[REBOL] Update from REBOL HQ
From: carl:rebol at: 29-Sep-2001 17:29
Greetings REBOLers,
We've been really quiet. Sorry. Here's a hint - a rule - to
use in the future:
When we are quiet, it means we are working seriously
on new stuff.
This is a good rule of thumb. It was true for Amiga, Apple,
Newtek, and others. When the team is hard at work, the silence
is deafening.
So, what's stealing our cycles? Here's a rough summary:
Marketing Plan
--------------
You've probably noticed some recent changes on our web site.
We've got the big picture up there, but I've got a lot more to
write about...
What's the plan? "Take REBOL full force into the collaborative
computing arena." It makes a lot of sense. REBOL was not created
for just programming... it was created to solve a critical problem:
the semantic exchange and interpretation of information. That's
its root, its founding principle, and one that can be applied
very powerfully in that new market.
So, that's our war, to conquer real-time collaborative computing
(RTCC). This is where we make our stand. If we don't grab it,
you-know-who will. And, RTCC is even more personal, relationship-
oriented, and social than other forms of computing... so let's
not even think about losing this war.
Plus, the other side of creating and dominating a marketplace is
we can all live off it. You, as REBOL experts, will be able to
get a job anywhere... and for good pay. Or, if you want to
roll your own collaborative apps... you can do that too, and make
good money in the process. Look at the thousands of jobs and new
companies Amiga created. RTCC will be even bigger.
Think about what you might be able to do to help. Write an article,
tell your friends, sell the concept to companies, create useful
reblets. Make it happen.
Parnterships
------------
Recently, we've been spending a lot of time forging new
alliances, and we plan to be making some big announcements over
the next few months. A few of these partnerships might just
blow your socks off. That's all I can say, for now.
Financing
---------
Wouldn't it be nice if we could just focus on making and selling
products? Yep, would be, but the reality is that we need to grow
at light speed to conquer the RTCC market and that takes more than
just good software, it takes money.
These days, money is difficult to wrestle away from investor's
hands. VCs are acting more like bankers than venture capitalists.
I expect most VCs will find themselves out of business, because
they invested in silly ideas like dogfood.com rather than rebol.com
and now they're panicky. I honestly don't understand these guys,
but we keep at them, and if you've got contacts, send them our way.
Development
-----------
A lot is going on here. The team is very busy taking IOS Express
from Beta 1 to 1.0. This includes new and improved GUI styles,
a new desktop, networking enhancements, vastly improved prefs
panel, several new reblets, and perhaps a few new natives for good
cause.
Of course, most of these improvements will roll over into REBOL/View
because it and REBOL/Link will become one and the same. That's
right, the same client program will be able to access not only the Reb,
but also fully certified and authenticated connections to REBOL/Serve.
In addition, REBOL/Encap, the package that lets you build your own
REBOL encapsulated programs has been ready for some time now. It
seems to take longer to get the legal paperwork correct than it does
to write the code. More soon.
So, that's our status from the REBOL trenches. We approach a new
and undiscovered country. It's been incredibly exciting to
use IOS Express over the last nine months. Doing so gives us a taste
of the future and helps us dream and invent the applications that
are just over the horizon. Onward to RTCC.
Keep on REBOLing,
-Carl
Carl Sassenrath
Founder & CTO
REBOL Technologies
http://www.rebol.com
