Posted by Fernando Rodríguez on Mar 14, 2005; 10:45pm
URL: https://forum.world.st/Is-dolphin-dying-tp3373403p3373407.html

On 14 Mar 2005 13:26:38 -0800, "Peter" <[hidden email]> wrote:

>I'm contemplating an idea of buying Dolphin Smalltalk XP Pro. But I
>could not help but notice some signs of deterioration on object-arts
>web site: outdated content (6.0 is still promised to be released at the
>end of 2004), difficult navigation, documentation for 5.0 is missing
>for more than a year, etc.
>I just don't want to invest in a company that will seize to exist soon.
>On the other hand the product itself looks solid and well done, and by
>all means the most available among commercial Smalltalk implementation.

Hopefully, Object-Arts is doing fine. However, if they did get out of
business, VW is not THAT expensive for the little guy. Last time I
checked it was US$500 per year.

OTOH, I do agree that OA should release a new version ASAP. I don't
think the delay is caused by its imminent death, but rather by the
perfectionism that all of us, obsessive-compulsive programmers suffer.
;-)

It's usually difficult to realize that while the 'unfinished' product
is laying on your HD, it's not helping your customers. Sometimes, you
just need to have the _balls_ to release a product that is not
_exactly_ what you wished it to be. There will be other versions, and
remember: worse is better
(http://www.dreamsongs.com/WorseIsBetter.html).

Anyway, my recommendation is to buy it and start writing some code. If
later on, an asteroid falls on OA offices, you can always move on to
some other vendor. It's not like there was only one implementation.