Now I see what is likely going on. Thanks Joe for explaining more.
Scott
On Apr 8, 2006, at 4:25 PM, Kafka's Daytime wrote:
Understood. Just to be clear, we set the price of katieplayer: $18.
RFBD sets the price of the RFBD User Authorization Key (UAK) - that
is our of our hands. Incidentally - a little history - we developed
and provided the katieplayer RFBD UAK to RFBD free-of-charge.
Any new Mac software applications offered by RFBD will likely be
about $130 and up - much more expensive than katieplayer even with
our $18 public license fee + RFBD's $20 fee for RFBD UAK. We'll
just have to wait and see what RFBD members are willing to pay for
DAISY software and how RFBD will choose - moving forward - to allow
it's members to access its protected content. The nice thing about
the Bookshare setup (from both the developer and end user
perspective) is that you will only need to own a katieplayer public
license - no need to worry about a User Authorization Key (and any
additional cost incurred therein). That is, any person who wants to
read Bookshare books with katieplayer pays $18 and that's it.
Finally, upgrades to the Cocoa version of katieplayer (whatever the
breadth of its support for DAISY from the various content
providers) will be free for existing registered katieplayer users
(of which you are one). It's our way of showing thanks for adopting
the first version and helping us keep the effort alive and healthy.
Thanks again for the response.
More on katieplayer Price Matters:
http://www.kafkasdaytime.com/2005/11/price-matters-important-part-
of.html
Joe
On Apr 8, 2006, at 4:00 PM, Jane Jordan (gmail) wrote:
If RFB&D removed KatiePlayer as an option, but the books still
played on the version Ihave now and all, I'd keep it and figure
out what to do from there. It's expensive enough. Had to pay $18
for you, then $20 or $25, can't remember which, for the key from
RFB&D. I'd stick with what I have now, and if I needed to upgrade
to play Daisy books from bookshare, guess I would. Would be odd,
but doable.
Jane
On Apr 8, 2006, at 2:52 PM, Kafka's Daytime wrote:
OK. What if RFBD removed katieplayer as an affordable option for
new purchasers and only offered higher priced Mac software
options: $120+. Would you stick with the old version of
katieplayer or go with the higher priced option? How much do you
think is too much to pay for a DAISY player?
Joe
On Apr 8, 2006, at 3:43 PM, Jane Jordan (gmail) wrote:
I wouldn't like that. I prefer having everything in one
application if possible.
Jane
On Apr 8, 2006, at 2:36 PM, Kafka's Daytime wrote:
Thanks Jane. Duly noted. What if you had to use the existing
version of katieplayer (or an upgraded version of similar) to
read RFBD books and the katieplayer Cocoa version to access
Bookshare books i.e. two separate applications?
Joe
On Apr 8, 2006, at 2:21 PM, Jane Jordan (gmail) wrote:
Hi, Joe.
I would hesitate to upgrade KatiePlayer if RFB&D books were no
longer supported. That was the only reason I bought it in the
first place. Of cours, now I know that it does much more, and
yes I would want to be able to listen to Daisy books from
Bokshare when I get that subscription renewed again. But I
would hate to see that particular part of KatiePlayer go away
in a new version. I like the fact that I can carry the
comptuer with me and listen to books from RFB&D whenever aqnd
wherever I like, so taking that way would be a bummer.
The rest of it I don't fully understand, so won't comment on it.
Jane
On Apr 8, 2006, at 12:56 PM, Kafka's Daytime wrote:
Hi Scott,
There was a bit of discussion about this on the list a few
weeks ago. We still have to complete testing of katieplayer
on Intel Macs before we make any changes required and issue a
public statement about katieplayer running on the Intel Macs.
We require a license (BASIC: $18) for each machine on which
katieplayer is installed. If it is a replacement machine (and
you won't be using katieplayer on two separate machines)
please send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] including
your new Hardware Fingerprint. Again, we expect to have
compatibility/update news in the reasonably near future. I'll
be sure to post the new information to the list. Sorry for
any delay/inconvenience. We'll get there. Also keep in mind
the Cocoa version of katieplayer is under development in
parallel.
Incidentally, I have a question for all on the list - or at
least those interested in DAISY. - regarding the forthcoming
Cocoa version of katieplayer. How would you feel if the new
Cocoa version of katieplayer were to support only Bookshare/
DAISY 3 books and DAISY 2 content which does not use "live"
Digital Rights Management (DRM) (unless the standard is not
obscure and is available to any developer without draconian
licensing fees/requirements)? RFBD books, for instance, would
- under this scenario - *not* be supported (though we'd
probably keep the legacy version of katieplayer available).
We're also considering moving away from the 'text + audio'
flavor of books and concentrating solely on 'text-only' (e.g.
those books provided by Bookshare). My own humble personal
view is that it seems less and less wise to distribute audio
with a talking book. There is the advantage of the human
reader - but the prompt availability and small file sizes of
the 'text-only' books (rendered 'live' by synthesized speech)
- seems to me to trump the advantages one has in the human-
read audio. Further, Bookshare's content collection is
getting bigger and broader and I think we're going to see it
continue to grow (recent addition of the O'Reilly technical
series was very nice and kind of a big deal). (RFBD offers a
fine service - I'm simply wondering about the best way for us
to proceed with katieplayer based on the needs/wants of our
audience). BTW, the katieplayer Cocoa version would come in
at the same $18 price point for the BASIC version i.e.
affordability is still a basic goal of the effort. Finally,
think of katieplayer in a broader, accessible media player
sense. No promises, but what would be in your feature wish
list? Again, would love to hear some thoughts from those who
are interested.
Thanks in advance,
Joe
On Apr 8, 2006, at 12:04 PM, Scott Howell wrote:
Joe, just got myself an Intel-based Mac. I used disk target
mode to move all my stuff to the new Mac. I didn't expect
everything to go perfectly and well Katieplayer isn't
working any longer. That would make sense do to the
different hardware fingerprint. I tried just running the app
and putting the key, but that didn't work. Matter of fact,
if I switch to another app while its in the registration
dialog and then switch back, I loose speech from Katieplayer
and can't navigate around. So, I wanted to pass that along,
but also how do I register Katieplayer to work on my new Mac.
tnx
Scott
