Don't you just wish Rev would do this?

[Lynn Fredricks]

> > Adobe "owns" all of the best selling commercial tools for 
> > producing/supporting content for the Flex platform.
> 
> 
> And how did they get there - not by selling software but 
> giving away an easy to install and useful piece of software?

They got there by the acquisition of Macromedia :-)

Seriously though, there are some excellent, open SWF oriented products out
there, and they are probably getting used more and more for professional
work. But the toolset that made the entire platform a success is not open.

Sure, the Flex SDK is open. That didn't get them where they are now though.


> By open sourcing Flex, they still maintain dominance because 
> so many people
> > will use their tools to generate Flex related stuff. Yet they also 
> > appeal to open source/free software communities and can 
> leverage any 
> > work generated there as a result - that looks good to shareholders, 
> > too.
> 
> 
> Yes- you could add that they are probably seriously worried 
> by the long term implications of AJAX style open standards 
> for a pure closed source business model.

I doubt they are that worried - they have come up with their own AJAX
toolkit that is receiving some good press, and have already integrated some
good language support anyway for other languages like PHP. They may be
worried, but if I were they, I wouldn't be. Its far easier for them to let
various toolkits play in their garden rather than trying to keep them out.
They already have the tool market as it is.


> Something that works for one company (or even a group of 
> companies) doesn't
> > necessarily mean the strategy is sound for everyone else - those 
> > strategies are built with the structure of those companies 
> in mind. I 
> > have had clients and partners of clients that have emulated 
> Apple or 
> > Microsoft for example
> > -
> > and at best its helped not at all, at other times disasterous.
> 
> 
> Nice hand waiving - I guess there is an NDA lurking there 
> somewhere - but seriously it would be more interesting to 
> here some arguments :)

NDAs are all required when you get that close to the bone of a company. But
you don't think its obvious that actual business size/structure and strength
within its market space have a direct impact on its strategy?

Best regards,

Lynn Fredricks
Worldwide Business Operations
Runtime Revolution Ltd
http://www.runrev.com