"Introducing New LiveCode Licenses"

[Richmond]

On 29/10/13 01:30, Mark Schonewille wrote:
> Mark,
>
> I don't see why a book for beginners wouldn't be for commercial 
> programmers. 

I do.

I don't know which category I fit into right now, but in 1993 I bought a 
Macintosh 475 at Montgomery Ward in Carbondale, Illinois, and
having a baby of 8 months to mind I sat between him and the computer and 
started 'playing' with Hypercard.

I got a book that started with the most pedestrian stuff you can imagine 
('Hello, World') which, after my history of Fortran, Basic and Pascal
seemed silly; I abandoned the book and fought my own path through the 
undergrowth, as I did subsequently with Livecode.

> A commercial programmer needs to start somewhere too.

Indeed. But most commercial programmers, at the moment at least, will 
not be starting with Livecode from the 'Hello, World' stage; they are
generally coming trailing their C++ tails behind them.

>
> It is interesting that the figures you mention aren't very different 
> from what I observe in my survey. I count (relatively) a little more 
> hobbyists than the VisionMobile survey.

I don't really like statistics. I have seen so many sets of statistics 
twisted to back up so many viewpoints I tend to distrust all of them.

And, as somebody else pointed out here, statistics are a bit like why 
Wittgenstein couldn't get any answers; because people were asking the 
wrong questions.

Yesterday I took one of those endless surveys on the internet about some 
animation package, and at one point was asked this question:

Why do you use Animation Monster?

1. Because it eases my workflow.

2. Because it is cheaper than its competitors.

Having just answered a previous question (Do you use Animation Monster? 
- NO) that should have made that one
redundant. Having skipped the question I got a message that "all 
questions have to be answered".

So, quite obviously, whoever is pushing the survey (probably the 
Animation Monster himself) is going to use the answers to "Why"
when a significant number of respondents haven't used the thing.

>
> I'm glad that you agree with my objection to the pricing strategy. 
> Let's hope RunRev will give this another thought.

I do think that RunRev have poopooed the "little man in the spare 
bedroom" to their cost.

As I stated earlier; the Open Source version is marvellous, but it and 
the commercial version do leave and excluded middle-ground
which RunRev are ignoring, possibly at their peril.

If, as RunRev state, at least 25% of schools in Scotland are now 
teaching programming with Livecode, shortly there will emerge
a class of teenagers or 20-somethings who are fairly competent and might 
want to try something in the market but don't have
the large sum to go for a full commercial licence. I can imagine the 
fairly coarse remarks about why they had to learn a programming
language which they subsequently couldn't afford to buy.

>
> -- 
> Best regards,
>
> Mark Schonewille
>

This thread seems to have turned into some sort of a flame war.

While Mark has his book to peddle, he should realise it is not for 
everybody, just as my Devawriter is neither for everybody (I know you
all are just dying to rush out there and learn Sanskrit) nor for all 
Sanskritists. While I love my baby (Devawriter Pro) to bits, as I am sure
Mark loves his baby, I know that its not for everybody. To test out this 
theory just peep into a few baby-carriages down your way and see the
ugly things gurgling there and then look at their adoring mothers; and, 
if you are prepared to take your life in your own hands, tell the mothers
just how repulsive you find their babies . . . bit I digress.

I hope that mark's book fills the growing market it seems designed for; 
but expecting experienced programmers to buy it is going a bit far.

Richmond.