on 5/27/2000 7:11 PM, Richard Gaskin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Yes!
>
> As I understand it, those people will need help. Asymetrix seems to be at
> least putting ToolBook on the back shelf: it's been two years and all
> they've come up with is a minor upgrade from 7.0 to 7.1.
>
> MetaCard is the closest thing they've got. Oh, and what a discovery it
> would be for them:
>
> - Great interpreter
> - All three operating systems families
> - Radically lower prices
>
> Two ToolBook programmers and three production staff cost a ToolBook shop:
> TB Instructor: $2495 x 2 = $4,990
> TB Librarian: $995 x 3 = $2,985
> __________________________________
> Total Authoring Hit $7,975
>
> Compare with a similarly-staffed MetaCard shop:
> MetaCard License: $995 x 2 = $1,990
> MC Starter Kit: $0 x 2 = $0
> __________________________________
> Total Authoring Hit $1,990
>
>
> "Save more than 75% -- go MetaCard!"
>
> :)
>
AMEN, preach it!
But there are some other issues. ToolBook is slow and clumsy. Every image
imported is stored as a bitmap in a resources file, immensely inflating
stack size. Its widgets are hard to manage. While ToolBook does have the
advantage of being able to create HTML from its pages, the processes are
still rather clumsy, and the output could be a lot better! I'm sure that
this export process will make it into one of the future versions of MC.
>
> The version issue raises a question: Mr. Raney, I know we all deplore
> companies who jump major version numbers for mere bug fixes (we needn't
> mention names of course), but tell us: Why are you so conservative with
> MetaCard's version numbers?
>
> 2.3 could well have been called at least 2.5. With it's QT support, new
> tokens, and much better Mac support, it's anything but a _minor_ upgrade.
>
> We appreciate the modesty, but from a marketing perspective have you
> considered the perceptual value of upping your version numbers to better
> communicate the strength of what you're delivering?
>
> --
> Richard Gaskin
> Fourth World
> Multimedia Design and Development for Mac, Windows, UNIX, and the Web
Richard says it well. Scott, you have been giving us a great product. And
while others have said something about you retiring early, I sincerely hope
you make a ton of money, but stick with MC for a long time. With such
support as you have given your product, you are a very rare person in the
application world today.
Raymond
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