>> To be brutal here are the facts from a Studio 3 veteran. Apologies to Allaire/Bradsoft/Macromedia.
Here goes... >> As a product called "ColdFusion Studio xxx" MM will not be releasing a successor to the last incarnation of the product (CFStudio 5). In the interim MM have developed the comely Dreamweaver MX. Even updated it (6.1). However, what MM have done is, despite being successfully sued my Adobe, who must really need the money because they also make great software, was to release a FREE* product called HomeSite+ (HomeSite PLUS). I was amongst the throng demanding that "Studio" be retained. Why? Because it was the best way to develop pure CFML. Times change however. Now you can use the same product for ASP, PHP, JSP and CFML and more. Only the name has changed. Studio was born from Nick Bradbury's (BradSoft) HomeSite product. A popular product for good reason. Allaire acquired HomeSite from BradSoft. HomeSite was beefed up. ColdFusion Studio was bred from HomeSite (by Allaire but with leanings towards CFML development - not just HTML). Allaire merged with MM. At the time we thought (amongst the dedicated CF community) that this was NOT a good thing. Hell - you should have seen the discussion lists at the time - nearly as bad as the Microsoft.... After the merger MM released ColdFusion Studio 5. A fine but buggy product. I won't go into details but it did have some major problems. Enter Studio MX. This moniker alone caused a bit of confusion. MM can be applauded for taking the step (the sales of Studio MX alone reflect this). But where did that leave us long enduring "Studio" users? We were screwed. You could no longer buy ColdFusion Studio as an out-of-box product. The indications from MM were that this situation was not going to change. Thankfully some very smart and close PPL to MM heard our pleas. Studio in its age old moniker died. In its place we have a product called HomeSite+. You cannot "buy" HomeSite+ off the shelf at this stage. I guess MM want you to buy Dreamweaver MX (then it comes FREE, sort of, on the CD). However while the new Studio MX heralded a new age of web development tools, with a distinct Macromedia flavour, which I really like, and Adobe and the like seem to be following up on, the king of "text editors" remains. HomeSite+ Is it WRONG to not allow the buying public to purchase HS+ seperately from the DWMX or Studio MX package? I think so - yes. For pure control over a web site and it's code who needs DWMX (particularly if you program with Fusebox)? I don't like DWMX - not yet at least - but hey they gave me HS+ and I will be forever grateful. I even "un-installed" ColdFusion Studio 5! Does MM still support Studio 5 or earlier? Does Microsoft still support Windows 3.x or 95? MM does not have to unless they keep the BEST 'text and site editor with superior reference to anything remotely related to web development albeit it ASP, PHP, CFML, JavaScript, etc)... ColdFusion Studio died the day (yesterday) I un-installed the AUD$1,900 program never to be re-installed. Now I use HomeSite+ and dabble with Flash MX, Fireworks MX, Freehand 10 and layout tables with Dreamweaver MX. If you are still using a version of Studio other than 5, upgrade to the Studio MX range because you can do so much more. If you are on a budget, path your installation with the updated help files, particularly if your have or are moving to CFMX. >> Ahh, but the answer is not that simple on the death of ColdFusion Studio. 1) You cannot buy ColdFusion Studio or its successor, Homesite+, for any price separate from Dreamweaver. True. Maybe MM are consolidating their product range. I believe that Studio in any form be it HomeSite+ or by any other name should be a product that MM "could" sell. There must be a reason why MM cannot do this. The Adobe lawsuit victory might have an implication here. 2) There has not been a new feature release of CFS/HS+ for 3 years. No idea what MM had planned for Studio but look at what they did with DWMX and it's brethren. Seen Adobe 6? Seems MM should be doing the suing now! Hope not because they have the best engineers and should just keep doing what they do best. 3) There has been no marketing for the product for 2 years. Studio MX is very highly publicised. I've got a US $100.00 note stuck in my undies I can't use 'cos they only do deals with the Americans. MM first conference DownUnder was a huge success - not monetary like it would be statewise - but you would be amazed what Aussies and New Zealanders can do with MM's new product line. 4) There is no MX version of the product, unlike all of the other developer products from Macromedia. Yes there is. Dreamweaver MX. I have it. I use it (for layout). I don't like it. On a P4 with 512Mb RAM it is too slow. It's better than Vermeer FrontPage (Microsoft bought the company). I have HomeSite+. MM lost a lawsuit with Adobe over Studio so had to take a different tack. It worked and they managed to keep HomeSite+ with it. Be grateful. I know I and many other CFML developers are. 5) There is no development center at DevNet for CF Studio/Homesite+ Possibly correct here. However there must be 'hundreds of thousands' of experts if you need help. All you have to do is ask. Have you ever seen the CF-Talk list? Oh yeah of course. Even the popular Ben Forta does not discount the Studio like package of products like HomeSite+. In fact it is probably due to ppl like Ben we still have the finest text/site editor available. 6) There is no additional support for some of the new functionality in CFMX (xml, components, etc), some of which does have additional support in DWMX. I totally disagree with this as the free 5.2 updater brings you well up to speed. Yes the product tends to rush well ahead of the documentation. The recently announced RedSky update to CFMX (6.1 I guess when it goes to release candidate) already provides a tag updater. * nothing is ever free. Use HomeSite+ for even a day or two and you will be hooked. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?forumid=4 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?method=subscribe&forumid=4 FAQ: http://www.thenetprofits.co.uk/coldfusion/faq Get the mailserver that powers this list at http://www.coolfusion.com Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.4
