on 14/9/01 3:01 AM, Geoff Canyon at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> At 3:00 PM +0300 9/13/01, Douglas Wagner wrote:
>> Yes. However, although the Rev "Starter" version is free, it has a serious
>> limitation. Let's not get into more contests but rather recognize and
>> acknowledge the 10 line script limit prevents serious, i.e.,. Complex
>> evaluation. And a thorough evaluation is, of course, the only sort that
>> matters in the long run. One must conclude that although the Rev pricing
>> policy seems better in fact it isn't.
>
> Of course it has a serious limitation. Otherwise, why pay for the full
> version? Nevertheless, it is not limited _functionally_, as the REALbasic demo
> is. Others can speak more intelligently about this, but there are developers
> right now using nothing more than the starter kit to do complex development.
I've been thinking about this for a while. I'm not generally an advocate of
the 'do everything, so everyone will be happy' route, but...
The Rev starter kit is great for people who for whatever reason do not wish
to spend some cash (ie $3-400, plus updates). For them the fact that they
can do whatever their ingenuity allows, and create finished apps and
distribute them all without restriction, is a fantastic gift. The RB demo
(30 day limited; you can build apps but they expire on the same schedule
(and display a splash screen)) is not useful for this group.
> there are developers right now using nothing more than the starter kit to do
> complex development.
Good for them. However, there is a second group of users, probably working
for companies who will buy the license if they decide they like the product.
For these people, the RB Demo restrictions don't matter; they're evaluating
the product, it doesn't bother them in the slightest to get splash screens
and expiring apps. The RB Demo does its job - allowing these people to
decide whether to buy - just fine. The Rev/MC starter kit is deeply
inadequate for this group, because they want to find out what they will be
able to do when they (or their employers) have purchased a license. They
won't even consider not buying a license if they're going to use the
product, because the cost of the license is less important than the time it
will save them. Trying to work around the starter kit limitations is a
waste of their time (and frustrating). It makes it hard for them to
evaluate the product - some may not bother.
I think it's wonderful that Rev/MC support those users in the first group.
But I think sales may be lost by the failure to support the second group.
I don't know enough (nothing, actually) about the internals of the engine to
know whether it would be possible to create a variant that addresses the
need of the second group: ie a time limited demo or similar. But if it
could be done, I think it would be valuable (and lead to some increase in
sales - whether enough to justify the development cost is of course another
issue).
Ben Rubinstein | Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cognitive Applications Ltd | Phone: +44 (0)1273-821600
http://www.cogapp.com | Fax : +44 (0)1273-728866
