Rob,
I didn't want to get into this on the list...i'm not sure if falls
under the category of helping people use Revolution. I'd prefer to
take this on the blog (http://daniels-mara.com/galaxy_blog) and not
add to the "glog" here.
Disclaimer: my semi-radical thoughts about a revamped Rev product
line, are of course, my own. They are not meant as criticism of
Runtime Revolution's exemplary efforts and products.
Short response:
- I think a simple product with enough components to ensure a great
first experience is the way to go.
- I might even want to release something like that for free, but
that's just me.
- Then I'd re-introduce these items as add-ons or different versions
of Rev:
+ menu manager
+ geometry manager
+ debugger
+ var watcher
+ message watcher
+ standalone builder
+ pseudo table objects
+ application browser
+ database access manager
A kinder, gentler, highly-addictive Revolution would not be like
MetaCard in the following ways:
- It would have a great first use experience. (Sorry, myself and many
others used MC inspite of its IDE.)
- It would be like HyperCard with a Home stack with an address book,
etc.
Revolution we have today would still exist in my vision
(hallucination?), but my idea is to have a highly addictive free or
cheap version and then re-introduce more advanced components as add-
ons or different versions of Rev.
Best,
Jerry Daniels
Artists, Consultants & Developers
http://www.daniels-mara.com/art
http://www.daniels-mara.com/products
http://www.daniels-mara.com
Voice: 512.879.6286
Skype: jerry.daniels
On Apr 16, 2006, at 11:08 AM, Rob Cozens wrote:
Hi Jerry,
I've written a blog that covers some of my feelings about this
stuff...
Is Comment #3 (What would happen if the folks at Runtime Revolution
read “Getting Real” by 37signals a second time and decided to
revamp their company?) your proposed answer to comment #1 (If I
were Kevin and Mark, I would avoid reading their own Using
Revolution list at every opportunity.)?
I understood your original post to focus on alternative means of
monitoring product feedback. I don't see anything in Comment #3
that addresses where customer feedback should be received and how
it should be handled.
So I ask:
(a) Should a product's manufacturer provide a mechanism whereby
product users can express their satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and
wish list for new features?
If so:
(b) What mechanism would you propose in place of RR's use-rev list
& Bugzilla?
However, "Due to feature bloat, the software becomes something less
appealing to new users (non-cult members)" from Comment #1 and
"Making simple, elegant software is the first step." from Comment
#2 do strike chords with moi.
My first entry into the winemaking world was a joint venture
including a professor of viticulture at Cal State Fresno and a San
Francisco-based winery supplier. Our original approach was to
respond to every "shortcoming" of the product brought to us by
users and prospective buyers. The winery supplier, who had
marketed another wine production control system previously, was
very pleased that our response to these critiques was "we can add
that feature" instead of "sorry, our software doesn't support that".
So we started out with a design that included two options for
recording wine volumes:
1. Simply enter the volume in a field.
2. Vision a tank as a cylinder with optional top and bottom
"cones". Include the volume of each cone and the unit volume for
the cylinder in each tank's specification. For each bulk wine
transaction enter the % the top/bottom cones containing wine and
the height of the wine column in the cylinder, before & after the
transaction, and the volume was calculated automatically.
First prospective alpha test winery says, "We keep a table for each
unique tank shape, giving the volume for "headspace" (the height of
the wine column in the tank) in one inch increments.
So we add a new volume calc method and a tank shape parameter to
the tank record, a screen to build headspace-to-volume tables, and
transaction fields to capture headspace before & after the
transaction.
The next winery says, "Your software measures headspace from the
bottom of the tank to the level of the wine [0=empty tank]; but we
measure headspace from the level of the wine to the top of the tank
[0=full tank]".
So we add a new parameter field to indicate how headspace is
measured and adjust volume calculations accordingly.
The next winery says, "When we calculate volume, we note the wine's
temperature and adjust the volume to a standard of 60 deg F".
So a temperature field is added to the transaction field, and
volume calculations are modified to adjust volume if temp is not
empty.
So now we are supporting five different methods of recording
volume, and half or more of the tank record fields are dealing with
volume calculation options...all with the same purpose: recording
the volumes in & out for each transaction.
The final change to volume calculation was to eliminate ALL options
except #1. All tank & transaction fields involved in volume
calculation were removed, leaving "Volume Out" and "Volume In".
Our approach was "We don't care how you arrive at these volumes,
just give us the volumes. For those who feel the need to capture
headspace and/or temperature, put them in the 'Comments' field".
So I understand too well "Due to feature bloat, the software
becomes something less appealing to new users" and "Making simple,
elegant software is the first step."
"2. In this “brave new world” there would be no:
- menu manager
- geometry manager
- debugger
- var watcher
- message watcher
- standalone builder
- pseudo table objects
- application browser
- database access manager"
Sounds quite a bit like MetaCard, no? :{`)
Rob Cozens
CCW, Serendipity Software Company
"And I, which was two fooles, do so grow three;
Who are a little wise, the best fooles bee."
from "The Triple Foole" by John Donne (1572-1631)
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