Pricing / entry cost for this tool

Frank R frny4x at yahoo.com
Sat Nov 26 05:41:31 EST 2005


Kay - well said - and, yes, you were the only one who Got the pricing I was
  referring to with:
  >  ie for $20 you can have DreamCard but whatever you create
> can only run in your copy of DreamCard, if you want to deploy to other
> DreamCard users you'll need the $99 version


   
  
Kay C Lan <lan.kc.macmail at gmail.com> wrote:
  >From my reading of what Frank wrote it wasn't a case of charging on a
delivery basis but allowing a cheaper entry to DreamCard, one that didn't
allow delivery. ie for $20 you can have DreamCard but whatever you create
can only run in your copy of DreamCard, if you want to deploy to other
DreamCard users you'll need the $99 version

This to me would be like the 'Extended' evaluation mentioned for RealBasic,
but without the hassle of applying for an extension, and no need to actually
monitoring such extendsions. Get a free 30 day trial, buy a $20 use for
personal use as long as you like, or start deploying to others for as little
as $99.

I am a hobbiest and from my perspective I am thankful Runrev are trying to
cater to both ends of the market. I have been critical of Runrev's pricing
strategy before and have not agreed with it, but they seem to be doing a
good job because I have paid for license renewals over the years and have
never let my license lapse. I must stress though that I have done so in
small steps, and to me this is the key to Runrev extracting more and more
money out of me. I started out free, went to Express, then DreamCard, and
now Studio, which I have renewed. If Rev was ala ParcSystem, Enterprise
option only, they'd have none of my money. They are currently extracting
more money out of me than a Digitalk strategy because I have been basically
evaluating Rev for the last 4 years, and when I've discovered a 'new'
feature that I'd like to take advantage of, but can't because it is in a
'higher' edition, I've eventually concluded that I need to forked over the
money.

As far as Digitalk vs ParcPlace Systems, my quick Google search came up
with:
*ParcPlace-Digitalk Merger into ObjectShare*
ParcPlace and Digitalk merge creating ObjectShare. Company implodes soon
after.

This appears to have occurred some time around 1984, although the time line
didn't seem to clear.

Now I have no clue, but maybe the problem was that Digitalk was too focused
on the cheap end of the market and ParcPlace on the professional end of the
market and the time came when each market was too small for either to
survive. By the time they realized they needed to broaden their horizons, ie
create a path for a hobbiest to get into smallTalk, then advance to an
intermeiate user, and then possibly on to a professional, it was too late.

I'm wondering if Dan has a feel for how many people got into scripting
because of the FREE HyperCard that came with your Mac back in the late 80's.
Sure you eventually had to buy the later editions (2.1 was free if I can
remember, but after that if you wanted to create stacks you needed to buy
the Developer Tool - about U$120 I think). I still remember the MUG I
belonged too suddenly sending out floppies with public domain stacks. Then
it was multiple floppies. There were stacks everywhere.

I am still amazed at how many HyperCard refugees I see seeking a new life
here. I thought I was slow at coming to grips with the fact that HyperCard
is dead, but obviously some are still applying CPR;-) How many people got
hooked on the Free HyperCard, discovered that they could do something useful
with it, and then convinced themselves that they needed to buy the Developer
Pack so they could take advantage of the larger feature set of the later
editions. How many people made a living out of HyperCard based on their free
introduction (not a 30 day trial, but unlimited use free).

To conclude, if Runrev doesn't want to end up like Digitalk or ParcSystem
then they obviously need a continually growing user base. To do that you can
either convert them (professionals who are using a different IDE), create
them (hobbiest, intermediate, professional), or better yet, do both. I tend
towards the 'do both'. An expanded user base would have disadvantages, like
I'd never be able to read all the posts on this list, but on the other hand
I am occasionally concerned that this list appears to be a '3 ringed circus'
- depending on the problem I can usually guess who will provide an answer.
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