On 10 Nov 2006, at 17:43, Bernard Devlin wrote:
Dave said:
>>
I think it's really sad that this is the case, and, the new
way of selling support or updates compounds that problem and makes it
harder to sell (in my experience).
<<
It might make it harder for you to sell. That doesn't mean that
(overall) it is a less profitable way for Runrev to function.
Indeed, I think maybe some clarification is required here. If you
are renewing an existing license, Rev is really insignificant as a
business expense. If you are buying a license for the first time,
you no longer get the free 1 year of upgrades that earlier
licensees got. Well, sorry for those people who are a little late
to the party - maybe you should turn this around and consider that
existing users of Rev are being rewarded for the past good sense
and loyalty. Believe it or not, I actually agree with you that
this change in pricing seems like a backward step for Runrev - but
neither you nor I are privy to their thinking, and I just assume
that if it does not work as they expect they are shrewd enough to
make the necessary changes.
Now, what are you referring to WRT "the new way of selling
support"? I don't think that the costs of support have changed,
and furthermore, as I pointed out in an earlier email, the cost of
support incidents from Rev are remarkably low compared to the other
support options for products I use/have used.
You are looking at this from the position of "knowing" that you are
right. Try to convince a department that is using (say) RealBasic.
>>
It may help to realize that there is a big distinction made (both at
RunRev and with seasoned RunRev developers that have come to the
environment via HyperCard/MetaCard) between the IDE and the Engine.
This means that more support effort is put into developing/fixing the
Engine than the IDE. The problem with this is that new customers do
not see this distinction until further along the RunRev route and
treat it as one big package.
<<
There is no reason for new users to be aware that there is a
separation between the engine and the IDE (in fact, there is every
reason to keep that complication away from new users). We are in
the enlightened position that the engine and the IDE can be
separated, hence the availability of other IDEs (all still provided
by the same engine). That doesn't mean that Runrev have neglected
the IDE, as far as I can see, so what makes you say "more support
effort is put into developing/fixing the Engine than the IDE"? I
just looked at the change log files that came with 2.7.4 and they
are both 8kb in size, but there are far more bug fixes listed for
the IDE than there are for the engine.
There are literally dozens of bugs in the IDE that have been there
for the three years plus that I have been using RunRev.
The problem is when a new user sits down in front of the IDE and
after a little "playing" their (say) Application Browser Window will
not appear, they blame the whole RunRev envorment not just the IDE.
It just gives an impression of instability in the whole environment,
they think that the App they develop may have similar bugs. Couple
that with the fact that they are now expected to pay "extra" for
support, means they think twice before paying the license fee after
the trail period.
All the Best
Dave
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