Why isn't Rev more popular?

[Sarah Reichelt]

On 12/2/05, Mathewson <richmond at mail.maclaunch.com> wrote:
> I think that over the last 12 years there has been a change
> in people's perception of computers and what can be done by
> them.
>
> Certainly, in Bulgaria there is the perception that:
>
> 1. The ability to use Microsoft Word and connect to the
> internet is all that anybody needs to know except for:
>
> 2. Computer experts - who need to know the full nine-yards.
>

I haven't butted into this debate yet, as most of what I thought has
been said by others, but this post caught my attention.

I very much agree with Richmond's point of view here. When I first
started using computers (don't ask how long ago) there were dozens of
different home computers available, all with their own operating
systems and programs. But the one thing in common was that they all
came with Basic built-in. There was no expectation that off-the-shelf
software would fill every need, so computer manufacturers expected
every buyer to learn to program so they could do their own thing.

Since then, the world has mostly gone for the "industry standard" of
Windows with some Mac & Linux users. Computers rapidly got too
complicated to program in the way we used to and manufacturers stopped
including Basic in their operating systems.

This is where the split developed between programmers and users,
leaving Richmond's "excluded middle" with nowhere to go. A program
like Rev tries to bridge this gap by allowing users to program their
own computers instead of having to rely on off-the-shelf software that
never fits quite right, or paying vast sums for custom software that
they don't understand and can't maintain.

In the same way that most tech support people like Windows because it
keeps them in business, most professional programmers don't want just
anybody able to create programs. So they sneer at "toy" programming
environments like HyperCard & Rev, and try to make everyone believe
that C++ is the only real language.

An analogy that I always like is the car. In the early days, if you
drove a car, you had to be your own mechanic and cars were simple
enough so that most people knew enough to keep them going. Then cars
got more complicated so that you had to take them to a professional
mechanic with all the computer diagnostic equipment, which means that
most people never even look at their car's engine anymore. Now imagine
if someone produced a cheap home-user kit that allowed you to service
your own car in exactly the way you wanted, for less than the mechanic
charges,  but it required some effort and application. How many people
do you think would buy that kit? How many would assume that they still
couldn't do as good a job as the mechanic? How many mechanics would
encourage people to do it? How many would buy the kit and then decide
it looked too hard?

I think that is the situation RunRev is in, but unfortunately I don't
have a solution. More publicity would obviously help, but after
getting people to download the demo, it really needs to be instantly
addictive. It needs to show people what they are missing by not
creating their own programs, and it needs to show how easy that can
be.

HyperCard came with a few stacks full of templates: backgrounds,
fields & buttons which you could just copy & paste into your own stack
so that you could be doing useful stuff without having to look at a
script. There has been debate about this in the past, but I strongly
feel that Rev needs to implement something like this and have it open
by default on startup, like RevOnline does now. A home stack like
HyperCard's with access to tutorials, docs, templates, the mailing
list archives etc. and the ability to add your own links, would be a
great step forward IMO.

And as new users come to the mailing list first, frequent signs that
RunRev is reading and listening to what goes on here would also be of
great assitance to the marketing. Kevin and the rest: all of us here
want Rev to succeed. We are giving our time and expertise for free but
we feel that you are wasting a valuable resource.

Thanks to everyone else who has contributed to this thread. It has
been very interesting and informative and I believe the whole tone of
the thread has been extremely positive. We all wish Rev WAS more
popular, so there were lots of books, plugins etc.

Regards,
Sarah