bobloblaw (+0.1)
1/8/06 5:39PM |
How do Adjust owners get access to programming information about Adjust? |
TonyStill (+2.1)
1/8/06 7:50PM |
How do non-Adjust owning application programmers get access to programming information about Adjust? Without the availability of this information, it's just not practical to use these APIs.
And I would buy Adjust (probably) if it ran on my main (Iyonix) machine - I'm unlikely to buy it simply as a way of obtaining it's API details. I don't want to reopen that argument but we do need to recognise that, whilst our OS remains forked, there are many disincentives to programming for any standard beyond RO 4.02/5.xx. Inability to obtain vital information without buying products (that are of marginal utility to some of us) is just one more. |
jamesp
1/8/06 9:07PM |
Even with the documentation, it's almost impossible to develop anything reliable without being able to test it.
I write stuff for my own use, so putting what little time I devote to RO development into utilising features I can't benefit from isn't going to happen.
Having documentation is very important. Clearly it is essential for using a feature, but I also find that reading it suggests all sorts of things I hadn't though of doing before.
As an example, someone asked about Wimp auto-scrolling on casp. The detailed reply describing how auto-scrolling worked got me thinking about using that feature in Avalanche to make dragging things around on the remote machine easier if the window isn't full size. |
AW (+3.2)
1/8/06 11:55PM |
I think more people might by it if the icons had been designed a bit more professionally.
Personally I think they're still very nice and I like the visual additions but they certainly lack flair worthy of a RISC OS operating system in this day and age.
Not too much to ask? |
druck
2/8/06 9:20AM |
Well thats around £40,000 of income at £80 a go, plus say at least the same again from royalties on the 3000 copies of VRPC sold, but Select subscribers are well in to the 3rd year of waiting for anything for their money. That really isn't an encoragement to use Select features. |
knutson
2/8/06 9:40AM |
Does the "almost 500 copies" include the A9home?
Obviously quite a few people still updating RiscPC's how much longer can that continue before those users decide to splash out of an Iyonix, A9home or Mac Book pro? |
thegman
2/8/06 10:13AM |
In reply to knutson:
I doubt it includes the A9, as the full, complete version of Adjust is not available for it yet. I, and presumably other A9Home owners are still waiting, same as everyone else...
Garry |
sa110
2/8/06 11:10AM |
So when and where did Paul Middleton make the statement about 500 copies of adjust being sold? |
hEgelia
2/8/06 11:43AM |
In reply to sa110:
Where he usually places such happy information - the ROL website's news section.
In reply to thegman:
Interesting, I thought the Adjust delivered in the released version of A9home was identical to the ROM sold seperately and Select 3i4. But from your words I get the impression that should also be the case? Where does one actually find what software is included with the A9home? The only 'official' info I can find on the unit is:
http://www.advantage6.com/products/A9home.html
Anyway, beyond Adjust sale figures he should also talk about Select 4 - how is that coming along and when could we possibly expect to see it? |
thegman
2/8/06 11:48AM |
In reply to hEgelia:
As far as I know, there is no 'complete & finished' version of RISC OS for the A9Home. STD have not made me aware of it if there is, and an email to CJE got the response that they don't know when the complete version will be available.
In terms of software supplied, this may have changed since I got mine a little while ago, but you get some free stuff like Zap, NetSurf, FireFox, and that's about it.
Garry |
hEgelia
2/8/06 6:27PM |
In reply to thegman:
OK, well as far as I understand, the A9home version of Adjust is supposed to be functionally identical to 26-bit Adjust, such as released for RiscPC class machines. The only difference, next to its 32-bitness, being certain support for the A9home's specific hardware, which was apparently developed by AdvantageSix themselves.
I figure that if Select 4 would ever arrive, it could re-flash the version of Adjust inside the A9's ROM, rather than softloading on top of it. Nonetheless I always assumed the base version of ROS with which the A9home is delivered, is Adjust32. However, I've seen a screenshot of the Task Manager's Info box which says 'Select 32' which only confuses me more. Why don't ROL explain their versioning system of RO4 simply and clearly on their website? I find this all highly confusing, including what version of ROS is supposed to be included by default on A9home and what software package is bundled. Does anyone know if this is mentioned somewhere? |
timephoenix (+0.1)
3/8/06 12:05AM |
Paul really needs to sort that website out. There still seems to be a lack of basic, relevant information (even just Adjust features and screenshots?), while the layout is pretty bad - not only does it look thoroughly dated, but important pages such as the comparison of RO5 and Select 4 features, are hidden away with no obvious links.
If anyone is wondering where that page is - http://select.riscos.com/iyonix_select.htm |
Gulli (+2.0)
3/8/06 9:48AM |
Ouch, I read through the list and one line convinced me that the RISC OS 4 is in the hands of a complete idiot:
Unicode font system | RO4 = N | RO5 = Y | For alphabets with > 256 characters/glyphs (we mostly speak English)
With this single line he simply dismisses an almost the entire Asia as a potential market and even within Europe he belittles close to 500 million people. Forget South America as well. Paul Middleton hasn't exactly been the brightest man when it comes to public relations but he has convinced me that marketing is something he should definately not think of as a career.
With such a condencending moron at the helm, I see absolutely no future for ROL and its product outside the ever shrinking RISC OS market. |
Jwoody
3/8/06 10:35AM |
If its 500 selects then what are the best estimates for the RISC OS market ?
Risc PC with select upgrade 500?
VRPC 3000?
Iyonix 2000?
A9 500-1000?
+-1000
Still seems a big enough market for one man and his dog developers. |
timephoenix
7/8/06 3:13AM |
In reply to Gulli:
I totally agree. I find the manner in which ROL writes on the site to often be very unprofessional. The retorts over features not available on RO4 are worse than just admitting that there are some features they don't have - they are simply lame and cynical excuses. |
druck
7/8/06 9:01AM |
Unstubstantiated rumor on the Select mailing list says that Select 4, which last claimed to be due just after Wakefield in May, (but in reality should have been released in the year up to May 2004, for the subscribers who funded it), has been delayed to get out another version of Adjust32 for the A9. If this was the case, then why doesn't ROL just say so? People might actually recognise supplying code to STD under contractual obligations as a legitimate excuse. But again Select subscribers are treated as the lowest of the low, they pay £100 every year and not only to they get nothing year after year, but they aren't even deemed worthy of being told anything. |
druck
9/8/06 1:20PM |
Well we've managed to shame ROL in to making another vague uncomital comment on the Select list, only 4 months after the last missed delivery date. Paul Middleton promises they are still "doing something", but you've got to keep paying in vain hope that in prehapse one year out of three you you will actually get some sort of release for your money. |
jms
9/8/06 3:41PM |
druck, I would't mind vague, noncommittal statements as long as they were made periodically without having to be forced out of PM.
It wouldnt matter if the next release of Select took a while, as long as RO were to keep us somewhat better informed of what's going on. |
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RISCOS Ltd boss Paul Middleton has called on for more programmers to make use of the features exclusive to RISC OS 4 after 500 copies of Adjust were apparently sold in a year.
