BigOven

Hi,

I'm really excited about BigOven, but I'm not sure it will do what I want it for, so I only have the trial version yet.

One thing is menu planning.  I'd like to be able to specify a range of dates and see that range's menu, rather than just a day or a month.  If I want a Wednesday to a Wednesday, I'd like to be able to have that right in front of me.

The thing that keeps being mentioned about saving a menu to reuse would be great, too.  My goal is to have 18 months of completely different menus saved.  I have used a menu planning service in the past but my own needs have changed, and I can't find a service that will send me the kinds of meals I need to cook, so I'm doing my own.

One thing I'm needing is to be able to email recipes together with menu plans and shopping lists, because I'm helping my mom, who has glaucoma.  She has software to read it all to her if I can send it in an email, or she can still use huge fonts.  Can Big Oven do this?

Finally, is it $20 a year for upgrades and bug fixes?  I know Big Oven does so much and so many changes were made the first couple of years, but when I look at the changelog now not much has happened recently, and that seems a bit steep, especially for bug fixes.  I'm thinking maybe I should wait for BO 2.0.  

Don't get me wrong: I want Big Oven, and I want it now.  But there are things I need it to do!

The trial version does just what the Deluxe Edition does.  It does have some basic meal planning features in it:

• You can drag and drop recipes to the calendar
• You can generate a shopping list for any date range
• You can view and print meal plans (and associated recipes and shopping lists) for any date range

Our pricing policy is that all updates between major versions are free, and we've delivered a ton of free upgrades to the software and the website for the modest price, in addition to providing a 24x7 recipe archive where you can search recipes, fetch recipes, post photos, watch cooking videos, add recipe links, email recipes, add ratings, access them from the iPhone or cellular phone for free, etc. 

Since the desktop software tightly integrates with the website, it's important to note that the upgrades that we make to the website often bring significant new power to the desktop version as well, and these are not listed in the (pretty long) changelog.  Purchasers get all this, plus 3 licenses for less than $30.  We think that's a pretty good value proposition, but of course you'll have to make that judgement on your own.  We do have a long list of feature requests to deliver, but there is only so much time in the day to deliver them.  

We have a strict policy not to comment on any products or timeline before they are in beta, so we ask you to base your evaluation on what you see, and whether it meets your current needs.  If not, that's ok -- we just don't want you to be disappointed if we make any commitments and fall short of them. 

Ok, I'll have to play with it some more and see if I can figure things out.  Thanks for the quick reply!

I did read the Changelog, and saw the $19.99 price on upgrades, so I thought that was in effect or misunderstood.

If this can truly print out meal plans, recipes and shopping lists, that would be great.  Can it put that combination into word or email format?

We haven't announced any pricing on upgrades at this time, thanks.

You can print and email meal plans, recipes and shopping lists. 

However, in some cases, to email some of those, you need to go into print preview, select the entire window with the mouse (or use ctrl-a to select all), press ctrl-c to copy it to the clipboard, and then paste it into your email client as a workaround.

Thanks!  That really helps.  I need to email the whole shebang to her (actually to my dad, who will bring home nothing but a bag of DingDongs if she doesn't send him a detailed list--it's been a huge problem since she developed glaucoma and has actually negatively impacted her general health).

Thanks again!  It's that one little function I need more than anything else!