Posted by
jas on
Mar 15, 2005; 10:25pm
URL: https://forum.world.st/Is-dolphin-dying-tp3373403p3373430.html
mario bancos wrote:
> Günther Schmidt <
[hidden email]> wrote in message news:<42365c79$
[hidden email]>...
>
>>Peter schrieb:
>>
>>>I'm contemplating an idea of buying Dolphin Smalltalk XP Pro.
Good choice.
>>>But I could not help but notice some signs of deterioration on object-arts
>>>web site: outdated content
Have you tried running an editable web service lately?
Without a DNS entry for the IP address, it takes less than
15 minutes for something to start probing it, looking for
vulnerabilities.
But the content doesn't sustain much damage until it
is reachable via DNS. At which point, spam happens.
Whoops - that's a full-time staff position to
keep the site clear of defacing and trojans, etc.
Or a reconsideration/redesign of the 'openness'.
Seems they chose to freeze it, rather than consume
that much resource. Good choice.
>>>(6.0 is still promised to be released at the end of 2004),
Hmmmm, *promised*, or planned?
How much is the dev license, and the maintenance
contract? Times number of seats you need?
Equals how many engineering salaries, roughly?
Just pointing out the realities involved.
This is an extrordinary product, produced by
a small company. There are always pluses and minuses.
But the current product is still in the 'best of breed'
class, before even looking at the price. (As are most,
if not all, Smalltalk offerings.)
Now for the "I agree with you" part.
It would be a good idea to update the 'expected delivery'
dates on the wiki, even if it is done by hand.
For the same reason it is a good idea to call the
wife if you're going to be later than expected.
The advice holds even if, god help you, that was days ago...
>>> difficult navigation,
Can't comment - don't know what you mean here.
Examples?
>>>documentation for 5.0 is missing
>>>for more than a year, etc.
Yup. Could always be better. Tradeofs again.
But one should also keep in mind the
advantage of having ALL THE SOURCE right there
in front of you, all cross indexed, and browsable.
And most of it is easy to experiment with, *live*,
and with ease, in a workspace.
>>>I just don't want to invest in a company that will seize to exist soon.
You worry too much. ;-)
Buy it.
1) It is a *very* good deal.
2) It is *very* high quality already.
3) Look at it, play with it, get familiar.
Now ask yourself - the guys who did this,
are they going to do more? Or die?
And - same question, what about you?
Ya never really know. But if you're going
to put your chips down somewhere, I think
Dolphin is one of the best bets available.
>>>On the other hand the product itself looks solid and well done, and by
>>>all means the most available among commercial Smalltalk implementation.
>>>Could someone confirm/dispel my concerns please ?
Sure. Buy it. Buy ten. (And get some VW licences, too).
Maybe try some other versions as well. Surest way to enhance
whatever you're betting on.
You haven't even *mentioned* the actual downside,
which is quite real. Know much about addiction?
Try enjoyable stimulus, succesful response, and instant
reinforcement. Be sure and read the warning labels...
Regards,
-cstb