Lost Marble wrote:Just like all those other pro tools secured their positions, right? Because we know that no professional studio would use Photoshop, Maya, Final Cut Pro, After Effects, etc. unless they were open source.
Mike, it has ziltch to do with open source and you know it: They are all backed by the companies which own them, companies staffed by up to 20 guys working on coding the apps. Their future is a damn sight more secure than ASP, which is owned as a commercial asset by Smith Micro; If ASP6 sales do not live up to the bottom-line they have set then the product will get back-watered, development stopped or the title dropped/offloaded to another company.
The other vital difference is, unlike Adobe, Discrete, Macromedia et al, you say you are the sole programmer. You ride on the wrong Air France flight, forget to look right as you step off the pavement or befall some other mishap, everyone here has a big problem. Try selling a sole-programmer product to a commercial operator. The first question is "what happens if they go bust, what happens to our license renewals?" From personal experience, I can assure you nothing scares a commercial studios more than discovering its software house bit the dust. I've experienced it twice and the fallout very expensive to correct. For pro-houses, they are investing thousands in training, their staff skills base and artwork to be reused two, three or fives ahead. They are interested in security and compared to Maya, ASP simply doesn't have that.
Lost Marble wrote:And it's not an option now.
I am not suggesting OS now, Mike: Open Source takes time to finance and plan. There is a Chinese proverb which loosely translators is "Hope for the best, plan for the worst". There is great prudence in that. Talk of OS is not a threat to SM: Quite the reverse - a buy-out of the product is good for their balance sheet. Indeed, such talk can actually strengthen a product as it shows its value. And a foundation which 110% behind the program and paying your wages is no ogre.
Lost Marble wrote:I can tell you now it ain't gonna happen.
Commercially, hardly prudent nor any comfort to the pro-house, is it?.
I detect a degree of hostility in your comments: Let's hold a candle up to it. I am talking about the longevity of ASP, of seeing it still here in 10-20 or more years, still at the fore front of animation; I wouldn't be doing that if I didn't think its a great product and a damn good tool. I don't see SM being at the helm in the same time period, for sound commercial reasons. My comments are constructive, albeit with a little Asperger tactlessness at times. But a proper ticketing system is needed, discussions of ASP7 are both practical and realistic ... the coding of a PMS for example is no light matter and debate over how that could be achieved is worthwhile. It might even be a job for a third party developer which means the internal connections have to be introduced to the current program development cycle. But an integrated production management system would make all the commercial houses sit up and take notice: No amateur program would have asset tracking, it says big-boys toy.
There is one inescapable fact: SM blew yet another release and I gain zero confidence in their abilities from that. Walmart!? Seriously, when was the last time Maya, Final Cut Pro etc cut a release deal with Walmart. That reinforced the impression is not a serious animation tool. It was insane and a huge mistake. The guys over at Flash must be wetting themselves laughing. I sincerely hope my comments are printed out and delivered at the next senior SM management meeting - some serious arse kicking in is order - just look for Ronald MacDonald, he'll be seated there somewhere.
Conversely, ASP is supported here by a very loyal and dedicated user base who want Anime Studio to excel.
We all want the same thing. The route to destination might be debated but there's no questioning where we want to go.
Rhoel
