English language learners and LiveCode

[Richmond]

On 06/12/2012 10:06 PM, Richard Gaskin wrote:
> Hello Richard (sorry, couldn't resist). :)
>
> Richmond wrote:
>
>> I have repeatedly raised the possibility of either a feature-reduced
>> version of Livecode or a re-release of an earlier version of Livecode
>> (say 2.0) at an extremely cheap rate if not free.
>>
>> This has been ignored.
>
> "Ignored"?  On the contrary, they not only gave it consideration, but 
> also actually did it, as you noted:
>
>> Free RevMedia, as we are surely all well aware, lasted a very short
>> while........
>
> There may be a reason for that, and I'm willing to be it wasn't Kevin 
> Miller stumbling into the office drunk one day raging, "Let's get 
> those teachers!  To hell with them!  Let's take away RevMedia!  
> That'll fix 'em!  Sure, we'll lose millions along the way, but damn I 
> hate the education market and I'm willing to throw all that money away 
> just to stick it to them!"

I doubt it as well; although, to be honest, the vision you conjured up 
was rather entertaining.

As RevMedia (in its last incarnation) was Free, taking "it away" didn't 
lose RunRev any money, but I don't suppose it earned them any either.

However, Kevin Miller is not a fool (if he were he would not be running 
a highly successful software company - at the risk of stating the 
screamingly obvious).

>
> I suspect their reasons for EOL'ing RevMedia was far less interesting, 
> based merely on ROI and other boring spreadsheet stuff.
>
> If there is a compelling business case to be made which could 
> demonstrate their direct experience to be incorrect or incomplete, 
> submitting a proposal with well-researched supporting data to their 
> office would be more likely to get a response from them than sending 
> summary notes to the users here who have no control over LiveCode.

Probably, but I am just a teacher, and run a small private language 
school, which, were it to be measured up against Kevin Miller's 
achievement would look very small indeed. So, the idea of my coming up 
with a compelling business plan is just a rather weak joke.

>
> Even better, consider putting that effort into the folks who run 
> Python, Moodle, or other orgs who already depend on business models 
> based around free software.
>
> If you're successful at helping those orgs make more money, we may be 
> able to make a case for RunRev to take LiveCode open source, which 
> would be far more beneficial to so many others in addition to the EDU 
> segment than simply a free-as-in-beer proposal.

I don't suppose any business is going to feel good about the 
free-as-in-beer idea. But what RunRev have not done to my knowledge is 
some sort of outreach to try to reel teachers in.

I have demonstrated RR/LC to a fairly large number of programming 
teachers and heads-of-staff at school here in Bulgaria. They have all 
expressed interest, great interest. But then gone back to their schools 
where they teach PASCAL V ('tis free my love) or C++ (endless textbooks 
on the subject).

>
> Thus far, the best business model RunRev has been able to come up with 
> which lets them keep electricity coming to their computers and food to 
> their developers has been the one they have now.  It can probably be 
> improved on (all systems can), but a complete change of direction 
> would not be prudent without diligent, detailed research.

"a complete change in direction" . . . now I wonder where that idea came 
from? certainly not from me.

An idea that has come from me (as well as quite a few other people) is 
that RunRev could be doing more to seduce teachers into using their 
product. That would not entail "a complete change of direction", but 
devoting a small percentage of their manpower to a market area which 
might be
under exploited.

>
> -- 
>  Richard Gaskin
>  Fourth World
>  LiveCode training and consulting: http://www.fourthworld.com
>  Webzine for LiveCode developers: http://www.LiveCodeJournal.com
>  Follow me on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/FourthWorldSys
>
>
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