It’s a VERY long article (Marc had to seriously trim it down) but basically:
- the history of Xojo starting with the classic release model (“Rapid Release Model for bug fixes”) and then the current “Rapid Release Model for Features”
- an analysis of what the aims and expectations were and if they were met, which clearly shows that emergency bug fix releases have become a way of life for Xojo, and that none of the original objectives have been met
- the state of the community measured by user numbers according to forum user numbers and Google trends
- and an idea on how to move forward
The idea is basically
- any solution has to make financial sense to all relevant parties: Xojo, third-party developers, users
- you should do what YOU are good at (or only you can do) and pay others to do what THEY are good at (but you are not)
- Xojo is understaffed and instead of concentrating on the things only they can do (framework, IDE, bugs) they waste their time on creating half-baked controls and features
- Plug-in developers are very good at creating controls and features but only sell to probably far less than 5% of the Xojo community, and mostly to the Pro market which is shrinking as Pro’s are no longer Xojo’s target market
- both Xojo and third-party developers want more license sales
- users want features but NEED stability - basic functionality needs to be rock solid
Idea: what if Xojo would include all the plug-ins and make the third-party developers stakeholders?
- If a developer sells his plug-in for $100 a year and sells to 5% of the market, and Xojo adds $10 to the price and now he sells to 100% of the market, then he has doubled his income
- users get MUCH more bang for their money
- Xojo attracts many more license sales (those on old licences would REALLY have an incentive to upgrade)
I cannot stress enough that this is NOT about just stuffing the plug-ins folder (as it may appear in this brief summary), but about a different way of creating the Xojo platform (Xojo Inc as coordinator of the stakeholders). In hindsight I guess it was a bit inspired by what Steve Jobs did on his return to Apple.
By basically taking experienced and very talented developers on board as stakeholders, and basically outsource plug-in / feature development to the third party developers, Xojo would suddenly be appropriately staffed for what only THEY can and need to do (rather than wasting time on badly implemented and buggy controls). Xojo itself can use the plug-ins (if they are so essential for professional development, then why isn’t Xojo using them already?) which would get rid of a lot of bugs already. Third-Party Developers have direct access to Xojo and can much better integrate their offerings.
Basically it is about using all the resources at hand to the best possible degree to get “Xojo on Steroids”, and a massive speedup in the pace of development.
But I highly recommend to read the full article.
Remember that I predicted the current state of Xojo way back in 2005 when they introduced the Rapid Release Model (and in general my track record for long-term predictions is very good). If Xojo would implement this idea then they have a chance. If not then they will see the big boys eating their lunch over the coming years.