Why is Konfabulator "Pretty?"

Bill Marriott wjm at wjm.org
Tue Dec 6 16:37:57 EST 2005


"Richard Gaskin" wrote
> Those other widgets/gadgets rely on a runtime engine that's already 
> installed.

Not true. The K. engine is a 9MB download.

> ....I wouldn't push RunRev toward making a Konfab clone. There already is 
> one, and alternatives with even greater reach are an integral part of the 
> two leading OSes.

Rev doesn't have to become a "clone" it just has to put on a pretty dress 
and go to the prom.

> Rev is great for making applications.  That's what I do for a living.  I 
> respect that you like widgets/gadgets and that many others do.  But 
> they're not part of my world (I disabled Dashboard on Day 2 of my Tiger 
> install), so you'll have to find another advocate.

It may well be that as long as this philosophy is the driving force behind 
RunRev it never will be "popular." Of course, that doesn't mean Rev is not 
useful.

It doesn't take a complete revamp of the IDE and it would not alter the 
"paradigm" of the program to show Rev can create contemporary-looking apps. 
K.'s tagline is, "Whatever you want it to be." Rev's tagline apparently is, 
"The xTalk-based IDE for generating HIG-compliant applications in Vertical 
Market Contexts."

I guess it doesn't really matter, then, if Rev is "popular" or not as long 
as consultants can use it to create EXEs for clients.

>> - Make a sample RSS displayer that could be tweaked easy with new 
>> graphics and a different URL.
> Coming in a revJournal article soon, integrated with RevNet.

But not part of a concerted marketing effort on runrev.com

>> - Make something that can play an Internet radio station with some cool 
>> logos and equalizer effects
> You know how to make an equalizer in Rev?

I'm talking about pretty animations or bouncing waveforms, not an audio 
editor.

> [I] hadn't considered releasing [my player] since there are already so 
> many great Internet radio players out there -- not the least of which is 
> iTunes, and I doubt I'll ever have 0.0001% as much reach as that, even if 
> I stole a hundred hours from paying work to make it gorgeous.

For some reason, these special-purpose radio players, often "locked in" to 
one station (like BBC) are top downloads on the K. site. One's local radio 
station might well be interested in distributing a widget that is a branded 
desktop radio. Who knows... perhaps .0001% of iTunes share equals a 100% 
increase in RunRev share?

>> - A little flower that sits on your desktop in K. has received almost 
>> 10,000 downloads! All it does it change color! 
>> http://www.widgetgallery.com/index.php?search=flower
>
> I can see the look on my clients' faces when I tell them why their project 
> is late....  ;)

I'd like to imagine the look on my clients' faces when I tell them I drove 
10,000 incremental trials of their product in a month. That's no "little" 
accomplishment.

>> - A HotOrNot widget?
> One word: eeeewwww (just my opinion, but that site seems two steps below 
> monster car rallies as reasons why the US is becoming a global cultural 
> joke). But if someone else wants to make it, more power to them.

No one said you had to put your profile there. HoN is by some measures the 
largest personals site on the net. They have web services very nicely 
matched to what a widget can do. They've also gotten significant press 
coverage. The ideas here are aimed at getting the word out about Rev, not to 
tailor to refined sensibilities.

>> - Some kind of limited-time-only, registration required, free download of 
>> DreamCard with a modicum of documentation to get the ball rolling for 
>> user-submitted Widgets.
> They call it a trial version, and it's available now.

No, for several reasons. The trial version expires. By time-limited I mean, 
"For the next 30 days, download DreamCard today for free, build your widget, 
and keep DreamCard as our gift." Second, we do not tell users step-by-step 
how to make one of these sexy little apps.

>> What could you tell people about RunRev if it *REALLY* took an hour for 
>> someone to make one of these pretty gizmos???
>
> I couldn't:  the graphics alone take far longer than that.
>
> But I did write an article for MacTech on how to make a custom FTP 
> application in under a day.

You could make a stack customizable in an hour to play your own personal 
radio station, or display your favorite RSS feed. [Weren't you the one who 
suggested it would take an hour to write the PhotoShop --> Rev stack?]

> Having worked on the clock, you've bit off a larger chunk than you'll 
> likely find with any other type of widget/gadget.  I would encourage you 
> to pursue this if you find it attractive, and if you make some cool ones I 
> see no reason why the couldn't be made available through RunRev.

I'm afraid that without a concerted effort to create a cohesive marketing 
program that includes all the elements working properly -- from the design 
of the "widget kit" to the promotion to the press coverage etc., it's doomed 
to failure.

Furthermore, this whole thing started as a request to elaborate on what I 
think is a valid point about the Rev experience being stuck in the 90s, and 
this leading (unfairly) to it's perceived lack of popularity. I stated my 
opinion, I provided more than enough detail on it, and if RunRev would like 
to have me bring the campaign I've outlined to market, they have my email 
address. Other than that, I think I need to brush up on my XML and 
JavaScript, because that, my friend, seems to be where the world is heading.

Bill 






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