I wanted to make sure I understand a few things here.
1. Upgrades from 1.6.x on personal/commercial licenses are paid, correct?
You get free updates for a year for your version of EE, IE 1.x. After one year, there is a small fee to renew download access. Note that you only have access to the most recent version of EE. We do not support older versions or provide download access to older versions.
2. Is downgrading from a license to Core possible?
There is no officially supported way to downgrade from the full version to core.
3. When is 1.6.1 going to be released? While an exact date would be nice, some sort of ballpark estimate would be fantastic; this month, this year, the Spring, Summer…etc.
When its done. 😊
No worries though, if you purchase now the upgrade to 1.6.1 will be free.
3.5. Is there an ideal release schedule/interval for updates?
I don’t know if its “ideal” or not but we typically release 3-4 significant updates to EE per year with some smaller ones in-between. You can browse the Change Log to get an idea of how extensive updates typically are in terms of features, updates, and fixes.
4. Can you clarify the license boundaries with personal and commercial: if the site makes enough money to support itself, is that personal, and if it makes a profit its commercial?
Two simple questions can help you determine what type of license you need.
1. Is the primary purpose of the site to make money?
2. Is the purpose of the site to support a legal business or professional service in any way?
If you answer yes to either of the above then you need a Commercial license.
The purpose of a site, not its profitability (or lack thereof) determines the necessary license. A business using EE to power a site that doesn’t sell a product or as a company intranet still needs a commercial license because its supporting a commercial entity. Conversely a personal site that sells a t-shirt with the site’s logo (or whatever) and displays an ad is fine with a Personal license.
In theory, could something like Facebook/Myspace or Flickr run Expression Engine on a commercial license legally (where the site offers a free service)?
Nope. The license forbids those type of sites. Please review the License F.A.Q. for more details.
What about paid services, say for example the Apple website Store? From what I understand these would be acceptable (though the amount of plugins needed would be fun to think about).
Something like the Apple store would be just fine in regards to the license; but you’re right about the plugins and customization for something that ambitious.
5. Is there anything I need to know when buying EE for a client?
If you’re a developer looking to use EE for multiple projects than its important to know about the Volume Discount Program and the ability to transfer licenses.
Each software purchase you make on the same expressionengine.com account is logged so that as you meet milestones as indicated below you will automatically receive the discount. The discount plan is cumulative, allowing you to purchase what you need today and still receive a discount when you meet any of the milestones at a later date. Please note that the volume discount plan only applies to ExpressionEngine and ExpressionEngine module purchases. It does not apply to installation services or 30-day demo sign-ups.
Volume Discount Milestones:
3+ purchases, 10% off
6+ purchases, 15% off
10+ purchases, 20% off
15+ purchases, 25% off
20+ purchases, 30% off
30+ purchases, 40% off
40+ purchases, 50% off
You can transfer the license to the client at a later date. Transferring a license is easy, here’s how.
1. Have the client register at expressionengine.com here: http://expressionengine.com/member/register/
2. Email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) the license number you want transferred and the client’s expressionengine.com user name.
3. We’ll transfer the license and notify you when the transfer is completed. After the transfer all further notifications will be sent to the client as if the client was the original purchaser. Please note we do not notify the client of the transfer, we leave that you.
That’s it. We’ll transfer the license. When we transfer a license you receive a “Developer credit” which counts as a purchase toward the Volume Discount program.
Please note that we do not allow reselling. In other words, you can’t claim to sell or provide licenses, nor can you publicly advertise discounts on licenses. What you can claim is that you can purchase EE for a client and transfer it to them. Its also perfectly fine to advertise that you provide ExpressionEngine related services and development (of course). Its a subtle, but important difference.