David,
>>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tuesday, April 24, 2001 >>>
>...I've had to stifle my excitement for the
>last week and a half since we first learned about the new initiative and
>direction ..
I fail to see where the excitement comes from. Building the COAPI as Java was always
part of the roadmap for Spectra. Now we get the Java COAPI but no Spectra update to
make this transparent. Remember we paid real $$$ for this.
>I think Spectra has been (and will continue to be) a good implementation of
>the COAPI. But I also think it can evolve.
We get the privilege of contributing to an open community source...I could have done
this with PHP or Perl at no charge.
>The prospect of working with a COAPI that is tightly integrated with the CF
>Server, runs with the performance of Java and opens the door to the entire
>world of J2EE is very appealing. I just wish it was here NOW! :-)
I will buy this one but this was planned anyway.
>1) None of our projects were waiting for additional functionality that we
>hoped might get included in a future version of Spectra. With 1.5, pretty
>much all the key features we wanted were included (notably versioning).
Wait till they want personalization vis-a-vis Open Sesame or other new products that
might have found there way into Spectra and then they find out that they now have to
purchase this separately instead of getting them under maintenance.
>In connection with this we realized that our current (and upcoming)
>customers are not going to HAVE to move to the new code if they don't want
>to -- they will be able to stay with Spectra for the expected life of their
>apps if they choose. Or they can move if they want to or if they see
>advantages to it for their particular app.
This begs the question - people buy into this kind of technology to be guaranteed a
smooth migration to future technology - that's why we are willing to spend more money
up-front and on maintenance. I am sure it is a boon for developers who will now get to
retrofit the existing applications.
>4) It appears that many of the Macromedia people we've worked with as
>Spectra developers are going to continue to be involved in the forward
>motion of both Spectra and its new incarnation (Charles, Libby and Ray in
>particular come to mind). I think this bodes well for the future.
Despite Charles sanguine message, I can't help but believe that this decision hurt. I
met with them a couple of months ago and at that time they had great plans for the
Dharma release of Spectra.
>David Aden
>Webworld Studios
Lanny Udey
Associate Dean
Learning and Information Technology
Hofstra University
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
-----Original Message-----
From: Charles Teague [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Monday, April 23, 2001 5:20 PM
To: Spectra-Talk
Subject: The Future of Spectra
Hi everyone. We really appreciate everyone's patience over the last few
weeks. There has been a lot of discussion and concern over the future of
Spectra, and I think that the time is right to shed some light on what we
are thinking.
As you know, Spectra provides developers with a broad set of functionality
and technology. Enough so, sometimes its breadth proves daunting.
Fundamental to the entire product, however, is its foundation - the content
object API. In 1996, when I first started working on Allaire's website, the
foundational change that I went through was around thinking about the site
as composed of 'content objects.' Over the last 5 years, this core concept
has been revised, revolutionized, improved, and expanded. Spectra has been
the product that carried this concept forward. This concept, and the content
object API, have been the most compelling pieces of Spectra since its
inception.
Macromedia's goal is to make dynamic content technology like the content
object API pervasive, approachable, and cost effective for our developers.
To help us better achieve this, we plan to incorporate key components of
Spectra technology - a Java-based version of the COAPI architecture and
other services directly related to dynamic content - into the application
server, as well as delivering next generation dynamic content technologies
such as end-user content contribution and team production through a series
of new product initiatives. This means that version 1.5 will be Spectra's
last feature additive release - we'll invest our resources in making the
core technology that we move into our application server and visual tools
faster, easier, and better.
Macromedia will continue to support Spectra via a community source model,
on-going technical support, training, and consulting, as well as having a
team of engineers working on bug fixes and quality assurance for community
source submissions. Spectra will continue to be offered for sale, using our
partners as the primary sales channel. We also will do our best to give you
early access to technology previews, alphas, and betas of the new
technologies already under development.
In the world we live and work in, technology changes constantly, we've all
thrived because of our ability to adapt to change. This is no different - a
change for the Spectra Product Group, and for every developer, customer and
partner out there who has invested their valuable time and mind share into
Spectra. While I understand the challenge that a change like this can pose,
I am extremely optimistic. The core vision of the Spectra technology is
compelling - the opportunity to make this technology available to more
developers, cheaper, and better, is a chance that I relish. I hope you
share my optimism through this time of change.
You can direct questions and comments to a couple of places:
1) Via Phone at:
866-236-1146 (North America Toll Free)
800-25524731, (International Toll Free)
617-219-3010 (Direct Dial Long Distance)
2) Via Email:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
I can speak for the Spectra Product Group and Macromedia when I say how much
we value the community of developers that use our products. Spectra is no
exception. We have an incredible community, and one that we want to
continue.
-c
-------------------------------------------
Charles Teague
Director, Engineering
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
-------------------------------------------
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