Why isn't Rev more popular?

[Richard Gaskin]

Jerry Saperstein wrote:

> 	Criticism of Revolution generally apparently is generally
> disapproved of here. I've seen a number of valid criticisms dismissed in the
> same way as yours have been.

Criticism of specific features is often valid and usually results in two 
responses, neither of which is dismissal:

- a request to log it in Bugzilla

- an exploration of the goal so we can help find alternative solutions 
to move your product development forward in the meantime


What gets dismissed is the notion that because one specific thing isn't 
in place the way someone wants it that whole ranges of software 
categories are impossible.

That's like saying that because my car doesn't have GPS I can't drive it 
to the store. It's simply a non sequitur, and somewhere between 
insulting and laughable to those of us who make applications for 
business environments.

If these assertions stuck to specifics the argument would be supportable 
and the conversation more productive.  But to dismiss all of our work 
with a wave of the hand and a "harumph" will likely yield the same in 
response.

Respect is earned for the low price of showing some to others.


> But your point is valid: Revolution is not well suited for business
> needs.

"Business" is pretty broad, and no doubt one could defined it in ways 
that might make Rev look insufficient.

But evidently it can be defined in other ways as well, since many 
business make, sell, and buy Rev-based apps, and report a high degree of 
satisfaction and a strong ROI at all levels of that chain.

I'm sure you've seen Rev's Case Studies page:
<http://www.runrev.com/section/case_studies/>

True, RunRev's done a crappy job of cataloging all of the professional 
apps out there, but even as a small cross-section there's some 
interesting stuff there.

My humble WebMerge app is used by Macworld Magazine, BMI Music 
Publishing, the American Bar Association, and the US Library of Congress.

The HyperRESEARCH product I develop for Boston-based ResearchWare, Inc. 
has multiple licenses in use at Microsoft and dozens of universities.

Last year I built an Internet-based CMS for doctors on three continents 
to contribute editorial content to a medical database to be published in 
early '06, with both the CMS and the final product built in Rev.

Over the summer I built a tool for use in pediatric emergency clinics 
for calculating dosages and equipment sizes for patients.

Chipp can tell you stories of apps he's built wih Jerry Daniels for the 
Texas Department of Corrections, and quite a few medium- to 
big-businesses use his Hemmingway CMS.

Ken Ray develops the most comprehensive PIM focused on the needs of 
talent agents, used by many of Hollywood's top agencies.

Jacque Gay has made tools for law firms, and a medical database that 
calculates drug interactions.

Phil Davis contributed to the world's most comprehensive holistic 
database used in hundreds of clinics across the nation, and is currently 
working on an app for the lumber industry.

When you see the movie Narnia, note the tents -- those were made by a 
company in New Zealand who's one of the world's largest tent 
manufacturers, whose business is run on a system built in Rev by Paul 
Looney.

I once worked with a company that made sales presentation systems in Rev 
for Sun Computing.

And that's just off the top of my head.  There are many, many more.

Sure, each of these apps could be enhanced in all sorts of ways to make 
them even better, and enhancements to Rev would make it that much easier.

But these apps exist, so evidently it's possible to make them.


To move the conversation back to a productive focus, what specific 
challenges have you faced, and how may we help you overcome them?

--
  Richard Gaskin
  Managing Editor, revJournal
  _______________________________________________________
  Rev tips, tutorials and more: http://www.revJournal.com