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[REBOL] ENCAPABILITIES => was {Re: Re: Licensing, components}

From: jason:cunliffe:verizon at: 20-Sep-2002 15:40

wow again Ashley! Thanks you so much for all these solid answers. It this thread doesn't sell some copies of Encap I will be absolutely amazed. I know its encouraged me to think harder about realities of building and selling apps built on Rebol. And to invest in Rebol/Encap. I'm very interested in delivering an Encapped REBOL product for the FlashMX market. And looking for partners.. I'd like to hear very much about Mac and Linux compatibility also. Confirmed real-world reports. But still a bit nervous about its total invisibility and RT's site. At least now I understand that is almost certainly not for any negative reasons about the software itself. If Encap works so well I can only guess they may be trying to license it to some other kind of distribution fish market.. Aside from Rebol, you exude great clarity about your business, application domain, and customers needs. Very helpful. I hope you don't mind a few more Q&A. Stop when you get tired or run out of time ;-)
> Software - CD plus printed manual in a box. > Hardware add-ons include "Image Processing" PC, Digital Camera, Camera > adaptor, Slit-lamp, Beam-splitter, USB / Remote switcher.
Did you do USB and peripherals handling all in Rebol also, or are they handled through library calls to 3rd party intefaces? Can you describe a bit further your actual developmetn process. You mentioned it took about a year to get up to speed with Rebol. How much time/energy was spent doing what? How did you plan it? Which aspects were easier harder than you expected? What changes if any did you make along the way in terms of design/programming? As I read it, developed this on your own. Is that so? What kind of commenting desing notes process did you apply? How well do you think your product would adapt if you had to delegate heavily and have other programmers involved, a. -if they were experienced programmers, but new to REBOL? b. -if they were already REBOL programmers?
> My fault. Let's say I purchase encap for windoze ($499). I can sell $4,990 > worth of software before having to hand over additional licence fees. Say > sales reach $4,000 and look set to triple. Say I also wish to purchase > encap for linux. Well if those two things do happen ($12,000 in sales and > purchase encap for linux) then I have paid $1,200 to RT. Whether this was > one encap for windows licence and $701 dollars in commission or two encap > licences (one windows, one linux) and $202 in commission is a moot point. > In both cases I have handed over 10% of my sales proceeds ($1,200) but in > the 2nd case I have two encap licences for my troubles. > > My original point was that multiple OS encap licences don't "cost" anything > (just like the original licence) so long as your software sales are 10 > times the net amount you spent on encap licences.
Thanks for explaining. Yes. An interesting pro-active way of looking at it.
> > What about enabling limited trial/demo options for Encap? > > Probably not a good idea as there are so many ways to implement this, > ignoring the variable policy requirements (expires after 30 days, or 20 > runs, or on 1-Jan-2003, etc) I imagine most people will want this feature > (if used) to be exposed through their own UI with their own processing > branches (online register, email, phone, fax, etc).
That answer surprise me a little. Who do you think gains or loses by releasing demo- time-limited ENCAP versions? One crazy idea. The deevloper community would really like to get its teeth into Encap, but most cannot/willnot aford it upfront. Encap royalites do not kick in in until sales happen. We could maybe jointly invest in a set of Encaps, a cross-pltaform package [Win32, Mac, Linux]. By sharing upfront purchase cost, we could all test all this out, and get more serious about self-sustaining Rebol-based product deevlopments. Obviously any commercial product beyond R&D and user-trials and matket testing would have to cover RT's licensing requirements and royalities. What do you think?
> Thanx. I hope RT steps in if I have inadvertently misrepresented anything > or anyone! ;)
I hope RT steps in!! I have had no answers from them yet to my original questions [sent to Carl S.] I know they are busy but surely this is important:-( Some form of this thread should be edited and written up, as RT Encap page, as RebolForces zine, as LOGIN article in France -- with your permission of course. So far I know of 5 Encap developments: 1. Ashley: "Healthcare Imaging" application for Windows 2. Bohdan "Bo" Lechnowsky: "Mostly small business single-purpose utilities." 3. Reichart : "FTPGadget" http://www.progadget.com/FTPGadget/features.php 4. -- some French medical apps in written in Rebol, but are they encapped? 5. -- Rebol Technologies, certainly tests, perhaps some other apps ?? What else is planned? good luck & thanks again ./Jason