. Verision 4.0.3 became version 4.5. However, Micromat refused to offer the updater online. Instead, they insisted that users buy an “Update DVD” and pay a $25 handling fee.

When pressed, Micromat admitted that there wasn’t really a need to do this. They could have offered a downloadable update online. The response was masked in a “large file size” explanation, however, that turned out to be incorrect… the 4.5 update difference was actually not very large in size.

Now Micromat is poised to do this all over again. With the release of Leopard, Micromat had to tweak the program to continue working, but rather than offer the update online… guess what… another $25 handling fee, for another useless DVD.

This process is bad for everyone. It’s costly for the user, antagonizes Micromat… and is even bad for the environment (on some small level).

What do I suggest people do? Search online and download the update from a torrent or similar download site. You’re already a licensed TechTool Pro 4 user, you shouldn’t have to pay for a useless coaster of a disc. You’re not breaking the law to bypass paying a shipping and handling fee… so long as you’ve bought and paid for a license to TechTool Pro 4 already. I for one refuse to pay for perpetual DVD coasters that I don’t need.

What I suggest Micromat does, is end this practice completely. If you want people to upgrade… make a real upgrade with real improvements. Micromat is free to charge for new generations of products that help make the Mac better. If a release is too small to even be considered for a new license… don’t make people pay for a coaster.